Oh, bother. One of the world’s most popular bears has to be Winnie-The-Pooh. Created by author A.A. Milne, this day is celebrated on Milne’s birthday. And, we just had to include this one on our list because it’s only the most beloved children’s book of all time.
So, crack open a pot of hunny and celebrate with your friends, just like Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore, and Owl are doing in the Hundred Acre Wood.
Direct from Pawnee, Indiana, this ladies-only (as the name would suggest) holiday was created by Amy Poehler’s character, Leslie Knope, on the TV comedy Parks and Recreation. This is the day you get together with all your female besties to celebrate your friendships.
On NPR, the Leslie character was quoted as saying “‘Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast-style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas.'”
The obvious play on words surrounding the date May 4th is meant to celebrate The Force and all of its beloved characters like Luke, Leia, Han Solo, and that guy with the black helmet and outfit. Get your blasters ready for this one.
Mother’s Day is an established holiday. But, what about Other Mother’s Day? HuffPo says this is a day to “celebrate someone who nurtured you the way a mother does (or should).”
A Facebook page dedicated to Other Mother’s Day says “whether you have two moms, a step-mom, or just someone that you can call a ‘mom,’ this day is for us to make sure we show just how much we appreciate them.” This sentiment is pretty awesome, everyone deserves a little recognition . . . even if they didn’t birth you.
We have no hard data to support this claim, but we’re going to go out on a limb and flatly state everyone loves the wonderful smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. Chocolate chip cookies in a box from the store work almost as well.
A lady named Ruth Graves Wakefield invented chocolate chip cookies in 1938, and her husband happened to run an inn called, you guessed it, the Toll House Inn. Ruth, we bow to thee and celebrate you on August 4th.
The word Movember is a combination of the word moustache (also spelled mustache) with November. (This is known as a portmanteau.)
Movember, which began in 2001, encourages men to grow moustaches to raise awareness for men’s diseases, such as prostate and testicular cancer. And, if you can’t grow a moustache, you can support those who can by donating to the causes!
Thanksgiving is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, and we can’t forget about it’s, er, “alter-ego,” Friendsgiving. Thanksgiving is usually for family members, but these days a lot of people don’t live very close to their families. In comes Friendsgiving. It can be celebrated on Thanksgiving day or somewhere around it, and this one is for your buddies. It seems to have really gained momentum around 2008, although Monica, Joey, Phoebe, and Chandler had been doing it for years prior.
Christmas cards may not be as popular as they once were due to the internet, but for some they’re still a big part of the holiday season, or so Hallmark and the USPS would have us think. Fun fact: The first Christmas cards were sent by Sir Henry Cole of London back in 1843, with artwork by John Callcott Horsley.
So, on December 9th, to celebrate Sir Henry Cole, get ready to send your Christmas or holiday cards (if you still choose to), because you’ll need to get them out by this day in order for them to make it to their destinations by December 25th.
The annual gag of wearing an “ugly” Christmas sweater has truly taken off, judging by how many different styles you can buy at the store. So, on December 15th, it’s your chance to wear a really out-there design and show off your flair.
Channel your inner-elf and come up with something truly grandiose! We won’t judge, but we may laugh. There will be more than a few ugly Christmas sweaters at the annual Dictionary.com holiday party, for sure.
“Bah! Humbug!” That’s the slam-dunk signature catchphrase of one Ebenezer Scrooge, and it’s got its own day now, too. On this day, feel free to not get into the holiday spirit.
It might surprise you to learn that humbug has multiple meanings (other than a curt form of dismissal). Some otheres include “something intended to delude or deceive,” “something devoid of sense or meaning,” or in the case of British usage, “a variety of hard mint candy.” We date it back to the 1730–1740 era, though Dickens’s A Christmas Carol took it to legendary heights in 1843.Want to learn more festive holiday phrases like Bah! Humbug! to use this year? Check these out.
Seinfeld fans point to a December 18th, 1997 episode called “The Strike” as the origin of the holiday known as Festivus (or a Festivus for the rest of us). That origin is almost true—but not quite. That episode was penned by a Seinfeld writer named Dan O’ Keefe. But, O’Keefe’s father Daniel O’Keefe coined the term Festivus back in the 1960s!
The holiday is supposed to be an alternative to the usual religious and commercial themes of the Christmas season. Highlights of the Festivus holiday include the bare aluminum “Festivus Pole,” the “Airing of Grievances” at the dinner table (where you tell everyone how they’ve disappointed you during the year), and a wrestling contest known as “Feats of Strength.” Seems fitting that it follows Humbug day.
We define eggnog as “a drink made of eggs, milk or cream, sugar, and, usually, rum or wine.” Christmas eve, or December 24th, is the time to sit by the open fire and sip a glass of this wintery goodness. But, what’s the nog in eggnog, you ask? Read more about eggnog’s nog here!
Now, why is this day celebrated on December 26th? That’s kind of like shooting off fireworks on July 5th.
Anyway. We need something to cure those Christmas blues, so gather up your candy canes and join us in a little history of the sweet treat:
According to Foodimentary.com, candy canes were originally straight. The curved design is thought to have been created by a Cologne (Germany) Cathedral choirmaster, who wanted them to look like shepherd’s sticks. Fair enough. Others attribute the crooked shape to an Indiana candy maker who added the striping to represent the Holy Trinity, while still others believe the crooked J shape is meant to stand for Jesus.
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