Would creating an "Appreciation Day" make the world a better place?

That sounds OK by me. Hey Dog, I appreciate your efforts to make the world a nicer place. Your’s too L.

I suppose so.It is a nice thought and some people need a reminder to thank others for their support and friendship.I try to let my loved ones know that I am happy to have them as a friend.:)
Thanks A! It’s my pleasure to know you.:)

@lucillelucillelucille Nah, I’s the lucky one. You’re a warrior!

Can I get in on the group hug going on? I appreciate all of you!

Hugs to Jill!

I like the idea. It is a little like Valentine’s Day, but, to me at least, more meaningful.

Thanksgiving Day, no. Just another day we can get off from work though.

Creating a day for this would probably make it more trite and meaningless. Kind of like Valentine’s Day. Not getting anything bothers people; getting something becomes expected. I would much rather the thought come from the heart than the calendar.

It is great you do this and more people should follow your lead.

No, I don’t think that we need a “special day” for that – it would get too trite, I think, and people would expect their “appreciation cards” like they now expect “Valentine’s” and “Christmas” cards, and they’d be just as meaningless.

I think that despite the slight awkwardness from time to time, it’s best to just keep on doing what you’re doing. And I’ll join you. I appreciate the hell out of the idea, @Dog. Thanks.

Edit: And I appreciate that @optimisticpessimist beat me to this answer.

I agree that it could become trite, but that speaks to the individual. I’m not Christian, but I celebrate Christmas because it’s fun. I don’t feel obligated to go into debt, but I like that lots of people are more cheerful at that time. Valentine’s Day can be fun if you want it to be. Birthdays are a gas, but I don’t expect everybody to make a big deal out of mine. gifts are always appreciated, folks! ;-) I think it wouldn’t hurt to be reminded to tell someone you think they’re worth the effort…

I appreciate what you guys are saying about not needing a day, like Valentine’s Day for example, but think about this: When was the last time you bought your sweetie some flowers?
Bet you got a nice smile when you did.

@Adirondackwannabe My sweetie prefers car parts. I do get your point, but sometimes it is a matter of getting appreciated and that reminds you to appreciate others. If more people did a spontaneous expression of appreciate, it would probably start a chain reaction.

This is absolutely thoughtful of you to want to appreciate everyone you love, but I believe that a holiday is not needed for this. It wouldn’t really make the world a better place. It would just leave room for more greediness. Some people would always be expecting appreciation cards or gifts. It would be another marketed holiday as always.

It’s best to make every day “Appreciation Day”. Appreciate the ones you love and the ones who make the world a better place. A simple thank you from time to time can mean the world to anyone.

@Dog – NO! Don’t create the holiday. Just keep doing what you’re doing.

If you have a holiday, people will think you’re being grateful just because of the holiday.

Think about how cool the man would look if he gave his lady flowers and candy on Feb 14th when there WASN’T a Valentine’s Day reminding him to be tangibly thoughtful!

If anything, you’ll start a MOVEMENT, which is more powerful than a holiday, if you ask me.

Every day should be appreciation day, and it shouldn’t be awkward.

Of the few people who have actually thanked me for doing something for them, I do not recall ever feeling like they were stalking me, dying, or coming on to me. The only thing I remember feeling in those rare instances is gratitude for acknowledging my existence.

No. If it’s Appreciation Day, then it’s forced, and you don’t know that the person truly means it or if they just feel obligated. I never felt more appreciated on Secretary’s Day (or whatever the PC term is now), I just felt like the holiday shined a light on how fake and contrived everyone is.

I prefer to perform random acts of kindness throughout the year. I wouldn’t want to make anyone become limited in doing acts of appreciation on one day.

I have sent people I care about random thank you’s for things they’ve said or done (not for gifts bestowed). It’s not stalkerish if you do it right.

We send gift cards to people that have been kind, also. It’s a nice pick me up for the person and they always seem to be appreciative.

No, it would not make a difference.

Birthdays are a great time to tell someone you appreciate them. Since Thanksgiving was originally a day set aside for appreciation of a larger scale, and we annually celebrate it by spending on ourselves to gorge ourselves, perhaps we should address the social awkwardness and why we are, in general, so suspicious of each other. How about a holiday for social healing? I wonder how we’d celebrate that:)

Seems like a combination of Valentine’s Day and Thanksgiving. It has the thankfulness of Thanksgiving, and the smaller scale of Valentine’s Day, since you are thanking individual people.

I think it’s a great idea. I’d recommend to invent an intercultural ritual and create a .org website with web 2.0 features for it, for example http://cultureappreciationday.org a name that’s still available. People from all countries should be able register (nickname) and create a profile of their culture (nationality, worldviews and so on). People then can select

“I really appreciate ‘select options’ because it supports my endeavor to ‘text box’ ”

The software could then randomly assign ‘culture pals’ and the two can start emailing each other. Language might be a barrier.