2012 Q-LEEP: EVENTS, PROMOTIONS & HOLIDAYS
Volume One: January, February and March 2012, First Quarter
Created by Laura Dawn Lewis
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2011 Laura Dawn Lewis
Published by Couples Company LLC
All Rights Reserved
ISBN: Digital
ISBN-13: 9781463503994; Print
ISBN-10: 1463503997; Print
This publication is designed to provide competent and reliable information regarding the subject matter covered. However, it is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering legal, financial, or other professional advice. Laws and practices vary from state to state and if legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a professional should be sought. The author and publisher specifically disclaim any liability that is incurred from the use or application of the contents of this book.
The information herein is based upon information available prior to November 22, 2011. Cover Design by Laura Dawn Lewis
www.CouplesCompany.com www.PRPlanningCalendar.com
Twitter: @promoCalendar
_______________
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF ALL EVENTS
CHRONOLOGICAL LISTINGS
LISTINGS BY LENGTH
Annual – Monthly – Weekly - Daily
EVENTS BY SUBJECT / CATEGORY LISTINGS
Animals, Insects and other living creatures
Annual holidays, events and anniversaries
Science, Mathematics & Technology
INTRODUCTION
This is an abbreviated version of the 2012 LEEP Calendar created specifically for the Kindle and covers the first quarter of 2012. The full 2012 LEEP is available in paperback and digital formats.
As a former media sales person and a current writer, journalist and publisher, I’ve spent hours trying to find this information, praying it might dwell within a single credible location. During my years of media sales I used a crude version of this book, predominantly for vendor marketing, gaining access to new accounts or persuading agencies to pony up a few thousand dollars extra to coincide with a national promotion. When I became a publisher, I found that I needed to know when many of these events were occurring to draw traffic to our website CouplesCompany.com. How this works is key word searches for many of these events skyrocket during the promotions. Essentially, we needed content people would be looking for with the heightened awareness surrounding a given event.
THE GOOGLE FACTOR
We began updating this calendar again for 2012 in October based upon feedback from our fans, unaware of a pending change in Google. They had updated their algorithm in March/April 2011 and we saw a 50% drop in traffic overnight. That change penalized sites for outbound links. As we used over 1000 affiliate programs on Couples Company, we got hit hard. Fortunately, I had merged the company with two others in January 2011 and we were rebuilding the site and company on the backend and had decided to eliminate nearly all affiliate programs within the redesigned the site. We took the hit knowing when the new site launched in August we'd be able to regain what we lost with the new changes. We also figured that we were safe from another Google change as these usually came every 18-24 months. We were wrong to assume Google was done making big changes.
In November 2011, ten days before Thanksgiving, Google made changes again to their algorithm, giving priority to new content over existing articles on the internet. This proved very costly and a nasty surprise for us and tens of thousands of content websites with decades or more of information focusing on specialized fields without a need for breaking news. The change to Google's algorithm, whether intended or not, gives priority to the multi-national media conglomerates whilst penalizing the smaller boutique and specialized websites like ours. We saw a 30% dip in traffic, again overnight. Several of our exclusive articles and series suddenly stopped drawing. Our shopping mall, set up for the holidays fell from top positions. We were heading into the 4 most critical weeks of the year and Google changed the game plan…AGAIN!
The articles that fell off the rankings were heavily researched and dealt with subjects that don't need updating often such as Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS), dating how-to, the elements behind grief and such. Even our shopping mall, using a ten-year proven formula pairing gifts to the amount of time couples have been together took a hit; the basic criteria doesn't change. What's appropriate to give a girl you've been dating for three months is the same now as it was 20 years ago. Human nature is a constant. Google algorithms are not.
One thing was clear. We needed a strategy and we needed it yesterday. Our little LEEP suddenly moved from useful to critical in generating a steady stream of new content that is timely to compete with the major media companies and re-establish our presence, most notably on Google.
