Celebrating National Days, Weeks, and Months on Social Media - Ultimate Guide

Jan 12, 2021

18 min. read

Social Media Management Social Media Management Guide

Your day as a social media manager is chaotic enough, which is why planning is your best friend. We all know the benefits of a social media calendar, but you don’t always have a post for every day of the week. That’s where National Chocolate Cake Day (January 27th) comes in! No, not to eat...or well, sure you can eat some cake too, but mostly to post about it! Let us help make your job as a social media manager easier.

Invite your followers to engage in the full range of National Days, from silly and fun to important and reverent. And in case you’re stuck on how to incorporate an appreciation day into your content calendar, we’ve included some suggestions!

So get ready to share in our collective enthusiasm for pie, pistachios, poetry and more with our ultimate guide to national days, national weeks, national months, and every type of celebration you can imagine*.

*Disclaimer: Is this an exhaustive list? No. But it’s pretty close. We left off some dates that we felt would not be relevant, but tried to be as comprehensive as possible - covering a multitude of topics that would be applicable to numerous industries and types of businesses.

Looking for printable chronological scannability? Download the calendar

1. National Days - Covid-19 Front & Center

Some more obscure national days may have been gathering dust for the past decade or so, except among niche industries, but we predict they’ll be under a much brighter spotlight in 2021.

2. National Days by Category

Got something specific in mind and don’t have the time to mine through each month separately? We get it - you’re busy and you have tweets to send and TikToks to make! Which is why we’ve separated out the national days into categories for easy searching:

National Food Days

Nuts, Chocolate, Bread, Ice Cream...People love to eat. This is by far the most popular category!
National Drink Days

Cocktails, Wine, Beer, Non-alcoholic
Public Figures

Get your posts scheduled to celebrate some of the world’s best and brightest public figures from MLK to JRR Tolkien
Pop Culture

Love those film, tv, and book references? This is the section for you. Gifs at the ready!
Sports Events in 2021

Exactly when are the ‘2020’ Olympics? Is the London Marathon happening? Check out this section for the answers
Official UN & UNESCO Days

Official themes will be updated as they become available!
National Days to Help the Environment

Celebrate trees, recycling, and all things Mother Earth
National Days to Celebrate Animals

Our furry friends get a lot of appreciation throughout the year! (And some not so furry...Reptile Day anyone?)
National Technology Themed Days

Stay attuned to the modern digital age with Emoji Day, Backup Files Day and more
LGBTQ+ National Days

Celebrate the LGBTQ+ community with these special days

3. Should you share?

Avoid the pitfalls of an uncouth online exchange by avoiding, or carefully weighing the pros and cons, when promoting these select few national days.

1. National Days - Covid-19 Front & Center

Use these national days to celebrate our hard working nurses, doctors, EMTs, and teachers. Encourage hand washing and bring humor to our new WFH reality. And remember when everyone was making bread?

Special days to promote on social media when thinking about Covid-19:

Health

April 7th. World Health Day
National Immunization Month: August
September 17th. International Patient Safety Day
October 10th. World Mental Health Day
October 15th. Global Handwashing Day
December 12th. International Universal Health Coverage Day
National Handwashing Awareness Week: December 1st - 7th

Appreciation

January 12th. National Pharmacist Day
February 3rd. National Women Physicians Day
February 4th. National Thank a Mail Carrier Day
May 4th. National Teacher Day
May 6th. National Nurses Day
May 21st. National Waitstaff Day
Teacher Appreciation Week: May 3rd - May 7th
National Nurses Week: May 6th - May 12th
National EMS Week: May 16th - May 22nd
June 1st. Global Day of Parents
September 25th. World Pharmacist Day
October 2nd. National Custodian Day
October 5th. World Teachers Day
October 9th. World Post Day
October 19th. National Pharmacy Technician Day
October 20th. National Medical Assistants Day
October 28th. National First Responders Day

Fun

January 15th. National Hat Day
April 16th. Wear Pajamas to Work Day
June 2nd. National Leave the Office Early Day
Ahh, time to commute from the kitchen to the living room.
November 12th. National Happy Hour Day
November 17th. National Homemade Bread Day

