Welcome to Worldwide Weird Holidays, where you’ll find a new reason to celebrate every day of the year.
National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
Today is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, celebrated on the third Friday in December. Today we pay tribute to all the sweater-blind relatives who ever wielded knitting needles or visited a store, picked something up and said, “Oh my goodness, this is so cute! [Insert name here] will love this [flammable fabric] sweater with the […]
December 15 is Cat Herders’ Day
Today is Cat Herders’ Day. Solving problems at work or home can feel as impossible as herding cats. (Anyone foolish enough to do that for a living has our permission to hide under the covers. The rest of us must soldier on.) Let’s step back for a moment and find the humor in the challenges we […]
National Regifting Day
Today is National Regifting Day, a holiday invented in 2006 by a credit counseling service and made official in 2008 with a proclamation by Colorado governor Bill Ritter, Jr. It’s always celebrated on the third Thursday of December, which just happens to be the most popular day for company Christmas parties and their Secret Santa gift exchanges. […]
National Day of the Horse
Today is the National Day of the Horse. On November 18, 2004, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed S.R. 452, described as: A resolution designating December 13, 2004, as “National Day of the Horse” and encouraging the people of the United States to be mindful of the contribution of horses to the economy, history, and character of […]
December 12 is Poinsettia Day
Today is Poinsettia Day, which marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett on December 12, 1851. Poinsett was appointed in 1825 by President John Quincy Adams as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Mexico. (The title “Ambassador” wasn’t created until 1896.) While there, Poinsett, an amateur botanist, introduced the American elm to Mexico. In 1829, […]
Worldwide Candle Lighting
The Worldwide Candle Lighting ceremony is held each year on the second Sunday of December. It was created by The Compassionate Friends (TCF), a non-profit organization that assists grieving families. Stephen Simmons, a chaplain at England’s Warwickshire Hospital, founded TCF in 1969. After bringing together two sets of grieving parents, he realized the support they gave one […]
December 10 is Dewey Decimal Day
Today is Dewey Decimal Day. Melville Louis Kossuth Dewey was born on December 10, 1851, in the hardscrabble town of Adams Center in Northern New York State. At the age of 22, while studying at Amherst College in Boston, he devised one of the most efficient methods of classification ever known, copyrighting the Dewey Decimal […]
Official Lost and Found Day
Official Lost and Found Day was created in 2012 to encourage people to seek out things they’ve lost. The holiday became “official” three years later when it was recognized by Chase’s Calendar of Events. It is always observed on the second Friday of December. Collecting lost things in a central location is nothing new. The practice […]
December 8 is Take It in the Ear Day
What the heck is Take It in the Ear Day? We don’t know who came up with Take It in the Ear Day, why they did or what it means. We can’t find any reference to its origin; it’s kept alive by holiday sites. (Full disclosure: we are now contributing to that.) “Taking it in […]
December 7 is National Cotton Candy Day
Today is National Cotton Candy Day. The confection dates back to the 1400s, when it was called “spun sugar.” Producing it by hand was a costly and laborious task, making it unavailable to the general public. Four men—two of them dentists—helped usher in the modern process that would make it a summertime favorite at carnivals, fairs […]