There are obscure holidays, and then there are really obscure holidays. I used to think Canadian Boxing Day and Three Kings’ Day were weird; in reality, there are so many holidays stuffed into our calendar that you could spend the whole year observing them and still miss a few. Here are a few of my favorite upcoming weird holidays.
December 5: Bathtub Party Day
The online herbalists at wellcat.com copyrighted this holiday in order, I have to assume, to inspire people to buy essential oils and fancy salts to add to their bathwater. I’m not sure what their definition of “party” is, but the way I see it, there’s a 50% chance that Bathtub Party Day is the only holiday on our calendar which advocates having multiple, simultaneous sex partners. (Speaking of bathtubs, December 5 is also repeal day, which celebrates the end of Prohibition and the need to create bathtub gin.)
December 6: St. Nicholas Day
This is weird on two counts: not only does St. Nick have his own day, but it’s also not December 25, the day we normally associate with this most roly-poly of saints. Also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker, he was a Greek bishop whose reputation for selfless gift-giving made him the inspiration for Santa Claus. For his work helping the poor, he’s also the patron saint of pawnbrokers (for those of you who didn’t realize that pawnbrokers needed divine intercession).
December 7: National Cotton Candy Day
Invented in 1897 and originally marketed as “fairy floss,” cotton candy first became popular at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. It was officially renamed in the 1920s.
December 8: Take it in the Ear Day
I have no idea what this day means, who invented it, or what I’m supposed to do to celebrate. (Or what, exactly, I am meant to be taking into my ear.) There is, however, a nifty tee-shirt you can buy commemorating the event, which makes me suspect that perhaps tee-shirt designers are the ones behind TIITE day.
December 12: Poinsettia Day
Poinsettias have long been associated with the holiday season, but that’s not the reason behind this day. It was created by an act of Congress in 1851 in honor of Joel Roberts Poinsett, a United States ambassador to Mexico, who first brought the plants back from our neighbor to the south. He died on December 12, 1851.
December 21: Forefathers’ Day
If you know your historical dates, you’ll know that December 21, 1620 was the day the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock. First celebrated in 1769 in honor of the pilgrims, this was an ill-fated holiday that eventually fell into obscurity in favor of Thanksgiving. (Do we really need to get excited about the pilgrims more than once a year?)
December 21: National Flashlight Day
This sounds like just another random holiday until you realize that December 21 is also the Winter Solstice — the darkest and shortest day of the year. As long as you’re celebrating, here’s some fun flashlight trivia: it was invented in 1898 by Joshua Lionel Cowan, who also invented the Lionel train.
December 23: Festivus (for the rest of us)
Seinfeld fans, of which there are many, will get it right away. Created by staff writer Daniel O’Keefe, it refers to a fake holiday made up by his father Dan in 1966 to celebrate his first date with his future wife.
The holiday includes novel practices such as the “Airing of Grievances”, in which each person tells everyone else all the ways they have disappointed him or her over the past year. Also, after the Festivus meal, the “Feats of Strength” are performed, involving wrestling the head of the household to the floor, with the holiday ending only if the head of the household is actually pinned. These conventions originated with the TV episode. The original holiday featured far more peculiar practices, as detailed in the younger Daniel O’Keefe’s book The Real Festivus, which provides a first-person account of an early version of the Festivus holiday as celebrated by the O’Keefe family, and how O’Keefe amended or replaced details of his father’s invention to create the Seinfeld episode.
December 29: Pepper Pot Day
This real, actual holiday commemorates a thick, spicy soup that was created to feed the Continental Army during the fantastically harsh winter of 1777-78. George Washington’s chef combined scraps of tripe, small bits of meat and some peppercorn with spices to create “the soup that won the war.”
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Today (December 20th), is Hug a Mormon Day. Or at least it says so on Facebook. Mhmmm :/
posted by Sam on 11-20-2009 at 1:43 pm
I miss Seinfeld, note a young Jack Black as the scruffy guy at the table!!
posted by nic on 11-20-2009 at 1:50 pm
My family always celebrated St. Nicholas Day growing up…we’d put our shoes outside our bedroom doors and wake up with coins and oranges in them!
posted by Kelly on 11-20-2009 at 2:00 pm
Next year keep an eye out for November holidays. Specifically Dan Goldin Day (details here: http://a20261.blogspot.com/search/label/Dan%20Goldin%20Day )
Which must be official, because it’s mentioned on Dan Goldin’s wikipedia page!
posted by Tom on 11-20-2009 at 2:03 pm
My husband is a Festivus baby (and a major Jerry Stiller fan).
