January is a month named by the Romans after the God Janus, the God of Gateways. This is because January is the gateway to the new year, and is most often welcomed through a celebration of great merriment and mirth – not to mention a usually-unachievable new year’s resolution! But did you know that January 17th is the day to ditch your new year’s resolution? Or that January 21st is Hugging Day? Well January is month full of wacky and weird days, and these are the most awesome for each and every day!
1st January – Z Day. No it’s not the day that marks the rising of the dead, but rather Z Day celebrates people with names beginning with a ‘Z’.
2nd January – Pet Safety Travel Day. This day exists to raise awareness of the dangers of travelling with an unsecured pet in your car.
3rd January – Drinking Straw Day. This day marks the creation of the modern drinking straw and is celebrated by drinking all the day’s liquids through a straw!
4th January – Spaghetti Day. Spaghetti Day celebrates one of the world’s most loved foods and it’s pretty simple to celebrate – just have some spaghetti!
5th January – Whipped Cream Day. What better way to celebrate everyone’s favourite aerosol-canned food by blasting yourself a mouthful of whipped cream and saying ‘Whipped Cream Day’!
6th January – Cuddle Up Day. The perfect day to bust out a duvet, cuddle up on the sofa with your loved ones or pets and watch some Netflix.
7th January – I’m Not Going To Take It Anymore Day. This day is about standing up for yourself, telling those who give you grief that you’re done with it. It’s also the perfect day for a strike.
8th January – Joy Germ Day. A Joy Germ is a germ that is passed on through a smile, in the hopes that others catch the germ and smile in turn. So smile people!
9th January – Static Electricity Day. Build up static on a carpet whilst wearing a onesie and give a friend a static shock because today is Static Electricity Day!
10th January – Peculiar People Day. This is a day to celebrate all those of us who are a little quirky, weird or eccentric.
11th January – Step In A Puddle And Splash Your Friends Day. I think the name says it all really, and what better time to do it than January? There are puddles everywhere!
12th January – Marzipan Day. Whether you love it or loathe it you have to admit that marzipan pulls its weight at Christmas. And there’s always some left, so what better day to finish it all off?
13th January – Sceptics Day. This is a day to honour the sceptic within. Is it too good to be true? Was it too easy? Either way give it the second thought you usually wouldn’t.
14th January – Dress Up Your Pet Day. Put a fedora on your pooch, or go all out and dress the cat in a bumble-bee costume. Today’s the day for it!
15th January – Hat Day. It’s safe to say that early January is usually pretty cold. Often cold enough to warrant wearing a hat. On this day you have no excuse but to wear a hat because it’s Hat Day!
16th January – Nothing Day. Invented by newspaper-columnist Harold Coffin in 1973, this day has no purpose or structure, and no particular way of celebration. It is literally about nothing.
17th January – Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day. Let’s face it, you probably didn’t expect yourself to last the whole year when you made your New Year’s Resolution did you? Well ditch it then, today is the day for it!
18th January – Winnie the Pooh Day. January the 18th is the birthday of Winnie the Pooh author A. A. Milne. This day is typically celebrated with a good teddy bear’s picnic and lots of honey!
19th January – Popcorn Day. Popcorn is the universal standard for movie-going food worldwide. So what better way to celebrate than going to the movies and munching down some popcorn.
20th January – Penguin Awareness Day. What’s black and white and happens on the 20th of January every year? Penguin Awareness Day! A great excuse to visit your local zoo and see the penguins at play.
21st January – Hugging Day. Today is a day to embrace the hug! Give your mum a hug to show her your care, or give your best friend a hug to let them know they’re awesome. Get hugging people!
22nd January – Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day. They might not be able to speak, but all cats have a way of asking us something, so puzzle it out and give them an answer.
23rd January – Measure Your Feet Day. This one sure is a bizarre one, but why not celebrate all the hard work your feet do by putting them up and getting a tape measure on them!
24th January – Belly Laugh Day. Laughter has been known to up your immune system, prevent stress, and burn calories. So have a long and hearty belly laugh and do yourself some good!
25th January – Opposite Day. Celebrate Opposite Day by not doing nothing nowhere, if you don’t catch my drift.
26th January – Australia Day. G’day mate, today is Australia Day. It celebrates the world’s sixth largest country that’s full of beautiful beaches, barbecues and beer. Ripper!
27th January – Chocolate Cake Day. Let’s face it, everybody loves chocolate cake. It’s sticky, gooey, and just divine. Nobody really needs a reason to eat chocolate cake, but here’s one anyway.
28th January – Data Privacy Day. This is a day about challenging people to think about how secure their personal data is online, and finding out ways to make it secure.
29th January – Freethinkers Day. Also known as Thomas Paine Day, as it occurs on the famous thinker’s birthday, this holiday is about challenging life’s status quo by thinking for yourself.
30th January – Insane Answering Machine Day. A voicemail of your friend swearing at you because you got them with a prank answering message is just gold. Try it out and see how many of your friends you can catch out!
31st January – Backward Day. Celebrate this day by doing things backwards. What about writing backwards? Ti si ysae, ees. Just don’t write racecar backwards as it’s spelled the same backwards and forwards!
Don’t forget to check back next month for a weird and wonderful list of special days in February!
