Did you know that today, the 25th of May 2012, is a day that celebrates a number of Special Interests? Here at Junk Mail, we feel that it is our duty to inform you about these kinds of days so that you can celebrate with us!
But before we get to it, here is just a clarification: Special Interest Days are not public holidays in South Africa, so don’t think that you have permission to stay away from work.
Africa Day: This day is the annual commemoration of the 25th of May 1963 founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). On this day, leaders of 30 of the then 32 independent African states signed a founding charter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 1991, the OAU established the African Economic Community, and in 2002 the OAU established its own successor, the African Union. The name and date of Africa Day has been retained as a celebration of African unity. It should also be noted that Africa Day is observed as a public holiday in only four African countries (Ghana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe). Celebrations for Africa Day are held in some African countries as well. The 2012 Theme for Africa Day is “Africa and the Diaspora”. This year this day coincides with the Global Diaspora Summit which is set to take place in South Africa today.
Geek Pride Day: A day that promotes geek culture around the world. The 25th of May was chosen for this day to commemorate the release of the first Star Wars film (A New Hope ) on the 25th of May 1977. The Geek Pride Day initiative originated in Spain in 2006 as “Orgullo Friki” and spread around the world via the internet. In 2006 the biggest concentration of Geek Pride Day celebrations took place in Madrid. 300 Geeks demonstrated their pride together with a human pacman. A manifesto was created to celebrate the first Geek Pride Day (which included a list of the basic rights and responsibilities of geeks). Geek Pride Day is basically a non-denominational holiday to be celebrated by nerds and geeks who do not feel ashamed of showing their unconventional interests in public.
Towel Day: This day is observed by fans of the author Douglas Adams (who wrote the book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy). Douglas Adams passed away in 2001. Observances for Towel Day include carrying a towel with you throughout the day. The first Towel Day was held in 2001 (2 weeks after Douglas Adams passed away on the 11th of May 2001). This commemoration is named Towel Day because of these words in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy “A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.”
So, remember to celebrate Africa Day, Geek Pride Day and Towel Day today! Also, if you’ve enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends! Drop us a comment and let us know which one of these 3 days you’d like to celebrate the most and why, we’d like to hear from you!
Also feel free to check out these other posts on the Junk Mail blog:
