Saturday, July 31, 2021

Weird August Holidays

Every month has its collection of strange, weird, and obscure holidays, sometimes more than one per day, many of which are unknown to the general public. And, needless to say, holidays that are not government recognized—days where the schools, banks, government offices, and post office are not closed. But still holidays to be celebrated and enjoyed in their own quirky fashion.

Let's start with month long celebrations.  For August you have:  Admit You're Happy Month, Family Fun Month, National Catfish Month, National Eye Exam Month, National Golf Month [I'd better make sure my brother knows about this one], Peach Month, Romance Awareness Month, Water Quality Month, and National Picnic Month.

And then there are the week long celebrations. The first week of August is National Simplify Your Life Week. The second week of the month is National Smile Week. The third week is Friendship Week. And the fourth week is Be Kind To Humankind Week.

And the daily celebrations:  I found it interesting that 10 of the 31 days in August had holidays connected to food [are we seeing an ongoing theme here?]. Some of the dates had more than one holiday attached to them.

August 1)  National Raspberry Cream Pie Day

August 1)  Friendship Day (the first Sunday in August)

August 1)  International Forgiveness Day (first Sunday in August)

August 1)  Sisters Day (first Sunday in August)

August 2)  National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

August 3)  National Watermelon Day

August 4)  U.S. Coast Guard Day

August 5)  Work Like A Dog Day

August 6)  Wiggle Your Toes Day

August 7)  National Lighthouse Day

August 7)  National Mustard Day (the first Saturday in August)

August 8)  Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day

            Apparently zucchini is one of the most prolific plants with a single plant producing what seems to be an endless supply of zucchini. By the time August arrives, home gardeners have far more zucchini than they can possibly use. After giving away as much as they can to family and friends, desperate growers seek desperate measures to rid themselves of the overflow. And that gives us the name of the holiday…sneak some zucchini onto your neighbor's porch day.

August 9)  Book Lover's Day

            Book Lover's Day encourages you to find a comfortable place, relax, and enjoy a good book. If you happen to fall asleep in that gently swaying hammock while reading, that's perfectly okay. There is some disagreement about when this holiday is celebrated. August 9th is the most widely accepted date. Some celebrate it on the first Saturday in November. My suggestion? Celebrate both days.

August 10)  Lazy Day

August 10)  National S'mores Day

August 11)  Presidential Joke Day

August 12)  Middle Child's Day

August 13)  Left Hander's Day

August 14)  National Creamsicle Day

August 14/15)  V-J Day (end of World War II)

August 15)  Relaxation Day

            For people with a hectic lifestyle, this is the day to kick back and do nothing…just relax. Take a break from your busy work and personal schedule. If something stresses you out, this is the day to ignore it.

August 16)  National Tell A Joke Day

August 17)  National Thrift Shop Day

August 18)  Bad Poetry Day

August 19)  Aviation Day

August 20)  National Radio Day

August 21)  Senior Citizen's Day

August 22)  Be An Angel Day

August 22)  National Tooth Fairy Day (and/or February 28)

August 23)  Ride The Wind Day

            This is a carefree day, a time to soar above the earth. Catch a ride on the breeze or float like a cloud. Summer will soon be over. Take advantage of this day to relax and leave your worries behind. Fly a kite. Enjoy the final days of summer.

August 24)  Vesuvius Day

August 25)  Kiss And Make Up Day

August 26)  National Dog Day

August 26)  Women's Equality Day

August 27)  Global Forgiveness Day

August 27)  Just Because Day

August 28)  Race Your Mouse Day [but in today's world are we talking rodent or computer?]

August 29)  More Herbs, Less Salt Day

August 30)  Frankenstein Day

            There are 3 versions of this day. This one is in honor of Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, who was born August 30, 1797. There is also Frankenstein Friday and National Frankenstein Day, both celebrated in October. Confused? Celebrate all 3 days.

August 30)  Toasted Marshmallow Day

August 31)  National Trail Mix Day

4 comments:

Terry Newman said...

What a great post! Right now I'm planning to celebrate watermelon day, middle child day, and book lover's day! That's just to start!

Ilona Fridl said...

Wow! And I was always told that August was the only month without a holiday!

Shawna Delacorte said...

Terry: I'm with you for watermelon and book lovers, but I'm the oldest with one with younger brother.

Thanks for your comment.

Shawna Delacorte said...

Ilona: Well, none that are official where the banks and post office are closed. But other than that... :)

Thanks for your comment.