Fun Fact: “Sales of yeast, which is used to make bread and other baked goods, grew 647% in the week ending March 21, compared to the same week in 2019, according to Nielsen data. No other grocery product tracked by Nielsen experienced such rapid sales growth in that seven-day period.” (Business Insider)

Work & School

August 31st. World Distance Learning Day
September 15th. National Online Learning Day
November 6th. National Team Manager Day
November 27th. Small Business Saturday

2. National Days by Category

We’ve separated out the national days into categories for easy searching:

National Food Days

Nuts

January 26th. National Peanut Brittle Day
February 26th. National Pistachio Day
May 17th. National Walnut Day
September 13th. National Peanut Day
November - National Peanut Butter Lovers Month

Chocolate

January 27th. National Chocolate Cake Day
January 31st. National Hot Chocolate Day
February 28th. National Chocolate Soufflé Day
May 15th. National Chocolate Chip Day
June 7th. National Chocolate Ice Cream Day
July 27th. National Milk Chocolate Day
August 4th. National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
Fun Fact: the Chocolate Chip Cookie is the official state cookie of Massachusetts
September 12th. National Chocolate Milkshake Day
September 16th. National Choose Your Chocolate Day
September 22nd. National White Chocolate Day
October 18th. National Chocolate Cupcake Day
December 28th. National Chocolate Candy Day

Bread

January 21st. National Banana Bread Day
March 21st. National French Bread Day
October 29th. National Breadstick Day
November 17th. National Homemade Bread Day

Ice Cream

January 15th. National Strawberry Ice Cream Day
June 7th. National Chocolate Ice Cream Day
National Ice Cream Month: July
Fun Fact: Ice Cream Month was declared by President Ronald Reagan in 1984
September 22nd. National Ice Cream Cone Day
August 2nd. National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

There are even more national food days to discover! Download the calendar >

National Drink Days

Cocktails & Liquor

January 17th. National Hot Buttered Rum Day
January 25th. National Irish Coffee Day
May 9th. National Moscato Day
May 13th. World Cocktail Day
Fun Fact: A Bourbon Old Fashioned is consistently ranked as the #1 most popular cocktail in the world
May 16th. National Mimosa Day
May 30th. National Mint Julep Day
June 14th. National Bourbon Day
June 19th. National Martini Day
Fun Fact: Most bartenders disagree with James Bond and would prefer a stirred martini over shaken
July 10th. National Pina Colada Day
July 11th. National Mojito Day
July 19th. National Daiquiri Day
July 24th. National Tequila Day
July 27th. National Scotch Day
August 16th. National Rum Day
September 20th. National Punch Day
October 4th. National Vodka Day
October 16th. National Liquor Day
November 12th. National Happy Hour Day
December 8th. National Bartender Day
December 20th. National Sangria Day
December 21st. National Coquito Day

Wine

February 18th. National Drink Wine Day
May 25th. National Wine Day
Idea: Encourage #recycling and have your followers share some fun uses for corks and empty wine bottles!
June 12th. National Rosé Day
August 3rd. National White Wine Day
August 13th. National Prosecco Day
August 28th. National Red Wine Day
Fun Fact: Cabernet Sauvignon is the most popular red wine in the world
December 31st. National Champagne Day

Beer

April 7th. National Beer Day
Fun Fact: The Czech Republic consumes the most beer per capita per year
June 3rd. World Cider Day
August 6th. International Beer Day
September 28th. National Drink Beer Day
November 4th. International Stout Day
December 10th. National Lager Day

Non-alcoholic

January 31st. National Hot Chocolate Day
January: Hot Tea Month
Idea: Share a favorite type of tea each day - there are 20,000 different varieties to choose from!
April 21st. National Tea Day
April 30th. National Bubble Tea Day
May 8th. National Have a Coke Day
June 10th. National Iced Tea Day
Fun Fact: Iced Tea became popular after it was featured at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis
June 20th. National Vanilla Milkshake Day
July 26th. National Coffee Milkshake Day
August 6th. National Root Beer Float Day
August 20th. National Lemonade Day
Idea: Ask your online community to share their favorite old lemonade stand pictures to encourage entrepreneurship among young people. Here are 15 Famous Lemonade Stand Stories!
September 12th. National Chocolate Milkshake Day
October 1st. International Coffee Day
Fun Fact: According to Wikipedia “Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the world daily”. 😮☕
November 8th. National Cappuccino Day
November 23rd. National Espresso Day
December 24th. National Eggnog Day

