WASHINGTON 鈥� October is 鈥淭he Gateway to the Holidays.鈥�
The Gregorian calendar鈥檚 10th month brings us a chill in the air, , foliage, foliage tourists and The Triumphant Return of Soup.
Even better: It ends with a candy mountain and a countdown to Thanksgiving break.
The month, however, is more than just fun-size Snickers, earth-toned sweaters and pumpkin spice motor oil. It鈥檚 also , , and .
It has even more-obscure aliases as well. …
Dig into that hollow plastic pumpkin that is October, and you鈥檒l discover some weird and unexpected treats 鈥� obscure dates that confound the brain, warm the heart and (of course) delight the sweet tooth.
So pour yourself a morning cup of decaf coffee听鈥� oops 鈥� pumpkin spice听caramel and peruse this gallery of obscure but oh-so-noteworthy 鈥渉olidays.鈥�
10/1 International Coffee Day听 This should not be confused with National Coffee Day, which was .) That said, It鈥檚 still important that we recognize it in this new era of globalism and interconnectivity. Celebrate like a proud American and go Venti. (As it is also Caffeine Addiction Recovery Month, it鈥檚 totally cool to go decaf here. No judgment.) Balloons Around the World Day Now that you鈥檙e all caffeinated (or decaffeinated), brighten that special someone鈥檚 day with some pretty balloons. Please note, however, that such a nice gesture 听these days. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/arina7)
10/4 Taco Day How do you celebrate something so perfect that it defies appropriate celebration? Eating an extra one or two seems proper. Whether it鈥檚 Taco Bell or homemade, soft shell or hard shell, you鈥檝e got options. Choose wisely.听 (Thinkstock)
10/5 Chic Spy Day According to ,听Oct. 5 is 鈥渁 day to acknowledge that a well-dressed spy is always more successful in catching the bad guys than a scruffy one.鈥� Celebrate with a visit to the International Spy Museum and a trip to Men鈥檚 Wearhouse. (Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
10/6 Mad Hatter Day On this day, the iconic character from Lewis Carol鈥檚 鈥淎lice in Wonderland鈥� is honored with … umm 听鈥� what … hats? World Smile Day Wherein everyone is encouraged 鈥渢o do acts of kindness to spread goodwill and cheer.鈥� Fresh Halloween candy, in this journalist鈥檚 opinion, would be a good start AHEM. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
10/7
Frappe Day
It鈥檚 a day dedicated to the delicious 鈥渃offee drink鈥� that consistently jams up the line at Starbucks. If you鈥檙e feeling inspired, avoid the wait and try .
Card Making Day
It鈥檚 exactly what you think it is: a time to make some nice greeting cards for your significant others. If you鈥檙e rather adept with the crayons, you鈥檒l make quite the impression. (Alternate activity: use those crayons to reproduce your favorite baseball cards.)
(ABC)
10/8
Pierogi Day
贬别谤别鈥檚 听that looks nice.
Now that that鈥檚 out of the way, let鈥檚 pause this day to honor the Pittsburgh Pirates鈥� Racing Pierogis (above). Take a bow, Potato Pete, Jalape帽o Hannah, Cheese Chester, Sauerkraut Saul, Oliver Onion, Bacon Burt and Pizza Penny. You give our own Racing Presidents a run for their money (… except for Teddy). (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
10/10 Handbag Day What鈥檚 in your bag? Do you keep your lunch there? A Clif Bar? Mints? Nunchucks? A turkey leg? Kristen Chenoweth? For many, handbags are not only a practical necessity, but also a fashion statement. Post a pic of your favorite bag on Instagram today. After you explain to friends why you just did that, buy a new one. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
10/11 It鈥檚 My Party Day You are encouraged 鈥� nay, commanded 鈥� to throw a party on this day. Why a party? 听 There will be beverages. There will be chips. It will begin at 7 p.m. It will end at 鈥�????鈥�. There will be dancing. It will feature a Parliament-Funkadelic playlist. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/monkeybusinessimages)
10/12 Old Farmers Day Long before farm-to-table dining and organic produce became popular, farmers were doing their part to put food on our tables. On this day, we acknowledge those contributions as well as their wisdom. Celebrate by learning about some old farming techniques or by visiting your nearby farmers market. (Thinkstock)
10/13 International Skeptics Day No kidding. That鈥檚 what it is. Why are you making that face? (Thinkstock)
