If you’re feeling sad that the holidays are over, fear not: the first month of the year is chock-full of very fun, very specific, and sometimes very weird holidays to help you ease your way into 2017. Just because the most festive season is over, doesn’t mean there isn’t still a ton to celebrate.
1. JANUARY 2: HAPPY MEW YEAR FOR CATS DAY
This punny day is basically just another occasion to honor our feline friends. What more do we need to say?
2. JANUARY 4: DIMPLED CHAD DAY
A dimpled chad is when someone attempts to punch a hole in a sheet of paper, but the cutout remains attached and leaves just a dent. So … the opposite of what’s happening in the photo above. You might remember the term from the 2000 U.S. presidential election.
3. JANUARY 9: NATIONAL CLEAN-OFF-YOUR-DESK DAY
It’s a new year! Time to get organized, and this desk-piration is here to get you motivated.
4. JANUARY 9: NATIONAL THANK GOD IT’S MONDAY! DAY
Apparently there are people who like Mondays? This offbeat holiday is all about the possibility that comes with a fresh start, which we guess we can get behind.
5. JANUARY 10: POETRY AT WORK DAY
Don’t panic: this is not about your coworker doing an open mic in the conference room. Instead, it’s about encouraging you to see the poetry in your everyday tasks, and putting those fuzzy feelings into verse.
6. JANUARY 11: LEARN YOUR NAME IN MORSE CODE DAY
My name is -.-. .- .. – .-.. .. -. … -.-. …. -. . .. -.. . .-. ! (For the lazy among us, the internet has Morse code translators.)
7. JANUARY 12: NATIONAL HOT TEA DAY
Chances are, it’s cold out there. Warm up with a piping hot cup o’ tea.
8. JANUARY 13: BLAME SOMEONE ELSE DAY
If you’ve got any mistakes you want to unload, today’s the day.
9. JANUARY 16: NATIONAL NOTHING DAY
See that blank calendar? That’s what this “un-event” is all about.
10. JANUARY 17: JUDGMENT DAY
Be advised, this comes just a few days after Blame Someone Else Day.
11. JANUARY 17: KID INVENTORS’ DAY
Encourage a kid to make something on this day.
12. JANUARY 23: NATIONAL PIE DAY
We could write a 10,000 word ode to pie, but we’ll just eat a lot instead.
13. JANUARY 25: A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN DAY
There’s no better occasion than the anniversary of author Virginia Woolf’s birthday to find a room for you and only you.
14. JANUARY 28: LOCAL QUILT SHOP DAY
Take your crafty resolutions to a local quilt shop, where there are actual human beings to help you with your sewing screw-ups and quilting conundrums.
15. JANUARY 29: CURMUDGEONS DAY
Not even the festivities-averse can escape their own dedicated holiday.
16. JANUARY 30: INANE ANSWERING MESSAGE DAY
It’s 2017 and you might not even listen to answering messages much anymore, so take this day to give thanks for that.
Holidays found in Chase’s Calendar of Events 2017. All photos courtesy of iStock.
January 1, 2017 – 12:00am