Saturday, November 6, 2021

November's Bizarre and Unique Holidays

November is a month with a couple of federal legal holidays in the U.S., specifically Veteran's Day on November 11 which is Remembrance Day in Canada, and Thanksgiving on the 4th Thursday of November. For this year, that's November 25, 2021. There are other recognized days such as All Saint's Day (November 1) and All Soul's Day (November 2).  And with a tip of the hat to our British cousins, Guy Fawkes Day on November 5th.

The entire month of November is:  Aviation History month, Child Safety Protection month, International Drum month, National Adoption Awareness month, National Epilepsy month, National Model Railroad month, National Novel Writing month, Native American Heritage month, Peanut Butter Lovers month, Real Jewelry month, and National Sleep Comfort month. There's also Chemistry Week (first week of the month) and Game & Puzzle week (third week of the month).

But that's only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. November, just like all the other months, is filled with bizarre and unique holidays. I hope you enjoy these November offerings.

November 1:

All Saint's Day

November 2:

All Soul's Day

Deviled Egg Day

Look For Circles Day

November 3:

Housewife's Day

Sandwich Day

November 4:

King Tut Day—this celebrates the date of the discovery of King Tutankhamen's Tomb on November 4, 1922, in Egypt's Valley of Kings. King Tut became King of Egypt in 1333 B.C. at the age of 9 and ruled until 1324 B.C. when he died at age 19. The cause of his death is uncertain with murder and innocent accident being the two main theories.

November 5:

Gunpowder Day

Guy Fawkes Day (goes hand-in-hand with Gunpowder Day)

November 6:

Marooned Without A Compass Day—do you often find yourself going around in circles? Do you feel hopelessly lost? Which direction will your life take? Being marooned without a compass for a day could be a good thing. Our busy lifestyles seldom leave us time to relax. We can enjoy being marooned…until tomorrow.

Saxophone Day

Book Lovers Day—this is celebrated either August 9th or the first Saturday in November (for 2021, that's November 6th). Book Lovers Day, as the name implies, encourages us to find a place to relax with a good book. Not only is reading a great hobby, it's an important one. Reading is educational, informative, and relaxing.

November 7:

Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day

November 8:

Cook Something Bold Day

Dunce Day

November 9:

Chaos Never Dies Day—this day recognizes the turmoil in everyday life. Just when your hectic surroundings seem to calm down at work and home, along comes something to disrupt your life. Disorder is everywhere. This holiday is designed for you. Pick one thing that is really disrupting your life and change it for the good.

November 10:

Forget-Me-Not Day

USMC Day

November 11:

Veteran's Day

November 12:

Chicken Soup For The Soul Day

Young Readers Day

November 13:

National Indian Pudding Day

Sadie Hawkins Day—originated from a 1930s comic strip, Al Capp's Lil Abner. In the strip, the mayor of Dogpatch desperately wants to marry off his ugly daughter, so he creates the Sadie Hawkins Day race where all the single men are given a short head start then all the single women chase them. If a girl catches a man, then he has to marry her. The Sadie Hawkins Day celebration basically ended 40 years later when Al Capp died and the comic strip was discontinued, however it can occasionally still be seen celebrated on some college campuses.

World Kindness Day—the day encourages us to be kind to others, helping to create a nicer, better world. The holiday is intended to build a kinder and more compassionate world. Kindness rubs off on others and generates even more kindness.

November 14:

Operating Room Nurse Day

November 15:

Clean Your Refrigerator Day

America Recycles Day

National Philanthropy Day

November 16:

Button Day

Have A Party With Your Bear Day—is your teddy bear a real party animal? Hopefully so because today is the day you get to party. Invite all your teddy bears and your friends and have them invite their teddy bears for a fun day. Or, if you're looking for something a little more adventurous, you might consider a real bear.

November 17:

Electronic Greeting Card Day

Homemade Bread Day

Take A Hike Day

World Peace Day—encourages us to be kind to others and teach others to be peaceful. The creator of this holiday believes world peace starts with individuals and if we all do our part to promote peace we can make war and strife obsolete.

November 18:

Occult Day—this is a mysterious day, something outside the realm of the normal and natural world. Lots of words can be used to describe the occult…concealed, secret, hidden, mysterious, unnatural. Astrology and alchemy also could belong. Many secret groups are occult. Celebrate this day by not sitting back and waiting for something to happen. Have fun with it.

November 19:

Have A Bad Day Day

November 20:

Absurdity Day—is…well…absurd! Some days are illogical and senseless which is exactly the definition of Absurdity Day. Celebrate this day in an absurd manner, have fun with it.

Beautiful Day

Universal Children's Day

November 21:

False Confession Day

Great American Smokeout

World Hello Day

November 22:

Go For A Ride Day

November 23:

Eat A Cranberry Day

National Cashew Day

National Adoption Day

November 24:

Evolution Day—Today is the anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's book, On the Origin of Species, in 1859. His controversial theory turned the world upside down in its thinking of how we came to be.

November 25:

Thanksgiving Day—the 4th Thursday of the month

National Parfait Day

November 26:

Shopping Reminder Day

November 27:

Pins And Needles Day

November 28:

Make Your Own Head Day

Red Planet Day—honors the fourth planet from the sun…Mars. On this day, take a few minutes to look up into the sky and gaze at our celestial neighbor. This day commemorates the launch of the Spacecraft Mariner 4 on November 28, 1964.

November 29:

Buy Nothing Day

Square Dance Day

You're Welcome Day

November 30:

Stay At Home Because You Are Well Day—this is the day to stay home from work because you feel well, taking an unofficial day off to enjoy yourself. Warning…proceed with caution. Doing this might get you in trouble, possibly even costing you your job.

So…there you have it. The bizarre and unique holidays of November. Pick the ones you like, or celebrate all of them!

4 comments:

Ilona Fridl said...

Interesting mass of days! Most I've never heard of.

Shawna Delacorte said...

Ilona: Yeah, some of them almost seem as if someone's really reaching to create a holiday. :)

Thanks for your comment.

Dan said...

That's an interesting post. I find it fascinating how many traditions the world over are often very similar. Years ago, I traveled solo to Japan. It was the first time I as a Caucasian American had ever been in the minority-as in a minority of one in a sea of people everywhere I went. The experience drove home one lesson (& others). People and cultures everywhere have more in common then they do differences.

Shawna Delacorte said...

Dan: So very true. People need to capitalize on the similarities instead of magnifying the differences.

Thank you for your comment.