Yesterday evening, out to see the lights of Lyon, I found myself in the park of la Tête d'Or, on a path with lights and sounds so surreal…and relaxing ! A real moment of happiness after a day of hard work.

How to propagate the Virus of Happiness?

In fact, it's quite simple !

  1. Answer this question; "What makes, or has made you, happy?" and become a Happiness Agent
  2. You earn some "Points Of Presence" (POP)
  3. You invest your Points in the city of your choice
  4. You spead the Virus of Happiness around the world.

What is the virus of happiness and how it works?

What is Happython?

And how does it work?

About Happython

Happython was founded in 1998 on this simple question: "What makes you, or has made you, happy?".
The answers of many people were printed and then exposed-pinned on clothes dryers called "Porte-Bonheurs".
These exhibitions took place in galleries, public places, post offices and finally on the web.
The idea of a Happening Record of happy moments has germinated: the Happython and the Happiness Virus have been created!
For more than 20 years, tens of thousands of people between the ages of 2 and 109 from all over the world have testified about what makes them happy.
Now it’s your turn!

What makes them or has made them happy?

What makes me happy is my little 80-year-old mother, who is chock full of joyful projects : she's going to move into a new appartment.

Odile , 45 years old, Renay (France)

What makes me happy ? To be a granny, nothing is more beautiful than to see your family grow larger and be able to play the doting mother again. It makes you feel young again.

Liane , 54 years old, La Louvière (Belgique)
Exposition citatine

What makes me happy is feeling so small in front of a stormy ocean, smelling the spray on my face : I simply feel content, and I realize the futility of all my little everyday worries.

Marcelle , 62 years old, Québec (Canada)

What makes me happy is doing little things every day and realizing that those are what bring lots of happiness.

Hélène , 42 years old, Gracefield (Canada)

What makes me happy is to prepare a good meal when my son comes home.

Jean-Luc , 52 years old, Garde (France)

What makes me happy is telling myself that I am going to see the man of my dreams on my right during my classes.

Clémentine , 18 years old, Gennevilliers (France)

What makes me happy is seeing my sweetie smile while reading the Happython each day.

Lilou , 21 years old, Paris (France)

When he holds me in his arms, my head goes “pssshit.”

Angela , 23 years old, Nice (France)

Happy to hear you smile...

Richard , 27 years old, Paris (France)

What makes me happy is when I have the giggles and when I laugh so much so that I have a stomachache… I feel so well after shading tears of laughter.

Exposition citatine

What makes me happy every day, it is to see black slaves'sons and daughters appointed to fairly important positions, in a country where there were schools for Whites and schools for Blacks, buses for Whites and buses for Blacks, just very few decades ago.

Alex , 43 years old, Paris (France)

What makes me happy ? The field of grapefruit in pink mornings.

Damien , 24 years old, Lille (France)
Exposition citatine

Yesterday at work, I thought myself the black beast and eight girls offered me chocolate. I live in Japan, and, here, it's the women who offer chocolate to men. My day had started very badly, and finished very well…

Benoît , 25 years old, Tokyo (Japon)

What makes me happy is reading happython every morning in class. That puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day.

Laure , 20 years old, Lyon (France)

What made me happy was to find out that I was pregnant with the child of the man of my life.

Stéphanie , 24 years old, Rome (Italie)

Breathing everyday and going with the flow of my dailyjourney enjoying a beautiful sunny day and if possible near the sea, the lake or a river.

Monique , 46 years old, Heisdorf (Luxembourg)

What makes me happy is to share my newspaper with somebody next to me in the tube that reads over my shoulder!

What makes me happy : walking with your eyes closed to feel the natural elements.

Stéphane , 24 years old, Gradignan (France)

What made me happy : learn that Caro and Math are excepting a baby !

Vanessa , 21 years old, Rome (Italie)

Happiness for me is to get miraculously cured of my disease.

Raynald , 50 years old, Roubaix (France)
Exposition citatine

What makes me happy at this moment is that I have got rid of everything in Paris, my job and a hard life, to retire and live in Tunisia at a wonderful man's side.

Françoise , 52 years old, Rades (Tunisie)

What makes me happy is knowing that I am loved for who I am and that fills my heart with emotion to have tears of it in my eyes ! Then I understand that life is more than magic. Thanks to life.

