Posted by In prep for the A to Z blog challenge of April, #atoz [check out my theme reveal “Weird Holidays”], I figured I would give you some Fictional Holidays to whet your appetite.
Most people know of Star Wars Day (May 4th – “May the Fourth be With You”), Revenge of the Fifth (Star Wars – May 5) and what just passed the other day, Breakfast Club Day (March 24), as well as Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’s Towel Day (May 25), and maybe even Back to the Future Day (October 25), and Odd Couple Day (November 13-“On November 13th, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. That request came from his wife.”).
Come along for some other (possibly) obscure fictional holidays you may or may not be aware of.
Futurama: Robanukah
Invented by the wild robot Bender on Futurama in order to get time off work, Robanukah is essentially modeled after the Jewish holiday Hanukkah. However, as mentioned in Bender’s song from ‘The Futurama Holiday Spectular,’ Robanukah lasts six and half weeks (or two), involves a rigged dreidel called a droidel, drinking roboschewitz, and getting fembots to wrestle in oil (It has to be petroleum!). Bite my shiny metal, holiday-celebrating ass!
Parks & Rec: Galentine’s Day (February 13)
Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is incredible at gift-giving and showing the people in her life how much she appreciates them, and Galentine’s Day is just one example of how she does it. In a Season 2 episode named after the holiday she created, Leslie hosts a party on Feb. 13—the day before Valentine’s Day—to toast her female friends. “Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas.”
Episode no: Season 2; Episode 16
Original air date: February 11, 2010
The Perfect Date, Miss Congeniality (April 25)
In the 2000 comedy movie Miss Congeniality, starring Sandra Bullock, Miss Rhode Island explains during the talent portion of the beauty pageant…
“Miss Rhode Island, please describe your idea of a perfect date,” William Shatner’s pageant MC Stan Fields asks contestant Cheryl Frasier, played by Heather Burns.
She responds: “That’s a tough one. I’d have to say April 25th. Because it’s not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.”
Seinfeld: Festivus (December 23)
If you want to mark it properly—and per the show’s guidelines—you’ll need to display the Festivus pole and host a Festivus dinner, capped off by the Airing of Grievances (in which you tell your loved ones all the ways they let you down in the past year) and the Feats of Strength. If you’re lucky, you may even experience a Festivus miracle or two. “A Festivus for the rest of us”.
Episode no.: Season 9, Episode 10 “The Strike”
Original Air Date: December 18, 1997
The Hobbit: Durin’s Day (October 19)
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Durin’s Day is a rare event noted by Dwarves.
The new year of their calendar was the last cycle of the Moon to begin in autumn, or in Thorin’s words “the first day of the last moon of Autumn on the threshold of Winter”. When on this day both the Sun and Moon may be seen in the sky together, it is called Durin’s Day.
The Moon-letters written on Thrór’s Map predicted that on Durin’s Day the last light of the Sun as night fell would reveal the secret door into the Lonely Mountain.
Fraggle Rock, The Festival of the Bells
Gobo thinks the Fraggles’ own Solstice holiday, the Festival of the Bells, is a big waste of time. Despite Cantus’ warnings, Gobo goes on a journey to find out if the mythical Great Bell at the heart of Fraggle Rock is real. When the Rock slows down in the winter, the Fraggles hold the Festival of the Bells to make sure it keeps moving. As part of the celebration, they ring bells to awaken the Great Bell at the heart of the Rock.
Episode No: 301 (Season 4, Episode 1)
Original Air Date: December 24, 1984
Star Trek: First Contact Day (April 5)
Commemorating the first contact between humans and Vulcans on 5 April 2063.
Editor Note: Why April 5? The film’s co-writer, Ronald D. Moore, who offered a remarkably simple, sensible and succinct explanation. “The short answer on First Contact Day is that it’s my oldest son, Jonathan’s birthday,” Moore told StarTrek.com
BONUS:
This is also fun… fictional events set on actual dates, for all your reading, and reminiscing needs.
Other Fictional Dates of Note:
January 12, 1997 — HAL 9000 goes online, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke
April 4, 1984 — The first day of 1984, George Orwell
May 2, 1998 — The Battle of Hogwarts, which ends the Second Wizarding War, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
May 4 — Alice goes down the rabbit hole (this is also the real Alice’s birthday), Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
May 5 — Jonathan Harker meets Count Dracula, Dracula, Bram Stoker
May 21, 2061 — The last question is asked of the Multivac, “The Last Question,” Isaac Asimov
June 13, 1980 — The clock stops in the Project Blue lab, The Stand, Stephen King
June 16, 1904 — The events of Ulysses, James Joyce
June 27 — The lottery, “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson
July 2 — Tom Buchanan takes Nick to a party and punches Myrtle in the face, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
July 20, 1866 — The steamer Governor Higginson encounters a mysterious sea creature, one of a run of such encounters, Twenty Thousand Years Under the Sea, Jules Verne
July 31, 1990 (or 1991, depending on who you trust) — Hagrid arrives to tell Harry Potter he’s a wizard, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling
September 2 — The first bum of many asks “Who is John Galt?,” Hank Rearden and Dagny Taggart go on vacation, Francisco D’Anconia makes a speech, D’Anconia Copper is nationalized, but the date on the giant calendar is changed to “Brother, you asked for it!,” Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand (this is also the date she started writing the novel)
October 19, 1985 — Dr. Manhattan quits Earth and heads to Mars, Watchmen, Alan Moore
Tell us your favorite fictional holidays from your favorite movies and TV shows! Let us know if you celebrate them in real life!
Dara Rochlin Book Doctor 