A special day every day

It is amazing, isn’t it how many special days we celebrate each year. Now you might wonder whether many of these special occasions have been created especially for marketing purposes and to enrich one trade or another, such as for example the florists.

But far from it. These days, or ‘observances’ as they are officially called, are actually designated by the United Nations or one of its agencies in order to promote awareness and action on these issues. And they are not only days, there are weeks, years and decades dedicated to a theme or topic. Some of them make perfect sense and are very laudable, for example the International Women’s Day (8 March), the World Refugee Day (20 June) or the World Mental Health Day (10 October).

The UN’s purpose of observances or international days as they are also called is to raise awareness and educate the wider public on issues of concern. But, to be honest, I have never heard, for example, of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests (29 August) or the International Translation Day (30 September): So who and how exactly is being made aware? And how is the impact these days have being measured? Each international observance has its own page on the UN website and the UN looks at the level of engagement these commemorations receive in different parts of the world to measure the interest in a given subject in each part of the world.

But why do we need a World Toilet Day on 19 November, followed by a World Television Day a couple of days later? If anything I’d rather have them the other way round because what these days sometimes passes on television makes you really want to go to…. well, I guess you know what I mean.

And then there are the minor secular observances (these, obviously are not ordained by the UN), such as World Nutella Day (5 February): it was apparently started by a blogger in 2007, but is now run by, you might have guessed it, the Ferrero group, manufacturers of Nutella. Then 1 April is not only April Fools Day, but also Edible Book Day, created in honour of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), famous for his book Physiologie du goût. Or anybody for Star Wars Day on 4 May (created by Luscasfilm by the way)?

Some of these commemorations are of course ideal opportunities for some businesses to promote their goods and services, and florists in particular seem to have latched onto the idea that you and I will not miss any opportunity to dispatch flowers to loved ones on such days. Sometimes it seems to me, that Valentine’s Day (not a UN observance by the way) was especially created by or for them in order to sell huge amounts of massively overpriced roses. But what kind of flowers or other gift for that matter am I expected to offer on World Toilet Day? Or on World Rhino Day (22 September, which, just by the way, is also World Hobbit Day)?

Going through the list of awareness days I realise that hardly a da goes by without an observance of some kind. And while the ones designated by the United Nations and its agencies are certainly worthwhile remembering, many of the minor secular ones serve, in my humble opinion, no higher purpose. What good is it to send flowers, chocolates or both on Valentine’s Day to your better half if you can’t be bothered to make an impromptu loving gesture on any other day?

In the end every day in its own way is special and worth celebrating (although they don’t always feel like that, do they!). So maybe it is time for the UN to designate each and every day as a World Every Day Is Special Day?