WASHINGTON — October is “The Gateway to the Holidays.”
The Gregorian calendar’s 10th month brings us a chill in the air, full-on pumpkin spice everything, foliage, foliage tourists and The Triumphant Return of Soup.
Even better: It ends with a candy mountain and a countdown to Thanksgiving break.
The month, however, is more than just fun-size Snickers, earth-toned sweaters and pumpkin spice motor oil. It’s also National Adopt A Shelter Dog Month, AIDS Awareness Month, Head Start Awareness Month and LGBT History Month.
It has even more-obscure aliases as well. …
- Bat Appreciation Month
- National I’m Just Me Because Month
- National Sarcastic Awareness Month
- Caffeine Addiction Recovery Month
- National Caramel Month(!!!!)
Dig into that hollow plastic pumpkin that is October, and you’ll discover some weird and unexpected treats — obscure dates that confound the brain, warm the heart and (of course) delight the sweet tooth.
So pour yourself a morning cup of decaf coffee — oops — pumpkin spice caramel and peruse this gallery of obscure but oh-so-noteworthy “holidays.”
10/1 International Coffee Day This should not be confused with National Coffee Day, which was last month.) That said, It’s still important that we recognize it in this new era of globalism and interconnectivity. Celebrate like a proud American and go Venti. (As it is also Caffeine Addiction Recovery Month, it’s totally cool to go decaf here. No judgment.) Balloons Around the World Day Now that you’re all caffeinated (or decaffeinated), brighten that special someone’s day with some pretty balloons. Please note, however, that such a nice gesture might not float with everyone these days. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/arina7)
10/4 Taco Day How do you celebrate something so perfect that it defies appropriate celebration? Eating an extra one or two seems proper. Whether it’s Taco Bell or homemade, soft shell or hard shell, you’ve got options. Choose wisely. (Thinkstock)
10/5 Chic Spy Day According to people who declare these sorts of things, Oct. 5 is “a day to acknowledge that a well-dressed spy is always more successful in catching the bad guys than a scruffy one.” Celebrate with a visit to the International Spy Museum and a trip to Men’s Wearhouse. (Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
10/6 Mad Hatter Day On this day, the iconic character from Lewis Carol’s “Alice in Wonderland” is honored with … umm … what … hats? World Smile Day Wherein everyone is encouraged “to do acts of kindness to spread goodwill and cheer.” Fresh Halloween candy, in this journalist’s opinion, would be a good start AHEM. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
10/7
Frappe Day
It’s a day dedicated to the delicious “coffee drink” that consistently jams up the line at Starbucks. If you’re feeling inspired, avoid the wait and try this recipe.
Card Making Day
It’s exactly what you think it is: a time to make some nice greeting cards for your significant others. If you’re rather adept with the crayons, you’ll make quite the impression. (Alternate activity: use those crayons to reproduce your favorite baseball cards.)
(ABC)
10/8
Pierogi Day
Here’s a recipe that looks nice.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s pause this day to honor the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Racing Pierogis (above). Take a bow, Potato Pete, Jalapeño Hannah, Cheese Chester, Sauerkraut Saul, Oliver Onion, Bacon Burt and Pizza Penny. You give our own Racing Presidents a run for their money (… except for Teddy). (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
10/10 Handbag Day What’s in your bag? Do you keep your lunch there? A Clif Bar? Mints? Nunchucks? A turkey leg? Kristen Chenoweth? For many, handbags are not only a practical necessity, but also a fashion statement. Post a pic of your favorite bag on Instagram today. After you explain to friends why you just did that, buy a new one. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
10/11 It’s My Party Day You are encouraged — nay, commanded — to throw a party on this day. Why a party? Because. There will be beverages. There will be chips. It will begin at 7 p.m. It will end at “????”. There will be dancing. It will feature a Parliament-Funkadelic playlist. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/monkeybusinessimages)
10/12 Old Farmers Day Long before farm-to-table dining and organic produce became popular, farmers were doing their part to put food on our tables. On this day, we acknowledge those contributions as well as their wisdom. Celebrate by learning about some old farming techniques or by visiting your nearby farmers market. (Thinkstock)
10/13 International Skeptics Day No kidding. That’s what it is. Why are you making that face? (Thinkstock)