USING THE LEEP TO COMPETE
By using the LEEP calendar, we are able to assign timely stories to our columnists and provide our product development, marketing and retail divisions with a calendar outlining the most opportune time for product releases and sales promotions. We're able to stimulate story ideas that will be in demand, target key words, add elements that make the articles germane to that day, week or month and work within the parameters of the new Google algorithm without sacrificing content, quality or focus. On the marketing end, we're able to integrate key words and promotional events into our social media strategy, marketing and PR, whilst positioning products to play upon various upcoming events that see an uptick in search relevance during the leading weeks. The international nature of the LEEP, specifically with its comprehensive guide to religious holidays helps significantly with our second and third largest markets, India and Europe.
Regaining what is lost in a Google revise does take time, but it can be done and this calendar is proving its merit in reversing the harm. We've started adding additional content featuring various events and the traffic is climbing once again. Our hope is you find the LEEP useful in your work as well.
ABOUT THE LEEP
Whether editorial or marketing, you probably have a dictionary and thesaurus sitting on your desk. The LEEP rounds out the must-have, often-referenced tools of writers and marketers. The 2012 LEEP the second calendar in the series. The 2013 version will be released in Q2 2012.
The LEEP deals with dynamic information and thousands of different sources and each date is therefore ‘subject to change without notice.’ Sources include the US and other nations' governments, the United Nations, various professional organizations, non-profits and NGOs, news stories, public and private institutions, websites and cultural customs. Due to the dynamic nature of calendars, it is advised that before you commit resources to a specific day or event, make sure the date has not changed since this book was updated in November 2011.
We've also included several historical events and major events from 2011 in the 2012 calendar. These dates include the major uprisings in the Arab Spring, major disasters and Occupy Wall Street movement. Our hope is these dates will be quite useful for journalists, bloggers and teachers.
The following is a brief rundown of the various sections that are prone to dates moving.
SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Google ‘World Cup’ and you’ll receive links to dozens of World Cups, for kids, for women for young men, for men. Augment that with FIFA and you still get half a dozen different events throughout the year. The same can be said for terms like World Series, America’s Cup and Championships (pick a sport). Ergo, sports are an issue in the calendar. Often the exact date is not set at the time of this compilation so the dates on the calendar are estimated based upon previous year’s patterns. Multiple factors can change these dates: strikes, extended playoffs, natural disasters etc. Many championships occur at two or four year intervals. This may be the reason your favorite event is not on the calendar.
A similar scenario exists with Entertainment events such as The Academy Awards, Grammy Awards and Webby Awards.
RELIGION
If you ever get bored and seek a Rubik’s Cube size headache, try integrating the Hindu calendar into the Gregorian calendar, (which was developed about 600 years ago). The first uses the sun, moon and positions of planets and stars to designate which days are which and when. The Hindu year is longer. Even the months have different names and half the time you look it up, it gives you the date with the star charts and Hindi names with no reference to internationally recognized dates. Then you have to figure out what your longitude and latitude is at the exact time for that holiday to start…and most of these celebrations go on for days. These dates should be seen as estimates and points of interest rather than exact. If you are going to be covering them or planning an event around them, contact your local Hindu temple and get the exact dates and times for your location. These will vary from city to city.
Buddhism, Judaism and Islam also rely on the moon, sun, planets and/or a combination for their calendars as well. In Islam the observance doesn't begin until the local clergy proclaim it has begun. This means the actual event for these faiths may start a day later or earlier depending upon where you are on this planet or when the moon can be seen. The Christian dates follow the Gregorian Calendar and do not have these issues.
NATIONAL, WORLD & INTERNATIONAL
Several events and dates have national days and international, world and/or universal days. Others occur in the spring and again in the fall or in the Southern Hemisphere than the Northern Hemisphere. This is why they will appear more than once in the calendar. Typically national dates are within the country (usually the US) and were either proclaimed by congress, the President, mark an anniversary or originate from an industrial collective, special interest group, non-profit or professional association. World events typically originate with the United Nations and international events generally derive from an anniversary or come from an industrial collective, special interest group, non-profit or professional association. Other dates, especially the silly dates simply developed through custom.
