Ed Balls Day 2017 Is In Full Swing - But This Year's Celebrations Seem Rather Poignant

There are calls for it to be made a bank holiday.

It’s only April and 2017 has already been a bit of a bumpy ride politically.

But there’s nothing that rallies the British people together like Ed Balls Day.

It’s the sixth anniversary of that fateful day when the former Labour MP sent a tweet that would go down in history.

Ian Forsyth via Getty Images

No one can be quite certain of the circumstances behind Ed Balls Day, but legend has it it all began in the Castleford branch of Asda.

The story goes that Balls was shopping for a 12-hour pulled pork when he accidentally tweeted his name instead of searching for it while looking for a story written about him.

It could have been deeply embarrassing, but Balls’ family, friends and colleagues rallied around him, retweeting the message and supporting him through what could have been a difficult time.

The tweet also captured the hearts of the public and to date, the tweet has been retweeted more than 80,000 times and liked over 50,000 times.

While we continue to celebrate Ed Balls Day in this country, for some this year it has served as a poignant reminder of a simpler time...

And some also seemed a little jaded...

Still, it’s hard to believe it’s already that time of year again...

The excitement on Ed Balls Eve was palpable...

And on Friday morning...

There were suggestions that perhaps it was time to honour the day properly with a national holiday...

It’s easy to get carried away with the celebrations but there were important reminders to remember the true message of the day...

And of course, it’s right and proper to pay tribute to those who aren’t able to take time off to celebrate...

Who knows where we’ll be by next Ed Balls Day? Only time will tell.

Happy Ed Balls Day from everyone at HuffPost UK.

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