A holiday is nice, so how about 365?
After the tumult of 2020, many of us (myself included) had hoped for a magically improved 2021. But between pandemic surges and ongoing political divisions, it wasn’t going to be that simple.
So when I opened an email from a couple in Oakland who celebrated a different holiday every day in 2021, I was heartened to know that there were at least two people who were able to make the year better for themselves — and possibly a few others.
“When the pandemic first hit, all the days were just kind of blending together,” Allie Carr, a 27-year-old associate creative director at San Francisco advertising agency Erich and Kallman, told me. “I couldn’t wait for the holidays to come so I could start to feel different.”
Carr and her boyfriend, Jason Goldberg, who has the same job at the same agency, realized that with some research, they could probably celebrate a holiday of some kind every day of the year. After six months of planning, their project, Every Day Holiday, was born.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2021, the pair celebrated a different holiday for 365 days and documented it on their Instagram, @everydayholiday.official, and a website, everydayholiday.info. Their daily holidays ranged from the well known (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah) to quirky ones you probably never heard of: Fruitcake Toss Day (Jan. 3), World UFO Day (July 2), National Text Your Ex Day (Oct. 30). Talking with the couple, their enthusiasm for their project was infectious — in a good way.
“There’s probably six holidays on any given day you could celebrate,” said Goldberg, 29.
Sometimes, festivities had to be revised at the last minute. When the tattoo artist they booked canceled their appointments for National Tattoo Day (July 17), they found a parlor that would accept them as walk-ins. Goldberg appropriately opted for a calendar tattoo.
They also debated the particulars of just how to celebrate certain holidays: Would vegan cheese suffice on National Grilled Cheese Day (April 12)?
One of the holidays that surprised the couple the most was International Cherry Pit Spitting Day (July 3). They hosted a cherry pit-spitting contest in their backyard. At the other end of the spectrum, they were deeply moved by National Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day (Aug. 28), when people commemorate pets that have
“Everyone is going to celebrate at least one of the things that we’re celebrating.” Jason Goldberg
died. They respectfully visited a pet cemetery in Colma that day.
They were also mindful that their plans not amount to cultural appropriation. For example, Carr said, they never would have attempted to celebrate the Islamic holy month of Ramadan (April 12-May 12 in 2021) by themselves. Instead, they added it to their agenda when a Muslim family invited them to break fast and offered to teach them the prayers and religious significance of the ritual.
When they began posting their holiday plans ahead of time, online followers started participating, with several sharing photos of their own celebrations. A personal chef offered to cook for them on National Personal Chef Day (July 16), and they now count her among their best friends.
After a full year of holidays, Carr and Goldberg don’t want the good times to end. Eventually, they’d like to be involved in a book or a series made where they can teach people about obscure holidays. Think Anthony Bourdain with a seasonal spirit, they joked.
“Because we’re in advertising, we have to think about our target audience all the time,” Goldberg said. “The target audience for this project is every single person. Everyone is going to celebrate at least one of the things that we’re celebrating.”
With all the struggles of the past two years and the uncertainty about the future, it made this cynical reporter feel optimistic to see Carr and Goldberg find ways to celebrate 2021.
By the way, National Optimist Day arrives on Feb. 3. There’s still time to make plans.