Even these are often in conflict with each other.
One example is 'Brother's Day'. There are three and all have been proclaimed as official. All have received mainstream media coverage. They're all included because we were unable to determine which is the official Brother's Day.
Different organizations will proclaim the same day at different times of the year. In these cases I’ve looked for the most established organization backing the day and have chosen their designation as official.
Consider Sadie Hawkins Day. One source states it is always the first Saturday in November. Another says it is only on February 29. Yet another states that as of 1937 the date was established after a segment ran in the Lil’ Abner comic strip in mid-November and in the 1950s it was established as a pseudo-holiday falling on the first Saturday following the 9th of November. The last explanation proved the most credible and is the one used in this calendar. However, the tradition of women proposing to men on Leap Day goes back hundreds of years and this has been called Sadie Hawkins Day. Because of this I altered the Leap Day designation of Sadie Hawkins slightly to Sadie Hawkins Proposal Day. In reality, Sadie Hawkins is in November. Culturally it is also on Leap Day. I made and executive decision and split the difference.
REGIONAL AND WEEKLY CELEBRATIONS
Some dates will be different depending upon which region of the country you are in. Weeks dealing with natural disasters and weather, harvest related weeks and sometimes sports will differ. I’ve chosen the weeks, days and celebrations with the greatest consistency nationally.
Another issue that comes up is timing. Many of the promoters of these events will state that it occurs during the ‘First week of X’ or ‘the third week of X’. This is very vague. Do they mean the first full week? Do they mean the week with the first of the month? Do they mean the first seven days? Often there is no explanation and 80% of the time email queries and phone calls to verify are not returned or the information is unknown.
In these cases I’ve compared past year’s weeks to discern a pattern; sometimes this works; sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, I’ve estimated the date based upon information available.
Dates change due to circumstances, postponements, breaking news, conflicts, extended playoffs, strikes, natural disasters and typos. It is advised to google any event in this calendar for your region prior to planning an event or promotion around it.
Depending upon where you are coming from, Marketing or Editorial, this calendar will have a different use. The point is this calendar is useful for both sides of the divide.
NOOK, SONY, PALM, KINDLE, IPAD & OTHER DIGITAL FORMS OF THIS BOOK
We've made attempts to work with the graphic limitations on the e-readers and make the ebook version as simple to navigate as possible. However, due to the file size limitations on the graphics for digital reading devices, the pictorial versions of this calendar do not reproduce well because of their text. If your reader can navigate PDFs and you've purchased a version for one of the popular ebook readers, simply contact us at public@prplanningcalendar.com with your receipt number and we will provide you with a free interactive PDF version of this calendar that displays beautifully on tablets and allows you to print out a low resolution version on standard paper.
EVENT PLANNING:
If your community has a large population of one or more ethnic group you don’t want to plan a promotion, event, fundraiser or activity if a large portion of your community is marking a day or week with religious or cultural observances. For example, in Los Angeles, because we have a large Jewish population, you don’t want to plan important events, fundraisers or promotions during Passover or the Jewish Holy Week because a lot of people, even if they’re not practicing do observe these weeks with family.
____________
HOW TO USE THIS CALENDAR
IF YOU ARE A JOURNALIST, BLOGGER, EDITOR OR PUBLISHER:
a) Use this calendar to plan features around topics that fit your market;
b) Use it to discover traditions you may not know exist;
c) Use it to identify issues currently receiving extra attention;
d) Use it to identify potential feature stories;
e) Use it for little trivia notations and ‘Did you know?’ embellishments;
f) Use it to create a sense of urgency and unique proposition for reaching difficult sources;
g) Use it to collect additional facts on that topic for future stories;
h) Use it to identify trends.
