Celebrate “Get Organized Month” during a family day at home clearing clutter out of the basement. In June, consider adopting a shelter cat, getting outside, or even sipping a glass of iced tea to observe Adopt a Shelter Cat Month, Great Outdoors Month, and Iced Tea Day. Crazy? Maybe, but different organizations push for awareness of their products and causes by sponsoring national or state observances.
While a family may go blueberry picking the second Saturday of every July, return home to make a special dessert that they serve after a family-only barbeque, this isn’t an official holiday or observance. However, if that family got the legislature of their state to declare the second Saturday of every July, Blueberry Day and got local growers to sponsor the day with statewide fun, well, that’s an official observance.
Where to Find Weird Holidays
Why bother doing all that work creating a holiday when there are hundreds of awareness months, weeks, and days? Brownielocks.com describes the site as listing “A Few of the Unknown, Unobserved, Untraditional, Silly, Strange, Crazy, Off, sometimes Bizarre, Goofy, Crazy, Dumb, Weird, Wild, Respected and Traditional or Observances mostly only in the United States.”
The site even has the option of printing out monthly calendars for the year that list the various observances. Post this chart near the family calendar that lists everyday meetings, appointments, and sport practices.
Creating Family Rituals
Use the calendar to jump start spontaneous celebrations and more elaborate rituals. When the mood strikes, check out the calendar for ideas; for example, make and cut up a giant egg salad sub to serve as dinner one night during Egg Salad Week in April. Share a quiet evening on April 12, D.E.A.R. Day (Drop Everything and Read Day), by turning off the television and computer and encourage everyone to sit with a book for an evening.
Highlight the observation days the family most enjoyed following (Chocolate Day on July 7!) and make a point of duplicating the actions of that day next year (chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and a trip to the ice cream shop after dinner). Encourage children to think of different ways to celebrate odd holidays in simple ways that won’t cost a lot of money.
A Few Odd Observation Days for Families
Check Brownielocks.com for the dates of these days for the current year as some day change their observation.
- Rubber Duckie Day on January 13
- Maple Syrup Day on March 21
- Mother Goose Day on May 1
- National Garage Sale Day on the second Saturday in August
- National American Teddy Bear Day on November 14
Families can discover odd observance days and use them as starting points to create new family traditions and rituals. With a bit of creativity, these days can spark special meals or activities to add fun to an otherwise normal day.
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