Welcome to Worldwide Weird Holidays, where you’ll find a new reason to celebrate every day of the year.
December 22 is National Cookie Exchange Day
Today is National Cookie Exchange Day. Take a break from last-minute decorating, shopping, wrapping, and planning for the coming holiday. Happy? Humbug? Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, it’s difficult to avoid the stress leading up to the biggest holiday of the year. Sit back and eat a cookie or three. Swap your favorites with friends and […]
Forefathers’ Day
Forefathers’ Day commemorates the landing of the Mayflower and the pilgrims’ subsequent founding of Plymouth Colony in North America. The ship arrived on December 11, 1620. So why is the anniversary celebrated on December 21 or December 22? In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII announced his Gregorian calendar would replace the Julian calendar introduced in 46 B.C. by Julius […]
December 20 is Mudd Day
Today is Mudd Day. It commemorates the birthday of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was accused of conspiring to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln and hiding his killer, John Wilkes Booth, after the fact. After killing Lincoln on April 14, 1865, Booth fractured his fibula when he jumped from the president’s box seat to the stage of […]
National Oatmeal Muffin Day
Today is National Oatmeal Muffin Day. We don’t know who created it, but we do know how to celebrate it. The following recipe comes from Anna Newell Jones. Her site, And Then We Saved, is an incredible resource of practical advice about how to reduce debt and enjoy daily life. She says it’s the only oatmeal muffin recipe […]
Bake Cookies Day
Today is Bake Cookies Day. So, you know, preheat the oven. Here’s a tried-and-true formula from Allrecipes.com: Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe by Dora “Crisp edges, chewy middles.” Ingredients 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup white sugar 1 cup packed brown sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda […]
Wright Brothers Day
Today is Wright Brothers Day. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright made the first successful flight of a heavier-than-air, mechanically propelled airplane. Orville’s brother Wilbur, who’d won a coin toss to determine who flew first, had made the first attempt on December 14, 1903. He was unable to get off the ground and caused minor damage […]
December 16, 1773: Boston Tea Party
Today is the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawks, stole aboard three British ships and emptied 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. This act of defiance, part of a wave of resistance throughout the colonies, was a protest against British rule. Earlier that year, […]
National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
Today is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, celebrated on the third Friday in December. Today we pay tribute to all the sweater-blind relatives who ever wielded knitting needles or visited a store, picked something up and said, “Oh my goodness, this is so cute! [Insert name here] will love this [flammable fabric] sweater with the […]
December 15 is Cat Herders’ Day
Today is Cat Herders’ Day. Solving problems at work or home can feel as impossible as herding cats. (Anyone foolish enough to do that for a living has our permission to hide under the covers. The rest of us must soldier on.) Let’s step back for a moment and find the humor in the challenges we […]
National Regifting Day
Today is National Regifting Day, a holiday invented in 2006 by a credit counseling service and made official in 2008 with a proclamation by Colorado governor Bill Ritter, Jr. It’s always celebrated on the third Thursday of December, which just happens to be the most popular day for company Christmas parties and their Secret Santa gift exchanges. […]