________________
IF YOU ARE A MARKETER:
a) Use it to generate more revenue. If an organization has set aside a specific month, day or week, find out if additional co-op dollars are available from manufactures to capitalize upon that event. Check with the regional managers of companies and organizations that are affected by the special event. Often they will have funds set aside to increase awareness that you can use to develop a promotion or event dovetailing with the national or international event.
b) Use the calendar for advertising and promotional planning with agencies and individual companies. Most marketing is planned 6-18 months in advance. Traditionally, fiscal years begin in September and budgets are finalized in July and August for the next year. The heightened awareness due to the PR push will make their products/services more desirable during that time.
c) Use it to bring in new advertisers. The calendar is a tremendous ice breaker for new business development and a great strategy for securing that first meeting.
d) Use it to plan your own PR push for new products and services. For example, if you are releasing a book on diabetes, October and November have several weekly, daily and monthly events designed to bring awareness to the public about diabetes maintenance, treatment, avoidance and living with the disease. This would be the ideal time to plan a book tour.
________________
IF YOU ARE AN EDUCATOR:
a) Use it for History: Many of the days mark historic events that impact how we live today.
b) Use it to foster creativity: Have the students come up with ways to acknowledge a specific day like ‘Do a Grouch a Favor Day’, ‘Random Acts of Kindness Day’ or ‘Incredible Kid Day’
c) Use it to engage curiosity: International Literacy Day
d) Use it to explore other cultures and traditions: What is Diwali and how is it celebrated?
e) Use it to learn about global issues: World Indigenous Peoples Day
This is a calendar of ideas. Each year we’ll add more events and points of interest. There are thousands of special weeks and days. The 2013 Calendar will be available during first quarter 2012.
__________________
ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF ALL DATES IN THIS BOOK
For the Alphabetical Listings we've taken the key word of the event as the lead letter. For example: National Prostate Cancer Awareness Day will be listed as Cancer: Prostate Cancer Awareness, National.
3:14 Pi Day, National: March 14
A
Academy Awards, (Oscars®): February 26
Active Aging, (Year of) EU
Adult Entertainment Expo & Awards (Las Vegas): January 18-21
African American Coaches Day (est.): February 7
Aggressive Driving Month: February
Agriculture Day, National: March 20
Agriculture Week, National: March 20-26
AIDS Awareness (Women/Girls), National Day for: March 10
AIDS: Native Americans HIV/AIDs Awareness Day: March 20
Alan Turing Year
Alaska Territory Purchased (1867) Seward's Folly: March 30
Alzheimer's Awareness Day: March 13
AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month: February
American Red Cross Month: March
An Affair to Remember Month: February
Animal Poison Prevention Week, National: March 18-24
Armageddon Year
Art Day, (Inspire Your Heart with): January 31
Art, Youth Art Month: March
Ash Wednesday, (Lent Begins): February 22
Asiatic Fleet Memorial Day: March 1
Astronomy Week, (SE Asia): February 19-25
Atheists Pride Day: March 20
Athletic Training Month, National: March
Average "Joe" Day, National: March 27
B
Baby-March for Babies: March
Baby-Prenatal Infection Prevention Month, International: February
Backwards Day: January 31
Bahrain Uprising (2011): February 14
Bald Eagle Appreciation Day: January 14
Balloon Day (1793): January 9
Bat: Year of the Bat
Bath Safety Month, National: January
Battery Day, National: February 18
BCS Championship Game (Football): January 9
Be Happy Day: March 3
Be Nasty Day: March 8
Bean Day: January 6
