About a month ago my friend Elina blogged about free hugs in Helsinki and I commented that I could have one too … Elina called me in Sunday morning, she wanted to do something around Hugging Monday and asked if I was in. And of cause I was excited … so here started the idea to arrange something similar, but a bit different for people at work.
Both of us have had our share of ups and downs and we we decided that we really want to do something – to cheer up our selves and others as well.
Elina ordered & created the Hugging Monday website, I created a Hugging Monday fan club to Facebook, and ideation continued… with messages in Facebook, e-mails, phone calls etc.etc…
We wanted to keep things small – to remind us and others – that small things can make a difference.
And today was the official first “Hugging Monday” - due to Swine Influenza, we decided not widely share real hugs. Instead we decided to cheer up our fellow workers with sharing printed aphorisms, about life & joy&change &hope, piloted a small scale coffee corner event with chocolate, and sent out messages via e-mail lists and super hugs via Super Poke in Facebook.
In return we got nice comments and replies, smiling faces – also real and virtual hugs. And life feels a little bit better!
Since I was brought up in a traditional Chinese family, hugging wasn’t something that we did commonly. It’s becomes a violation of physical space.
In the two years I studied in Chicago, I got an international family (Polish and Italian American descent), and learned to accept hugs. I’m not sure that I ever really learned to give hugs.
In years gone by, when I visited again, I remember that the daughter came up to hug me, and laughed because I again had forgotten how to receive hugs. I’ve just discovered that the study of distance spaces is called proxemics. It could be that the social distance for Finns could be about the same as for Chinese, but the intimate distance less of a barrier.
Yes I remember that you don’t appreciate hugs
Earlier in Finland it was not that common to hug, not even within family … However, gradually hugging habits have changed.
Thank you representing details. It helped me in my assignment