What to Celebrate January 20 thru 26, 2020
Celebration Ideas for January 20 – 26, 2020
How’s your January going?
Hopefully you’re sticking to any resolutions you made and are on track for a great year.
And remember, having a great year includes having fun & accomplishing worthwhile things. Lucky for you we—and the creators of these unofficial holidays—have done the hard work for you.
All you need to do is pick your favorites and dive in. So go ahead, take a peek & plan your week. And do remember to …
Enjoy!
Celebrate for the rest of January
We’ve uncovered a mixed bag of monthly celebrations this week. But celebrating slow cooking will give you lots of extra time to celebrate all your favorite days, weeks, and months!
National Polka Month: Did you know Polka music has its own month? Well it does! If you enjoy Polka, get celebrating. If you have no idea what Polka is, get educated. And if you’re near Chicago Ridge, IL, get yourself out to Glendora Banquets on Sat, Jan. 26 to celebrate this dance-able month! Or see if there’s a Polka event near you?
National Mentoring Month: Have you ever thought about mentoring? Well, this is the month to learn more about it and make your decision. And if you’re already a mentor, spread the word about this month & help others learn more about the positive impact they can make through mentoring.
National Slow Cooking Month: If you’re busy celebrating the Polka & mentoring (not to mention training your dog, skating, & getting busy on your hobbies) you don’t have a lot of time left for cooking. Lucky for you slow cooking takes very little time at all! And slow cooking is ideal for soups and stews—just the kinds of foods you want on cold January days—so toss in those ingredients & go about your day. Then enjoy a hot, home-cooked meal without any fuss.
Weekly Celebrations for Jan. 20 to 26
We all need a little extra inspiration to be happy some days. But healthy habits and kindness (both given and received) can certainly go a long way toward improving your mood.
Hunt for Happiness Week (January 19 – 25, 2020): Has the cold & the dark & the sudden end of the holiday brightness got you down? Never fear! The Society of Happy People has the antidote. Go hunting for your lost happiness. And see if you can start some smile chains in the process.
No Name-Calling Week (January 20 – 24, 2020): Help end name-calling and bullying in schools. The week is mostly for educators and students. But every one of us can model kind, non-name-calling, non-bullying behavior. Because kids really do pay attention. And imitate the trusted adults in their lives.
National Fresh-Squeezed Juice Week (January 19 – 25, 2020): Enjoy a glass of fresh-squeezed juice each day this week. And no, you don’t have to stick with orange if you find that boring. Take a look at these 15 fresh juice recipes and try a different one each day. You might just decide to have a fresh squeezed juice every day of the year!
Celebration Days coming up for Jan. 20 thru Jan. 26
Start the week in service to others. Humans of course. But also penguins, puppies, and your cats too. Because all living beings deserve love & respect.
Then go on to take some shelfies (no, not a typo!), handwrite something (you can still do that, right?), and enjoy a belly laugh.
Of course you’ll want to make time for the deliciousness of cheese, blondies, Irish coffee and more.
Add in appreciating dental drills and how can you not have another fun-tastic week?! 😁
January 20:
Penguin Awareness Day: It seems pretty unlikely that you’re not aware of penguins! But are you aware of how many different kinds there really are? Or of the threats to many of our penguin populations’ survival? Spreading the word about these cute & funny birds and how we can help ensure their survival for future generations’ enjoyment is what this day is all about.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Celebrate the civil rights leader whose dream remains unfulfilled but continues to inspire action. If you don’t know much about him beyond this day, take some time to learn about his life & beliefs. And take part in the MLK Day of Service in his honor.
Camcorder Day: Do you still have a camcorder gathering dust somewhere? Dig it out & record something with it! Assuming you still have tapes to record onto … You might have more luck if your camcorder is a more “modern” one that uses memory cards. Or, if you have any old recordings around, watch them! Although if they’re on those aforementioned tapes you may need to dig out a VCR … And if you happen to still use a camcorder, definitely record something to share in honor of the day.
National Buttercrunch Day: Treat yourself to a bite of sweet, crunchy, caramel-ly, chocolaty buttercrunch. Almond buttercrunch actually has its own day in June. But you can certainly have it for this day too.
National Cheese Lovers Day: Who doesn’t love cheese?! Use your favorite cheeses to enhance every meal for this day. And have some as a snack too.
January 21:
Squirrel Appreciation Day: “Appreciate squirrels? Why?” you ask. “Because they’re clever & fascinating.” we say. Yes, they can also be quite irritating as they steal birdseed and gnaw on wires. But put aside the irritation for one day, and find ways to appreciate them instead. Who knows, you may find yourself appreciating them all year long!
National Hug Your Puppy Day: Apparently puppies get their very own day, separate from Hug Your Dog Day in April. So if you have a puppy, give it lots of extra hugs for this day. And if you don’t have a puppy? Borrow a friend’s puppy to hug! Or hug some shelter puppies. Even strangers’ puppies (ask permission first!).
National Cheesy Socks Day: Dig out your cheesiest pair of socks & wear them proudly! Yes, even if they’re Christmas socks. What’s that you say? You’re an uber-serious person who doesn’t own cheesy socks? Well, change that pronto!
National Granola Bar Day: Keep up your energy for appreciating squirrels, hugging puppies, and showing off your cheesy socks with regular snacks of granola bars. Buy your favorites or consider making your own granola bars. That way you get just the snack you want! The previous recipe is pretty flexible, but if you’re looking for even more variety, check out these 5 recipes (including a vegan & gluten-free one).
January 22:
National Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day: If you live with a cat you know that sweet furball has lots of questions for you. Often starting with “Why can’t you feed me at a reasonable hour?” … never mind that cats find 3 a.m. to be a reasonable hour! At any rate, whatever questions your kitty has, you must answer on this day.
Library Shelfie Day: Take a selfie with a shelf full of books (a shelfie!) & share it for the world to see. Take your shelfie with a shelf of your own favorite books, a shelf at your local library, or even your friend’s library shelf. It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s a book-filled delight.
Roe vs. Wade Day: Whether you believe this is a day to celebrate or a day to protest, it is an historic day. The Supreme Court issued its decision affirming womens’ rights to make their own choices on abortion on January 22, 1973.
National Blonde Brownie Day: If you’re a Blondie fan (the brownie variation, not the band), this is your day to indulge. So whip up a batch of blondies & enjoy.
January 23:
National Pie Day: Eat pie to celebrate Charlie Papazian’s birthday. Who’s that? Just some guy who wanted his birthday to be a holiday!
National Handwriting Day: If you’re like most people these days you don’t do a lot of handwriting. But this is the day to find pen & paper and put down some readable words. In a letter, in a journal, or just on scraps of paper. It doesn’t matter what or where. Just do some handwriting! Although if you do it with a nice pen on nice writing paper it’ll be much more enjoyable.
Snowplow Mailbox Hockey Day: Tom & Ruth Roy of Wellcat created a day just for snowplow drivers to have fun. Of course, the owners of those mailboxes may have a different view of the game …
January 24:
Change a Pet’s Life Day: As long as there are pets in shelters we can never have enough days encouraging pet adoption. Because adoption really does change pets’ lives. And it changes yours too. Many shelters & rescues offer special adoption rates for adopting your next best friend on this day.
National Belly Laugh Day: Enjoy a great big belly laugh at 1:24 p.m. on this day. That’s it! Simplest celebration ever.
National Compliment Day: Make someone’s day with a compliment! You know how great it feels to get a compliment, right? So for this day do that for at least one other person. Maybe someone will do it for you too (but that’s not the goal here).
Beer Can Appreciation Day: On January 24, 1935 Krueger Brewing Company’s canned beer went on sale for the first time. Of course, those weren’t todays’ pop-top cans. No. These things were steel, and you weren’t drinking the contents without a church key.
National Peanut Butter Day: Celebrate the creamy (or chunky!) spread made from ground peanuts. So make some peanut butter pancakes for breakfast. Then have a PB & J for lunch. And Chicken Satay for dinner.
January 25:
National Irish Coffee Day: Warm up with a divine Irish Coffee. Need we say more?
National Seed Swap Day: Get together with fellow gardeners and swap seeds, along with your favorite gardening tips & tricks. Then plan to get those seeds started so you’ll be ready to plant when warm weather finally arrives!
National Opposite Day: Did you “play” opposite day as a kid? You’d spend the day trying to remember to say the opposite of what you meant. And interpreting everyone else’s words the opposite of what they said. And you’d end up so confused you weren’t even sure if the sky was up or down! Well, now we adults can have the same fun. So go ahead, have an awful time with it! 😉
Manitou Springs Great Fruitcake Toss: It no longer corresponds with Fruitcake Toss Day, but this is where the day began! If you happen to be in the area, go check it out. If not, celebrate in spirit by heaving that unwanted fruitcake as far as you can (especially if you didn’t celebrate on Jan. 4).
January 26:
Dental Drill Appreciation Day: Why?! We’re not sure. Although drilling & filling is less painful in the long run than letting your teeth rot out of your head! And it can help preserve your own teeth & avoid needing implants, partials, or false teeth. So I guess we really should appreciate the dentist’s “torture device.”
National Spouses Day: Celebrate your spouse! That means both of you. Celebrate each other. Because you each deserve it for putting up with the other. You know it’s true! 😉
National Green Juice Day: Are you still sticking to your healthier eating resolution? Or have you fallen off that wagon? Either way, this day can help keep you on track or get you back on track. Start your day with this Morning Greens Smoothie (from Evolution Fresh, creator of this day). Or try one of these 30 green juice recipes. With so many to choose from, you may be inspired to try a different one each morning (which was the original intent of the list).
National Peanut Brittle Day: Hard on the heels of celebrating peanut butter we celebrate another peanutty delight: peanut brittle. Buy your favorite peanut brittle or make peanut brittle from scratch. It’s actually pretty simple!
