Hometown Holidays Different from Holidays Around the World

Hometown Holidays Different from Holidays Around the World

So yesterday – October 1^st, was International Music Day, International Coffee Day, and National Walk Your Dog Day. I posted about all of these on my author Facebook page, as all are relevant to Stan’s story. How does one learn about all these interesting and very specific “holidays”? There are lots of sites that list them, but Brownielocks.com – a homespun website if ever there was one – is one of the most comprehensive. Want to create a holiday? Just google it: a search for “how to create your own holiday” will yield many a story, tip-sheet, and blog post on the subject.

There are quite a few other holidays that could, however tangentially, pertain to our world-traveling protagonist. October 4 is National Taco Day – and Stan’s last stop before returning to the US is Mexico, the country where the taco originated. October 6 is American Libraries Day – and Stan’s mom is a librarian. October 10 is National Face Your Fears Day – you could say that the whole story is about Stan learning to face his fears. Ditto October 19 – Evaluate Your Life Day. October 25 is International Artists Day – Stan’s best friend is an artist, so he sees a lot of art on his trip.

This week – October 1-7 – is Great Books Week. Of course, I think Stan Finds Himself on the Other Side of the World is a great book, but I’ll leave that you, the reading public, to decide. 😊

And the month of October is Adopt a (Shelter) Dog Month. Isis says, “Woof!”

Holidays are one way that a culture expresses itself. We celebrate and commemorate the things that are important to us. What Stan learns, however, is that what’s important to us, as Americans, often has no bearing on what is important to people of other cultures. July Fourth is the mother of national holidays here in the U.S. Doesn’t really mean much elsewhere in the world, except perhaps to expats who fly Old Glory to celebrate. Likewise, unless you’re Buddhist, you’ve probably never heard of Buddha Purnima, colloquially known as Buddha’s Birthday and celebrated in  most Asian countries on April 8.

Holidays are full of tradition – times typically spent with family and friends. Even if you don’t go out and create an official holiday that gets its own internet memes, maybe it’s time to create a special day/week/month tradition that is unique to your friends and loved ones. Could be anything. Stay in Bed Till Noon Day. Wear Golf Hats Week. Eat Breakfast Together Every Day Month.

Tell us about your favorite holiday. Why is it special to you? Post your answers in the comments section!

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Laura’s first novel, Stan Finds Himself on the Other Side of the World is forthcoming in early 2018. Watch here for updates – and prepurchase your signed copy here.