Free Hugs for all?

ORANGE COUNTY Fla. (WOFL, FOX 35) - Today, July 19, is Global Hug Your Kids Day.

Hug Your Kids is a project that was launched two years ago by Reno, Nevada-based Michelle Nichols, whose 8-year-old son, Mark, died in 1998 from brain cancer.

This is the first year the special day has turned global , with the Philippines recognizing "National Yakap [Hug] Your Child Day."

Speaking to companies and families across the country, Nichols says: "Hugs are fast, free and non-fattening. A good hug can make your day."

In the U.S., near Red Bluff, Calif., there is an Annual One-Minute Hug event in honor of Tommy Botell – a 9-year-old who died in a hiking accident last year – highlighted on Facebook .

A free hug isn’t a new concept however.

Several years ago free hugs was part of a real life controversial story of Juan Mann , A man whose sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives.

Mann’s idea, back in 2004, was to take a cardboard sign and wander around public places eliciting hugs from strangers. Although the idea caught on, he was banned in several places and it took a few years before he was accepted everywhere.

These days, Mann’s concept is accepted around the world. Earlier this month a Free Hugs Day was held in Tel-Aviv.

Would you hug a complete stranger?