Emojis are small icons or images used in various platforms to add spice to text-based convos. To celebrate the emojis, World Emoji Day is celebrated on July 17 each year, the date shown in the calendar emoji (📅).
Use this day to show your appreciation for the emojis you use every day, which have become essential in today’s digital mode of communication.
In this article, let’s look at the history, significance, most popular emojis, upcoming new emojis, and more as we celebrate World Emoji Day!
World Emoji Day: History
World Emoji Day is celebrated on July 17 yearly. It was started by the founder of the famous Emoji wiki, Emojipedia, Jeremy Burge, in 2014.
The official page for World Emoji Day from Emojipedia reads, “The purpose of World Emoji Day is to promote the use of emojis and spread the enjoyment that they bring to all of those around us.”
The date July 17 was chosen because of the Calendar emoji, which displays the date of July 17.
World Emoji Day: Significance
World Emoji Day is a day for celebrating the use of emojis. Emojis are considered an essential part of modern communication, allowing us to communicate much more with just an emoji. The significance of
World Emoji Day is observed on social media with posts using the hashtag #WorldEmojiDay. You can share your favourite emojis and emoji art or participate in the World Emoji Day event on Facebook.
Most Popular Emojis and Their Meaning
| Emoji | Name | Meaning |
| 😂 | Face with Tears of Joy | Extreme happiness, laughter, funny or pleasing. |
| ❤️ | Red Heart | Love and romance |
| 🔥 | Fire | Hot or excellent |
| 💀 | Skull | Dying from laughter, frustration, or joke. |
| ✅ | Check Mark Button | OK, seen |
| 🤣 | Rolling on the Floor Laughing | Intense or hysterical laughter, ROFL |
| 🫠 | Melting face | Embarrassment, shame, or overwhelmed |
| 👍 | Thumbs Up Sign | Well done, good job, or approval |
| 😭 | Loudly Crying Face | Uncontrollable tears, perhaps due to sadness or joy |
| 🙏 | Folded Hands | Prayer, or thank you |
| 😘 | Face Throwing a Kiss | Kissing someone, or a general expression of love |
| 🥰 | Smiling Face with Hearts | Love, affection or being in love. |
| 😍 | Smiling Face with Heart-Eyes | Love, infatuation or adoration |
| 😊 | Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes | Positive, warm feelings or happy |
| 🎉 | Party Popper | Celebration or congratulations |
| 😁 | Grinning Face with Smiling Eyes | Glowing, beaming happiness, silly, amused or proud |
| 💕 | Two Hearts | Love is in the air |
| 🥺 | Pleading Face | Adoration, bashful, or pleading |
| 😅 | Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Cold Sweat | Relief, nervous, or excitement |
| ☺️ | Smiling Face | Happy or positive |
| 🤦 | Person Facepalming | Frustrated or embarrassed, SMH |
| ♥️ | Heart Suit | Love, affection, romance, and positive intentions. |
| 🤷 | Shrug | Indifference or unknowing |
| 🙄 | Face With Rolling Eyes | Frustration, disapproval, indifference, resentful, or boredom |
| 😆 | Grinning Squinting Face | Great excitement or hearty laughter |
| 🤗 | Smiling Face with Open Hands | Show love and care, or express warm and positive feelings. |
| 😉 | Winking Face | Joking or being cheeky |
| 🎂 | Birthday Cake | Birthday celebration |
| 🤔 | Thinking Face | Pondering or questioning |
| 👏 | Clapping Hands | Round of applause |
| 🙂 | Slightly Smiling Face | Happy, but often used ironically |
| 😳 | Flushed Face | Embarrassed, surprised, disbelief, excitement or flattered |
| 🥳 | Partying Face | Celebration or joy |
| 😎 | Smiling Face with Sunglasses | Cool or confident |
| 👌 | OK Hand | Okay or correct |
| 💜 | Purple Heart | Love. Frequently used in reference to K-Pop band BTS. |
| 😔 | Pensive Face | Reflective, remorseful, hurt, disappointed, or lonely. |
| 💪 | Flexed Biceps | Strength or fitness |
| ✨ | Sparkles | Positive, happy, or celebration |
| 💖 | Sparkling Heart | Extra special love, sometimes playful |
| 👀 | Eyes | Shifty or sneaky, sometimes flirtatious. Sometimes called pervy eyes. |
| 😋 | Face Savoring Delicious Food | Cheeky, poking fun or enjoying food |
| 😏 | Smirking Face | Mischievous or flirting |
| 😢 | Crying Face | Upset, sad or in pain |
| 👉 | Backhand Index Pointing Right | Pointing to the right |
| 💗 | Growing Heart | Love or increasing affection |
| 😩 | Weary Face | Distressed, drained, or deep enjoyment |
| 💯 | Hundred Points | 100 per cent approval |
| 🌹 | Rose | Love and romance |
| 💞 | Revolving Hearts | A whirlwind of love |
| 🎈 | Balloon | Celebration or congratulations |
| 💙 | Blue Heart | Love |
| 😃 | Smiling Face with Open Mouth | Happiness |
| 😡 | Pouting Face | Annoyed or angry |
| 💐 | Bouquet | Appreciation or happiness |
| 😜 | Face with Stuck-Out Tongue and Winking Eye | Fun, joking, or buffoonery |
| 🙈 | See-No-Evil Monkey | Hiding, cringing, or in disbelief |
| 🤞 | Crossed Fingers | Wishing luck |
| 😄 | Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Smiling Eyes | Great happiness |
