New Holidays

When I was growing up, Casmir Pulaski day was added to the school holiday calendar in my home state of Illinois. We kids were thrilled to celebrate his birthday, even though I couldn’t tell you to this day who he was or what he did. He was Polish, and he had a birthday, and we got a day off. Hooray for Poland.

We like adding new holidays to our family’s calendar, as well. We’ve celebrated a few recently! Just this weekend we celebrated Pajama Day. On Pajama Day, you can get a free waffle cone at our local ice cream parlor if you wear your pajamas. You’d think my boys never get ice cream, the way they dream and formulate whispered plans about which flavor they will get on Pajama Day. Pajama Day is an annual favorite with us. And yes, I wore mine, too.

Last month we celebrated National Pancake Day. On this little-known holiday, the International House of Pancakes will give a free short stack to every person who comes in. My husband had to celebrate that day twice, because he had a business meeting at IHOP in the morning, and then we went as a family that night. He wasn’t really interested in the free pancakes the second time around, but he enjoyed watching the kids devour their short stacks.

Whenever it snows in Georgia, it’s an automatic holiday. We were shocked when we first moved here, as businesses and schools close down if there is even ½” of snow! We’ve lived here long enough now to know that even ½” of snow might only occur once every few years. It is fun to take a “snow holiday” to make angels in the snowy grass, roll a few snowballs and drink hot chocolate.

We have even put special traditions in place during the week. Our kids know that on Friday nights we will have pizza and spend special time as a family. All the kids get to stay up late that night and pile into one room for a “sleepover” together. We also try to keep a weekly game night and have a special breakfast together on the Sabbath.

Annual “holidays” and regular mini-celebrations are a bonding time for families. There are lots of excuses and opportunities for a family holiday. Why not add a few more celebrations to your calendar this year?