I'm So Over #HashtagHolidays

National High Five Day, National Martini Day, National Eggnog Day… When Did Celebrating Ridiculous Holidays Become a Thing?

When I logged into Instagram on the morning of September 25, I was surprised to find out it was #NationalDaughtersDay (and 3 days later, on September 28, I was equally surprised that it was #NationalSonsDay).

I had NO idea. 

Why would I?  Neither of these are actually national holidays.  There are in fact, only 10 holidays that are nationally recognized in the United States (New Year’s Day, MLK Day, President’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day).  Of course, this list doesn’t include other religious holidays and those “Hallmark Holidays” that we’ve been celebrating for years like: Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Administrative Professional’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Sweetest Day, and Halloween (just to name a few).  Most of these have been around for years and, as such, a great many of us have come to accept them as actual holidays. So, if you add that list to the federally observed list of 10, then we’d have 18 “national” holidays. 

When did 18 holidays become not enough?

While some began years ago as campaigns to promote ideas or businesses, most infiltrated our collective consciousness during the age of social media.  Many of them were made up by companies trying to create a buzz on social media around their products or services.  National Pancake Day, for example was made up by IHOP, as a way to get consumers into their restaurants, National Drive-Thru Day was made up by Jack-in-the-Box and I’m sure you can guess who invented National 7-11 Day (which, btw has now been re-named National Slurpee Day).

So, how’s a person to keep track of which day it is??? 

You can take a look at the National Day Calendar website to keep up.  Originally started in 2013, the site, is partly responsible for the proliferation of fanciful hashtag holidays.  Social media, however, and people’s need to jump on the hashtag bandwagon, are the chief culprits.

It’s those “holidays” that require a more personal share, like National Daughter’s Day and National Son’s Day, that I find most problematic because we often post, not because we want to, but because we feel like we need to. It’s frequently done because of FOMO: we want to be part of the group and feel like if we don’t, we’re going to miss out on something. 

While it’s not bad to join in every now and then, when you feel like you’re supposed to do something because everyone else is, you’re not posting for the right reasons.  I can’t tell you how many mommy posts I saw on those days that started with “Well, I guess it’s National Daughter’s Day so here’s my post…”.  If you’re inclined to start a post like that, the truth is, you shouldn’t be publishing that post.  We should never post because we think we “have to”.  If you wouldn’t be inclined to post something if it wasn’t a hashtag holiday, then don’t post only because it is.

FYI - in the case of these 2 “holidays” you’d be wise to understand that if your kid doesn’t know you love them and are proud of them already, posting it on Instagram or Facebook, isn’t going to make it so. 

Have you ever considered what these types of posts can look like to others?  For many, whose world isn’t so sunshiny, they can appear as “humblebrags” (brags masked by a complaint or humility) especially if you use words like grateful, blessed, or proud.  They seem like a built-in excuse to brag about your wonderful children and life. 

Here’s the key question to ask yourself before you post something like a photo of, or note to your child because it’s a holiday like, #nationaldaughtersday:

Why you feel the need to post your sentiments online instead of saying them to your child face-to-face (or picking up the phone and letting them know how your feel if they don’t live with you)?

What’s going to mean more to your child – sharing a photo and some nice words for public consumption because everyone else is doing it or sharing privately,IRL, with your child, how you much you love and are proud of them?

I will admit that in the past, I’ve been guilty of joining in and posting because I felt some sort of superficial tug to participate, but you know what I discovered when I decided to take my well-wishes offline?  I realized that I spent way too much time (even if it was only 10 minutes) trying to find the perfect photo and come up with the just the right pithy sentiment to share for public consumption when I could’ve used that time to connect with that person I love and cherish IRL, using my actual voice instead of my virtual one.

So, while I believe that most #hashtagholidays are ridiculous and don’t deserve our time, it’s one thing to share a photo of a taco on National Taco Day (which is October 4th and the reason I know this is that as I write this, it’s October 4th and I’ve already looked at Instagram), it’s another to share personal photos or feelings about someone you love just because it’s some made-up “national day” and you feel expected to do so.