I adore planners, calendars, multi-colored pens and highlighters, and the act of writing and crossing off to-do list items. Yes, I'm that kind of person. What I love almost more than planning out my week is highlighting the holidays that appear in my calendar. These days are like rainbow sprinkles on top of ice cream; they make days more exciting and give me something to look forward to.
While responsibilities change, my weeks are fairly monotonous: school and work Monday through Friday, with classes on Tuesday and Thursday. Deadlines, tests, research projects. For someone who is always looking forward to the next big adventure, it's hard to casually sneak one into the week.
So, insert...the holiday.
I think I get a little more giddy than the average person (especially adult) when it comes to holidays. Having a reason to celebrate something is so thrilling to me, and I adore delving into the festivities, decorations, and themed food. My St. Patrick's Day shamrock pants are my latest and most-recently greatest thrift store find.
Now, imagine my excitement when I discovered there is even a daily calendar of holidays! Today, at the time of me writing this, is Waffle Day (and I unknowingly made waffles this morning!) and Earth Hour. This hour is a worldwide event that encourages people globally to turn off their nonessential electronics/lights for one hour, bringing awareness to energy consumption. I love it! Tomorrow is National Spinach and National Nougat Day. Whether this caters to the same people or two vastly different people, I don't know. But, I'll personally be having both.
Just to name a few others:
April 26- National Hairball Awareness Day (...what?)
May 30- Water a Flower Day
June 3- World Bicycle Day
June 3- National Trails Day
June 15- Nature Photography Day
August 26- International Bat Nights
Oct 1- International Coffee Day
November 13- World Kindness Day
On top of these, there are temporal milestones worth celebrating, like the solstices and equinoxes. Particularly, we try to bike 100 miles on the summer solstice every year if we can, appreciating the longest day of the year and the most sunlight we could possibly enjoy in one 24 hr period. There is just something really down-to-earth about cherishing the position of our planet in relation to the sun. Oops, did my hippie just come out?
When I think about my favorite holidays, they might not be the typical ones you would think of, or not all of them anyway. In order of month:
St Patrick's Day. I doubt this makes the top 5 for most people, but it's one of my favorites. It's not the typical drinking and partying that I love. In fact, I don't think I've ever celebrated it in that way. What I adore is Irish music, flaunting the fact my name is Erin, eating mint-flavored everything, cooking pot pies and stews, and having a Guinness. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact my favorite artist, Hozier, is from Ireland and was also born on St. Patricks Day (what luck!). Absolutely nothing at all. When I was younger, I took Irish dance lessons, so I have an appreciation for Riverdance and how mind blowing and underrated that style of dancing is. Perhaps I also love this holiday because my ancestral roots are from Ireland, and I have traveled to this country as well.
Nonetheless, Erin go bragh!
Earth Day. An entire day dedicated to appreciating the planet we live on. How cool is that? I love taking this day to go hiking and biking. I've recently expanded this to Earth Week where I try to watch environmentally-themed movies or documentaries and pick up trash in the neighborhood. I'm looking forward to it this year because I go to an environmental school, so this holiday is kind of a big deal. There are events all week, such as tie-dying, clothing swaps, tree plantings, games, movies, and sustainability-themed talks. On the actual day of Earth Day this year, I have a class field trip to a tree nursery. While not ideal (no hiking for me), it also seems appropriate.
Halloween. Everything about this time of year gets me excited. Leading up to Halloween, I adore pumpkin carving, the falling leaves, apples, sweaters, fires, and eating/drinking everything that has the word pumpkin spice in it (of which I have zero shame). I love dressing up in costume for Halloween, sometimes spending hours making my outfit, with my favorite costumes being R2D2, Wall-E, and No Face from Spirited Away.
Thanksgiving. This holiday is not about spending money on gifts but about gathering together with family and friends to eat a lot of food. I feel happiness and love, and I express endless gratitude. Last Thanksgiving, my friend and I had our own mini Friendsgiving where we cooked and baked together for hours, and it was so heartwarming.
Am I missing anything? Give me more reasons to celebrate!
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