Hug Day transforms into global social media movement

CTV Winnipeg: National Hug Day marked in Manitoba Rahim Ladhani on the tradition, which dates back to the 1980s, and has now turned into a bit of a social media movement.

Jan. 21 is National Hug Day. It was created by Kevin Zaborney in 1986 in his hometown in Caro, Michigan. Zaborney said he realized there was no day set aside to encourage friends or family to reach out and give someone a hug so he decided to do something about it.

Now, National Hug Day has become a movement across the world with people posting pictures of them hugging someone on social media and, according to Zaborney, a flash mob of “huggers” will even be giving out hugs at a train station in Sweden this year.

Dr. Corey Mackenzie is a psychologist at the University of Manitoba who says humans need to feel a level of intimacy and a hug can be good for your physical and mental health.