Obscure Holidays

There are so many different obscure and wacky holidays. Here are some of the wackiest:

International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19): This day is an unofficial holiday that encourages people to speak, dress, and talk like a pirate for a day. This holiday originated in 1995 by two friends where one of whom cried “aaarrr” in pain during a racquetball game. This joke inspired them to create a day to talk like pirates – where they use phrases that pirates use, watch pirate movies, and listen to sea shanties!

What If Cats and Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs Day (March 3): This day is a quirky and unofficial holiday that is celebrated to imagine the mischief pets would cause if they gained the ability to grab objects like we do. This holiday started when someone named Thomas Roy was opening a can for the cats and dogs in his home, and he wondered if they no longer needed a human to open their food cans. Ways to celebrate this holiday are to share your imaginings of scenarios of this, taking photos of your pets in human-like poses, and going “thumbless.”

National Donut Day (First Friday of June): National Donut Day is a day to snag a free donut, yet there’s more to its backstory. It started in 1938 with The Salvation Army. It was both made as a fundraiser during the Great Depression and to honor the “Donut Lassies,” women who gave coffee, donuts, and comfort to American soldiers during World War I. It’s become a fun food tradition to celebrate the well-loved treat, and also a tribute to history. You can buy donuts, make your own, or share a box of donuts with friends and family to celebrate.

Pi Day (March 14): Pi Day is a day dedicated to celebrating the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter! Its value is around 3.14159... and it goes on forever! This value leads to its date: March 14 (3/14). It was first celebrated in 1988 at the Exploratorium Science Museum. Eventually, in 2009, the US House of Representatives voted to officially recognize it as National Pi Day. You can celebrate this holiday by eating pie or pizza, participating in Pi recitation contests, or literally walking around in circles!

Written By: Emilio Gomez

Edited By: Kennedy Beshai