Looking for national days in March? Download the calendar >

Public Figures

January 3rd. JRR Tolkien Day
January 17th. Benjamin Franklin Day
Finally a chance to use the Kite emoji! 🪁
January 18th. MLK Day
January 25th. Burns Night
March 2nd. Dr. Seuss’s birthday
May 22nd. Harvey Milk Day
June 25th. Bourdain Day
June 25th. Global Beatles Day
Fun Fact: The Beatles and Taylor Swift are the only two artists to have 5 albums spend at least 6 weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard 200
June 27th. Helen Keller Day
July 18th. Nelson Mandela International Day
December 17th. Wright Brothers Day

Who else should you celebrate? Download the national days calendar for even more ideas >

Pop Culture

January 2nd. Science Fiction Day
January 11th. Gotham Independent Film Awards
January 18th. National Winnie the Pooh Day
January 28th. National & International Lego Day
February 13th. Galentines Day
February 28th. Golden Globe Awards
March 7th. Critics Choice Awards
March 9th. National Barbie Day
March 12th. Alfred Hitchcock Day
Idea: Challenge your followers to share their best Hitchock-esque photo using your product. Create a special contest hashtag for easy searching!
March 14th. Screen Actors Guild Awards
April 11th. 74th Bafta Awards
April 24th. Film Independent Spirit Awards
April 25th. 93rd Academy Awards
April 28th. National Superhero Day
Idea: Share real-world superhero stories! For example: in 2018 window washers dressed as comic book characters to surprise the young patients at Blank Children's Hospital in Iowa 🥰
May 2nd. International Harry Potter Day
May 4th. Star Wars Day
Idea: Lift your team's spirits and send an inspiring message using the Star Wars text scroller!
May 21st. National Talk Like Yoda Day
August 1st. Spider-Man Day
August 14th. Free Comic Book Day
September 12th. National Video Games Day
September 19th. Talk Like a Pirate Day
Idea: Ask your followers to share their favorite pirate fact!
September 21st. Batman Day
September 22nd. Hobbit day
September 25th. National Comic Book Day
September 30th. International Podcast Day
Idea: Is starting a podcast part of your marketing goals this year? Run a contest on your social channels to gather topic and guest suggestions from your followers!
October 6th. National Mad Hatter Day
Fun Fact: This date was chosen because of the numbers on the Mad Hatters hat
October 15th. National I Love Lucy Day
Fun Fact: Are you a Star Trek fan? You have Lucille Ball to thank! She was instrumental in getting the Original Series aired. Her studio bought the show from Gene Rodenberry! All in a day's work.
October 21st. Back to the Future Day
Fun Fact: The true Back to the Future Day is in our past (though it was Marty McFly's future: October 21st, 2015), but we can still celebrate this iconic trilogy!
November 18th. Mickey Mouse Day
November 21st. World Television Day
December 8th. Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day

Looking for more fun national days? Get the national days calendar >

Sports Events in 2021

2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships: January 11th - 21st
February 7th. Super Bowl Sunday - Super Bowl LV
April 6th. National Student-Athlete Day
PGA Championship: May 20th - 23rd
US Open: June 17th - 20th
Wimbledon: June 28th - July 11th
July 13th. Major League Baseball All-Star Game
2020 Tokyo Olympics: July 23rd - August 8th
2020 Paralympic Games: August 24th - September 5th
October 3rd. London Marathon
October 6th. National Coaches Day
October 10th. Chicago Marathon
October 17th. Tokyo Marathon
November 7th. New York Marathon

Want to explore all the National days in May? Download the full calendar >

Official UN & UNESCO Days

January 24th. International Day of Education
2021 theme: “Recover and Revitalize Education for the COVID-19 Generation”
February 13th. World Radio Day
2021 theme: “New World, New Radio - Evolution, Innovation, Connection”
March 3rd. World Wildlife Day @wildlifeday #WorldWildlifeDay #WWD2021 #WWD #Wildlife
March 8th. International Women's Day @womensday #ChooseToChallenge #IWD2021
March 20th. International Day of Happiness @actionhappiness #HappierWorld #InternationalDayofHappiness
March 21st. International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
March 21st. World Down Syndrome Day @WorldDSDay #WDSD #DownSyndromeAwareness
March 21st. World Poetry Day
Idea: Run a contest challenging your followers to submit a poem about how much they enjoy your product!
March 22nd. World Water Day @UN_Water #Water2Me
April 2nd. World Autism Awareness Day @autismspeaks
April 15th. World Art Day
April 20th. Chinese Language Day
April 21st. World Creativity & Innovation Day
April 22nd. Earth Day @EarthDayNetwork
April 23rd. World Book & Copyright Day
April 30th. International Jazz Day @IntlJazzDay
May 2nd. World Tuna Day
May 3rd. World Press Freedom Day
May 5th. African World Heritage Day #MyAfricaHeritage #ShareOurHeritage
May 15th. International Day of Families
May 16th. Living in Peace Day
May 20th. World Bee Day
Fun Fact: Honey Bees visit between 50-100 flowers during a collection trip!
June 1st. Global Day of Parents
June 3rd. World Bicycle Day
June 5th. World Environment Day @UNEP
June 7th. World Food Safety Day
June 8th. World Oceans Day @WorldOceansDay #WorldOceansDay #ProtectOurHome
June 20th. World Refugee Day
June 21st. International Yoga Day
June 23rd. United Nations Public Service Day
June 30th. International Asteroid Day @AsteroidDay
July 20th. International Chess Day
July 30th. International Day of Friendship
Idea: Share your favorite unconventional, unique, or inspiring friendships!
August 9th. International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
August 12th. International Youth Day
August 19th. World Humanitarian Day
September 5th. International Day of Charity
September 7th. International Day of Clean Air / Clean Air Day
September 8th. International Literacy Day @WorldLiteracy
September 15th. International Day of Democracy
September 18th. International Equal Pay Day
September 21st. International Day of Peace @PeaceDay
September 27th. World Tourism Day
Idea: Did your followers have to cancel vacation plans in 2020? Run a contest to help a lucky winner get their bucket list back on track in 2021.
September 28th. International Day for Universal Access to Information #AccesstoInfoDay #RighttoKnow
September 30th. International Translation Day
October 1st. International Day of Older Persons
October 2nd. International Day of Non-Violence
October 4th. World Habitat Day
October 5th. World Teachers Day
Idea: Create a tribute video from your team, sharing stories of the teachers that influenced them to pursue their career
October 9th. World Post Day
October 16th. World Food Day
October 17th. End Poverty Day
October 24th. United Nations Day
October 31st. World Cities Day
October 10th. World Science Day for Peace and Development
October 14th. World Diabetes Day @WDD
October 16th. International Day for Tolerance
October 20th. World Children's Day
November 18th. International Islamic Art Day
November 21st. World Television Day
Fun Fact: The series finale of M*A*S*H is the highest rated Broadcast of all time. It aired in 1983.
November 25th. International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
November 26th. World Olive Tree Day
December 1st. World AIDS Day @NAT_AIDS_Trust
December 3rd. International Day of Persons with Disabilities
December 10th. Human Rights Day
December 11th. International Mountain Day
December 12th. International Day of Neutrality
December 12th. International Universal Health Coverage Day
December 18th. Arabic Language Day
December 18th. International Migrants Day

Want to explore all the National days in August? Download the full calendar >

National Days to Help the Environment

March 18th. Global Recycling Day @GlbRecyclingDay
March 20th. Great British Spring Clean Day @keepbritaintidy #LoveWhereYouLive #ContinueTheCleanup
March 21st. International Day of Forests
March 27th. Earth Hour Day @earthhour #EarthHour #Connect2Earth
April 22nd. Earth Day @EarthDayNetwork
April 30th. Arbor Day @arborday #TimeforTrees
May 8th. World Migratory Bird Day @worldmigratorybirdday #BirdsConnectOurWorld #BirdsKnowNoBorders
June 5th. World Environment Day @UNEP
June 8th. World Oceans Day @WorldOceansDay #WorldOceansDay #ProtectOurHome
July 3rd. International Plastic Bag Free Day
September 7th. International Day of Clean Air / Clean Air Day
September 18th. World Cleanup Day @WorldCleanupDay
September 26th. Johnny Appleseed Day
October 10th. World Migratory Bird Day @WMBD
November 15th. National Recycling Day

Curious to discover what other national days are in April? Check out our calendar >

National Days to Celebrate Animals

March 3rd. World Wildlife Day @wildlifeday #WorldWildlifeDay #WWD2021 #WWD #Wildlife
March 13th. National K9 Veterans Day
March 16th. National Panda Day
March 23rd. National Puppy Day
April 11th. National Pet Day @NationalPetDay
April 25th. World Penguin Day
April 28th. International Guide Dog Day
May 20th. World Bee Day
May 21st. National Endangered Species Day @endangered
June 20th. National American Eagle Day @AEFeagles
July 13th. Cow Appreciation Day
Fun Fact: Research has shown that cows have best friends!
July 31st. National Mutt Day @NationalMuttDay
August 8th. International Cat Day
Idea: It seems cat memes have been around since the birth of the internet. Invite your followers to share their favorites!
September 22nd National Elephant Appreciation Day
October 4th. World Animal Day @worldanimalday
October 20th. International Sloth Day
October 21st. National Reptile Day
October 26th. Pit Bull Awareness Day
November 6th. National Bison Day
December 9th. National Llama Day
December 10th. International Animal Rights Day @OPTT_NARD
December 13th. National Horse Day

Download the full national days calendar here >

National Technology Themed Days

January 6th. National Technology Day
February 9th. Safer Internet Day #SaferInternetDay #OnlineSafety #CyberSecurity
March 5th. National Day of Unplugging @TeamNDU
June 30th. Social Media Day
July 17th. World Emoji Day @WorldEmojiDay
Idea: Challenge your followers to create an emoji-only post answering questions like "what do they like best about your product?" 😮
October 3rd. National Techies Day
October 29th. National Internet Day
November 8th. National STEM / STEAM Day
December 11th. National App Day

LGBTQ+ National Days

February 7th. National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day @CDC_HIVAIDS #NBHAAD #StopHIVTogether
April 23rd. Day of Silence @GLSEN #SupportSafeSchools #dayofsilence
May 16th. National Honor Our LGBT Elders Day
May 17th. International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia @may17org
Pride Month: June
September 18th. National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day @CDC_HIVAIDS
AIDS Awareness Month: October
November 20th. Transgender Day of Remembrance
December 1st. World AIDS Day @NAT_AIDS_Trust

Reading Tip: 5 of the Most-Shared Pro-LGBTQ+ Articles of 2023 So Far

3. Should you share?

For social media managers, it’s important to stay up to date on cultural pulses to avoid posting in a way that may seem out of touch, controversial, or be insensitive - whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Of course there’s no pleasing everyone. But as the world becomes more “woke,” there are certain lines that you want to be very careful about crossing.

Now, if you do get in some hot water (it happens!) and you need to address your followers online swiftly and effectively, check out our Ultimate Guide for Crisis Communications.

We’re not here to tell you what to post or not post, however we do recommend using caution for the following national days:

National Days to Think Twice About Before Promoting on Social Media

January 26th. Australia Day
Why think twice? Many Australians are calling to #ChangeTheDate of this holiday and use the hashtags #InvasionDay and #SurvivalDay
February 8th. National Boy Scout Day
Why think twice? The Boy Scouts continue to receive negative press over allegations of sexual abuse.
November 11th. Columbus Day
Why think twice? This holiday is now also commonly referred to as Indigenous Peoples Day to pay due respect and homage to the native people who already occupied the lands that Columbus claimed.
November 19th. International Men's Day
Why think twice? Though created with the intention of promoting men's health, the day has received quite a bit of backlash. We recommend you proceed carefully when / if promoting.

And that's a wrap! What national days are you most excited to promote this year?

Social Media Management