| 🤤 | Drooling Face | Desiring something or someone |
| 🙌 | Person Raising Both Hands in Celebration | Celebrating with hands in the air |
| 🤪 | Zany Face | Silly, fun, or goofy |
| ❣️ | Heavy Heart Exclamation Mark Ornament | Emphasized love |
| 😀 | Grinning Face | Elevated happiness |
| 💋 | Kiss Mark | A seductive kiss |
| 👇 | Backhand Index Pointing Down | Pointing down |
| 💔 | Broken Heart | Heartbreak, grief, loss, or longing |
| 😌 | Relieved Face | Content or calm |
| 💓 | Beating Heart | Love |
| 🤩 | Star-Struck | Amazed, impressed, or excited |
| 🙃 | Upside Down Face | Silliness, often used for irony or sarcasm |
| 😬 | Grimacing Face | Tense, nervous, or awkward |
| 😱 | Face Screaming in Fear | Shocked or scared |
| 😴 | Sleeping Face | Tired or bored |
| 🤭 | Face with Hand Over Mouth | Laughter or cheekiness |
| 😐 | Neutral Face | Neutral, irritated, or unamused |
| 🌞 | Sun with Face | Radiant, happy, or positive |
| 😒 | Unamused Face | Annoyed, sceptical, or irritated |
| 😇 | Smiling Face with Halo | Angelic or innocent |
| 🌸 | Cherry Blossom | Love and beauty |
| 😈 | Smiling Face With Horns | Cheeky, naughty, playful, or mischief |
| 🎶 | Multiple Musical Notes | Three-eighth notes, for singing |
Also Read: Emoji Meaning: 100+ Emojis🙂 Used in WhatsApp Chats, Their Meanings and How to Use Them
New Emojis To Be Launched In 2023
The final list of the emojis to be launched in 2023 isn’t out yet. Still, the finalists for the 2023 set of new emojis are here, according to Emojipedia. Let’s check them out:
- Head-Shaking Vertically – This could be the next big emoji. A head that is shaking vertically could signify reluctance, dismissal, and more.
- Head-Shaking Horizontally – This is similar to the previous one, showing similar emotions but in a horizontal manner.
- Phoenix Bird – A phoenix bird signifies born again or regeneration is a great new emoji to have.
- Lime – We already have an emoji for lemon (🍋), but there is none for lime. The lime emoji is set to look like a green version of the lemon emoji.
- Realistic Mushroom – We already have a mushroom emoji (🍄), but do we have a realistically looking one?
- Broken chain – Broken chain signifies the broken link and could represent the relationship between two parties.
- Families – Four emojis in this set, each for different types of families.
- Humans doing various things in different directions – This set of emojis shows a human – man or woman doing various things.
Survey Reveals How Indians Misinterpret Most Emoticons
Recently, a survey revealed that Indians misinterpret most emojis, compared to people from other countries such as Germany, China, France, and Australia.
It is reported that 36 per cent of Indians who took the survey were confused about emojis such as crying, heart kiss, and peach, which were the three most confusing emojis. Also, 46 per cent of Indian respondents thought the eyes emoji meant “I see you.” Around 27 per cent of Indian survey takes thought that it meant “I am looking at this,” another 10 per cent thought it meant “I know,” with another 10 per cent thought that it meant “whoa.”
Emoji Evolution and Future Trends
Emojis are an ever-evolving thing.
As of September 2021, there are 3,664 emojis in total in the Unicode standard. New emojis are introduced with each Unicode version, with the latest being Unicode 15.0. New emojis added to this release are expected to come with smartphones and web platforms over time.
We got to see where the future leads for emojis with Apple’s introduction of Animoji and some imitations from brands such as Oppo, Realme, and OnePlus titled Omoji. We also got to see Snapchat and its integration with Bitmoji, which is now integrating with AR for Bitmoji, letting users superimpose their Bigmoji into videos captured by the camera.
That’s where Emojis are going in the future a personalized emoji integrated with AR and an interactive experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Who created World Emoji Day?
Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, created the World Emoji Day.
2) When was the first World Emoji Day?
The first World Emoji Day was celebrated on July 14, 2014.
3) How can I celebrate World Emoji Day?
There are many ways to celebrate World Emoji Day, such as:
- Sharing your list of favourite emojis on social media with the hashtag #WorldEmojiDay.
- Organizing or joining an emoji-themed event.
- Trying out new emojis for texting your friends.
4) What are the benefits of using emojis?
Emojis can be considered as a universal language. It can convey messages, emotions, and ideas across languages and cultures. It is essentially a modern form of sign language of sorts. They can also add spice to your boring text conversations, adding a playful and expressive element to them. It can make your texts more engaging and fun, especially if the person on the other end enjoys replying back with emojis.
