Happy Whatever-The-Heck-It-Is Day
My birthday was last week and, as in previous years, I was reminded that I share the day with approximately 266,351 other people around the world (this according to the United Nations Population Division.)
But I also know that the day is also “celebrated” (the reason for skeptical quotation marks will be made obvious shortly) as National Encouragement Day. But, wait! I also share the day with National Police Woman’s Day, Report Medicare Fraud Day, and, of course, International Programmer’s Day. Unfortunately, another celebratory event, National Hollerin’ Day, was cancelled due to Covid-19. Darn it.
Simply stated, there is at least one—and in many cases, several—“official” (yes, skeptical quotation marks again) celebrations for each and every day of the year. I frequently err and refer to them as holidays. They aren’t. But, then again, many holidays are only true holy days for a relative few.
But, let’s face it, it’s just plain fun to celebrate and, I would argue, more so during this time of semi-isolation and social distancing. Why not celebrate? Could there be greater joy on June 4 than to join in on National Donut Day by having a sinker with your favorite brew? Or dipping your hand into a bowl of popcorn on January 19? What’s wrong with tapping your toes to your favorite tune on September 19 to take some joy in National Dance Day?
The answer is simple: there’s nothing wrong. And that said, let’s explore some suggested opportunities to break out the bubbly to celebrate.
September 29, 2020: Biscotti Day. Frankly, this is also the date of my better two-thirds’ birthday and that alone is a reason for me to celebrate. However, my morning perambulation might lead me to a local bakery that daily prepares mouth-watering biscotti from scratch.
October 10, 2020: Hug a Drummer Day. Do not use this day as an excuse to tell your favorite timpanist to “beat it.”
Incidentally, let’s not leave out national days of celebration. To be fair, there is no accreditation for declaring one. There are, of course, nationally legislated days—Labor Day, Thanksgiving, etc.—but the only requirement to call a day a national day is to do so. You might ask, “Does this lack of formal recognition tend to be used by special interests? Say it isn’t so, Mike!” Well, far be it from me to burst that bubble for you. The “holidays” I will now list for the remainder of this week’s column will clearly dispel any thoughts of self-interest from your weary minds.
January 4: National Spaghetti Day (Do not let his day pasta by uncelebrated.)
January 13: National Clean Your Desk Day (I have never celebrated this day. Just ask my missus.)
January 27: National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day (Go ahead; you know you love to pop those bubbles.)
April 20: National Lima Bean Respect Day (Hear, hear!)
May 9: National Lost Sock Memorial Day (My candlelight vigil will be by our dryer.)
June 16: National Cannoli Day (I’m so old I can remember when there was only one type of cannoli one could find in a bakery.)
July 29: National Talk to Someone in an Elevator Day (Yeah, right.)
August 8: National Sneak Some Zucchini into Your Neighbor’s Porch Day (How else are you going to get rid of the excess from your garden?)
September 23: National Dogs in Politics Day (This day celebrates FDOTUS. You can figure it out and, no, I am NOT making these up!)
October 23: National Croc Day (Another day I will never celebrate.)
October 28: National Chocolate Day. (Which, by the way, is a separate celebration from these national days: Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, Chocolate Ice Cream Day, Chocolate Milk Day, Chocolate with Almonds Day, Chocolate Covered Cherry Day, Chocolate Covered Cashews Day, and several more that celebrate the product of the holy cacao bean.)
November 20: National Make Your Bed Day (Tuck in those corners!)
I could go on and on. No kidding. There are hundreds of celebratory days–many of them are truly arcane—and no day of the year is safe from them. I have no problem with that, Why should any day be free from celebrating something? With all that goes on in the world, not just during the current pandemic but always, why not have a special pleasure from biting into a Fig Newton on January 16 if only to celebrate National Fig Newton Day?
Finally, there is one day that seems a bit off based on its name, but in fact is a day I think I’d like to celebrate, and I would encourage you to join me. That one is National Ding-A-Ling Day which occurs on December 12. While an initial reaction might be to celebrate that one friend, relative, employer (or, of course, say, a column writer for a religious group’s newsletter) we all have in our lives that we’ve thought of as being a ding-a-ling, the reality of the day is anything but. From the Website:
“National Ding-a-Ling Day on December 12th encourages us to reconnect with people we once talked to often. Ding-a-Lings on this day call the people they haven’t heard from in a while. It may be an old classmate, co-worker, or neighbor from years ago.”
Finally, and staying on a more upbeat note, let’s revisit National Encouragement Day which, again, I share with my birthday. I’ve been thinking about what the website states about the purpose of the day. That it “is a day dedicated to uplifting those around us and making a positive impact, no matter the magnitude. It’s that simple.” For the record, it really is. So please celebrate the day not only on September 12, but every day of the year. It’s that simple. Really.
This week’s Street Advertising Smile: