Volume 9, Issue 3 University of Houston
Companies, organizations think up
new holidays to celebrate
by JENNIFER EARLY
Breaking News
Time to mark those new calendars with an abundance of bizarre and unique holidays for the coming year.
Although official national holidays can only be created by acts of Congress, organizations, teams, special interest groups and companies all over the U.S. have been inventing and declaring new holidays for years, according to Holidayinsights.com.
According to www.talklikeapirate.com, Talk Like a Pirate Day was created by John Baur and Mark Summers of Albany, N. Y., and first officially celebrated on Sept. 19, 2002. The day calls for participants to greet friends with an “ahoy” instead of the usual “hello” or to choose from an array of rather salty pirate pick-up lines to hook that special someone, and has been lauded by newspaper columnist Dave Barry as having “so many practical benefits that I can't even begin to list them all.”
Other holidays encourage participants to show appreciation to the special people in their lives, and Thank a Mailman Day on Feb. 4 and Hug a Newsman Day on April 4 could bring cookies in mailboxes and reader affection for favorite Daily Cougar writers, editors or comic creators.
Lucky Penny Day on May 23 can be celebrated by gathering stray pennies or dropping them for others to find to ensure good fortune, while Blame Someone Else Day on Jan. 13 is a good chance to point the finger and get someone else in trouble. If Blame Someone Else Day goes a little sour, there’s always Make a Friend Day on Feb. 11 to turn things around.
July 13 is Embrace Your Geekness Day, so celebrants may be letting loose computer jargon and boasts about their epic warlock in World of Warcraft while Aug. 10 offers a chance for everyone to light a fire and enjoy the gooey consistency of a s’more on National S’more Day.
Other holidays highlight popular hobbies and pastimes, such as Square Dance Day on Nov. 29 or National Pastry Day on Dec. 9.
For more information on unusual holidays, visit www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays.
Send comments to dcshobiz@mail.uh.edu.