When is National Best Friends Day?
National Best Friends Day is June 8 every year in the US: Tuesday, June 8, 2027. It's unofficial. The UN's International Day of Friendship (July 30) and Friendship Day (first Sunday in August) are separate days.
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There are three friend days on the calendar, and National Best Friends Day is the one with your person's name on it: June 8, every year, a Tuesday in 2027. It's unofficial and has no documented founder. Its cousins are the UN's International Day of Friendship on July 30 and Friendship Day on the first Sunday in August.
That's three chances in one summer to tell someone they're your favorite, and three chances to pick the wrong one. Below: which day is which, a Congress story that won't die, lines to send that aren't birthday wishes, and how we made a card where your best friend becomes a clown in four careful steps.
Cards made from your photos
Best Friends Day vs Friendship Day: the 2027 dates
Three days, three rules. Best Friends Day is for one person. Friendship Day is for friends in general. The UN's version is for whole countries getting along, which is a bigger ask.
If you only do one, make it June 8. It's the one with best in the name, and the one your best friend will notice you missed. The winter one is Galentine's Day, February 13.
| Day | Rule | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Best Friends Day | June 8 | Tue, June 8 | Thu, June 8 | Fri, June 8 |
| International Day of Friendship (UN) | July 30 | Fri, July 30 | Sun, July 30 | Mon, July 30 |
| Friendship Day (US, India) | First Sunday in August | Sun, Aug 1 | Sun, Aug 6 | Sun, Aug 5 |
Did Congress create National Best Friends Day in 1935?
You'll read all over the internet that Congress declared National Best Friends Day in 1935. We went looking for that resolution and couldn't find it, and none of the articles that repeat the claim link to one. The same 1935 story gets told about Friendship Day in August. Until someone produces the paperwork, file it under nice stories.
Where June 8 came from is unknown. The calendars that list it don't name a founder, a group or a first year, and we'd rather say so than make one up.
The friend days with real records are younger and farther away. A World Friendship Day was first proposed by Dr. Ramón Artemio Bracho at a dinner with friends in Puerto Pinasco, Paraguay, on July 20, 1958 (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_Day). In 2011 the UN General Assembly made July 30 the International Day of Friendship (un.org/en/observances/friendship-day). So the best-documented friendship holiday started at a dinner party, which feels right.
What to send your best friend on June 8
Not a birthday wish and not a toast. Something only the two of you would get. If your best friend is also your sister, she gets April 10 too.
Birthday coming up instead? Try our birthday wishes for a best friend, or best friend birthday memes if your friendship runs on those. For June 8, start here:
- Happy National Best Friends Day. Nobody knows who invented it, so I'm saying it was me, for you.
- You know everything about me and you've told no one. That's the whole card.
- Happy Best Friends Day to my emergency contact, my second opinion and my worst influence.
- We've been friends so long our moms are friends now.
- For a long-distance best friend: Different cities, same group chat. Happy June 8.
- For a friend since childhood: You've seen every haircut. Thank you for never posting the photos.
- For a friend who's had a rough year: Today's for you. You don't even have to text back.
- Short one for a text: Best friend. Not up for discussion.
How we made the Birthday Denial card
A best friend is the person who watches you make a bad decision in four stages and then hands you the wig. That's this card. It's built on an old meme format where someone puts on clown makeup one careful step at a time, each step more confident than the last.
Four panels, the same person in each, at a dressing-room mirror ringed with bulbs. One: a dab of white paint on the cheek. Two: a red nose. Three: rainbow eyebrows, the wig half on. Four: full clown, ruffled collar, a party horn, total confidence.
Our test best friend was Denise, 58, who wears her reading glasses pushed up on her head and does not exist. Clown paint makes this a hard card for likeness: by panel four, white base covers her skin, so her eyes and the shape of her face have to do all the work. That's the first thing every take is checked for.
One take skipped a step, gave her three panels instead of four, and then took the makeup off for the finale. A denial card that denied its own joke. Another brought a real foam nose to a face-painting job.
The rule on this card is short: cheerful clown only, never scary. In the video she toots the party horn, the wig bounces, confetti falls, and she gives the camera one slow, completely serious nod. Your message goes under the picture.
How to celebrate on a Tuesday
June 8, 2027 is a weekday, so think small and specific:
- Send the oldest photo of the two of you that you can find. Do not crop out the outfits.
- Make a plan with an actual date on it, then keep it. That's rarer than any gift.
- Write down one inside joke and explain it badly. They'll correct you, which is the point.
- If you live far apart, pick one show and watch it at the same time, on the phone.
- Send a card that stars them, then wait for the reply.
How it works
- Pick a cardPilots, mermaids, rock stars, one very surprised cake. Every one shows a real example first.
- Add their photosOne clear face each, up to 5 people. A selfie is fine. No sign-up.
- Preview it, then payOne picture of them in the card in about 10 seconds. Like it? Apple Pay or Google Pay, and four pictures arrive about 20 seconds later, the video in about 90.
What's the real date of Friendship Day?
Depends on whose calendar. The UN's International Day of Friendship is July 30. In the US and India, Friendship Day is usually the first Sunday in August, which is August 1 in 2027. Best Friends Day, June 8, is its own thing.
What is National BFF day?
A nickname for National Best Friends Day, June 8. BFF stands for best friends forever, which is also roughly how long the group chat has been going.
Is June 8 Friendship Day?
No. June 8 is Best Friends Day, for your one person. Friendship Day comes later in the summer, on July 30 or the first Sunday in August, depending on who's counting.
By HiWith (Winding AI, Inc.) · support@winding.ai · Updated