World Emoji Day

World Emoji Day is celebrated every year on July 17. This unofficial holiday highlights the colorful symbols used in digital communication and is unusual because most of the celebration happens online, especially on social media, rather than through in-person events.

History of World Emoji Day

Emoji were created in Japan in the late 1990s by Shigetaka Kurita, who designed small icons for a mobile internet platform to help express information and emotion quickly. The earliest set included 176 characters and was built in a simple 12×12 pixel format. Emoji spread widely in Asia first, and later became a global standard as smartphones and messaging apps adopted them more broadly. In the United States and many other countries, emoji became especially common once they were built directly into phone keyboards, making them easy to use in everyday conversation.

Interesting Facts About World Emoji Day

Emoji and emoticons are now part of modern language, and they have developed quickly over a relatively short time.

• The word “emoji” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013.
• New emoji are introduced regularly, and the set has expanded far beyond the original designs from the 1990s.
• The “face with tears of joy” emoji has frequently been cited as one of the most used emoji on major platforms.
• In the U.S., computer scientist Scott Fahlman is credited with suggesting the first popular emoticon, :-) , on September 19, 1982.

Emoji and emoticons are different, but both shaped how people express tone in text.

How to Take Part in World Emoji Day

A simple way to observe World Emoji Day is to lean into emoji communication for a day. Send messages using emoji, try an emoji-only caption, or challenge friends to guess a movie title or song using only emoji clues. If you want something offline, an emoji-themed snack table or a small trivia game works well. Keep it light and fun, and if you post online, add your favorite emoji in the caption.

When Is World Emoji Day in 2026?

World Emoji Day is observed on July 17 each year.

Observations