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 to see animals.

Anna , 45 years old, Naples (Italie)

What makes my happy is that , currently, I only come across friendly people : the optician and her manager, the sales assistants of the sporting goods store ,of the hardware store and at the cultural goods (cds, dvds, books and video games) and craft arts stores , and the waiters and cashiers at the chinese restaurant).

Maxime , 28 years old, Amiens (France)
Exposition citatine

What makes me happy is when my husband tells me “I love you more than my life!”

Magalie , 23 years old, Marrakech (Maroc)

To feel loved by my surroundings and to be able to return that love makes me happy.

Maria-Selva , 26 years old, Madrid (Espagne)

What makes me happy is that when I walk in the street, my steps are exactly as long as the bands on the crosswalk. I feel like I'm in harmony with my environment

So , 22 years old, Levallois-Perret (France)

What makes me happy is that it's raining today instead of a day when the weather's nice.

Arthur , 18 years old, Toulouse (France)

I'm happy when my pupils smile in class and when they seem to be happy to be at school.

What made me happy is when I was offered a chimpanzee, which was my dearest dream.

Ophélie , 21 years old, Valenciennes (France)

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 makes me happy is receiving a message that is proof of a pardon granted by a friend...maybe found again.

Thierry , 47 years old, Arradon (France)
Exposition citatine

I am learning to develop my ability to « not define » life, to melt into it rather than dominate it… and by so doing… I learn to love… and the more I love… the happier I am every day!

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

Lilou , 21 years old, Paris (France)
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 made me happy Tuesday was seeing my cashier at the supermarket.

Claude , 35 years old, Rosny-sous-Bois (France)

What makes me happy is seeing my bunny thanks to the webcam.

Jonathan , 31 years old, Bordeaux (France)

What makes me happy is the ability I have to express myself in any languages, even if that is not the spoken language, but by gestures or feelings.

Claudia , 23 years old, Lisbonne (Portugal)

What makes me happy is that people read the little Happython phrases that I cut out of the newspaper and paste on the walls in my bathrooms. Even Charlotte, who is preschool, sometimes takes more than twenty minutes.

Maïwenn , 28 years old, Champigny-sur-Marne (France)

Whenever I start to really like a person, I look at them straight in the eyes and I tell them that I love them (which is always true) : the glint that I see shine in their eyes, sometimes only for a fraction of a second, fills me with joy, and I am happy.

Louis , 47 years old, Lyon (France)

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

Raphaël , 20 years old, Paris (France)
Exposition citatine

Just now (apart from my wonderful family) the position of France, Germany, Russia, China and of course Belgium on the crisis in Irak, which shows there is some hope left. It gives me an immense happiness.

Thierry , 34 years old, Grez-Doiceau (Belgique)

The day when my daughter Nouha was born, on July 4th, 2004 made me happy.

Saadane , 31 years old, Ferdjioua (Algérie)
Exposition citatine

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 doing a task that, I feel, fits with me and my personnality.

Anna , 45 years old, Naples (Italie)

What makes me happy is to get up in the morning and think that I'm still there despite the past difficulties.

Hello everyone, what made me happy this summer was just swimming in the lake with warm sunbeams... letting myself be carried softly away by small waves.I find that that's complete happiness.. it's peace, calm, joy, it's relaxing... it's being happy... and all of that accompanied by my dear husband xxx -ps: the heat is much easier to stand that way hmm...

Jeanne , 46 years old, Montréal (Canada)

To know that there's at least one person on earth who loves me for who I am, who shares my sad and happy moments and who never gets fed up saying “I love you”.

Khaled , 20 years old, Alger (Algérie)

I am happy to have a large family and a girlfriend who shares my vision. I am happy to have a lucky star in my life professionally, financially, and for leisure, love and health.

For a very long time I have wanted to play a musical instrument while avoiding the forbidding aspect of learning the solfeggio. By some wonderful chance, I saw a photo of a man. Playing the tampoura in the desert, the flash !

Smelling the scent of my children makes me happy.

Mireille , 45 years old, Madrid (Espagne)
Exposition citatine

I'm a naturally happy person because I've learnt to see only the nice and positive side of what happens.

Mustapha , 56 years old, Oran (Algérie)

I am happy when I do well in my studies.

Merieme , 20 years old, Agadir (Maroc)
Exposition citatine

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

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)

I am happy when I can make a date with a very good-looking girl.

Micka , 22 years old, Lyon (France)

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 the sunset above the sea.

Andrade , 52 years old, Lisbonne (Portugal)

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)

Seeing my son find his taste for life again makes me really happy !

Marie-Agnès , 45 years old, Montpellier (France)

What makes me happy is seeing her in the morning, brushing her teeth in her robe, her gaze far away. I look at her, and our eyes meet.

Noël , 24 years old, Toulouse (France)
Exposition citatine

To feel the blending of warmth and cool in a summer evening, to drink a cool beer, to eat spiced olives, to hear my friends laugh, for me, that is happiness (in summer).

