National Daughters Day? National Sons Day?

Just Say No.

*I wrote this two years ago but am republishing a slightly edited version here since it’s that time of year again.

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No, I’m not doing this.

That was my contrarian and stubborn response to the social media pressure to post photos of my three sons in honor of what feels like a recently made-up holiday called National Sons Day that has had Facebook and Instagram ablaze for days. I admit that I was a little tempted to follow the herd but then I decided to take a stand against all these new days, especially the ones that give us homework so that we can prove that we really do love our kids. It was bad enough when people started posting on Facebook, “like and share if you love your kids.” Now they get their own day?

It’s all so dumb.

Many of us have spent the past week looking at a lovely and seemingly never ending avalanche of pictures of people’s daughters because Facebook sent out a signal that it was National Daughters’ Day. What in fresh hell is National Daughters Day? And since when it is even a thing? And whyyyyyyyyy?

That answer appears to be 2013, with the launch of the National Day Calendar—it is not run by any federal agency. A savvy entrepreneur started it with National Popcorn Day and now, six years later, it boasts nearly 1,500 national days. In fact, National Daughters Day was also National Cooking Day, National Quesadilla Day, National Comic Book Day and World Pharmacist Day. 

Most of these days are applied for by advocacy groups looking to raise awareness about an issue or from regular people just looking to have some fun—they apply and pay to get “their” days onto the National Day Calendar.

According to the 2021 national day calendar, National Sons Day is also National Strawberry Cream Pie Day, National Drink Beer Day, National Neighbor Day and World Rabies Day. (According to the National Day Archives, National Sons Day is March 4th so yay for them, they get 2 days!)

Now, don’t get me wrong. Part of me really enjoyed seeing all the pictures of people’s daughters, especially since I don’t have any girls of my own. But I did not like seeing mothers publicly apologizing and expressing guilt because they had failed to post pictures of their girls before the stroke of midnight on this silly fake day.

One of the inevitable truths I have come to laugh about on Mother’s and Father’s Day is that kids inevitably ask, “hey, when is kids’ day?” and parents from literally everywhere respond in unison with, “every day is kids’ day!”

But now, because of some smart entrepreneur, the little devils actually have their own (fake) days. Well, not in this house. I’m not playing this game. And while I realize I’m being unnecessarily contrarian and a total fake-holiday grinch, I’m ok with that. 

Lucky for me, October 14th is National Grouch Day. Maybe I should take a selfie and post it on Facebook.