10/16 Dictionary Day Noah Webster was born on this day in 1758. As smartphones and video games had yet to be invented, the man was crazy-bored, so he wrote 鈥�An American Dictionary of the English Language.鈥� It was the precursor to what we now know as Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary. Celebrate N-Dubs and his work by learning five new words, such as the dictionary鈥檚 longest one: . National Clean out Your Virtual Desktop Day Bill Gates鈥� old vision of a paperless office hasn鈥檛 quite come to fruition, but it鈥檚 eliminated some of the clutter around our desks. 鈥� Actually, it鈥檚 moved all that clutter onto our computer desktops. Take some time on this day to delete (or archive) all those .jpgs, .gifs, .docxs and what not. (AP)
10/17听 Wear Something Gaudy Day What is it about the fashions of decades past? Why is certain clothing that was tres chic in 1977 (or 1987 or 1997) regarded as horrific today? Such is life. While you meditate on all that, throw on a butterfly collar dress shirt and a polyester pantsuit. Or perhaps some acid wash jeans. Wait, what? They鈥檙e in again? (Thinkstock)
10/18 Chocolate Cupcake Day You know that raw joy of a walk-off home run? 听That鈥檚 Chocolate Cupcake Day. For all of humanity鈥檚 faults, the chocolate cupcake is triumphant redemption. Celebrating = indulging. Hit up Baked & Wired or Georgetown Cupcakes (if the line鈥檚 not too bad). You鈥檙e free to make your own, too. Yours truly tends to go vegan, but , which features coffee and a nice vanilla buttercream frosting, looks like love. (Photo by Casey Rodgers/Invision for Nestle Crunch/AP Images)
10/20 International Sloth Day Just look at yourself. You鈥檝e been on that sofa a full three hours since breakfast. I don鈥檛 care if right now. Get in the shower, get dressed and go see . Get off that sofa and do something with your life.听Then tell that darn sloth to get up and do something with its life. (AP)
10/21 Count Your Buttons Day 鈥� 鈥� (sigh) Sure. OK. (AP Photos/Beth J. Harpaz)
10/22 Caps Lock Day Nothing sums up modern discourse quite like the caps lock. And even the most civil of us can agree that it鈥檚 tempting to kick it on when a Facebook or Twitter debate gets emotional (e.g., 鈥淵OU ARE SO WRONG, YOU DOOFUS! SHEMP WAS UNDERRATED.鈥�). Suggested way to observe: Use it all day in your correspondence, and forgo the anger and condescension (e.g., 鈥淵OU ARE SO RIGHT! YOUR FACE SMELLS NICE.鈥�). (Thinkstock)
10/24 Balogna Day Poor pitiful balogna, doomed to a below-average life. He lacks the seasoned personality of his cousin salami, so he鈥檚 always upstaged by that blowhard chorizo. Balogna just cowers in that dark fridge, with dreams of someday being as cool as pepperoni. This is the day we let balogna know we care, and give him a featured role at lunchtime. But don鈥檛 be shy with the mustard 鈥� because good grief is he boring. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/bigacis)
10/25 Sourest Day By now, you鈥檝e probably overdone it a few times with the Halloween candy at work. As your amateur nutritionist, I advise you to counterbalance all that sweet with some sour. This is the day. Shovel at least five handfuls of Sour Patch Kids into your face, then call up that sour aunt and thank her for being so judgy. (AP)
10/27 American Beer Day 鈥淒idn鈥檛 we already have two drink-a-bunch-of-beer days last month?鈥� you ask. The answer is yes. Pipe down. Another round for the table, please! Domestic this time. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/Valentyn Volkov)
10/28 International Animation Day Oct. 28 marks the anniversary of the first public performance of Emile Reynaud鈥檚 Theatre Optique in 1892. The animated moving picture system helped define an artform that is mainly practiced digitally now. Celebrate with and an old-school Chuck Jones . (Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures via AP)
10/29 Internet Day On this day in 1969, a 听remote connection was made between a computer at Stanford University and the University of California at Los Angeles. Leonard Kleinrock attempted to send a 鈥淟OGIN鈥� message from UCLA but only got out the first few letters, 鈥淟O,鈥� before the terminals crashed. Over four decades we later, we routinely type a variant of this, 鈥淟OL,鈥� in our iChat conversations. Progress!
10/30 Candy Corn Day Overly sweet and oh-so-polarizing, Candy Corn has more than its share of critics. But it鈥檚 still standing decades since its invention in the early 20th century, when the Goelitz Confectionery Company introduced it as 鈥淐hicken Feed.鈥� (Oy.) Celebrate by making Candy Corn tortillas or Candy Corn flakes, or by throwing handfuls up in the air like so much edible confetti. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/tab1962)
10/31 Magic Day This annual celebration of illusions and other sleights of hand occurs on the anniversary of Harry Houdini鈥檚 death in 1926. Celebrate by performing magic tricks 鈥� in return for treats, of course. (iStock/Thinkstock)