Beer Can Appreciation Day: January 24
Bird Day, National: January 5
Birth Defects Prevention Month, National: January
Black History Month: February
Blame Someone Else Day: January 13
Blood Donor Month, National: January
Bone & Joint Decade
Book Blitz Month, National: January
Books: Return Borrowed Books Week: March 4-10
Boy Scouts Day: February 8
Braille Day, World: January 4
Braille Literacy Month, National: January
Brain Aneurysm Awareness Week, National: March 12-18
Break-up Day, International: January 20
Brother's Day: January 21
Brotherhood Week, National: February 19-25
Brownie Day, (Blonde), National: January 22
Bubble Bath Day: January 8
Bubble Week, National: March 5-11
Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day: January 29
Bunsen Burner Day: March 31
Burn Awareness Month: February
Burn Awareness Week, National: February 5-11
Buttercrunch Day, National: January 20
Butterflies Day, (Learn about): March 14
C
Caesar Chavez Day: March 31
Caesarean Section Day: January 14
Canada, International Year of:
Cancer Day, World: February 4
Cancer-Cervical Cancer Awareness Month: January
Cancer: Colorectal Cancer Education & Awareness Month: March
Candlemas (C) Orthodox: February15
Candlemas (C): February 2
Canned Food Month: February
Card Reading Day: February 21
Card to a Friend Day, Send: February 7
Career & Technical Education Month, National: February
Carnival Day: February 26
Catholic Schools Week: January 29-February 4
Celebration of Love Week, International: February 12-18
Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster (1986): January 28
Cheerleading Week, National: March 5-11
Cherry Blossom Festival: March 25-April 7
Cherry Month, National: February
Cherry Pie Day: February 20
Children of Alcoholics Week: February 12-18
Children's Crafts Day, National: March 14
Children’s Dental Health Month, National: February
Chinese New Year (Year of the Dragon): January 23
Chinese Year of the Dragon
Chip (French Fries) Week, National (UK): February 20-26
Chip & Dip Day, National: March 23
Chocolate Cake Day: January 27
Chocolate Covered Cherry Day, National: January 3
Chocolate Covered Raisin Day, National: March 24
Chocolate Mint Day, National: February 19
Chocolate Week, American: March 18-24
Christian Unity Week, International: January 17-24
Christmas, Orthodox (C): January 7
Christmastide: December 24-January 5
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Month, National: March
Clam on the Half Shell Day, National: March 31
Clean Out Your Inbox Weeks: January 22-February 3
Clean Your Desk Day, National: January 9
Coaching Week, International: February 5-11
Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster (2003): February 1
Compliment Day, National: January 24
Computer Organization Day: February 13
Consumer Electronics Show, International Las Vegas: January 10-13
Consumer Protection Week, National: March 4-10
Cooperatives, International Year of
Corn Chip Day, National: January 29
Counseling Week (School), National: February 6-10
Craft Month, National: March
Creative Romance Month: February
Creativity Month, International: January
Crochet Week: March 5-11
Cuddle Up Day: January 6
Culinary: Personal Chef's Day, National: February 24
Curmudgeon's Day: January 28
Customer Service Day, National: January 17
D
Data Privacy Day: January 27
Daylight Savings, Spring Forward: March 11
Daytona 500 (Auto Racing): February 26
Dentists Day, National: March 6
Diabetes Alert Day, American: March 27
Diamond Jubilee of HRH Elizabeth II (UK): February 6
Diet Resolution Week: January 1-7
Ditch New Years Resolutions Day: January 17
Do a Grouch a Favor Day: February 16
Doctor's Day: March 30
Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day, International: February 23
Dog: Puppy Day, National: March 23
Dog: Walking the Dog Day: February 22
Donor Day, National: February 14
Down Syndrome Day, World: March 19
Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday: January 16
Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday: January 15
Dreams-Make Your Dream Come True Day: January 13
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Week, International (est.): February 5-11
Dumbstruck Day: March 15
Dump the Jerk(ess) Week: February 5-11
E
Ear Muff Day: March 13
Earth Day, International: March 20
Eat Something on a Stick Day: March 28
Eating Disorders Awareness & Screening Day, National: February 21
Eating Disorders Awareness Week, National: February 21-27
Eating Disorders Screening Program, National: February
Egypt Uprising (2011): January 25
Employee Appreciation Day: March 2
Employee Legal Awareness Day: February 13
Endometriosis Awareness Month, National: March
Engineer’s Week, National: February 21-27
Entrepreneurship Week, National: February 21-27
Epiphany (C): January 6
Eros 433 Passes Close to Earth (sched): January 31
Ethics Awareness Month, National: March
Everything You Do is Right Day: March 16
Everything You Think is Wrong Day: March 15
Extraterrestrial Abductions Day: March 20
Eye Donor Month, National: March
Eye Safety (Workplace) Month: March
F
Fairy Tale Day, Read a: February 26
Family Fit Lifestyle Month: January
Family, Career & Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) Week, National: February 12-18
Fat Tuesday: February 21
Feast of Fabulous Wild (Extreme & Extraordinary) Men Day: January 12
Ferris Wheel Day: February 14
Fertility Day, Goddess of: March 18
Fetish Day, International: January 20
Fiesta Bowl(Football): January 2
Final Four (est.): March 31-April 2
Financial Wellness Month: January
Firearms Day: February 25
Fitness: Personal Trainer Awareness Day: January 2
Fitness: Personal Trainer Awareness Week, National: January 1-7
Flagpole, (Run up the): January 2
Flirting Week, International: February 12-18
Flood Awareness Week: March 18-24
Floral Design Day: February 28
Folic Acid Awareness Week, National: January 1-7
Forgive Your Parents Day: March 18
Fragrance Day: March 21
Free Thinker's Day: January 29
Freedom Day, National: February 1
Freedom of Information Day, National: March 16
Freelance Writers Appreciation Week: February 5-11
Fresh Squeezed Juice Week, National: January 16-22
Friday the 13th: January 13
Friends: Make a Friend Day: February 11
Friendship Week, International: February 19-25
Frozen Food Day, National: March 6
Frozen Food Month, National: March
Fruitcake Toss Day: January 3
Fun at Work Day, National: January 28
Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) Week, National: February 6-12
Future Farmers of America (FFA) Week, National: February 18-25
G
Gardening-Flower Day, Plant a: March 12
Gardening-Houseplant Appreciation Day: January 10
Gardening: Weed Appreciation Day: March 28
Get Over It! Day: March 9
Ghost Writers Week, National: March 5-11
Girl Scout Day (1912): March 12
Girl Scout Week: March 11-17
Girl: International Year of the Girl
Glaucoma Awareness Month, National: January
Golden Globe® Awards: January 15
Goof-off Day, International: March 22
Grammy® Awards (est.): February 12
Grapefruit Month, National: February
Gregorian Calendar Day (1582): February 24
Groundhog Day: February 2
Gumdrop Day, National: February 15
H
Handwriting Day, National: January 23
Happiness, Hunt for Happiness Week: January 16-20
Hat Day, National: January 15
Heart Month, American: February
Heart: Cardiac Rehabilitation Week, National: February 12-18
Heart: Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week: February 7-14
Heart: Have-A-Heart Day, National: February 14
Heart: Wear Red Day, National: February 4
Heart: Women's Heart Health Day, National: February 1
Heart: Women's Heart Health Week: February 1-7
Hemophilia Month, National: March
Herbs, Year of:
Hobby Month, National: January
Holi (H): March 8/9
Holocaust (Nazi) Victims Remembrance Day, World: January 27
Holy Experiment Day: March 4
Hoodie Hoo Day: February 20
Hot & Spicy Food Day, International: January 16
