Although I loved all of those television programs, The Andy Griffith Show aired a few episodes that, even after all these years, still makes me laugh just thinking about them. One of my favorites was titled “Alcohol and Old Lace.”
The plot of that show revolved around the antics of the town drunk, Otis Campbell (played by Hal Smith), who got his moonshine, in spite of the attempts of the town’s law-enforcement officers, Sheriff Andy Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife, to close down all the local stills. It ends up that Otis had been getting his illicit liquor from a pair of elderly sisters who distilled their own “elixir.” The ladies claimed that their unique brew should only be enjoyed on special holidays. Finding a loophole, Otis convinces the ladies that he wanted to buy a jar of their hooch to celebrate National Potato Week.
In on the scam, we viewers knew that the old gals only acted naïve to keep up appearances as pillars of the community, and that they used the holiday-elixir ploy to maintain their reputations should they be caught in the act. We figured out that as long as the sisters played innocent, they were able to make a pile of money by selling to the local sots, all the while dropping tips to the sheriff and his deputy on where they might find moonshiners to arrest. That’s a heck of a clever way to get rid of the competition!
Having recently watched that episode, I wondered about other little known or fake holidays, such as National Potato Week, and their origins. Doing a bit of snooping around, I found an explanation at the website holidayscalendar.com. According to the folks running the site, they too were curious about what real and made-up holidays they could find. Under the section labeled “About Us,” the founders of the site said they researched holidays, including those that are “religious, country specific, international and unofficial.”
Below I have listed a few of the names and dates of some upcoming special days that I found at holidayscalendar.com. I don’t think you’ll find them on your calendar.
Saturday, Jan. 6— Bean Day
Monday, Jan. 15— National Hat Day
Monday, Jan. 15— Blue Monday
Thursday, Jan. 18— Winnie The Pooh Day
Sunday, Jan. 21— National Hug Day
Tuesday, Jan. 23— National Pie Day
Wednesday, Jan. 24— National Peanut Butter Day
Wednesday, Jan. 24— Compliment Day
Friday, Jan. 26— National Spouses Day
Sunday, Jan. 28— Fun at Work Day*
Tuesday, Feb. 6— Safer Internet Day
Friday, Feb. 9— National Pizza Day
Friday, Feb. 9— National Bagel Day
Thursday, Feb. 15— Singles Awareness Day**
* I find it odd that Fun at Work Day takes place on a Sunday.
** Of course, Singles Awareness Day would be the day after Valentine’s Day. When else would singles be more aware?