Petrouchka , 21 years old, Marseille (France)
Exposition citatine

My five year old daughter told me : « Mommy, when you die, I will take all my treasures and I will give them to you when you return as a little baby. » That day, I felt a great surge of happiness

Rebecca , 34 years old, Melun (France)

What makes me happy is seeing the popcorn head of my love waking up.

Hélène , 30 years old, Lyon (France)

My relationship makes me very happy. I really have the impression that I create that every day. What allowed me to live this relationship, was when I started to respect myself and to listen to myself. Of course the other person senses that and naturally comes to you without effort. Afterwards the secret is not to tie the net, not to become a living prison, but on the contrary to open up the space with kind attention and love. Programme for a beautiful relationship: - Respect it – Listen to oneself (and the other too !) – Encourage light thoughts towards the other – Continue as if you were alone - Love the other person tenderly - Have fun together.

What makes me happy is to eat a chocolate filled pastry behind my archi (tecture) teacher's back!!!

Yesterday evening, out to see the lights of Lyon, I found myself in the park of la Tête d'Or, on a path with lights and sounds so surreal…and relaxing ! A real moment of happiness after a day of hard work.

Muriel , 44 years old, Lyon (France)

What makes me happy is to be loved by the man of my life, a loving Canadian that fate put on my way.

Christelle , 25 years old, Nivelles (Belgique)

What makes me happy is really knowing that one day I'll have enough power to spread love and happiness.

Meriama , 15 years old, Marrakech (Maroc)

What makes me happy is when I have the giggles and when I laugh so much so that I have a stomachache… I feel so well after shading tears of laughter.

Exposition citatine

What makes me happy now is to see the people who think of me.

Isabelle , 29 years old, Wavre (Belgique)

When I left alone to experience giving up everything, I had the impression that I was happy.

Mihran , 33 years old, Rosny-sous-Bois (France)
Exposition citatine

What made me happy, it is when I was elected Miss France 2003 on december 14, 2002 and my great pleasure was when I saw my mother after that. In her eyes I could see how proud and happy she was. I think it is the most beautiful present I can offer her.

Corinne , 20 years old, Paris (France)

What makes me happy is to know that I am the artist of my life ! Happiness exists provided I really want.

Christophe , 34 years old, Neuville-en-Ferrain (France)

Having a cat makes me happy.

What makes me happy is a warm day with the wind and the blue sky of spring… A day like today.

Lorenzo , 23 years old, Milan (Italie)

What makes me happy is thinking of the happy future waiting for me somewhere in the universe.

Isabelle , 21 years old, Toulouse (France)

What made me happy was seeing that people haven't yet forgotten Ingrid Bettancourt and her thousand-day-detention, November 19, 2004.

Hervé , 20 years old, Paris (France)

What makes me happy is the beauty of the sky.

Camille , 10 years old, Rome (Italie)

I like eating spaghetti and curly lettuce with some surimi, I like cuddles and playing with my friends, it makes me happy.

Olympia , 5 years old, Champigny-sur-Marne (France)
Exposition citatine

What makes me happy is after washing my hands, to dry them in the hot air of the hand dryer. That marks a nice pause in my day.

Julie , 20 years old, Lyon (France)

What makes me happy is that my scientific experiments are progressing.

Amira , 26 years old, Monastir (Tunisie)
Exposition citatine

What makes me happy is the surge of love that invades my heart in the most numb of her lyrics…

Clément , 20 years old, Lyon (France)

What makes me happy is to be desired.

Nacéra , 33 years old, Noisy-le-Grand (France)

What makes me happy is that, though I am agoraphobic, I have made a great friend Pascale thanks to Internet, and I thank her for having friendly feelings for me.

Julie , 39 years old, Bruxelles (Belgique)

What made me happy is an angel on the web who gave me a lot of happiness and love and I can't forget…

Marlène , 55 years old, Liège (Belgique)

Yesterday it rained, I went for a walk with Deal along the ocean, we took photos of each other, we kissed each other, we laughed, we warmed up in a pub, and we shared a chocolate cake and a cherry tea.

What makes me happiest is laughing, with time, over things I've cried a lot about. That's how I finally tell myself that life is too beautiful but it's us who often see the world in black.

Aysel , 20 years old, Macon (France)

Just to hear some good news on the radio.

Corinne , 41 years old, Bruxelles (Belgique)

What makes me happy is when you resuscitate a baby and suddenly hear his first cry of life tearing the silence of the room.

