Every November 7th is observed as National Hug a Bear Day. No, this isn’t a day when people are encouraged to hug bears. In fact, we’re adamantly going to say that no one should ever try to hug a real bear. Instead, we encourage people to celebrate this holiday in the spirit it was intended when it was created.

This is a holiday when people are supposed to hug their Teddy Bears. Why? Because doing something as simple as hugging a stuffed animal can actually make a person feel comforted. For us, that’s more than enough of a reason for people to observe this holiday when it appears on the calendar.

The History Of National Hug A Bear Day

The Teddy Bear was invented in honor of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. According to the story, Roosevelt was invited to a bear hunting trip near Onward, Mississippi, on November 14th, 1902. However, the hunters were unable to find a single bear to hunt.

That’s when Roosevelt’s assistants, led by Holt Collier, cornered and tied a black bear to a willow tree. They then summoned Roosevelt to come and shoot the bear. Roosevelt saw this as unsportsmanlike, so he refused to kill the bear. News of this event spread throughout the country, and pretty soon everyone was talking about it.

On November 16th, 1902, a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman satirized the event by showing Roosevelt refusing to kill a small black bear. This cartoon appeared in the Washington Post and was seen by a Brooklyn candy shop owner named Morris Michtom.

After he saw the cartoon, he and his wife decided to create a stuffed toy bear and dedicate it to the president who refused to shoot the bear. This stuffed bear would be called a Teddy Bear.

Over the years, billions of dollars of Teddy Bears have been sold. They are and continue to be an extremely popular type of stuffed animal. In the U.S., Morris Michtom produced them, and in Germany, Richard Steiff produced them.

This has resulted in millions of children enjoying these toys. National Hug a Bear Day was created to commemorate these bears, but unfortunately, we don’t know when this holiday was created, where it was created, or who created it.

Observing National Hug A Bear Day

National Hug a Bear Day can be observed simply by taking a few moments to give a favorite Teddy Bear a nice big hug. It’s also a good day to buy Teddy Bears for other people or to donate Teddy Bears to children’s wards in hospitals or to other children in need.

We also recommend that people take some time to spread the word about this holiday using the hashtag #NationalHugABearDay on social media.