Welcome to Worldwide Weird Holidays, where you’ll find a new reason to celebrate every day of the year.
Columbus Day
Columbus Day might not seem to qualify as a weird holiday, but why not take a closer look? Why do we celebrate the second Monday in October every year? How did this become a federal holiday in 1968? A Congressional Research Service report entitled Federal Holidays: Evolution and Application explains: By commemorating Christopher Columbus’s remarkable voyage, the […]
International Skeptics Day
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, still exists. Philip K. Dick I’m not sure how he’d feel about International Skeptics Day since there’s no evidence that it’s an official holiday anywhere. Considering the number of skeptical organizations worldwide, perhaps it should be. The sticklers among us might point out that Skeptics […]
Kraken Myths and Legends Day
Technically, there are five International Cephalopod Awareness Days (ICAD) in the annual celebration of the most intelligent invertebrates in the world. The first Cephalopod Awareness Day was established in 2007 by members of The Octopus News Magazine Online forum (TONMO) to bring attention to the diversity, conservation, and biology of the world’s cephalopods. Octopi have […]
Hug A Drummer Day
Today is Hug a Drummer Day. Some in the U.S. call it National Hug a Drummer Day, but it’s been celebrated internationally for many years. Though it appears the music industry invented this holiday, that shouldn’t make us cynical. After all, behind every great group, quite literally, is a great drummer. Without a talented percussionist to […]
International Beer and Pizza Day
Today is International Beer and Pizza Day, an unofficial holiday founded in 2016 by website designer Nick Saulino to pay tribute to one of the greatest food and drink pairings in human history. Beer is not a recent invention. When people began to cultivate grains about 10,000 years ago, they may have stumbled upon the tasty byproduct […]
International Top Spinning Day
Today is International Top Spinning Day, created in 2003 by the Spinning Top & Yo-Yo Museum of Burlington, WI, to celebrate one of the oldest toys in the world. It always takes place on the second Wednesday of October. The earliest known tops, constructed of clay, date back to around 3500 BC. Archaeologists discovered them […]
Presidential Debate Day
Today is Presidential Debate Day. It commemorates the first televised debate, which aired on September 26, 1960, and changed the way American citizens select their leaders. Democratic senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon met in a Chicago studio to debate domestic policies. Kennedy, telegenic and seemingly at ease in front of […]
Checkers Day
Today is Checkers Day, also known as National Dogs in Politics Day. On September 23, 1952, Senator Richard M. Nixon addressed the nation to dispute allegations he had taken $18,000 from a secret campaign slush fund. His speech became known as the Checkers Speech because of his reference to the family dog. General Dwight D. Eisenhower […]
Hobbit Day
Today is Hobbit Day, the longest-running holiday celebrated by fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth Cycle books, The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings. It originated in 1973 after Tolkien’s death on September 2 of that year. It honors the birthdays of characters Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, which occurred on the same date in 2890 […]
Miniature Golf Day
Today is Miniature Golf Day. The first miniature course was created in 1867 on the grounds of St. Andrews Links in Scotland. Legendary golfer Thomas “Old Tom” Norris laid out the nine-hole course over land that frequently flooded and was riddled with rabbit holes. The course was designed for the newly-formed St. Andrews Ladies’ Putting […]