Global Smurfs Day

Global Smurfs Day is dedicated to the world-famous franchise about small blue creatures—the Smurfs—invented by the Belgian artist Peyo (pseudonym of Pierre Culliford). Initially, he made them secondary characters in his comic series Johan: the two main characters stumble upon strange blue gnomes in the forest. The editor-in-chief of Spirou magazine, which published Peyo’s comics, saw a promising topic and convinced the artist to develop the story of the blue gnomes separately. An animated series was then made, first shown in 1981. The series was followed by console games from Nintendo, and so the Smurfs took over the world! Thus came Global Smurfs Day.

History

The very first Global Smurfs Day was a worldwide event held on the birthday of the father of the Smurfs, Peyo, on June 25, 2011. Raja Gosnell directed The Smurfs movie, and fans of the franchise had been eagerly awaiting its premiere. Many people from different cities (Brussels, The Hague, Mexico City, Athens, Dublin, Panama City, Warsaw, and Johannesburg) took to the streets dressed up in Smurf costumes—white pants and hats. For greater similarity, they wore blue shirts and painted their faces blue. Since then, Global Smurfs Day has been on the closest Saturday to June 25.

Interesting Facts

Among those celebrating the first holiday was the artist’s daughter, Véronique Culliford.

Pierre Culliford died in 1992, but his work is continued today by his son, Thierry Culliford, who uses his father’s pseudonym, Peyo.

How to Take Part

If you’re a fan of the Smurf stories, you’ll want to celebrate Global Smurfs Day too.

1. Connect with other Smurf fans and put on the same street show as the people who the holiday for the first time. The kids will definitely want to participate!
2. Watch cartoons and movies about the Smurfs.
3. Play old games—they are really cool!
4. Speak the Smurf language on this day.
5. Think up and draw your own story about the Smurfs.

When is Global Smurfs Day in 2024?

Global Smurfs Day is observed on the closest Saturday to June 25.

Observations