Last month I wrote about April being Poetry Month. It has struck me that there are a lot of such special named days, weeks or months and they seem to be increasing every year.

 Who does this? I mean, who does the naming or make it official?

I suspect there is a politician behind most of these ceremonial pronouncements, sucking up to some constituent group and thus currying favour and votes without much effort.

It seems that just about anything can get its special day. Rare diseases, uncelebrated occupations, forgotten birthdays of forgotten public figures, various vegetables (I think last year was declared the Year Of the Potato by the United Nations). I don’t recall a day or week of the parsnip, but that could be yet to come, proposed by the Parsnip Growers’ Association, hoping to sell more parsnips.

Termite Awareness Day? Sure. Throw Away Your Tatty Underwear Day? Okay. Pea Soup Day? Actually, we recently had a week of that. I think it was called Pease Porridge Hot Week, last Nov. 8 to 15.

How about a special day to remember Charlotte Whitton, the controversial and outspoken mayor of Ottawa in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s? She once said, “Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.” She died in 1975.

And then there is the equally outspoken Judy LaMarsh, cabinet minister in the Lester Pearson government, who died in 1980. She deserves a day.

I don’t think we do this as much in Canada as they do in the United States. Despite the sour economy, which has imperilled state budgets and various public service programs (the building of the new Suncoast Highway up the Gulf Coast of Florida has been cancelled because of lack of funds), this naming activity continues to flourish. 

American state governors issue proclamations for all kinds of causes that you will never see on a calendar. For example:

March 27 was Medical Billers Day in New York

April 27 was Tai Chi Day in Alaska

Aug. 1 was the start of Clown Week in Wisconsin.

Sept. 26 in Hawaii was a day of awareness for the nene, which is the Hawaiian goose.

By the way, how would one celebrate Clown Week?

Anyway, it seems that these politicians see this as a cost-free way to make people feel good. Some governors sign proclamations at public events and sometimes these proclamations make the news. Milwaukee declared Henry Winkler Day on Aug. 19 when they unveiled a statue of Winkler’s Happy Days character, The Fonz.

But most proclamations get little public attention. The group or cause that requests one can then mention it in a newsletter or put out a press release. Most are kept in a file in the secretary of state’s office.

Here are a few of the many proclamations issued in 2008: Noxious Weed Awareness Month – North Dakota, June; Baton Twirling Week – Michigan, July 20-26; Indoor Mold Awareness Month – Georgia, September; Arkansas Duck Week – Nov 22; Grand Jury Awareness Month – California, February; Asphalt Research Weeks – Wyoming, July 14-28; Ballroom Dance Week – Virginia, September 19-28.

However, I don’t want to leave you with the notion that this frivolity only happens to the south of us. We recently celebrated Earth Day on April 22, which we shared with the United States of Obama. In Seattle, Earth Day is a public holiday. But one conservative religious denomination put on a counter-Earth Day service, contending that the celebration is pagan. As they say, it takes all kinds.

Here are a few Canadian proclamations for 2009: Sir John A. Macdonald Day – Jan. 11;

Canadian Flag Day – Feb. 15; National Wildlife Week – April 6-10; International Day for Biological Diversity (Huh?) – May 21; Canadian Rivers Day – June 7; (Are you still awake?) Grandparents’ Day – Sept 13.

There are lots more, but that should give you the idea. By the way, just in case you are thinking that I deserve a day (or maybe a night), my birthday is Sept. 22.

Categories: Appointment with Polhman, Columns
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