The exact minute the clock strikes midnight, a barrage and sea of customers flock to stores to get started on Halloween decorating or costume prep. Halloween stores finally become popular again, your local Home Depot starts selling 12-foot skeletons, and candy bags hit store aisles as fast as snow destroys Texas pipelines.
But the thing is, everyone knows and loves Halloween. It’s literally the one day of the month everyone ever really cares about. So, let’s get niche, and I mean, really niche and talk about the national holidays and celebrations of each day of October!
At the very start of the month is October 1st, International Coffee and Balloons Around the World Day.
October 2nd is World Smile and National Custodial Worker Day.
October 3rd is Mean Girls and Techies Day (Which is a day to celebrate engineers apparently!)
October 4th is National Taco and World Animals Day.
October 5th is World Teacher’s and Chic Spy Day (A day to recognize stylish spies).
October 6th is Mad Hatter Day.
October 7th is Frappe Day (You should probably hit up a Starbucks).
October 8th is National Pierogi Day.
October 9th is Curious Events Day.
And on October 10th, it’s World Porridge and Handbag Day.
Before I continue, I bet you’re reading through this list and thinking, “Wow, this girl must have lost her mind!” I mean, who would ever want to celebrate such an egregious amount of holidays? Every. Single. Day. Who cares if it’s National Curious Day or Chic Spy Day, like, what person in their right mind even cares about that kind of stuff?!?
But, in my heart, I believe there’s so much fun and whimsy that can happen when you know such weird, almost outcast holidays that literally no one has ever heard of. But let’s look at a couple more holidays first!
October 11th is “It’s My Party” Day.
October 12th is Old Farmers Day.
October 13th is International Skeptics and Ada Lovelace Day (A day to honor women in STEM. Write this down, my performative men).
October 14th is National Dessert Day.
October 15th is “I Love Lucy” Day (Shoutout to Lucy I guess!)
October 16th is Dictionary Day.
October 17th is “Wear Something Gaudy” and Sweetest Day.
October 18th is Chocolate Cupcake Day.
October 19th is National Clean Out Your Virtual Desktop and Evaluate Your Life Day (A little harsh but ok girl).
And October 20th is International Sloth Day.
Cool, you know ten more holidays, so where is my point going?
Well, while there are some holidays that are quite, well, out there. There are actually a few holidays here and there where companies offer free handouts or possible rewards.
For instance, on National Dessert Day, The Cheesecake Factory rewards members with half-priced desserts, some Dairy Queen locations do $1 small Blizzards, and supposedly, there was even a time when Bath & Body Works released dessert-scented lotions and candles. So, if you’re ever on the lookout for free deals or even food and drinks, you should check your calendars more often. You’re probably missing out on killer deals.
But what else is there to these holidays other than a free dessert or half-priced food? Well, let’s look at our last round of celebrations first!
October 21st is Count Your Buttons and Reptile Awareness Day.
October 22nd is Caps Lock Day.
October 23rd is National Mole (Avogadro’s number for non-chem majors) and Mother-in-Law Day.
October 24th is National Bologna Day.
October 25th is World Pasta, Sourest, and International Artist Day.
October 26th is Howl at the Moon Day (Fun day to make your neighbors think you’re crazy).
October 27th is American Beer and Black Cat Day.
October 28th is International Animation and National Chocolate Day.
October 29th is National Cat and Internet Day.
October 30th is Candy Corn, Frankenstein Friday (Why Friday specifically?), and Checklist Day.
And finally, our final day is October 31st. While everyone knows it as Halloween, it’s also National Magic and Knock-Knock Jokes Day.
Now, this long list of holidays isn’t meant to bore you, nor am I telling you to memorize them all now simply because I told you so. While I’m sure there is some seriousness in these events to celebrate a small cause or a community of workers, it’s also just fun and hysterical to know such an isolated or unpopular day of celebration. They create good and hilarious conversation starters for friends or strangers. Many workplaces and schools could also focus on actually celebrating some of these holidays to create a more fun and lively atmosphere for kids and adults alike. Or, they could just utilize the day to acknowledge and reward the hard work of their custodial staff, technicians, or women in STEM. And honestly, it can even give people something to look forward to. Especially if celebrating one of the more well-known holidays is not possible for them at the moment, such as if they’re working on Halloween or don’t have the funds to make Christmas possible.
So, if you’re ever bored one day or want to start a fun conversation, you’ve got a new list of over 31 holidays to celebrate in October.
After all, it’s all about the little moments that make each day count.