Symbols. Shaka, emoji, the presepe.

The shaka hand grew in popularity across Hawai‘i in the mid-20th century thanks in part to used car salesman David “Lippy” Espinda, who was the first to link the gesture to the word—which is not actually Hawaiian in origin, but more likely Japanese. As a sign-off for his 1960s television ads, Espinda would throw a shaka and then say his catchphrase: “shaka, brah!” In the 1970s and 1980s, the gesture also featured prominently in reelection campaign ads for Frank Fasi, Honolulu’s longest-serving mayor. While Fasi and Espinda helped make the shaka hand more recognizable in Hawai‘i, surfing’s surge in popularity in the 1950s and 1960s helped export the gesture abroad. As Tamba puts it, “surfing spread it more than anything else.”

…the presepe has been at the centre of the Christmas celebration in Italy for many hundreds of years. It is much more than a simple decoration that is appreciated for its beauty and whimsicality. It is, above all, a visual representation of the episodes of the Nativity Story. As such, it helps believers to feel closer to its events and, in a way, to become part of them by setting up the presepe at home or by setting time aside to see the presepi arranged in local churches, displays, and exhibitions.

Jennifer Daniel shows the rankings for emoji usage in 2021 (along with another chart that shows the shift in usage since 2019).