World Laughter Day 2027 is on Sunday

About World Laughter Day

World Laughter Day asks people to laugh together, in person and on purpose. On the day, members of laughter clubs gather with friends and family in parks and public squares for group laughter sessions. The organizers present it as a gesture for world peace: the idea is that people who feel happier and more connected treat one another better, and that laughter is a language shared across cultures.

The day grew out of Laughter Yoga, which Dr. Madan Kataria, a family doctor in India, developed in 1995. In a 2013 interview with writer Albert Nerenberg, published by HuffPost Canada, Kataria said the idea came from a psychology textbook passage about how acting out an emotion can create the feeling itself. He tried it with a group of friends who began by pretending to laugh, and the forced laughter quickly became real. That small group became the first laughter club.

Laughter Yoga International says Kataria created World Laughter Day in 1998 and that it is held on the first Sunday of every May. Laughter Yoga combines laughter exercises with deep breathing, and its sessions start without jokes or comedy, relying on eye contact and playfulness to make the laughter catch on. The movement has spread through a network of free social laughter clubs, and Nerenberg wrote in 2013 that it had reached more than 60 countries. The day has no official or government status.

Sources: Laughter Yoga International: World Laughter Day (archived), HuffPost Canada: World Laughter Day: How a Laughing Fit Sparked an International Movement, by Albert Nerenberg (2013, archived), Laughter Yoga International: About Laughter Yoga (archived). How we check dates.

How to mark World Laughter Day

• Look for a laughter club session or World Laughter Day gathering in a park near you, or start a short one with friends.
• Try a simple laughter exercise at home: start with a fake chuckle, keep going for a minute and notice when it turns real.
• Watch a favorite comedy or stand-up special with family and see who laughs first.
• Call the friend who always makes you laugh, or share a funny memory with someone you haven't talked to in a while.
• If you have a health condition that makes vigorous laughing or deep breathing uncomfortable, keep it gentle and check with your doctor before trying intense laughter exercises.

World Laughter Day dates