The day after April Fools’, when the dust had settled and we finally confirmed that GST wasn’t actually the most elaborate prank played by a country onto its citizens; we here at The Bullet took a step back and asked ourselves:
How DID April Fools’ become such a worldwide phenomenon? And can one really brand a day?
It actually all started as a custom of setting aside a day for the playing of harmless pranks upon one’s neighbour that dated back as far as 1392 in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Some other precursors of April Fools’ Day include the Roman festival Hilaria, the Holi festival of India and the Medieval Feast of Fools.
The more we looked into it, we realised you don’t even need that much history or even relevance to start your very own day!
Excluding religious festivals like Hari Raya and Christmas, there are actually quite a few bizarre and whacky holidays out there that aren’t national holidays per say, but are still famous enough to be celebrated worldwide.
From Take Your Dog To Work Day, National Left Handers Day to Cook Something Bold Day and Fight Procrastination Day – the possibilities are endless when it comes to creating your very own celebration.
So how do you create a day of your own? Simple!
1. Find a special cause, belief or event that you’d like to generate awareness for or even a love for something you’d want to share with the rest of the world.
Looking at what’s out there, it really doesn’t have to meaningful or deep. Love simple passwords? Left over pencil shavings? How about fake laughter? Let’s make it a day!
2. Pick a date! Keep in mind the choice of a date can be very important because they can work to your advantage. Some organisations are very clever with their dates, which make them more memorable and recognisable.
For example, Samaritan Day in the UK takes place on the 24th of July. The relevance of this date is that Samaritans are available to speak to people who need them 24 hours a day, 7 times a week. 24/7 – making it easy to remember.
Or even International Star Wars day that falls on the 4th of May, so people may wish each other “May the 4th be with you”.
3. Once thought through, just register online! It’s actually as easy as that. There are quite a few National Day websites where you can submit your entry. Once accepted, there will be a press release, an annual inclusion in their daily website post, Facebook and Twitter as well as a professionally framed certificate proclaiming your National Day that will be sent to you.
It doesn’t stop there. A proclamation will also be sent to over 10,000 media houses that follow the National Day calendar that include radio shows and top of mind awareness campaigns.
If you’re lucky enough and people really do get behind your cause, it’ll snowball into something much bigger like Movember or Pancake Day! So what are you waiting for? Let’s kick it up a notch and develop days we can all really support!
What will your day stand for?
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