Delphine , 24 years old, Paris (France)
Exposition citatine

Surprising a little sparrow while he's taking a bath in a puddle of water, that's what makes me really happy.

Céline , 22 years old, Langoiran (France)

What makes me happy is seeing middle aged couples still walking together hand in hand.

Andrée , 56 years old, Sevran (France)
Exposition citatine

What makes me happy, it is to crochet fine mats and advise some people how to do crochet and knitting.

Emilienne , 97 years old, Mons-en-Baroeul (France)

What makes me happy is seeing my daughters happy and in good health

Lilou , 33 years old, Montréal (Canada)

What makes me happy is seeing my girlfriend in the morning on the train tell me « until tonight, my love, » and then leave listening to Chuck Berry singing « Johnny B. Goode. »

Nicolas , 18 years old, Toulouse (France)

It's my children that make me happy : my son Samuel, who is 1, and my daughter Mélissa-Jade, who is 14, they are the most precious things I have on Earth.

Guylaine , 38 years old, Montréal (Canada)

What makes me happy is seeing my love, who lives in Toulouse, very soon.

Soraya , 28 years old, Bobigny (France)

To take the time to eat in a fine restaurant in Marseille and to savour the different meals…

I'm happy every morning when my man snuggles up to me saying: “good morning, darling, I'm here next to you”. I shiver.

The purest moment of happiness was my fiance's return to France after eight months spent in prison, in Turkey... All that because he had taken some papers! For now, it's my most beautiful moment.

Amélie , 27 years old, Herouville-Saint-Clair (France)
Exposition citatine

What makes me happy is listening to Metallica while petting a kitten.

Pauline , 20 years old, Toulouse (France)

What makes me happy is to be with my friends with a friend called Sasi, and also Fiore and Dolores.

Anna , 45 years old, Naples (Italie)
Exposition citatine

What makes me happy is seeing my girlfriend after two or three days when we haven't seen each other and she has a smile on her lips... That means we aren't going to confuse ourselves.

Karim , 22 years old, Meaux (France)

0n Saint Valentin's night I decided to make love with a 40-year-old man. I was his little princess, I desired him so much that I was afraid. I was trembling. He made love with me as none had ever done . On that night I saw the wolf : happy.

Amira , 25 years old, Paris (France)

The day when I had to defend my DES thesis I was really happy because of all the things I had endured achieving the project.

Meriem , 24 years old, Béjaïa (Algérie)

What makes me happy is being at the foot of a mountain or a hill and looking at the summit telling it « Soon !, », then marching on to sweat, breathe, suffer a little, climb up to that summit and tell yourself : « I did it. Thank you ». Just a challenge between you and nature. That's one of the most beautiful things in the world.

Guillaume , 25 years old, Caen (France)

The idea of free time makes me happy. Let me explain: life is such that we are always doing something, stressed, running around, always going faster... So, to programme some free time, time to do nothing, is an idea that gives me a real sense of happiness.

What makes me happy is seeing all the different colors and ethnicities in the metro when I run errands in the morning…

Mathieu , 22 years old, Toulouse (France)

It's snowing. I didn't drink today (well… yeah, a little). I'm trying to answer your question… happiness ? For me this intense, deep emotion that moves me : I feel that I'm going to go away… I won't tremble anymore… live, that's all. Happiness is knowing that you can go away, happiness is the smile of someone who doesn't know that I'm an alcoholic. Happiness… is thinking that I'm normal. Happiness : being right, loyal, and honest.

Victoire , 28 years old, Paris (France)

What makes me happy is finally being myself in my own eyes and in the eyes of my loved ones.

Didier , 34 years old, Paris (France)
Exposition citatine

Overall, my friends (boys or girls) are the ones who make me happy, because they're always there for me.

Asma , 37 years old, Rabat (Maroc)

A kind of happiness that will never pass away is giving birth to a child, it is the most beautiful happiness to my mind.

Evelyne , 46 years old, Namur (Belgique)
Exposition citatine

What makes me happy is little everyday moments like for example : sitting on the edge of a lake and contemplating nature, horsebackriding in the woods, among other examples.

Carine , 32 years old, Granby (Canada)

What makes me happy is knowing that laughing works your abs!

Maud , 20 years old, Paris (France)

My greatest happiness has been the birth of my two children! One boy one girl:

Marie-Lise , 43 years old, Forestville (Canada)