With December here, many people are caught up in a whirl of Christmas, Yule, Chanukah, Kwanza and then the New Year's rush, but I'm the type of person who gets bored with tradition after too much exposure or commercialism. I'm not exactly the type to conform to the norms of society, and I've often questioned why holidays are so over-publicized.
Well, I've discovered some weird holidays, or at least holidays that no one is really aware of, on such Web sites as www.butlerwebs.com/holidays and www.brownielocks.com. These are new events I can start observing. For example, I didn't know that the Thursday before Christmas was "National Re-gifting Day," but now that I do, I definitely intend to celebrate it. In November, I was amused to discover there was a "National Chicken Lady Day," which was coincidentally on the same day as "National Use Your Common Sense Day." I had an interesting time trying to figure out how to celebrate them both.
"National Pie Day" -- on Dec. 1 -- was perfect timing because our pumpkin pie was almost gone from Thanksgiving, but I managed to have a piece for the occasion. I always thought "National 'Pie' Day" was March 14, because that's when math geeks celebrated it, and I was shocked to find that it wasn't. Now I can hardly wait for my birthday, which will fall during "Someday We'll Laugh About This Week," and on the same day as "I'm Not Gonna Take It Anymore Day."
With all of these amusing holidays, I feel a need to mention one that's on a more serious note. I plan to participate in "The Day of Silence" this April, 16, a national protest against bullying and harassment, hopefully sending a message that hate will not be tolerated. Participants abstain from talking either all day or for a significant period of the day (for instance, lunchtime at a high school campus) and have information cards to hand out about why they won't talk and what they hope to accomplish through their silence. Silence can sometimes speak louder than words, and that one day may save many people from being persecuted in the future. The exact date of this event may change from one year to another but it's been held every April since 1996.
Some upcoming holidays have me excited and feeling challenged for different ways to celebrate them. I would love to have a job, just so that I could celebrate "Show and Tell Day at Work" on Jan. 8, to give all of my coworkers a good laugh, and I can just imagine "Fruitcake Toss Day" the following day. We can all spread the love on "National Hugging Day" on Jan. 21. Of all the holidays I've found, I'm most looking forward to "Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day," as popping Bubble Wrap is one childhood pastime I've never quite grown out of.
January doesn't need to be a "boring month," unlike what I used to think. Life is good, and celebrating these wacky holidays has proven that to me. February isn't just about Valentine's Day, but also about "World Nutella Day," "Read in the Bathtub Day" and even "Quirky Alone Day" for anyone bitter about Valentine's.
For good purposes or just for a laugh, I've enjoyed finding these lesser-known holidays, which give me something out of the ordinary to do almost every day of the year. Next month, I'm looking forward to participating in and observing "Rubber Ducky Day" on Jan. 13, so don't let me down!
Dezarae Beaman is a junior at Syracuse High School. E-mail her at dezchicabeaman@gmail.com.
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