The founder of this holiday-event is the Frenchman Atanase Périfan, who back in 1990 and friends created the «Paris d'Amis» association in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, with the aim of strengthening social ties and mobilizing people to fight exclusion. Association members collected things and funds for neighbors who found themselves in difficult life situations, helped people find work, etc.
Periphan expressed the idea of creating this holiday in the following words: «Let's make this fantastic event an occasion to celebrate together the spirit of unity and cohesion that is so dear to all of us!». His optimistic words only confirm that in recent decades in Europe there have been noticeable trends towards disunity, withdrawal and loneliness, as well as weakening social ties.
The association held its first holiday — Neighbors Day back in 1999 for residents of its 17th district, more than 10 thousand residents from 800 houses took part in it, and since then it has been decided to hold it annually. The very next year, the celebration of the Day acquired a national scale, and since 2003, — European, when Belgium joined France. By 2019, the holiday had already attracted more than 1,450 partners in more than 50 participating countries, and the number of residents participating in the holiday exceeded 30 million people.
The organizers of the holiday are convinced that celebrating Neighbors Day is very easy — you need to notify all your neighbors in time, gather in some place convenient for everyone (in the house, on the street, in the garden) and sit together at one large table, organizing a general feast. It is important that each participant in the holiday brings home-cooked treats to the common table and takes a good mood with them.