Happy Smiles and Healthy Longevity!

Today, and April 25th annually, is Happy Smiles & Healthy Longevity Through Food Day しあわせニッコリ食で健康長寿の日 in Japan. It is a Japanese anniversary created by a company who make health and skincare products. But their goal is to encourage people to eat well and appreciate food not just as a source of nourishment, but as a joyful, lifelong companion that supports vitality and well being.

The reason they chose April 25th for the anniversary is because of a "goroawase", a form of Japanese wordplay on numbers, for April 25th. It can be read as  "shi (4) awaseni (2) kko (5) ri" which means "happy smiling"! The company established this day in 2018 emphasizing that food is one of the essential pillars of healthy longevity, alongside exercise and social connection. 

The company actually created three anniversaries in total to represent those three pillars. February 23rd's "Knee Joint Day" represents "exercise", March 25th's "Smile and Healthy Longevity Day" represents "social connection" and today's anniversary to represent "food".