(And before you ask – no, that’s not just a different title for St Patrick’s Day.)
These type of ‘international days’ have sprung up all over the place, often concocted by marketers looking for ways to promote their products.
International Beer Day was started in California in 2008, and is now marked on the first Friday of August each year – which is August 2 this year – in a move that reeks more of late-capitalistic desperation than anything else.
The official International Beer Day website says it is celebrated in 200 cities around the world, and states: “International Beer Day is a global celebration of beer, taking place in pubs, breweries, and backyards all over the world. It’s a day for beer lovers everywhere to raise a toast to our brewers and bartenders and rejoice in the greatness of beer!”
This year Heineken in Ireland has got in on the act, saying in a campaign that brings home the message that “there’s more to going for a beer, than just the beer”.
It has even commissioned a poem on that theme by Dublin-based poet Adam Mohamed just for the occasion.
But they’re not the worst offenders. At least International Beer Day gives you an excuse to have a good time…
Here are some lesser known international ‘days’:
American pie
December 25 is probably one of the best known dates in the modern western world.
Every year, millions of children lie awake, eagerly waiting for what will be left under the Christmas tree in a celebration of… National Pumpkin Pie day, of course!
Yes, you read that right. Forget about Jesus’ birthday, or Santa Claus, or any of your favourite Christmas traditions. December 25 should obviously instead be known as Pumpkin Pie Day.
Granted, this national day seems to be an American invention.
Jog on
Although we can’t say much when we’re out here supposedly celebrating World Sauntering Day, which has been marked on June 19 every year since 1979.
The day was apparently created by a man known as WT Rabe in response to the popularity of jogging.
The purpose is to remind people to slow down and enjoy life. As far as I’m concerned, that’s what Sundays are for, but what do I know?
The truth is out there
Some of these days of imagined importance can’t even get their story straight. World UFO day, for example, is celebrated on either June 24 or July 2.
When you choose to pay tribute to UFOs is decided by which event you think of as having more importance – the first reported UFO, on June 24, or the Roswell incident on July 2.
This, truly, is a matter of huge importance, and we should be calling on our world leaders to resolve the issue immediately.
Mary, Mary…
At least some of these manufactured events have the decency to maintain a sense of humour.
Bloody Mary Day is self-aware enough to occur on January 1. It acts as a tribute to those who will be downing the drink to try to remedy the after-effects of their New Year’s revelry.
Load of waffle
Thankfully, you won’t find any of these days printed on your calendar. But you can bet that somewhere out there, some poor marketing executive is nearly in tears, trying to get International Waffle Day (March 25) to catch on.