A girl eating a donut and holding up a decorated calendar

Debate photos courtesy of families; Shutterstock.com (all other images)

Are There Too Many Holidays?

September 20, 2021

Do you love donuts? September 14 is National Cream Filled Donut Day! Do you want to celebrate your pals? National Best Friends Day is June 8. And if you feel like doing nothing, National Lazy Day (August 10) is for you.

Americans celebrate more than 1,500 special days each year, according to a group called National Today. That includes official holidays—like Thanksgiving and Memorial Day—and more unusual ones, like Respect Your Cat Day.

Some people argue that these “fake” holidays make real ones seem less meaningful. Others say many of these special days are harmless fun. They also point out that some, such as World Oceans Day and National Endangered Species Day, even raise awareness about important issues.

Here’s what two of our readers think.

Do we really need a day dedicated to weeds? That’s just one of the completely random and unnecessary days we have. A lot of these “holidays” are created by businesses to make money. Others encourage us to eat unhealthy foods, like National French Fry Day.

True holidays honor history and family. These random days take away from their meaning.

These holidays give us a reason to celebrate every day. My family looks forward to National Pizza Day every year! If you want to ignore National Banana Split Day, that’s your choice. But the holiday isn’t doing any harm.

It’s nice to celebrate things like pets, siblings, and even ice cream once in a while. It helps families have fun and make memories together.