There’s more to November than Thanksgiving, so before you busy yourself with stuffing turkeys, here are some of the coolest days you can celebrate this month (yes, Black Friday aside).
• November 2 – National Plan Your Epitaph Day and Cookie Monster's Birthday
It doesn’t matter if you’re morbid and obsessed with death, or you’re just a curious little thing. On November 2 (just in time for All Souls’ Day), you can go ahead and look far into the future into your own demise. It’s tough to decide how you want people to remember you by. After all, your tombstone can only contain so much words and letters, right? Planning your epitaph is so important that the world is giving you a whole day to figure it out—and if you decide to change your mind, you can always have another go at it next year.
Is it any wonder that the day of death also coincides with beloved Sesame Street character Cookie Monster’s birthday? We think not, because a cookie overload does indeed equal an early death, doesn’t it?
• November 3 - Sandwich Day
Speaking of dying young, the following day is a day of celebrating one of the most amazing and ingenious human inventions in all of history—the sandwich. Imagine: anything you’ve always wanted to scarf down between two slices of hearty bread? What an inspired creation! Today is the day to celebrate your fave PB and J with your best buds, or perhaps whip up your own concoction in the kitchen. Whatever you decide to do, just dig in and indulge—it’s a “holiday” after all.
• November 5 – Guy Fawkes Day
If you’re not quite in the mood to make like a couch potato and wolf down sandwiches to your heart’s content, you can step out into the light and let chaos and anarchy reign. In memory of the “Gunpowder Plot” to blow up the British Parliament in 1605, this day is celebrated with bonfires and effigies. And who can forget the revolutionary tale of “V For Vendetta” written by the master Alan Moore? That ominous smiling mask alone is enough to give anyone the creeps—the good kind. So instead of celebrating this day by running wild in the streets (and getting yourself thrown in jail), you can read up on this award-winning graphic novel, or watch the chilling movie version where Natalie Portman shaves her head. “Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the Gunpowder treason and plot; I know of no reason why the Gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.”
• November 13 - Sadie Hawkins Day; and November 8 - International Tongue Twister Day
Torpe guys, rejoice! No longer should you follow the norm of asking women out on a dance when it comes to Sadie Hawkins Day. Let the women chase you instead in honor of the 1930s comic strip Li’l Abner. In the story, Hekzebiah Hawkins holds a race for her daughter to chase around single guys until she catches the one she will marry.
If not though, you can always impress a girl with your mastery of any tongue twister. Today’s the day to flaunt those skills by telling everyone that Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, or that she sells seashells by the seashore.
• November 13 - World Kindness Day
It’s not like we need a special day for it, but if you need another reason to be a stand-up person, today is the day to start. When the World Kindness Movement created the event in 1998, it aimed to foster kindness in every person’s heart, transcending barriers of culture and race and other differences. Do something nice for your loved ones on this special day—or better yet, reconcile with an old enemy and contribute to the betterment of humankind as a whole.
• November 15 - National Recycling Day
Remember that tacky old jacket you always thought would come back in trend one day but never did? Yes, now is the time to finally get rid of all your useless and so-called sentimental junk. De-clutter your life and donate or recycle old stuff. Do a little “spring cleaning” while you’re at it, too. And for goodness’ sake, throw out that old science project that’s growing its old mold culture in the attic, will you?
• November 19 - Use Less Stuff Day
Now that you’ve gotten rid of all the useless thingamajigs in your life, it’s time to prioritize. Fight back against consumerism telling you that you can never have too many things. Cut back on all the excessive spending, and only get the items that you truly need. It’s just like Fight Club says, “You are not your job, you're not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You are not your fucking khakis.” Plus, “The things you used to own, now they own you.” So if you don’t want that to happen, Use Less Stuff. “It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.”
• November 19 - Play Monopoly Day
If you’ve never played Monopoly in your life (where have you been hiding all this time?), today is the day you should finally do so. Originally created by Elizabeth J. Magie Phillips in 1903 and commercialized by Parker Brothers in 1935, Monopoly has since then been played in practically every household, spawning everything from reconciled family relationships to grudge matches between barkadas. Interestingly, Mr. Monopoly’s name used to be Rich Uncle Pennybags. Thank goodness for more politically correct marketing departments, right?
• November 22 - National Start Your Own Country Day
Let’s hope you’re not a megalomaniac hell-bent on world domination, but if you’ve always dreamed about starting your own country (like any child would), here’s your chance. You can make anything up from obscure old jammies as your national flag to pizza vending machines on every corner as your first official mandate—whatever you decide, it’s up to you. You’re the king/president/all-knowing interplanetary leader, right?
• November 27 (the day after Thanksgiving) - National Day of Listening
A non-profit project sponsored by StoryCorps, the National Day of Listening encourages people to get inspired by listening to people’s tales from all over. You can also participate by interviewing a loved one using StoryCorps’ Great Questions so that we can all learn more about one another and honor both loved ones and strangers in this small, small world we live in. To know more about this beautiful organization, head on over to http://diy.storycorps.org/learn-more/ and get active!
*This article was first seen on The Philippine Online Chronicles HERE.
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