By Haddon Libby
Labor Day is on September 2nd and is traditionally considered the end of summer.
The day also celebrates a holiday with far less notoriety – Bring Your Manners to Work Day. This celebration was begun in 2013 by The Protocol School of Washington, an etiquette school. It makes sense that a DC-based etiquette school would try and promote good manners. We need look no further than one presidential candidate who needs more than a few lessons.
September will be a pivotal month in the 2024 election cycle. Presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump hold their debates on ABC on September 10th and NBC on September 25th starting at 6p PST. The vice presidential debate will be on CBS on October 1st.
September is National Happy Cat Month. Whether you are a childless cat lady, guy or person with children, the CATalyst Council encourages you to take your cat to the vet if it has not seen them yet this year.
Dog lovers get Hug Your Hound Day on the 11th, the same day Patriot Day, Citizenship Day and Grandparents Day. Patriot Day honors and remembers those who died because of the terrorist attacks in 2001. Six days later on the 17th is Constitution Day. The US Constitution was signed on this day in 1787 although it was another two years before it was adopted. Four days later on the 21st, we have the International Day of Peace.
The Autumnal Equinox occurs on the 22nd at 5:44am PST. This is the official end of summer and start of the fall season. Just five days earlier, we get a Harvest Moon. What makes this year particularly interesting is that we will have a partial lunar eclipse.
One of the oldest celebrations in the world happens right around the Harvest Moon. The Moon Festival has been celebrated in China since the Shang Dynasty with its origin between 1600 and 1046 BC. After the Chinese New Year, the Moon Festival is the largest celebration in China. People recognize the day by eating pastries called mooncakes that are shaped like the moon and filled with red bean or lotus seed paste with a salted egg yolk in the middle. People also light lanterns symbolizing beacons that light a path to prosperity and good fortune. South Korea, Japan and Vietnam had similar festivities on that day.
While these are some of the more recognizable holidays, there are many other minor celebrations during the month.
September 4th is National Newspaper Carrier Day. The first paperboy was Barney Flaherty in 1833.
On the 5th, we have Be Late for Something Day. This celebration has been in place since 1956 when Les Waas founded the Procrastinators Club of America. Ten years after the club formed, they protested the War of 1812…154 years too late.
The 16th is Mayflower Day. On this day in 1620, the Mayflower left Plymouth, England for America. Months later, they landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts and bumped into the Plymouth Rock and some friendly Native Americans!
A fun day for kids and adults alike falls on the 19th – International Talk like a Pirate Day. Started in 1995 by two guys in Oregon, its origins were on a racquetball court. What happened was that one of the guys hurt himself while playing and yelled “Argh!”. Seven years later, the two men sent a letter to humorist Dave Barry about their made-up holiday. Barry immediately took to the idea and helped promote the day.
The 22nd is busy with American Business Women’s Day, Hobbit Day, Centenarian’s Day and Punctuation Day.
We close out the monthly celebrations on the 29th with National Coffee Day.
Haddon Libby is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Winslow Drake Investment Management, a RIA firm. For more information on our award winning services, please visit www.WinslowDrake.com
