Wednesday, May 2 is Baby Day. If you’re like me, and that information doesn’t necessarily make you kick your feet and squeal with delight, you can always wait until June 19 to do that. Because, my friends, it’s National Martini Day.
Or if your tastes run more toward sugar, fat and salt, you might be excited to learn that July 21 is National Junk Food Day.
Every day, it seems, there is something new and different to celebrate. At least that’s true if you own the right calendar.
Offering selections from the sublime to the ridiculous, the Holiday Every Day calendar taped above my colleague’s desk has been providing the newsroom with a few chuckles and plenty of food for thought since last New Year’s Day — the food part especially.
April 18, for example, was National Animal Crackers Day, which fell less than a week after Grilled Cheese Day.
As in my life, food appears to be by far the most popular theme on the calendar, which celebrates, among hundreds of other edibles, peanut butter, fresh spinach, red apples, Spanish paella, caviar, roast leg of lamb, and, obviously, bacon.
There is also a seemingly endless number of days devoted to desserts.
Not surprising then, to learn that this Sunday, May 6, is No Diet Day.
Oct. 24, meanwhile, is National Bologna Day. Whether it’s actually meant as a day for eating processed meat circles or telling tall tales is unclear.
And speaking of bologna, there’s really no way to know which of these less-celebrated holidays are legitimate and which are pure nonsense.
Who am I to say that tomorrow isn’t, in fact, Lumpy Rug Day? Same goes for Race Your Mouse Day (Aug. 28).
The usuals — Canada Day, Thanksgiving, Dance Like a Chicken Day — are all included, too. So that lends it a bit of credibility, I suppose.
Looking carefully, from week to week, I noticed some subtle themes developing.
No Socks Day on May 8, immediately precedes Lost Sock Memorial Day, which is followed by Clean Up Your Room Day. It’s entirely possible this calendar was designed by a team of mothers.
To say that some of the dates are oddly specific is an understatement.
There’s Step in a Puddle and Splash your Friends Day, for example. It falls on Jan. 11, so depending on where you live, you might have to settle for (safely) tossing a small chunk of ice in their general direction.
Or they can be fairly non-specific, such as National Chocolate Covered Anything Day (Dec. 16).
Fruitcake Toss Day lands with a heavy thud on Jan. 3 — nine days after Christmas — which sounds about right.
Meanwhile, the placement of Moon Day (July 20) is less intuitive, falling on a Friday, despite the fact there is a whole other day of the week specifically named for Earth’s only natural satellite.
A hint that it might all be nothing more than a big joke — March 26 is ‘Make Up Your Own Holiday Day.’
Is there a point to all of this? Maybe. Maybe not.
But if we can take anything from it, it might be that any old day is perfect for celebrating whatever or whoever makes us smile.
I’d go so far as to suggest that you don’t even have to wait until June 10 to celebrate the humble ball point pen if you hold strong feelings about smooth-gliding writing implements that can also explode in your pocket.
One could also argue that Mother’s Day, which is just a couple weeks away, focuses our attention on someone who should be top of mind for many of us 365 days of the year.
If you find the day that holds the most meaning for you has already come and gone, there’s always next year.
And if you haven’t yet picked a favourite person, place or thing to celebrate, don’t worry. After all, there will be a few hundred to choose from.
