Ethiopians of All Ages Celebrate National Laughter Day

Last week, Ethiopia celebrated its 11th national laughter day, a day when Ethiopians of all ages meet to just laugh — for no specific reason.

 During national laughter day Ethiopians of different walks of life, the sick and the visually impaired enjoy one of the privileges afforded all human beings — laughter. There is no reason whatsoever for their laughter. It is a day when people free themselves and forget any worries they may have.

Ethiopia is one of the few countries in the world that celebrates national laughter day and the rationale behind it is to develop a positive thinking amongst its citizens.

Those who have participated in national laughter days over the past 10 years say they have developed a psychological change. They now believe that laughter is the remedy they need to relax and free their mind from existing political, social and economic hurdles.

The initiator of the laughter day is Ethiopian Girma Belachew, who broke the world record at the World Guinness Impossibility Challenger Event held in Germany Munich in 2002 when he laughed nonstop for three hours and five minutes.

Girma  now owns a school that teaches people how to laugh, and he has shared his laughter concept  with his fellow countrymen. He has had laughing sessions with the military, medical professionals, patients with various ailments, and among other professionals in Ethiopia.

Source: Press TV

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top