Recaptcha: “Outlandish prissies” – great name for a parody band
posted by B on 11-20-2009 at 2:19 pm
December 14 is International Monkey Day.
posted by jabryel on 11-20-2009 at 2:28 pm
St. Nicholas dayis actually strange on 3 accounts. You forgot about Krampus, Santa’s demon companion!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus
And to whine for a moment… Having a birthday on the 23rd is bad enough with Christmas. Why with the festivus?
posted by Sarah on 11-20-2009 at 3:34 pm
“Canadian Boxing Day” is actually from the UK. This year it works out well, giving us the Monday off since it falls on Saturday. Yay – free holidays from the 24th to the 28th!!
posted by ab on 11-20-2009 at 4:04 pm
take it in the ear day huh? interesting,i may just gave to go buy that treasure of a souvinir-stand type t shirt….
posted by chavela on 11-20-2009 at 4:45 pm
My (Catholic) school celebrated St. Nick’s. We’d put a shoe out in the hallway during class and, at some point in the morning, we’d hear a bell ringing through the halls, signaling that we could go get our shoe. The reward was usually a Little Debbie Christmas treat or some candy.
I also baby-sat 3 boys who’s Dad was from Holland. The grandparents always gave the boys huge gifts both on St. Nick’s and Christmas.
And I’m glad you gave Festivus info, as my boyf has that as his official religion on his Facebook page. I know he’s not a religious person, but I never thought to ask what Festivus was. But it makes perfect sense, seeing as he’s a huge Seinfeld fan.
posted by nutmeag on 11-20-2009 at 5:42 pm
My family did St. Nicholas day as well, with the shoes. I think it’s a Catholic thing! I also went to a grade school called St. Nicholas, so that was probably added incentive to do the shoe thing.
posted by Gamer 18548 on 11-20-2009 at 5:43 pm
nutmeag – it is my understanding that festivus is a holiday, not a religion. not that the traditions shouldn’t be held sacred yearround…
posted by tiffany on 11-20-2009 at 5:57 pm
Dec. 5th is my birthday. I know what I’m going to be doing!
posted by Natasha on 11-20-2009 at 6:58 pm
Hmmm… Christmas is an “obscure holiday?? Could have fooled me!
posted by Nerak on 11-20-2009 at 7:28 pm
My (Catholic) family did St. Nicholas’ day too! My mom must have made up some rules though. My siblings and I would leave a piece of fruit on a plate with our name on it and then in the morning, we’d have a little gift (maybe a book or candy or something small). None of my friends had ever heard of it though.
posted by Elizabeth on 11-20-2009 at 7:28 pm
December 8th is my birthday.
Awesome.
posted by â—• â—¡ â—• on 11-20-2009 at 9:09 pm
St Nicholas Day is not the same as Christmas
posted by St Nick on 11-20-2009 at 9:31 pm
St. Nick – I was not referring to St Nicholas Day. I was commenting on the headline which says “9 Obscure Holidays in December (Besides Christmas)”
posted by Nerak on 11-20-2009 at 11:13 pm
tiffany — Yes, I do realize Festivus is a holiday, which I suppose makes it doubly funny that he put it in as his Religious Views. He’s pretty silly like that.
posted by nutmeag on 11-21-2009 at 12:25 am
I’m not sure I’d count St. Nicholas Day as an obscure holiday, since it’s a popular children’s holiday in other countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria…
posted by Andréa on 11-21-2009 at 7:56 am
Don’t forget, you’ll need a Festivus Pole to celebrate Festivus.
http://www.festivuspoles.com
posted by Tony on 11-21-2009 at 9:57 am
@ Natasha
My birthday is the 6th…could be the best duel b day celebration ever! ;)
On the 21st I will be watching monday night football with my pilgrim hat on drinking a boddingtons all while listening to the p funk in the background…Flashlight!
posted by CJ on 11-21-2009 at 11:57 am
December 28th is “Wounded Knee Memorial and Native Sufferage Day”
posted by Marc on 11-21-2009 at 12:12 pm
Are you serious that that is Jack Black in that scene??? I’ve seen that a thousand times and never picked up on it–great piece of Seinfeldiana! And as an earlier poster noted, you can now get a Festivus pole, and you can also buy Festivus cards, such as at http://www.zazzle.com/festivusmeister/gifts?cg=196431508844838191
posted by Penn Daye-Ho on 11-21-2009 at 9:04 pm
I’m pretty sure I know what Take it in the Ear means! I’m also believe that if I were to post it’s meaning I would not be allowed to post anything else on the site……A Hint were are other places on the body people may ask you to take it?????
posted by Rachel on 11-23-2009 at 2:46 am
As an audiologist, I may need to get myself that Dec. 8th t-shirt.
posted by earwig24 on 11-23-2009 at 9:53 pm
St. Nicholas day obscure? There’s at least one country where everyone celebrates it by getting together with the family and giving presents to each other (the netherlands).
posted by DutchGuy on 11-26-2009 at 3:44 am
I’m afraid to be the bearer of disappointing (to some) news, but that isn’t Jack Black.
C.J.–my birthday is also December 6!
posted by NYCGirl on 11-28-2009 at 5:10 pm
Would take it in the ear day perhaps refer to the Family Guy episode involving ear sex?
posted by teh wife on 12-21-2009 at 3:54 pm
“Take It In The Ear Day” – Have none of you seen FAMILY GUY?!?
posted by Jon on 11-18-2010 at 12:18 pm