5 Random Holidays in October
Holidays are the best days of the year and should be appreciated for all the joy they provide to society! I believe that joy can often be found in the little things in life, including buying myself a box of chocolates to celebrate my singleness on Valentine’s Day (or waiting until the day after to take advantage of the discount). Since I love holidays and finding things to make every day unique, I scoured the internet and found tons of random holidays to celebrate in October! After wasting way too much time reading about all the quirky holidays, I narrowed the list down to my top 5 favorites that I think the whole student body at Regent should celebrate this fall season!
- National Frappe Day– October 4th
National Frappe Day is on October 4th, which is the first Monday in October! Most Mondays are just sad and depressing. It’s the start of the week, yet somehow, I’m already buried in schoolwork, sleep-deprived, and can’t find a clean shirt to wear to my 8 am class. However, on October 4th, I plan to wake up excited because I have the perfect reason to start my day off with a fancy frappe from cafe MOKA. Instead of feeling guilty for spending money on a drink when I could make myself coffee in my room, I’ll indulge because that’s how you celebrate National Frappe Day! So, on October 4th, I encourage you to treat yourself to a nice coffee (or tea) drink as well to celebrate this fun holiday. Bonus points if you get a Pumpkin Frappe to celebrate National Frappe Day and Pumpkin Spice Season at the same time!
- Do Something Nice Day– October 5th
Do Something Nice Day is October 5th, and I am so excited! Most of the people I’ve met at Regent are already super kind, so I’d encourage you to use this day as a challenge to go above and beyond. If you normally hold the door open for someone, go the extra step and ask if they need help taking their groceries to their room. Wash your roommates’ dishes, or offer to play their favorite game with them. Call your mom, grandma, or someone you haven’t talked to in a while and ask about their day. Or maybe instead of just telling your professor good morning, you bring him/her an appreciation drink to class. However you choose to be kind, use October 5th as an opportunity to be intentional about making people feel loved!
- Take Your Teddy Bear to Work (or Class) Day-October 13th
You know how people say once you turn a certain age, you can’t be seen in public with stuffed animals anymore? For example, my little brother can take a “lovey” to preschool, but it wouldn’t necessarily be as appropriate for me to take one to work? Well, this holiday rejects the societal norm and declares the second Wednesday in October to be a day when adults can bring their stuffed animals to work/class with them. Whether you bring one of your well-loved stuffed animals or the newest member of your stuffed animal collection, October 13th is the day to let your teddy bear out of the house. Give your animal a tour of campus, let him/her sit in on a class, go get a drink from MOKA, or go study together in the library. Whatever you do, make sure to dress your stuffed animal up for the event and take lots of pictures to commemorate National Take Your Teddy Bear to Work Day.
- Wear Something Gaudy Day– October 17th
Whether you spend hours picking out your outfit or throw on the first clean outfit you find in your closet, October 17th is the perfect time to show off your most outrageous design. Based on a 1970’s TV comedy where one of the characters declared a “Wear Something Gaudy Day,” this day is for putting on everything you wouldn’t normally wear outside your house. Outfit ideas that come to mind are fuzzy socks with athletic shorts and a blazer or a winter coat with flip flops. Try to think of the weirdest fashion pairings you can. Or if you are feeling less daring and don’t want to go all out, try and incorporate one “crazy” element into your outfit on October 17th.
- International Artist Day– October 25th
International Artist Day is a day for us to appreciate all the beautiful contributions people have made to society through literature, art, music, and theater. It was founded by Canadian painter, Chris MacClure, and is the perfect day to go to a theater, start a novel, or visit an art museum! If you are looking for a fun day trip idea, The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is about 1.5 hours away from campus, and admission to the permanent galleries is free. They are open year-round 10 am- 5 pm. To celebrate the art of music, you could listen to a new Spotify playlist or podcast. For all the Cinema-Television majors, have a movie marathon! If you’re feeling really creative, get together with some friends and have an art party. Paint self-portraits or go for a walk around campus and take photographs. There are so many exciting ways to celebrate this holiday, and I can’t wait for it to arrive!
BONUS: Domestic Violence Awareness Month
In addition to all the super fun holidays listed above, October is also Domestic Violence Awareness month. Roughly 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men experience physical abuse by a romantic partner, and domestic violence continues to affect people all over the world. It is a heavy topic and can be uncomfortable to talk about; however, it is important that we stand with those who have experienced domestic violence and continue to fight against this injustice. As students at a Christian university, it is important for us to understand the violence happening around us and stand in opposition to it.
Now that you know about all these awesome holidays, I hope you are as excited for October as I am! If you want even more random October holidays, you can find a whole list here to help you celebrate all month long.
