You can feel it can’t you. Your skin is tingling, you feel light like a summer breeze, and the birds singing in the trees sound sweeter than usual… it’s almost as if they know you’re listening. There’s a special kind of something hanging in the air…

No?

Ok, FINE. But you guys should know that today IS a special day cos it’s WORLD SPIRIT DAY!

Before you say anything, it’s not about spirit fingers (‘Bring It On’ 4eva) or ghosts, or even humming with your legs crossed.

It’s about supporting young LGBTQ people who are getting bullied.

Spirit day was set up in 2010 by GLAAD. It was kick-started that year after a string of young gay teenagers took their own lives. GLAAD decided that not enough was being done to help those who are bullied at school – those who feel like they’re fighting a losing battle all alone.

Why call it Spirit Day? It’s simple. You all know that the LGBTQ flag is rainbow coloured, right? Well did you know that the colour purple in that rainbow represents the spirit?

So, on Spirit Day, everyone is asked to wear purple in order to show their support for LGBTQ young people who are being bullied.

As well as wearing purple you can also add a purple themed anti-bullying message, frame or badge to your profile pics (see GLAAD’s pledge page for inspo).

You can also ‘take the pledge’ to go purple, and let LGBTQ young people know you’ve got their back. (Does the word ‘purple’ sound weird to you yet?)

Everyone is going purple today. MTV News went purple, TV presenters have been wearing purple dresses / shirts, and loads of celebs are big supporters of Spirit Day like Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah, Kim Kardashian, Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande… etc.

Purple’s a great colour. We suggest you wear it.

HAPPY SPIRIT DAY!