January 24 is Belly Laugh Day

Practice your smile and get that belly in shape to celebrate the joy of laughter on January 24: it's Belly Laugh Day (www.bellylaughday.com).

Belly Laugh Day is more than just sharing knock-knock jokes or playing tricks on your co-workers. It actually has very little to do with comedy. According to Belly Laugh Day Bellman Elaine Helle (she prefers "bellman" over "founder"), it's more about celebrating with "the people in your life past and present, who laugh with you and help you laugh and smile." It's also about "celebrating the laughs and smiles that transform our moments" and remembering "the strange, funny, 'now I can laugh at it' moments."

This 21st century holiday was first celebrated in 2006 when Helle, a certified laughter yoga teacher, decided a day was needed to celebrate "the great gift of laughter." After all, "we celebrate love, give thanks and recognize flossing ([the] day after Thanksgiving USA)." January 24 became the selected date.

How can people celebrate Belly Laugh Day together? At 1:24 p.m. local time (the time is intentional, it mirrors the date of 1/24), the Belly Laugh Bounce 'Round the World begins. This is when everyone is invited to "throw up their arms in the air and laugh out loud." As Helle points out, "well almost [everyone] - not pilots and surgeons." The Belly Laugh Bounce begins in Fiji and rolls over seven continents, ending in Alaska. This is an easy, simple activity everyone can join in.

Helle told me, "the Belly Laugh Bounce 'Round the World stems from [the] celebration of the year 2000. On December 31, 1999 we set up a world map and hit a gong each time the year 2000 dawned in a new time zone. We had a game marker to mark the progress across the world."