January is a month named by the Romans after the God Janus, the God of Gateways. This is because January is the gateway to the new year, and is most often welcomed through a celebration of great merriment and mirth – not to mention a usually-unachievable new year’s resolution! But did you know that January 17^th is the day to ditch your new year’s resolution? Or that January 21^st is Hugging Day? Well January is month full of wacky and weird days, and these are the most awesome for each and every day!

1^st January – Z Day. No it’s not the day that marks the rising of the dead, but rather Z Day celebrates people with names beginning with a ‘Z’.

2^nd January – Pet Safety Travel Day. This day exists to raise awareness of the dangers of travelling with an unsecured pet in your car.

3^rd January – Drinking Straw Day. This day marks the creation of the modern drinking straw and is celebrated by drinking all the day’s liquids through a straw!

4^th January – Spaghetti Day. Spaghetti Day celebrates one of the world’s most loved foods and it’s pretty simple to celebrate – just have some spaghetti!

5^th January – Whipped Cream Day. What better way to celebrate everyone’s favourite aerosol-canned food by blasting yourself a mouthful of whipped cream and saying ‘Whipped Cream Day’!

6^th January – Cuddle Up Day. The perfect day to bust out a duvet, cuddle up on the sofa with your loved ones or pets and watch some Netflix.

7^th January – I’m Not Going To Take It Anymore Day. This day is about standing up for yourself, telling those who give you grief that you’re done with it. It’s also the perfect day for a strike.

8^th January – Joy Germ Day. A Joy Germ is a germ that is passed on through a smile, in the hopes that others catch the germ and smile in turn. So smile people!

9^th January – Static Electricity Day. Build up static on a carpet whilst wearing a onesie and give a friend a static shock because today is Static Electricity Day!

10^th January – Peculiar People Day. This is a day to celebrate all those of us who are a little quirky, weird or eccentric.

11^th January – Step In A Puddle And Splash Your Friends Day. I think the name says it all really, and what better time to do it than January? There are puddles everywhere!

12^th January – Marzipan Day. Whether you love it or loathe it you have to admit that marzipan pulls its weight at Christmas. And there’s always some left, so what better day to finish it all off?

13^th January – Sceptics Day. This is a day to honour the sceptic within. Is it too good to be true? Was it too easy? Either way give it the second thought you usually wouldn’t.

14^th January – Dress Up Your Pet Day. Put a fedora on your pooch, or go all out and dress the cat in a bumble-bee costume. Today’s the day for it!

15^th January – Hat Day. It’s safe to say that early January is usually pretty cold. Often cold enough to warrant wearing a hat. On this day you have no excuse but to wear a hat because it’s Hat Day!

16^th January – Nothing Day. Invented by newspaper-columnist Harold Coffin in 1973, this day has no purpose or structure, and no particular way of celebration. It is literally about nothing.

17^th January – Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day. Let’s face it, you probably didn’t expect yourself to last the whole year when you made your New Year’s Resolution did you? Well ditch it then, today is the day for it!

18^th January – Winnie the Pooh Day. January the 18^th is the birthday of Winnie the Pooh author A. A. Milne. This day is typically celebrated with a good teddy bear’s picnic and lots of honey!

19^th January – Popcorn Day. Popcorn is the universal standard for movie-going food worldwide. So what better way to celebrate than going to the movies and munching down some popcorn.

20^th January – Penguin Awareness Day. What’s black and white and happens on the 20^th of January every year? Penguin Awareness Day! A great excuse to visit your local zoo and see the penguins at play.

21^st January – Hugging Day. Today is a day to embrace the hug! Give your mum a hug to show her your care, or give your best friend a hug to let them know they’re awesome. Get hugging people!

22^nd January – Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day. They might not be able to speak, but all cats have a way of asking us something, so puzzle it out and give them an answer.

23^rd January – Measure Your Feet Day. This one sure is a bizarre one, but why not celebrate all the hard work your feet do by putting them up and getting a tape measure on them!

24^th January – Belly Laugh Day. Laughter has been known to up your immune system, prevent stress, and burn calories. So have a long and hearty belly laugh and do yourself some good!

25^th January – Opposite Day. Celebrate Opposite Day by not doing nothing nowhere, if you don’t catch my drift.

26^th January – Australia Day. G’day mate, today is Australia Day. It celebrates the world’s sixth largest country that’s full of beautiful beaches, barbecues and beer. Ripper!

27^th January – Chocolate Cake Day. Let’s face it, everybody loves chocolate cake. It’s sticky, gooey, and just divine. Nobody really needs a reason to eat chocolate cake, but here’s one anyway.

28^th January – Data Privacy Day. This is a day about challenging people to think about how secure their personal data is online, and finding out ways to make it secure.

29^th January – Freethinkers Day. Also known as Thomas Paine Day, as it occurs on the famous thinker’s birthday, this holiday is about challenging life’s status quo by thinking for yourself.

30^th January – Insane Answering Machine Day. A voicemail of your friend swearing at you because you got them with a prank answering message is just gold. Try it out and see how many of your friends you can catch out!

31^st January – Backward Day. Celebrate this day by doing things backwards. What about writing backwards? Ti si ysae, ees. Just don’t write racecar backwards as it’s spelled the same backwards and forwards!

Don’t forget to check back next month for a weird and wonderful list of special days in February!