Welcome to Worldwide Weird Holidays, where you’ll find a new reason to celebrate every day of the year.
National Equal Pay Day 2016
Twenty years ago, Equal Pay Day was established to illustrate how far into the new year women have to work to earn the same wages that men make in the previous year. Because Census data is released later in the year, Equal Pay Day has long been scheduled on the Tuesday in April that falls most […]
International Pillow Fight Day
Today is the ninth annual International Pillow Fight Day, a holiday that encourages us to play like children on a grand scale. The event has gained momentum since its inception in 2008 and is now celebrated in more than 100 countries around the world. It always takes place on the first Saturday of April. International Pillow […]
March 21 is Twitter Day
On March 21, 2006, Jack Dorsey sent the first tweet-“just setting up my twttr”- goodbye pound sign, hello hashtag #Happy10thBirthdayTwitter — WWWeird Holidays (@WWWeirdHolidays) March 21, 2016
Fill Our Staplers Day
March 14, 2016, is Fill Our Staplers Day, a holiday that occurs twice a year on the day after the shift from Standard Time to Daylight Savings and vice versa, better known as “Spring Forward, Fall Back.” Many people believe Daylight Savings Time was invented by Benjamin Franklin because of his 1784 essay called “An […]
International Fanny Pack Day
March 12, 2016, is International Fanny Pack Day. Nick Yates, who founded the holiday in 2007, drew inspiration from an experience he’d had a few years earlier. Yates had received a fanny pack and fruitcake as gag gifts at a Christmas party in Portland, Oregon. Lured by its practicality and convenience, he strapped on the pack […]
March 10 is World Kidney Day
World Kidney Day March 10th is World Kidney Day (WKD), created in 2006 to promote awareness of kidneys, their vital role in our bodies, and their susceptibility to often preventable diseases. The holiday is co-sponsored by the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF). Nine thousand healthcare professionals in 126 countries […]
International Festival of Owls
The International Festival of Owls takes place during the first full weekend of March at the International Owl Center in Houston, Minnesota. It celebrates the approximate “hatch-day” in 1997 of Alice, a Great Horned Owl rescued as a fledgling after falling from her nest. She now helps teach visitors to the Houston Nature Center about […]
World Sword Swallower’s Day
February 27, 2016, marks the ninth annual World Sword Swallower’s Day, observed on the last Saturday of the month with performances at Ripley’s Believe it or Not locations across the U.S., Australia, Denmark, England and Malaysia. Sword Swallowers Association International (SSAI) president Dan Meyer explains the genesis of World Sword Swallowers Day: “I established World Sword […]
International Hair Freezing Day
February 25, 2016, marks the sixth annual International Hair Freezing Day, a relatively new highlight of Canada’s Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous. The festival, in its 52nd year, runs from Friday, February 19th through Sunday, February 28th in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. At least 20,000 people are expected to attend. Today’s festivities include the International Ice Carving Competition, Texas […]
Inconvenience Yourself Day
Inconvenience Yourself Day has been celebrated on the fourth Wednesday in February since 2006. Julie Thompson, president of Environmental Resources Network in Fort Lauderdale, FL, created the holiday to encourage us all to recognize how our actions impact the lives of those around us. It’s easy to become so focused on our own crazy to-do lists that […]