Kubb players in Milan, Italy. Photo courtesy of Alberto Diomede.

These days, it seems everything has its own “international day of” holiday. Now thanks to the Deutscher Kubb-Bund (German Kubb Association), so does kubb.

It all started back in January when a group of German kubb players met to discuss their plans, goals and everything else kubb. They started talking about how to grow kubb and looked at what other countries were doing, then after a suggestion from Holger Meier, they got excited by the idea of a “day of kubb.” It was a way to grow kubb in Germany and beyond.

It was decided that May 5 would be the perfect date. The “5/5” abbreviation wouldn’t create confusion between the day-month format or the month-day format. The five on either side of the slash could represent the five kubbs on each baseline, and the slash could represent the king. The date was set.

Leading up to the big day, a Facebook page and event were created. Kubb clubs and enthusiasts around the world were starting to notice. It wasn’t long before people in more than 40 countries had been reached.

On Friday, May 5, 2017, the posts started coming in from all over the world. Participants were encouraged to use the hashtag, #idokubb. It kicked off with posts from New Zealand and Australia and then spread like a wave to other places, including Thailand. Once daylight hit Europe there were posts from the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and more. Then the Americans woke up and started posting from all across the country. This included states like New York, Georgia, Idaho, and, of course, many states in the kubb hotbed of the Midwest. Even South America got in on the fun with posts from Brazil.

When asked what would make the day a success, Klaus Riedel of the German Kubb Association said, “it would be great to see people all around the world play some kubb… see people have a nice time enjoying the game, friendship, and [be] united.”

It truly was an international day. People from all stretches of the globe joined in on the celebration. It’s safe to say, the first International Day of Kubb joined many parts of the world in their mutual love of kubb. By Riedel’s estimation and kubb’s own motto — kubb unites people and creates peace on earth — that’s a resounding success.

Did you celebrate the International Day of Kubb? Tell us about it in the comments.