January 16 is National Nothing Day

Today is National Nothing Day, created by journalist Harold Pullman Coffin and celebrated every year on January 16th since 1973.

Its purpose is “to provide Americans with one national day when they can just sit without celebrating, observing or honoring anything.”

In 1983, a law was passed declaring the third Monday of January to be Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Once every several years, the two holidays intersect, effectively nullifying Nothing Day—2012, 2017, 2024, 2034, etc. We think Coffin would appreciate the irony if he’d lived to see it. He died September 26, 1981, at the age of 76.

Feel free to honor or ignore this un-holiday any way you choose. You could take a nap, although we hope you’ll wait until you’ve finished reading this post. Lie back and (don’t) think of National Nothing Day!