Holidays on July 17, 2026 — World Emoji Day
Every year on July 17, the world celebrates World Emoji Day. This unofficial international holiday is dedicated to the little symbols that have long been a part of the daily communication of billions of people.
Today, emojis are used in messages, on social media, in emails, and even in advertising. They help convey emotions and moods and make text more lively, and World Emoji Day itself has become a great opportunity to reflect on how a few small images have transformed digital communication.
World Emoji Day is celebrated annually on July 17. This holiday has no official status, but it is well known among social media users, smartphone manufacturers, and tech companies around the world. The idea to create World Emoji Day was proposed in 2014 by Jeremy Burge, the founder of the website Emojipedia. He was the one who decided that these small symbols—without which modern messaging is now hard to imagine—deserve their own special day.
Why was July 17 chosen? The reason is quite interesting. The calendar emoji, which Apple had used for many years, featured this exact date. It stuck in users’ minds so much that they decided to make it an official holiday. Over time, July 17 began to be supported by Google, Microsoft, Samsung, WhatsApp, Meta, and many other companies, and Emoji Day itself quickly gained popularity in various countries.
How Emojis Came to Be
Many people confuse emojis with regular smiley faces, but they’re different things. The first emojis were created by Japanese designer Shigetaka Kurita back in 1999. He was working on mobile internet for NTT DoCoMo and wanted to make digital communication more expressive.
The first set consisted of just 176 small images, each measuring 12×12 pixels. Among them were smiles, hearts, weather symbols, transportation, food, animals, and various everyday symbols. The idea quickly gained popularity in Japan, and within a few years, emojis began to be used all over the world. The real breakthrough came after Apple added emoji support to the iPhone, and later, all major operating systems began to use them.
Why Emojis Became So Popular
Today, it’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t sent a , ❤️, or at least once. Emojis help convey emotions more quickly when plain text isn’t enough. They can express joy, surprise, sadness, support, or even irony.
That’s why they’re used for more than just personal messaging. Emojis have long been part of the work of companies, brands, journalists, bloggers, government agencies, and even politicians. Studies show that people are more likely to read messages with emojis all the way through, since they seem more lively and friendly.
How World Emoji Day Is Celebrated
World Emoji Day is not an official holiday, but every year on July 17, thousands of themed events take place online. Companies unveil new emoji sets, update the designs of familiar symbols, or highlight the most popular ones.
On social media, users share their favorite emojis, create themed collections, and post messages using only emojis. Some brands host contests, flash mobs, and interactive activities where participants are challenged to guess a movie, book, or famous quote using only emojis. People also often reflect on the history of these little symbols on this day and publish rankings of the year’s most-used emojis.
Fun Facts About Emojis
Every year, the international organization Unicode approves new emojis, which eventually appear on smartphones and computers. Today, there are already over 3,900 official emojis, and their number is constantly growing. The “face laughing so hard it’s crying” emoji has remained the most popular in the world for several years in a row. The ❤️, , , and emoji also consistently rank among the top favorites.
The word “emoji” is of Japanese origin. “E” means “picture,” and “moji” means “symbol” or “letter.” So, literally, it means “picture symbol.” Despite the similarity in names, emojis have nothing to do with the word “emotion.” It’s just a coincidence that often misleads people.
Who Decides Which Emojis Are Created
Many people think that Apple or Google create new emojis. In reality, the final decision is made by the international Unicode Consortium. Anyone can propose a new symbol. To do so, you need to submit a special application and explain why users need this particular emoji.
After extensive discussion, experts decide whether to add the new emoji to the international standard. Only then do smartphone manufacturers create their own designs for the new emoji on their devices. That’s why the same emoji may look slightly different on an iPhone, Android, or other platforms.
Why Emojis Have Become Part of Modern Culture
Over the past two decades, emojis have evolved into a true international language that people understand regardless of their country or language. They help make digital communication warmer, convey emotions more quickly, and sometimes even replace entire sentences.
That’s why World Emoji Day has long since ceased to be a holiday just for gadget enthusiasts. It’s yet another reason to reflect on how these little symbols have changed our daily lives and become an integral part of modern digital culture.