Huffington Post bought by AOL (2011): February 7
Hug-a-GI Day: March 4
Hugging Day, National: January 21
Human Beings Week, Universal: March 1-7
Humiliation Atonement Day: January 3
Humility: Be Humble Day: February 22
Hypnotism Day, World: January 4
I
I am in Control Day: March 30
I'm Not Going to Take It Anymore! Day: January 7
Ice Cream for Breakfast Day: February 4
Idiotarod, St. Louis (Multiple dates/cities-see local listings): March 2-3
Iditarod: March 3-18
Ids of: March: March 15
Inane Answering Message Day, National: January 30
Income Tax (1913): February 3
Incredible Kid Day: March 15
Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week: March 22-28
Intimate Apparel Week: January 29-February 4
Invasion/Occupation of Iraq Begins (2003): March 19
Irish-American Heritage Month: March
Islamic Year: 1434 & 1435
J
Jewels, Gemstones & Precious Metals Day: March 13
Jewish Year: 5772 & 5773
Johnny Appleseed Day: March 11
Jordan Uprising (2011): March 25
JUNO Awards®: March 26-April 1
Justice for Animals Week, National: February 21-27
K
Kazoo Day, National: January 28
Kidney Day, World: March 8
Kidney Month, National: March
Kite Flying Day, National: February 8
L
Lame Duck Day: February 6
Laugh & Get Rich Day: February 8
Leap Year
Leap Year Day: February 29
Learning Disabilities Week, National (est.): February 20-24
Lent (C): February 22-April 7
Leprosy Day, World: January 28
Leprosy Week, World: January 22-28
Library Lovers Month: February
Libya Uprising (2011): February 18
Life, Celebration of Life Week: January 1-7
Lincoln’s Birthday (1809): February 11
Losar: 2138 & 2139
M
Maha Shivaratri (H): February 20
Mahavir Jayanthi (H): February 20
Mailman Day, Thank a: February 4
Makar Sankranti (H): January 14
Make Up Your Own Holiday Day: March 26
Male Watcher's Day: January 8
Maple Syrup Saturday: March 17
March Madness (est.): March 12-April 2
Mardis Gras (Carnaval): February 18-21
Marfan Syndrome Awareness Month: February
Margarita Day, National: February 22
Marriage Day, World: February 14
Marriage Week (UK): February 11-18
Marriage Week (US): February 7-14
Mars (god) Month: March
Math, Engineering, Technology & Science Week: March 1-7
Mawid al-Nabi (M): February 4
Measure Your Feet Day: January 23
Mental Retardation Awareness Month: March
Mental Wellness Month: January
Mentoring Month, National: January
Meteorological Day, World: March 23
Middle Level Education Month, National: March
Middle Name Pride Day: March 10
MLB Birthday (1876): February 2
Mom & Pop Business Owners Day: March 29
Money Week, National: March 11-18
Mother Language Day, International: February 21
Mothering Sunday (UK): March 18
Multiple Personality Day: March 5
Music in Our Schools Month: March
N
NAACP Day: February 12
Naked: Work Naked Day, National: February 7
NBA All Star Game (Basketball): February 26
NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey: March 23-April 7
Near Miss Day: March 23
Neighbor Day, (Meet your): February 7
Networking Week, International: February 6-12
New Year's Day Observed: January 2
New Year's Day: January 1
Newspaper Education Week: March 5-11
NFL Pro Bowl (Football): January 29
NHL All Star Game (Hockey): January 29
No Brainer Day: February 27
Noodle Month, National: March
Nothing Day, National: January 16
Nuclear Science Week, National: January 23-27
Nutrition Month, National: March
O
Oatmeal Month, National: January
Ocean, International Year of the
Oglethorpe Day (1733): February 12
Old Stuff Day: March 2
Opposite's Day: January 25
Optimism Month, National: March
Orange Bowl (Football): January 4
Organize Your Home Day: January 14
P
Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday) Australia: February 21
Pancake Day, International: March 8
Pancake Week, National: March 4-10
Panic Day, National: March 9
Parent Leadership Month, National: February
Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Founders Day, National: February 17