How to Create Your Own Holiday

Why create your own holiday? Not only is it fun, it's a great way to explore the traditional holidays we celebrate. Here are a few points to consider as you create your new holiday.

Pick a Theme

With infinite choices, it can be hard to get started, or know when to stop, your new holiday. A common theme of self created holidays is "Your Name Here" Day. True, this could technically apply to your birthday, and it would certainly be easy to claim your birthday as this day, but by choosing another day you are not bound by birthday traditions.

Consider What You Like About Other Holidays

Create a list of things you enjoy about already existing holidays. Be specific. If you say something like Christmas decorations, ask yourself which decorations and go from there. Is it the Christmas tree? How do you feel about artifical vs. live Christmas trees and why? What makes a Christmas tree different from an Arbor day tree? Think about color schemes and the mood they create each holiday.

Now, create a second list of things you dislike about other holidays. Create your holiday with a solid foundation by banning the things and activities you hate now. Do not feel like you have to include anything just because other holidays do. Be specific here, too; don't ban all dressing if all you really dislike is oyster dressing. The goal here is to throw out the traditions you don't like and keep the traditions you do.

Create a Signature Event or Quirk

Halloween has trick-or-treating. Christmas has flying reindeer. Add a few quirks to your holiday, something in keeping with your theme that sets it apart. Time Travel Day? Stop the festivities abruptly and pick them up exactly where you left off the next day, week, or month.

Pick a Menu

Whether it's candy, hot dogs, or turkey, most successful holidays have some feasting element. Choose elaborate homemade goodies or a trip to a Chinese food buffet for dinner. Decree that only foods containing some trace of chocolate may be eaten on your holiday. Go in the opposite direction and make it a day of simple healthy foods.

Set a Time Limit and Pick a Date

Some holidays lend themselves to limit setting. Chocolate Truffle Day, a day of consuming only chocolate truffles, is probably best left to the day long format. But, just because most holidays last one day does not mean yours has to. Create an eve or make it a week long event. Don't be too quick to limit your holiday; events like National Novel Writing Month are capable of sustaining an entire month's worth of quirky festivities.

When picking a date, consider your theme again. In general, you won't want your holiday to overlap with established holidays, but you may choose to do so to make a point. Examples include events like Buy Nothing Day scheduled to conflict with the consumer driven Black Friday. If your holiday is especially quirky, please consider the date you hold it on carefully. The one big flaw of Random Acts of Kindness Day is it has a set date every year. It's not random at all!

Is it vain to create your own holiday? Not at all. Considering the things you care about and making conscious choices about how you celebrate them is an opportunity for personal growth. It's just a way of expressing something is important enough to you to set aside time to celebrate or bring awareness to it.