We are a people who love celebrating certain people, events, holidays, annual days of happy remembrances, and even sad remembrances, and days of memorial, and honor.

It seems like every month has one or more special days that we set aside to celebrate. We have birthdays, wedding days, anniversaries, patriotic days, special event days (wedding, graduation, induction to a group or organization, holy days, and more), and the usual days we look forward to that happen, and are sponsored by stores (ones with roofs and others on line), bars and restaurants, florists, jewelry stores, and of course the greeting card creators and stores that sell them too. In January, we celebrate New Year’s Day, and Martin Luther King Day. February brings us Valentine’s Day, and Presidents’ Day. March sometimes celebrates Easter, always celebrates St. Patrick’s Day (and some of us celebrate our Wedding Anniversaries.). In April, some celebrate April Fools’ Day, we might have Easter in April, some of us have birthdays in April, many celebrate Arbor Day, Earth Day, and Tax Day (No, forget that one). May brings May Day, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day. June has a special day to honor Dads, and some may celebrate a Graduation. June also brings us Junteenth Day, which is celebrated by many. July remembers the creation of this country as we celebrate the Fourth of July. We also remember July 20, 1969 as the day man landed, and walked, on the moon. August marks our friends on National Friendship Day, and our city celebrates Lucille Ball’s Birthday with a festival celebrating her and her craft. September remembers the attacks on our country which occurred on September 11, 2001, and our Laborers. October marks Columbus Day/Indigenous Day, and ends with a holiday which has become almost as big as Christmas, that being Halloween. November honors our Veterans and later in the month we sit down on Thanksgiving Day and give thanks for all with which we have been blessed in the past year, and in our lives. December remembers Pearl Harbor Day, the Eight Nights of Hanukkah, the seven days of Kwanzaa and, of course, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Scattered amongst all these celebrated days, we have come to recognize/acknowledge almost every other day of the year as National This Day, or National That Day, or National Name a Relative Day, or Special Days centering around a television character, or a take on a certain author, or movie, and some center on historical events or people. We see many of these on social media, and like to send our best wishes for celebrating, and hoping that, those friends we have might see our wishes and have a great “whatever” day. I try to acknowledge National Teacher’s Day, and sometimes acknowledge National Daughter’s’ Day, Sons’ Day, or Grandchildren’s Day, but not as frequently as Facebook wants me to, as I, in my mind and heart, celebrate my children and grandchildren, and my pride of them and love for them, every day. I always try to mark and remember February 22 [(National Margarita Day), and August 29 (Jimmy Buffett Day) in memory of Jimmy Buffett], November 13th (Felix Unger Day), Dr. Seuss Day (March 2nd), May 4th (Star Wars Day), and July 14th (Joe Friday Day) on my calendars. I also try to list as many flavors of certain bakery treats in a post on National Pi Day each year, (March 14th or 3.14.)

Sometimes, I think we’ve created many of these days, just so we can celebrate and party. Some people are impatiently awaiting the designation of Super Bowl Sunday as a National Holiday. I’m hoping that won’t happen. (Personally though, I feel Baseball’s Opening Day should be made a National Holiday, but as much as I love sports, there are many more important things in life than sports.)

I’ve not yet done it, but might just do so someday, and that is to check to see if they have designated all 365, (and every leap year 366) days of the year as some day of remembrance, or acknowledgement, or a day for celebrating something in our country and our life.

In a 1961 episode of the Andy Griffith Show, Otis, the Town Drunk, went around trying to buy some spirits, but some of the local moonshiners had been arrested and put in the Mayberry Jail for running a still in a dry county, so his last resort was to seek out the Morrison Sisters, Miss Clarabelle and Miss Jennifer, who ran a homegrown flower shop, but in the back room ran a still which produced, what they called, elixir, which they only sold for special occasions. In order to buy it, Otis had to tell the sisters what holiday he would be celebrating with it. I hope we don’t reach the point of celebrating National Potato Week, or Sir Walter Raleigh Landing in Virginia Day, or any other obscure day or reason just for the sake of celebrating.

I do believe many of the days we do celebrate are worthy of celebrations, and I have no problem with those, but celebrating National Flavored Pickle Day (not sure if that really is acknowledged) seems to tarnish celebrations of our Veterans, our Freedom, our day of giving Thanks, the holidays (be they religious or national), or to remember special events or occurrences that have happened in our country in some way, be it a good celebration, or a sad or historical remembrance of an event which happened on a certain date.

So, let’s keep continuing to remember, celebrate, and honor on special days, ones that are special to us, and days that should be remembered and/or celebrated, but let’s not ask for National Potato Chip Day, (whenever that is, if it is even a recognized day) off from work, or flood social media with celebrations of National Pencil Sharpening Day, National Third Cousin Day, or National Gargle Day, and the like.