Shades Day – May 17, 2024

History of Shades Day

Shades Day is an initiative of the Family Holiday Association (F.H.A.). The holiday was designated for the closest Friday to May 15 because it marks the International Day of the Family. Based in the U.K., the F.H.A. is a charity that provides free seaside breaks and day trips to families struggling with life’s challenges, such as grief, illness, mental health issues, and domestic violence. However, these families do not apply directly to the charity but have to be referred by a selected network of people, such as teachers, social workers, and other charities, including Barnardo’s and Shelter. On Shades Day, individuals and charitable organizations are encouraged to take pictures of themselves wearing shades and post them online. Also, they can donate as little as £3 to the charity by texting ‘SHAD35 £3’ to 70070.

The history of shades or sunglasses is traceable to prehistoric times. Inuit people often wore flattened walrus ivory glasses to protect their eyes from reflected sun rays. However, the earliest historical references are found in China and Rome. The Roman emperor Nero wore polished gems while watching gladiator fights. In 12th-century China and perhaps earlier, flat panes of smoky quartz were worn to protect eyes from the sun’s glare. However, ancient sources point to the fact that judges also wore them to hide their facial expressions while interrogating witnesses in court. In Venice, ’Murano glasses’ were worn by women and children in the 18th century to protect their eyes from the glare coming off the water in canals.

In 1752, an English optician called James Ayscough began designing spectacles with tinted lenses, recommending that blue or green tints could correct vision problems. At the time, protection from the sun was not part of his consideration. In 1899, Rodenstock GmbH became the first to produce sunglasses with U.V. protection. Today, this feature has become an industry standard for manufacturers of shades.