When is National High Five Day?

Thursday, April 18

What is National High Five Day?

National High Five Day is exactly what you’d expect it to be- a day where you can give everyone you see a high five (if they’re paying attention!). For anyone unfamiliar with high fives, here are a few ways to accomplish the classic hand gesture.

The Classic

The Jumper

The Air-Five

The Self-Five

The Doggy-Five

The History of National High Five Day

In 2002 a group of college students from The University of Virginia created this unofficial holiday. Since then, this random day of celebration has turned into much more than just a day to give out a ton of overly-enthusiastic high fives. 

Last year, a viral challenge spread across social media surrounding National High Five Day. Users shared a “virtual high five” shown below across their personal networks, would tag a handful of friends, which acted as the challenge. Each time the post was shared (up to 1,000 posts), Highfive donated $5 to the nonprofit CoachArt which aids children impacted by chronic illnesses. Highfive reached their goal of reaching 1,000 shared posts and donated $5,000 to CoachArt for free arts and athletics for kids with chronic illnesses. This year they are aiming for an even bigger impact by encouraging companies to partner up with them to raise even more money.

How to Celebrate National High Five Day

So, how can you celebrate National High Five Day? 

You can:

1. Give out high fives ALLLLL day (they’re free, why not?)
2. Use one of the official hashtags for National High Five Day #NationalHighFiveDay or #High5Challenge to post on social media. Share a picture/video of your most epic high fives or be on the lookout for this year’s viral post so you can take part in the challenge yourself!
3. Go high five crazy! High five anyone you see. (DISCLAIMER: Make sure whoever you’re high fiving is paying attention since surprise high fives can be painful and turn into an HR disaster.)
4. Send a free ePraise to your coworkers to show your appreciation for their hard work or dedication to your team. This virtual high five will surely make their day!

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