This 'n That Thursdays: How to Make Up a Holiday

The Cuban sandwich -- does it really have its own holiday?

August 23rd is supposedly National Cuban Sandwich Day -- or is it?  While looking for a daily holiday to post on that date, I came across a story about a reporter who decided to create a new food holiday just to see if he could get away with making it seem official (you can read the story here).  Apparently it is not hard at all to make up a holiday, and most of the people he initially persuaded to accept it did not seem to care that it was not real.

It turns out that a lot of daily holidays are not "official", but just what makes a holiday official seems to be loosely defined.  There is a difference between a true federal holiday, which requires an act of Congress, and all other "national" holidays.  Even a federal holiday is not binding across all 50 states, so any state that decides it no longer wants to recognize Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, or one of the other nine official federal holidays is free to refrain from celebrating (although all federal employees would still get the day off).  Holidays can also be created by presidential proclamation.  A proclamation means that the holiday is acknowledged, but there is no obligation to celebrate or promote the day.  State or local governments can also proclaim a special day, but again this sort of recognition is limited.

Any other "national" holiday can be created by anyone who would just like to have a certain day recognized for a specific reason.  There is nothing stopping you from just calling a certain day whatever you like and celebrating (or not) accordingly.  For example, my love of Dalmatians led to my creation of "Dalmatian Appreciation Day", which is fast approaching on August 28th, but this is just a personal celebration for me and I do not expect it to become nationally recognized.  However, if you would like to achieve widespread recognition for your holiday there are a few ways to approach this goal.

If you would like to create a national food or drink holiday, The Balance website gives pertinent information here.  Many businesses have created these sorts of holidays to promote their products, and as far as I am concerned, if it means free samples and/or great deals on a product, then I am all for it!  After all, no one is forced to celebrate any holiday, so why not indulge in your favorite food on its special day (or week or month) if you feel like doing so?

From The Original Talk Like a Pirate Day Site.

Various websites which list daily holidays have their own criteria for accepting holidays for their calendars.  The Brownielocks website (the first place I go when looking for daily holidays) specifies its own criteria for listing on their site, which requires a validated origin source and/or official sponsor.  The holiday must be listed in Chase's Calendar of Events or have a website (not a blog) dedicated to the observance.  Chase's Calendar of Events does not seem to have updated its application form for the 2018 edition yet (the deadline for 2017 has passed), so the easiest way to set up a holiday right now on Brownielocks would be the creation of a website, should you be interested.  Who knows, your creation may become as big a sensation as International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th) or Festivus (December 23rd)!

From Urban Milwaukee.

Well, now that you've learned probably more than you ever wanted to know about daily holidays, go ahead and have a whiskey sour (National Whiskey Sour Day) to celebrate the National Park Service (National Park Service Day, and, coincidentally, their 100th anniversary is this year!), because today, August 25th, is that special day for both!  (It is also Kiss and Make Up Day and National Second-Hand Wardrobe Day, for those who are so inclined.)  Then celebrate any of the August holidays to come (National Toilet Paper Day for tomorrow, anyone?) if you wish.  Just don't expect everyone else to share your enthusiasm, because even holidays can become overwhelming after a while, and there are just so many of them!

From Twitter.