December Bizarre and Unique Holidays

As with every month, December has its share of the bizarre and unique when it comes to holidays, both official and unofficial. Since this is the wacky and weird, I won't be listing those legal holidays such as Christmas. Many dates have more than one holiday attached to them. So, in order to keep the list manageable, I'll only list one holiday per date.

For month long celebrations, December gives us Bingo Month and Write A Friend Month.

December 1: EAT A RED APPLE DAY

Apples are delicious and nutritious. It's easy to participate in this special day. All you need to do is pick an apple from among all the available varieties and eat it.

December 2: NATIONAL FRITTER DAY

December 3: NATIONAL ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD DAY

December 4: WEAR BROWN SHOES DAY

December 5: REPEAL DAY

This celebrates the repeal of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (the 18th commonly referred to as Prohibition). Once more, Americans were free to buy, sell, and consume alcoholic beverages. The 18th Amendment was passed by the U.S. Congress on January 16, 1919.  Congress passed the 21st Amendment on December 5, 1933, repealing the 18th.

December 6: ST. NICHOLAS DAY

There really was a St. Nicholas. He lived in Greece just a couple of hundred years after the birth of Christ. He became a priest and later a Bishop of the early Catholic Church. There are many tales of him helping children in need.

December 7: NATIONAL COTTON CANDY DAY

December 8: NATIONAL BROWNIE DAY

December 9: NATIONAL PASTRY DAY

December 10: HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

Human Rights Day was created by the United Nations to promote awareness of the importance of Human Rights issues around the world. The UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948.

December 11: NATIONAL NOODLE RING DAY

December 12: NATIONAL DING-A-LING DAY

On National Ding-A-Ling Day you should brace yourself for bizarre and crazy behavior from all the people you encounter. Even normally reserved people have been known to go a little crazy on this day. It's a day to cut loose, act a little weird, and have fun.

December 13: ICE CREAM DAY

December 14: NATIONAL BOUILLABAISSE DAY

December 15: NATIONAL LEMON CUPCAKE DAY

December 16: NATIONAL CHOCOLATE COVERED ANYTHING DAY

Chocoholics rejoice! This is a great day to indulge, binge, pig out, and otherwise consume to excess your favorite food…chocolate. Enjoy all that delicious chocolate by covering anything and everything edible.

December 17: NATIONAL MAPLE SYRUP DAY

December 18: BAKE COOKIES DAY

December 19: LOOK FOR AN EVERGREEN DAY

For many people, only a fresh cut real tree will do for Christmas…the scent of fresh pine to help capture the feel of holiday season. If you haven't selected your real tree by this date, you're running out of time. This special day can serve as a reminder.

December 20: GO CAROLING DAY

December 21: HUMBUG DAY

This is the day that allows everyone preparing for the holidays to vent their frustrations. Humbug Day also brings out the Scrooge in some of us. Use this day to release the stress of the holiday season, but avoid becoming a real holiday Scrooge.

December 22: NATIONAL DATE NUT BREAD DAY

December 23: FESTIVUS

Feeling a little left out? Don't celebrate Christmas or Chanukah? Then enjoy the Miracle of Festivus celebration. Festivus came into being  on the December 18, 1997, episode of Jerry Seinfeld's television show. Since Festivus is non-denominational, everyone can partake and enjoy.

December 24: NATIONAL CHOCOLATE DAY
In case you missed National Chocolate Covered Anything Day, here's another excuse and opportunity to indulge your chocolate desires.

December 25: NATIONAL PUMPKIN PIE DAY

December 26: BOXING DAY

While not an official holiday in the U.S., it is a legal holiday (as in the banks are closed, etc.) in the UK and elsewhere.

December 27: NATIONAL FRUITCAKE DAY

December 28: CARD PLAYING DAY

This is the perfect time to spend an hour or several playing cards with family and friends. The Christmas hustle and bustle is over. The kids are getting bored with their new toys. Perhaps a calmer, relaxing and slow-paced form of entertainment is in order.

December 29: PEPPER POT DAY

December 30: NATIONAL BICARBONATE OF SODA DAY

Bicarbonate of Soda (also known as baking soda) has many good uses. Among those is relieving stomach indigestion and heartburn when mixed in water. Perhaps this celebration would be better on January 1st following the New Year's Eve partying?

December 31: UNLUCKY DAY

Hopefully this won't be an unlucky day for you. It does give everyone a chance to get all the bad things out of the way so next year will be happy, healthy and prosperous.

So, there you have it. A full month of daily celebrations. When looking over the complete list of 66 celebration days, I noticed how many of them were dedicated to food and drink (not counting Bicarbonate of Soda Day): 20 days, almost a third.