Happy Ding-A-Ling Day!

What’s that, you say?  National Ding-A-Ling Day is a day to reconnect with loved ones you have lost contact with, or just haven’t spoken to in a while.

A beautiful tradition to start no matter your age. National Ding-A-Ling Day is about taking a moment to call your loved ones you may have lost touch with.

On this day, the tradition is to call someone you care about, but don’t often speak to.

It was started in 1972 by a man named Franky Hyle.  He placed an ad in the paper offering membership in the Ding-A-Ling Club for $1.  The club’s only known activity was placing phone calls to lost friends and relatives on December 12th of each year.

Since then the tradition has grown from the original 871 members to millions of people taking the day to reach out and touch someone (figuratively speaking).

Read a newspaper article from 1975 that features Franky Hyle speaking about the purpose of National Ding-A-Ling Day.

Why I love it

These days life is so busy, it’s easy to lose contact with friends and family we don’t see every day.  Though we feel more connected, our relationships are often much more superficial, reduced to clicking “like” on a Facebook post rather than having real conversations.

What to do

It’s simple.  Think of someone you haven’t talked to in a while and give them a call.  See how they’re doing.  Tell them about your life.  Speak in sentences that require more than 140 characters.  If they’re not there, leave a message.  It will bring a smile to their face when they listen to it.

Everyone likes to be remembered.

Spread the love

There’s no need to limit yourself to just once a year.  Pick another random date on the calendar and make your own Ding-A-Ling Day.  Make it a monthly habit.  Or just pick up the phone when you’re thinking of someone.  It will mean more to them, and to you, than you know.

Who are you calling this Ding-A-Ling Day?

For more obscure, but awesome holidays, check out this post.

A beautiful tradition to start no matter your age. National Ding-A-Ling Day is about taking a moment to call your loved ones you may have lost touch with.