National Sit With a Stranger Day 2023: Date, History, Facts, Activities

National Sit with a Stranger Day is celebrated annually on September 16 in the United States. The day was designed to encourage individuals of all ages and genders to strike up a conversation with a random stranger for the solitary purpose of gaining a new perspective.

National Sit with a Stranger Day was created by the team at B.DOPE L.L.C., a bottled water company that is fostering optimism, encouragement, and relationships in an era where lockdowns have become the norm. The day offers a wonderful opportunity to strike up a cordial conversation with a stranger and establish a new connection.

The background of National Sit With a Stranger Day

A stranger is typically portrayed as an outsider and a figure of ambiguity due to the fact that he or she could be a friend, an enemy, or both. This makes them a source of potential conflict. The term’stranger’ derives from the Middle French word ‘estrangier,’ which referred to a foreigner or an alien.

The term’strangers’ first appeared around the time the textile industry began to flourish in the 15th century. This was the earliest known use of the term. Strong trading ties and relatively undetected immigration prompted the relocation of a number of communities in search of greener pastures. By the 16th century, new European regions such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and France had began to produce cheaper and higher-quality goods than their older European counterparts.

As a result, a second migration occurred, during which skilled immigrants migrated to regions rich in textile materials and began teaching local workers how to manufacture new types of cloth. The high level of craftsmanship and creativity exhibited by the skilled immigrants prompted city officials in England to write a letter to Queen Elizabeth I requesting the monarch’s permission to allow immigrant workers to remain in England permanently. In addition, the political climate in Spain at the time was hostile towards Protestants, prompting thousands to seek religious freedom in other countries.

The city of Norwich granted Protestant refugees from the Spanish Netherlands permission to reside in 1565 so that they could contribute to the city’s textile industry. By 1620, Norwich had over 4,000 Dutch and Walloon residents as a result of the accelerated growth of the’stranger’ community. This accounted for approximately one-fourth of the city’s population and led to a meteoric rise in England’s economic value.

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Activities for National Sit with a Stranger Day

Visit a public location

Find a park bench or other public location and occupy it. If someone is nearby, say welcome and ask if they want to converse. If not, savour some tranquilly.

Join a social discussion.

Join a meetup group or online forum whose purpose is to introduce you to new people. Attend an event or peruse the conversation threads to locate a conversation partner.

Create an arbitrary association

Engage the person seated next to you on the bus, train or in the grocery store queue in conversation. Small talk is a great method to break the ice and become acquainted with someone.

5 mind-boggling facts about immigration

Due to their financial responsibilities, men migrate much more frequently in search of greener pastures or to fulfil family obligations.

Analysts estimate that foreign-born employees contribute nearly two trillion dollars to the annual Gross Domestic Product.

While there is still significant European immigration to the United States, roughly 80% of immigrants to the United States are from Latin America and Asia.

Based on the current global population, more people moved at the close of the nineteenth century than they do today.

The first ‘green card,’ issued in the 1950s after World War II, was a form printed on green paper.

NATIONAL SIT WITH A STRANGER DAY DATES