A smiley face, a thumbs-up, a heart or a slice of pizza: emoji have become a language of their own. World Emoji Day, on July 17, celebrates these tiny pictures that help people express emotions and ideas in digital messages. Billions of emoji are sent every day across apps and social media, and they add tone, humor and personality to our conversations.
History of World Emoji Day
Emoticons, faces made from keyboard characters, such as :-), appeared in the early 1980s; computer scientist Scott Fahlman proposed using them in 1982.
Emoji, from the Japanese words for 'picture' (e) and 'character' (moji), were created in Japan. In 1999, Shigetaka Kurita designed a set of 176 simple emoji for a Japanese mobile internet service. They became popular in Japan. In 2010, emoji were added to Unicode, the international standard for text, allowing them to work across devices worldwide. In 2016, the Museum of Modern Art in New York added Kurita's original emoji to its collection.
World Emoji Day was created in 2014 by Jeremy Burge, founder of Emojipedia, an emoji reference website. July 17 was chosen because it is the date shown on many versions of the calendar emoji. Today, thousands of emoji exist, including diverse skin tones and many new symbols each year.
Why World Emoji Day Matters
Emoji help people express emotions and tone in text messages, which can otherwise seem flat or easily misunderstood.
They cross language barriers, making communication easier between people who speak different languages.
The addition of diverse emoji, such as different skin tones, family types and cultural symbols, shows how technology can become more inclusive. Anyone can submit proposals for new emoji to the Unicode Consortium.
Emoji also reflect how language changes with technology. Linguists study how people use emoji to add tone, soften messages or show humor, much like facial expressions and gestures in face-to-face conversation. New emoji are proposed and approved each year, showing how digital language keeps evolving.
How to Celebrate World Emoji Day
- Use your favorite emoji: share a message full of emoji.
- Tell a story: try writing a story using only emoji.
- Play a game: guess movie titles from emoji clues.
- Learn the history: read about Shigetaka Kurita's original set.
- Design an emoji: invent an emoji you wish existed.
Celebrating at Work, School and Home
At work, use emoji reactions to celebrate wins, or play an emoji trivia game. In classrooms, students can write emoji stories, translate sentences into emoji, or design new emoji and explain their meaning. Discussions can explore how emoji can be misunderstood. At home, families can play emoji charades, guess song or movie titles from emoji clues, or make emoji cookies. Talk with children about using emoji kindly online.
Fun Facts About World Emoji Day
- Shigetaka Kurita created 176 emoji in 1999.
- Emoji were added to Unicode in 2010.
- The calendar emoji often shows July 17.
World Emoji Day FAQs
When is World Emoji Day?
World Emoji Day is July 17.
Who created emoji?
Shigetaka Kurita designed the first popular set in Japan in 1999.
Why July 17?
It's the date shown on many calendar emoji.
What does 'emoji' mean?
Japanese for 'picture character'.