Where Do All Those Weird Holidays Come From?

One woman has created over 1,900 holidays!

Pop Culture
2 min
Colton Kruse
Colton Kruse
Where Do All Those Weird Holidays Come From?
All stories
Pop Culture

Our Favorite Weird Holidays:

While we would love to provide an exhaustive list of the weird holidays we’ve come across, here are some of our favorites:

  • January 27th: National Chocolate Cake Day

  • February 9th: National Pizza Day

  • March 23rd: Puppy Day

  • April 16th: Wear Pajamas to Work Day

  • May 21st: Talk Like Yoda Day

  • June 10th: Knit in Public Day

  • July 27th: Take Your Pants for a Walk Day

  • August 4th: International Beer Day

  • September 19th: International Talk Like a Pirate Day

  • October 7th: King Biscuit Day

  • November 15th: Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day

  • December 31st: Make Up Your Mind Day

Chase's Calendar of Events

Today, Chase’s Calendar of Events is seen as the official source of “special days” for editorial and news departments. The book rose to prominence in the late 80s. For a long time, people wanted to keep the government out of the holiday game, but by the turn of the century, the government began making official stipulations for federal holidays.

In the late 80s, America was quickly transforming into a commercial society, and companies jumped at the chance to promote themselves with special days and commemorative days from Congress. During the 1985-1986 congressional session, one in every three laws was about making a holiday.

The government soon clamped down on all this, seeing it as a waste of time. All that energy was siphoned into Chase’s calendar.

The Contributors

Anyone can submit a “special day” to Chase, but one woman is renown as the de facto architect of holidays: Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith. She has created over 1,900 special days and is known as “America’s Premier Eventologist.”

About The Author

Colton Kruse

Colton Kruse

Starting as an intern in the Ripley’s digital archives, Colton’s intimately familiar with the travel…

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