10/16 Dictionary Day Noah Webster was born on this day in 1758. As smartphones and video games had yet to be invented, the man was crazy-bored, so he wrote “An American Dictionary of the English Language.” It was the precursor to what we now know as Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary. Celebrate N-Dubs and his work by learning five new words, such as the dictionary’s longest one: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. National Clean out Your Virtual Desktop Day Bill Gates’ old vision of a paperless office hasn’t quite come to fruition, but it’s eliminated some of the clutter around our desks. … Actually, it’s moved all that clutter onto our computer desktops. Take some time on this day to delete (or archive) all those .jpgs, .gifs, .docxs and what not. (AP)
10/17 Wear Something Gaudy Day What is it about the fashions of decades past? Why is certain clothing that was tres chic in 1977 (or 1987 or 1997) regarded as horrific today? Such is life. While you meditate on all that, throw on a butterfly collar dress shirt and a polyester pantsuit. Or perhaps some acid wash jeans. Wait, what? They’re in again? (Thinkstock)
10/18 Chocolate Cupcake Day You know that raw joy of a walk-off home run? That’s Chocolate Cupcake Day. For all of humanity’s faults, the chocolate cupcake is triumphant redemption. Celebrating = indulging. Hit up Baked & Wired or Georgetown Cupcakes (if the line’s not too bad). You’re free to make your own, too. Yours truly tends to go vegan, but this recipe, which features coffee and a nice vanilla buttercream frosting, looks like love. (Photo by Casey Rodgers/Invision for Nestle Crunch/AP Images)
10/20 International Sloth Day Just look at yourself. You’ve been on that sofa a full three hours since breakfast. I don’t care if Wendy is talking “Hot Topics” right now. Get in the shower, get dressed and go see the National Zoo’s Southern two-toed sloth. Get off that sofa and do something with your life. Then tell that darn sloth to get up and do something with its life. (AP)
10/21 Count Your Buttons Day … … (sigh) Sure. OK. (AP Photos/Beth J. Harpaz)
10/22 Caps Lock Day Nothing sums up modern discourse quite like the caps lock. And even the most civil of us can agree that it’s tempting to kick it on when a Facebook or Twitter debate gets emotional (e.g., “YOU ARE SO WRONG, YOU DOOFUS! SHEMP WAS UNDERRATED.”). Suggested way to observe: Use it all day in your correspondence, and forgo the anger and condescension (e.g., “YOU ARE SO RIGHT! YOUR FACE SMELLS NICE.”). (Thinkstock)
10/24 Balogna Day Poor pitiful balogna, doomed to a below-average life. He lacks the seasoned personality of his cousin salami, so he’s always upstaged by that blowhard chorizo. Balogna just cowers in that dark fridge, with dreams of someday being as cool as pepperoni. This is the day we let balogna know we care, and give him a featured role at lunchtime. But don’t be shy with the mustard — because good grief is he boring. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/bigacis)
10/25 Sourest Day By now, you’ve probably overdone it a few times with the Halloween candy at work. As your amateur nutritionist, I advise you to counterbalance all that sweet with some sour. This is the day. Shovel at least five handfuls of Sour Patch Kids into your face, then call up that sour aunt and thank her for being so judgy. (AP)
10/27 American Beer Day “Didn’t we already have two drink-a-bunch-of-beer days last month?” you ask. The answer is yes. Pipe down. Another round for the table, please! Domestic this time. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/Valentyn Volkov)
10/28 International Animation Day Oct. 28 marks the anniversary of the first public performance of Emile Reynaud’s Theatre Optique in 1892. The animated moving picture system helped define an artform that is mainly practiced digitally now. Celebrate with the Minions and an old-school Chuck Jones masterpiece. (Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures via AP)
10/29 Internet Day On this day in 1969, a remote connection was made between a computer at Stanford University and the University of California at Los Angeles. Leonard Kleinrock attempted to send a “LOGIN” message from UCLA but only got out the first few letters, “LO,” before the terminals crashed. Over four decades we later, we routinely type a variant of this, “LOL,” in our iChat conversations. Progress!
10/30 Candy Corn Day Overly sweet and oh-so-polarizing, Candy Corn has more than its share of critics. But it’s still standing decades since its invention in the early 20th century, when the Goelitz Confectionery Company introduced it as “Chicken Feed.” (Oy.) Celebrate by making Candy Corn tortillas or Candy Corn flakes, or by throwing handfuls up in the air like so much edible confetti. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/tab1962)
10/31 Magic Day This annual celebration of illusions and other sleights of hand occurs on the anniversary of Harry Houdini’s death in 1926. Celebrate by performing magic tricks — in return for treats, of course. (iStock/Thinkstock)
