Weirdly enough, November 1st is both National Author’s Day and Love Your Lawyer day, what more could a blog post for a Law Library want? If it seems like some random new holiday gets celebrated every day, it’s not just your imagination. Name a day, any day, and it’s probably a holiday. And you’ve probably never heard of it! How did these holidays come to be? Some were created to mark memories based on the calendar. Others figured out how to turn odd holiday ideas into income. Still others want to draw attention to a cause. As it turns out, anyone can create a holiday, so today we are going to take a look at how these two pseudo-holidays came to be.

National Author’s Day

Let’s start with National Author’s Day. In 1928, Nellie Vern Burt McPherson, a teacher and passionate reader wanted a way to honor one of her favorite authors. She decided to write a letter to the author of her favorite book, Irving Bacheller. In response, Irving sent back a signed copy of a different novel. Overcome with joy, McPherson searched for another way to express her gratitude. This gratitude took form in proposing a National Author’s Day as a day to celebrate American authors. Roughly 20 years later, the U.S. Department of Commerce nationally recognized the holiday.

Now on this day, we honor authors and find ways to thank them for their work. Go buy a book, new or old. Follow in Nellie’s footsteps and write a thank you letter, send an email, or use the popular hashtag #NationalAuthorsDay. We all have a story, but these are the people that make those stories come alive, and for that we are thankful.

Love Your Lawyer Day

Love Your Lawyer Day was started 18 years ago by business attorney Nader Anise. Anise launched the honorary holiday to bring his profession more respect and more of a positive public image through his nonprofit group, American Lawyers Public Image Association. The day gained popularity with the hashtag #LoveYourLawyer and in 2015 the American Bar Association designated the first Friday of each November to celebrate the holiday.

You might be asking yourself, “How does one celebrate Love Your Lawyer Day?” It’s easy. All you need to do is not tell any lawyer jokes for one day. Anise also suggests that if you want to go the extra mile, contact your lawyer, or any lawyer (if you don’t have one) and let them know how much you appreciate what they do every day. A simple phone call can remind them that their long hours and dedication to justice isn’t without its rewards.

While I do think a lot of the pseudo-holidays are pointless (I mean October 27th is Cranky Co-Workers Day….WHY?!), I believe anything that promotes kindness or small acts of gratitude should be celebrated. So whether you are celebrating the lawyers in your life, your favorite authors, or even National Fruitcake Toss Day (January 3rd), holidays are a time to celebrate and spread joy. And if none of these holidays make you want to celebrate, well you can always go make your own.

 -Melissa Brand, MS-LS Candidate 2020