Emilie , 22 years old, Montpellier (France)

What makes me happy is when my boyfriend tells me he loves me.

Exposition citatine

Giving birth to my two children made me happy.

Joëlle , 44 years old, Liège (Belgique)

A child's spinning top on the carpet. What a pleasure to approach it, having watched it from afar, the memories coming back of those exquisite moments where colours mingled and filled rainbow eyes. I lean over, touch the top and play with it and that simple pleasure warms my heart, it turns, turns, turns...

The light and sparkles in children's eyes sometimes make me feel like crying with happiness.

Sabrina , 27 years old, Mitry-Mory (France)

What makes me happy is that my three and a half year old son gets angry if someone wants to smush an insect or when he asks us to be quiet to not scare a bird.

Marie-Noëlle , 32 years old, Ham-sous-Varsberg (France)

What makes me happy is reading or writing to my loved ones. It's knowing that I am there for them and that they're there for me.

Cyril , 17 years old, Toulouse (France)

Getting married to someone I love. A nice trip with my family. Having a good job!

Fatia , 24 years old, Sidi Bel Abbès (Algérie)

My faith in God makes me feel happy.

Mohamed , 35 years old, Boumerdès (Algérie)

What makes me happy is finally getting to use the internet !

Jean-Claude , 68 years old, Bagneres-de-Bigorre (France)
Exposition citatine

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)

My happiness has already lasted for a long time. It renews itself every morning when I go to sample a cup of tea in one of the many Parisian cafés. It's a moment of pure joy, I let myself lapse into dreams in the ambiance of the cafes, and I can no longer do without it.

Nicole , 57 years old, Paris (France)
Exposition citatine

The day I decided to take myself by the hand again (I was quite depressed) made it so that, during this time, life itself made me happy...

Marie , 23 years old, Thetford Mines (Canada)

For me, what makes me happy is accomplishing the tasks I have to do... however small they are... the satisfaction of finished work...

Manon , 36 years old, Laurentides (Canada)

What makes me happy is a cloudless sky.

Abdenour , 33 years old, Alger (Algérie)

What makes me happy is that when I walk in the street, my steps are exactly as long as the bands on the crosswalk. I feel like I'm in harmony with my environment

So , 22 years old, Levallois-Perret (France)

The happiest day of my live was when I left the hole I was hidden in for a month during the war in Rwanda. That day, the sun shone like it will no longer and the breeze was a caress that no man has ever given me. It was June 21, 1994 around 3 :00 p.m. I was 14.

Prisca , 26 years old, Brunoy (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, hmm... The first is waking up and seeing sunbeams... the second is payday... the third is my last day at work!

Chantal , 33 years old, Saint-Léonard (Canada)

A woman makes me happy.

Amine , 29 years old, Madrid (Espagne)
Exposition citatine

What made me happy was when I played my first notes on the guitar a few months ago. So far I believed music was not for me.

Caroline , 21 years old, Namur (Belgique)

I am happy when I travel around the world and get to know different possible ways of being happy.

Marcella , 37 years old, Cagliari (Italy)
Exposition citatine

What makes me happy is a genuine and simple friendship.

Mohamed , 24 years old, Bizerte (Tunisie)

What makes me happy is to have a special moment with my friends over an aperitif putting the world to rights.

Having brought to light a vocation. My son was studying Sociology and Economic Sciences at the University of Jussieu. One summer I forced him to work in a hospital to earn some pocket money. He dropped his studies to study at the I.F.S.I. (Nurses Training School) Today, at 25 he is happy, his job is a true vocation. His patients are happy and me too, I'm happy

What makes me happy is the existence of people on this earth who ask me what makes me happy.

Frédéric , 25 years old, Aubagne (France)

What makes me happy is seeing my best friend again after almost two years apart.

Samya , 17 years old, Mohammédia (Maroc)

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

Damien , 24 years old, Lille (France)

What made me happy was to spend my birthday evening with my son and his girlfriend, and tomorrow it will be the same with my sister and her husband. Hurray for the family!

Josette , 52 years old, Saint-Nicolas (Belgique)

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 really knowing that one day I'll have enough power to spread love and happiness.

Meriama , 15 years old, Marrakech (Maroc)

One of the things I like to do is ….don't laugh at me ! It is to take off the shell of hard-boiled eggs. I adore that and it makes me happy.

Lilou , 33 years old, Montréal (Canada)
Exposition citatine

What makes me most happy is when I see happy people. That's the reason why I try to make people happy. Sometimes a simple smile is enough…Fortunately there's a universal language that everybody can communicate with: the “language of the heart”.

Maïssa , 21 years old, Tunis (Tunisie)

After going on holidays alone, I come back home and I find my dog. It makes me happy.

Myriam , 19 years old, Longjumeau (France)

What makes me happy is to please to my parents so that they are proud of me. Thank you Dad and Mum, I'm madly in love with you!!!