National Nothing Day
| Nothing Day | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 16 |
| Next time | 16 January 2025 |
| Frequency | annual |
Nothing Day is an "un-event" proposed in 1972 by columnist Harold Pullman Coffin and observed annually on January 16 since 1973, when it was added to Chase's Calendar of Events. It is not actually a public holiday, as that requires an act of Congress. [1] [2] [3] Its purpose is:
to provide Americans with one National day when they can just sit without celebrating, observing or honoring anything.
It is sponsored by Coffin's National Nothing Foundation, registered in Capitola, California. [4] [5] [6] [7]
The third Monday of every January has subsequently been inaugurated as Martin Luther King Jr. Day which falls between the 15th and 21st. This means that one-in-seven January 16's now fall on a public holiday (e.g. Monday, 16th Jan 2012), effectively usurping the very nature of Nothing Day.
In contrast, the Realist Society of Canada (RSC) has a religious holiday called THABS ( "There has always been something" Day, pronounced /ˈtæbs/). THABS is dedicated to the celebration of the "realization" that "if there was ever nothing, there would be nothing now". It is celebrated July 8 of each year.[8]
References
- ^ Chase's Calendar of Events, 2011 Edition, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2010, p. 88, ISBN 978-0-07-174026-5
- ^ Michele Humes, Harold Coffin, American Hero; Or, Every Day Is National Capitulate-To-Inane-Press-Releases Day, archived from the original on 2010-08-29
{{citation}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Bob Symon, It’s Nothing Day; Celebrate in Earnest
- ^ Newsweek, 93, Newsweek, Inc.: 127, 1979 https://books.google.com/books?id=Vd0mAQAAIAAJ&q=%22national+nothing+foundation%22
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ The Review of the News, 15, Correction, Please: 25–26, 1979 https://books.google.com/books?id=6I3xAAAAMAAJ&q=%22national+nothing+day%22+coffin
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ David Wallechinsky & Irving Wallace (1975–1981), The People's Almanac (series)
- ^ Bruce Felton, Mark Fowler (1994), The Best, Worst, & Most Unusual: Noteworthy Achievements, Events, Feats & Blunders of Every Conceivable Kind, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., p. 335, ISBN 978-0-88365-861-1
- ^ "The Realist Society of Canada Religious Holidays" http://www.realistsocietyofcanada.com/realism-holidays
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