I'm not sure about you, but I absolutely love all the nonsense little holidays people come up with throughout the year. Especially as someone who loves giving gifts and sending cards, it's always fun to have more reasons to send someone a note and let them know I'm thinking about them.
In that spirit, here are some fun "holidays" I found beyond the usual April holidays that I thought you might enjoy celebrating!
April 3 • National "Find a Rainbow" Day
I couldn't find a source for this one, but a lot of online holiday calendars mention it. As someone who absolutely LOVES rainbows I will certainly be doing my best to find a rainbow on April 3! I decided to dig through some of my old photos too to see if I had any good rainbow pics since I love to take pictures of literally everything while I'm out and about... I found an awesome one from nearby in Madison, Wisconsin from a few years ago.
I also love to draw rainbows and work with rainbows in graphic design too, you've probably noticed all kinds of rainbow items in our shop, but one of my favorites is this fun Winnie the Pooh bookmark I loved drawing:
April 11 • National Pet Day
Another "social media holiday" that seems to exist just to celebrate something fun, but we are SO HERE FOR IT. Who doesn't love to celebrate pets?! I've mostly had pretty normal pets over the years like dogs and cats, but I did have a gerbil years ago that I absolutely adored, and I kept a fish tank on and off too. Growing up I knew some people with some pretty strange pets too... I remember visiting someone's house and they had a ton of ferrets, and another person had a sugar glider. I've personally also thought it would be cool to have a gecko or another type of lizard... maybe one day!
Right now we have two adorable dogs, Lord Byron and Penelope. They're both rescue beagles and they're both a little quirky, but we love them to bits. Their favorite activity is napping, and when I tried to find a good picture of them both that's pretty much all they were doing in every single photo.
We will definitely be celebrating them all day on April 11... but lets be honest, we kinda celebrate them every day. We love them to bits.
April 14 • National Library Workers Day
Here at Something Peaceful we love books, and we absolutely LOVE our library workers! I have so many great memories of visiting libraries throughout my life, from pouring over American Girl Magazine with my best friend as a kid to finding quiet spaces to work as an adult. Libraries themselves have become super popular over the years too (I feel like every "hacks and tips" thread on Reddit has at least one USE THE LIBRARY!!! comment at the top) but I feel like we rarely get an opportunity to celebrate the people who make that happen.
Library workers go beyond just librarians, and this umbrella includes all the people who keep libraries running behind the scenes, as well as planning local events. Though on paper their jobs may just look like managing and organizing books, they end up serving roles as educators, tech support, and community heroes. Many local libraries have an insane amount of resources that need managing, too -- some even have movies, board games, puzzles, and video games available for check out! One of our local libraries even hosts mini "conventions" throughout the year that are free to attend.
National Library Workers Day was established by the American Library Association, or the ALA. For more information about libraries and the work they do, please hurry to ala.org ! If you're in Wisconsin like we are, we also recommend checking out getyourlibrarycard.org for information on, well, getting your library card!
And if you need a cool gift for your favorite librarian, we might have a few things they might love!
April 15 • World Art Day
Okay... I had to include this one! You know I love art! This one is really cool because it was chosen by the International Art Association as a day to celebrate art around the globe, but not just that -- it's also Leonardo DaVinci's birthday!
Whenever I think about DaVinci, I always think about a scene in Spaceship Earth, a ride in the EPCOT park at Disney World that takes you on a relaxing journey through the history of civilization. You sit in a slow moving ride vehicle as it moves through what is basically a gigantic diorama depicting important moments in history, including DaVinci painting the roof of the Sistine Chapel. I've never been lucky enough to visit the Sistine Chapel, but that part of the ride always gets my attention as I think about how much work he put in to create something so beautiful that we've all been enjoying for many, many, many years after he painted it.
Art in general is just so important -- and I mean, okay, obviously I'm here writing this post on this particular website because I myself am an artist, but this World Art Day I challenge you to keep an eye out for some really cool art all around you. From the art that goes on the packaging we encounter in our daily life, to amazing murals painted high in the air, there's so much cool art to enjoy in the world.
Since I mentioned both EPCOT and murals, here's one of my favorite large art pieces I've gotten to see in person, a mural outside Spaceship Earth that depicts many of the scenes inside the ride, painted by Italian artist Claudio Mazzoli:
In this day and age too when AI generators are becoming more and more prolific, I think it's important we celebrate real artists creating real art as much as we can so that these skills aren't lost to time. Nothing can replace the wonder of seeing a real oil painting or sculpture up close and in person... or a ceiling mural, like the one on the Sistine Chapel. (I imagine, anyway. Maybe I'll get to see it one day.)
That's all for now, I'd love to hear if you have any interesting or offbeat holidays you celebrate in April! I loved how many of these spoke to my personal interests, I'll have to see if I can find some more cool ones for May!
Have an excellent day,
Manda