Did you know January is National Soup Month? And National Oatmeal Month? Ooh, and Hot Tea Month (though, sadly not National)? Were you aware that January 2nd was Run it up the Flagpole and See if Anyone Salutes Day? No? Me, either. But I suspect that one has something to do with having New Year’s Resolutions validated and a full-blown holiday might not be in order for that messy business.
January is a month full of wacky holidays. I think these days might have been created by folks who really didn’t get enough celebrating under their hats during November and December and required more to do during the long, often cold, month of January. These are the people who decided that Squirrel Appreciation Day was in order and National Handwriting Day (which I can totally embrace, loving actual written words – not just computer generated ones or ones lost forever once utter over phone lines).
There is a charming website [www.holidayinsights.com] that is worth sitting down with a cup of tea to scroll through, especially now that the major holiday season is over. You’ll find that some of the days have no real reason to be called National day-of-anything, as that requires an act of congress to be valid, but they are suggested holidays worthy of taking a peek at. Some holidays listed can’t even be traced to the original creators, though National Pharmacist Day was surely created by a group of pharmacists or the companies they work for.
While not pining for a reason to clean my carpets and set the good china out anytime soon, I am a woman who can surely suit up and show up for a holiday like Cuddle Up Day, National Hugging Day or Compliment Day. I can also fully appreciate the idea behind Bubble Bath Day and International Skeptics Day. In fact, I could positively wax rhapsodic (or excitedly speak of / enthusiastically espouse / jump and cheer) about Thesaurus Day!
Yes, the holidays are over and everyone I speak to seems to breathe a sigh of relief that the days are behind us. But, people watcher and story collector that I am, I’m sort of melancholy (there is no official day set aside for that, yet) that the feeling of invitation has fallen to the wayside. For two months homes and offices were places of open house and large gatherings with warmth, food and frivolity… and now it has come to an end.
Therefore, in addition to some dates you might already have on your calendar, I’m going to encourage you to pencil in some days of observation to celebrate this upcoming year. For example, I’d like to suggest National Stress Awareness Day (April 16th – after taxes) and National Hollerin’ Contest Day (you don’t have to travel to Spivey’s Corner, North Carolina the third Saturday in June to celebrate – but I bet you’ll relieve whatever stress you didn’t wipe out back in April).
We can still find reasons to invite people over, too even if it’s just for cocoa and conversation. The three day holiday weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. might be a good time for an informal meal and serious conversation about the things the man stood for, like nonviolent activism, civil rights and what being free means to you.
Heck, even today could be considered a new holiday. Howzabout we call it “Binary Code Day” and consider it our day to create logical reasons for communication and connection for the rest of this year? Get out your pencils and start filling in the dates. We’ve got a whole lotta celebrating to do. Happy 01/11/11!