Celebrations and Gratitude by Fran Joyce
If you Google November, there are multiple celebrations and remembrances happening every day of the month.
Some are a great excuse to eat such as National Candy Day, National Fried Chicken Sandwich Day, or National Vanilla Cupcake Day.
Others have religious, historical, or cultural significance or are meant to make us aware of the importance of staying healthy. World Kindness Day on November 13 is followed by Anti-bullying Week (November 15-19) to remind us to be a little more accepting and a lot less of a jerk to each other.
Every year I struggle to include special days from around the world in This Awful Awesome Life. Honestly, there are just so many, and I apologize if we miss something important to you. This year we’re giving a shout out to these celebrations and reminding you to look for ways to show your gratitude.
November is Movember to millions of men throughout the world who will grow mustaches to raise awareness for men’s health issues such as Prostate and testicular cancers, Lung cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, and men’s mental health. The NHL has embraced Movember and each year their players grow mustaches and raise/donate millions of dollars to the fund research and treatments for men’s health issues. And yes, I admit it’s fun to see which players struggle to grow mustaches and who can grow the best ones.
November is also National Native American Heritage Month in the United States. This includes Alaska Natives as well as the Indigenous Tribes of North America. There’s finally a lot of accurate information posted on the Internet about the contributions of these Americans to our culture. Please take some time and learn about them. While you’re surfing the web, be sure to check out the history of Native Hawaiians, too.
November 3 is Japanese Culture Day, All Souls Day, and Sesame Street Day
November 4 is Diwali the Hindu Festival of Lights
November 5 is Guy Fawkes Day in the UK
November 11 is Veteran’s Day and Remembrance Day – the day we remember and thanks the veterans of our armed forces for their service.
November 13 is World Kindness Day – seriously, just be kind every day – it takes less effort than being mean.
November 15-19 is Anti-bullying Week – talk to your kids and your family members and let them know they have your support if they are being bullied for any reason.
November 20 is Universal Children’s Day – let’s make a commitment to our children and children all over the world to do better and be more inclusive.
November 25 is Thanksgiving Day in the United States – it’s a day we stop to count our many blessings and remember the people who helped build our perfectly imperfect nation. And it’s a day for touch football and too much food.
November 26 is Black Friday and Buy Nothing Day depending on which camp you support. I’m a Buy Nothing Girl, but to each his/her own.
November 28-December 6 is the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah. We wish you peace and light.
November 30 is Saint Andrew’s Day – also known as The Feast of St. Andrew or Andermas is Scotland’s official national day. It is also observed in several other countries.
Sources for this article:
https://nationaltoday.com/november-holidays/#nov-3
Also see: