It seems like every second day is something day. I guess it’s a traditional that goes way back – to major religious/cultural events like Christmas or Passover or New Year’s Day. Then there are the ones specific to countries. Here in Australia, we have occasions like Australia Day, ANZAC Day and Cup Day (hooray for Australia- we have a public holiday for a horse race).
More recently, special days have been established to celebrate various groups within our community. I suppose it started with Mother’s Day and Father’s day. We now have a bunch of other days designed to raise awareness of underrepresented groups or issues – International Women’s Day, World Refugee Day, World Cancer Day, World Autism Awareness Day, and so many others. I think this is a good thing. It’s important to ensure that these people or issues don’t slide off the radar. On a lighter note, we also have May 4th as a special Star Wars day (May the 4th be with you…) and International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19.
Finally, we have those people who are so iconic, or who have made their mark in some significant way, that they have their own commemoration day. I guess one good example is Martin Luther King Day in the US. One of my favourites is Towel Day – 25th May – which celebrates the life of one of my great heroes, Douglas Adams (because as everyone knows, a towel is the most important item any hitchhiker can carry).
It would be seriously cool to have your own special commemorative day. You’d really know that you made an impact on the world. I reckon I’m going to have to add this to my list of goals. In addition to having my own wikipedia page, and my face on a postage stamp, I’d really love to have my own special day.
Which of course raises the question – what would my day be? What special way would people find to commemorate me. That’s a tricky one.
One of my defining characteristics, especially noted by my work colleagues, is my love of apples. I have an apple every day, just after lunch. Maybe my day could Apple Day. But no – after a bit of research, I just discovered there is already an Apply Day – 21 October to be exact.
One of my other characteristics is that I can get kind of annoying – another thing my work colleagues in particular know about me. Annoying Day? I don’t know if I like the sound of that. Doesn’t quite have the ring I’m looking for.
Maybe it could be something to do with my writing. Maybe it could be Neville Day, to celebrate Neville Lansdowne, the hero of three of my stories. I don’t mind the sound of that. And even better, there doesn’t yet seem to be a Neville Day in the calendar.
So there it is. I’ve set myself a goal. One of these days, readers everywhere will joyously celebrate Neville Day, by… Well I might need to think a bit more about exactly what Neville Day will entail. Sounds like the subject of another blog post.
Posted by Jonathan Gould and tagged as