Save the date to celebrate

It’s never too early to start planning for “Lazy Day”

For his March 9 segment of the television news show, 60 Minutes, humorist Andy Rooney shared his favorite months of the year—including the months that give us great holidays or special events like Christmas, the inauguration, the Oscars and the Super Bowl.
Take a look at the summer months, and you are sure to find them lacking in holidays and events with real status—we are talking about get-out-of-school, post-office-closed, get-a-greeting-card-or-a-gift status. Sure, students get out of school in June, and June has Father’s Day.  July 4 is a big holiday, and families tend to take vacations (when they can) in July, but that’s, it unless you happen to be aware of and find some special way to celebrate July 27, Fingerprint Day.
August has nothing. And to make matters worse, it’s no longer a great month for vacations, because kids and teachers have to go back to school. This just doesn’t seem fair, so we did a bit of research for some August holidays we would like to promote.  Below are our suggestions for one new holiday, along with some ideas for elevating obscure holidays to the status of Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
Summer just keeps on getting shorter, so start that party planning now!

Presidents aren’t Perfect Day

We celebrate two outstanding United States presidents in February, so maybe we could have a day celebrating the four presidents born in August. One of the four, Benjamin Harrison, was not his party’s first choice when he was elected, and he failed to get re-elected. Another, Bill Clinton, left office in disgrace after a much-publicized affair. Presidents Barack Obama and Lyndon Johnson also were born in August—both outstanding, but also not perfect, so this will work. It’s worth a shot for a day off in August. We suggest Aug. 18—the numerical average of their birthdays. Write your congressman.

Left-Handers’ Day, August 13

We live in a right-handers’ world, so this may be the reason many of us are unaware that August 13 has been designated “Left-Handers’ Day.” Proud left-handers make daily adjustments we righties take for granted, and for the most part they celebrate Left-Handers’ Day without recognition from the boss or loved ones—unless the boss or the spouse also are lefties. Now is the time for us to address this inequity and, at the same time, add a much-needed holiday to an under-celebrated month.
According to HolidayInsights.com, “Right-handed people operate in the left side of the brain. Left-handed people use the right side. Therefore, only left-handed people are in their right mind.” As part of the celebration of Left-Handers’ Day, we could all become more informed about the nature of left- vs. right-handedness. Did you know that while many people are lefties, very few are 100 percent left-handed? For example, many lefties golf and bat right-handed. On the other hand, a high percentage of righties are 100 percent right-handed.
Maybe we could increase sensitivity to the challenges of being left-handed in a right-handed world by declaring that on Aug. 13 we may use only our left hands for any activity that requires one hand. If we really want to honor our leftie friends, we could lobby for a day off for left-handers only. Or maybe on Aug. 13, we could mail all postage with stamps on the left side of the envelope.

Kiss and Make Up Day, August 25

Yes, it’s really a holiday. Before our research, we knew nothing about Kiss and Make Up Day, but we can think of lots of possibilities! HolidayInsights.com calls Kiss and Make Up Day “a great way to end a spat. Everyone has an argument, a fight, or a tiff once in a while. Family, friends, lovers—no one escapes without an occasional falling out. August 25th is a day to end the fight, kiss, and make up. Oh, what fun this day can be!”
Given that explanation, what if we all worked together to elevate the status of Kiss and Make Up Day by making a list of the people we’ve fought with recently and taking the first step toward reconciliation?
For loved ones, we could send flowers with a card that says, “It’s Kiss and Make Up Day. Want to?” That’s sure to melt any frozen heart.
For coworkers, friends, or family we can’t stand (and towards whom we don’t anticipate our attitude will change), we could have our pick of Hallmark cards with different variations of the following sentiment:

Even though your views and opinions
make me want to smash your face in,
on this special day,
let’s be cordial—
and not mention
you-know-what.
How about lunch or dinner?

Our research uncovered other great holidays we could promote during August if any of you are interested in joining a “Let’s Celebrate in August” movement. Among them: Friendship Day and Sisters Day (both on the first Sunday in August), Work Like a Dog Day (Aug. 5)—whose benefits are counteracted by Lazy Day (Aug. 10)—and Just Because Day (Aug. 27).
With a well-organized campaign and some creative marketing, we could really put August on the holiday map. Let’s get started!