The Free Hugs Campaign was started in Australia in 2004 by a man with the pseudonym of Juan Mann. Hugs are offered to strangers in public places, and are meant to be a random act of kindness. While feeling depressed and lonely at a party in 2004, a stranger came up to Mann and hugged him. He said, “It made me feel like a king.”

Love this video of free hugs, abracci gratis, in Sondrio, Italy. At first people seemed suspicious, but once the ice was broken, there was real joy and connection.
Free Hugs Day is celebrated on the first Saturday after June 30. Have you ever seen someone carrying a sign that said, “Free Hugs?” Did you walk away or go for it?

Learn more about traveling to Italy on Lenora’s Italy Retreats For Women
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