World Storytelling Day March 20, 2013

World Storytelling Day logo by Mats Rehnman

Each year, on the Spring Equinox, World Storytelling Day is celebrated globally. Events are held to promote storytelling as an art form, and there are many famous and accomplished storytellers who are keeping alive folk traditions, oral history, and presenting new work to honor the craft.

However, one does not need the title of Professional Storyteller to incorporate this skill into your life. Every time we sit around the holiday table and reminisce about the past, we are storytelling. Each time we sit down with a child or grandchild and tell them about what life was like before they were born, we are storytelling. Marketing and advertising are based on storytelling, not to mention the multitude of books, shows, plays, movies, puppet theaters, dance, religious rituals, job applications — the list is endless — that incorporate storytelling.

So, this year, take a minute, take 5 minutes, take an hour to sit down with your family, your friends, your coworkers, your students, your clients, your customers — anyone!— and tell a story. Fact, fiction or something in between. All you need is an opening line — Once upon a time.

For more information: Google Results: World Storytelling Day