January 23 is National Handwriting Day

Today is National Handwriting Day, created in 1977 by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association to remind us of the increasingly lost art of cursive writing and, we presume, to sell a few pens.

This unofficial holiday takes place on the birthday of John Hancock. Hancock (January 23, 1737 – October 8, 1793) served as president of the Second Continental Congress, a convention of delegates from the thirteen British colonies that began to meet in 1775 and declared the American Revolutionary War.

He is remembered for his large, stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence, so much so that his name has become a generic term, like Band-Aids, Scotch tape, Q-tips, or Frisbees. (“Put your John Hancock on this.”)

Put pen to paper today and rediscover the flow of writing longhand. Even if it’s just a grocery list, make it the most beautiful you’ve ever seen. Better yet, write a poem, love letter, story, script or that book you’ve had in your head for years.

Happy Handwriting Day!