Friendship is the essence of orkut, and what better way to celebrate it than with a doodle for International Friendship Day?
International Friendship Day celebrations take place on the first Sunday of August. The spread and origin of this holiday are not yet well documented. Evidence from social networking sites indicates the holiday may have grown with the spread of the Internet, and is known in India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. There is also some evidence that the day is celebrated in some South American countries. Digital communication modes such as the Internet and mobile phones may be helping to popularize the custom, since greeting friends en masse is now easier than before.
Those who promote the holiday in South Asia attribute the tradition of dedicating a day in honor of friends to have originated in the U.S. in 1935, but no suitable documentation of this has yet been found. Best friends day is celebrated on 8 June and is a different holiday. According to an Indian website, on this day people spend time with their friends and express love for them. The exchange of Friendship Day Gifts like flowers, cards and wrist bands is a popular tradition of this occasion. This year, Friendship Day will be celebrated on 1 August 2010. [Read more on Wikipedia]