Surviving the World A Photocomic Education by Dante Shepherd

Lesson #1280 - New Holidays

Do we need more holidays? Absolutely! Especially if they're for good reasons to keep at that heart of them. Some of these ideas may be better than others, but hey, let's give them a try. Here's why each of the above should be celebrated:

January 30th – Vasili Arkhipov’s Birthday: The man is an unsung hero who prevented nuclear war. Take this day to celebrate and recognize the unsung heroes who have influenced your life and appreciate peace in the world that Arkhipov deserves some credit for.



February 4th – High-Five A Random Stranger Day: Depending where you live, at this point, you’re either suffering through the middle of winter – with all the seasonal affective disorder that brings – or you’re in the dog days of summer. Really, in either case, people could use some unexpected cheer – so go out of your way with a high-five. Fist-bump, if necessary.



March 14th – Observance Observance: Here’s to the laws that are wrong and immoral! After all, if you don’t refresh your commitment against them, they only strengthen as you wane. Raise your glass in angry recognition that they still exist, and offer a toast in vengeance to ensure their correction or repeal.



April 29th – Frontier Day: Are there really any frontiers left? Actually, yes – considering that most people can’t even find their way across their hometown without a GPS, exploring an area only three miles away can be like discovering entirely new territory. So adventure, get lost, and don’t catch dysentery or be lost fording a river. Celebrating on Aleksander Wolszczan’s birthday, he who discovered the first extrasolar planet, is a good time to go beyond your normal boundaries.



May 15th – Stupid Decisions Commemoration: We’ve all made a number of dumb choices in our lives – so celebrate this one day with friends to share the moments of your stupid decisions and hopefully laugh at them – moving you beyond them and helping others not to make the same terrible choices. A month and a half after April Fools’ Day seems like an appropriate time for such a holiday.



June 23rd – Alan Turing’s Birthday: Turing should be celebrated not only for his major contributions but also for the repercussions he suffered for being different. So gather this day to remember all that he accomplished – and all that we are able to do today because he did so – and pause to consider how we can treat even heroes when they differ from us.



July 1st – Re-Resolution Day: Six months ago, you made a New Year’s Resolution. Five and a half months ago, you gave up on it. Time to get back on the horse or at least pick a new one that is a bit more appropriate.



August 8th – Babel Day: People get hung up over language and the importance of their own dialect, but stupid words get invented and celebrated and absorbed into the vernacular every year. So show how stupid it is to be so tightly bound to language – invent new words and repeatedly toss them into conversation – and if one even starts to stick, make up an even dumber one and go with that. If nothing else, people usually take pride in their confusion – so you’ll help them celebrate that, if nothing else.



September 13th – Little Victories Celebration: Even those tiny successes you’ve worked toward all year deserve a giant blowout of their own. No matter how small, celebrate everyone’s victories together at the same time allow for grand merriment.



October 1st – October Sages’ Day: As explained in this comic. Now, you'll have more time to plan.



November 17th – Bullcrap Observance: This day is to remember that you should always take into consideration what you see and hear, held on the anniversary of Nixon’s “I am not a crook” speech. In commemoration, contribute fake facts and stories in conversation, try to slip complete fiction past others – and take everything you receive with a hearty grain of salt.



December 28th – December Entropy Fest: For those who assert the nature of the universe reigns supreme, a holiday to appreciate the lack of order that keeps us from controlling many things – and thus may drive us to better influence the things that we can control.



