How come every day is the national or world day of something

For several years now, it seems that almost every day marks a national or international observance of something – from the International Day of Happiness to World Pizza Day, passing through Earth Day, Smile Day, or even Sleep Day. This is particularly noticeable on social media, where these observances are often celebrated – though not all of them are the same, nor do they share the same purposes. Some are part of an official calendar by the United Nations, created to direct society's attention to specific issues. For the UN, World Days are primarily an opportunity to raise awareness about matters of international importance, connected to the organization’s main areas of focus – such as peace, security, sustainable development, or human rights. These initiatives generally provide people the chance to engage with or deepen their understanding of a particular topic, such as rare diseases. But the establishment of an international day also serves as an advocacy tool, aimed at encouraging more financial donations and pressuring governments to adopt targeted policies on certain issues.

The international days promoted by the UN now number just over 200. In 2014, there were about 120, and even then, people began questioning whether they had become too numerous: a couple of years later, a UN diplomat, speaking with the radio broadcaster NPR, expressed concerns about this, emphasizing that continuing to add more would gradually diminish the relevance of the existing ones. The problem, in fact, is that the themes of these days are rather arbitrary. Observances are proposed by individual member states to the UN General Assembly, which then votes to approve or reject the requests. For example, World Autism Awareness Day – observed on April 2 – was established in 2007 at the initiative of Bangladesh, which presented it only because at the time, the prime minister's daughter was a child psychologist specializing in the subject. While the cause was indeed significant, there was no compelling reason to dedicate one day to this condition over another. The creation of individual observances typically does not require an economic effort from the proposing or hosting states, which is why new ones keep being added. National days, on the other hand, are usually established by individual governments through a specific legislative process. In Italy, for instance, creating such a day requires parliamentary approval of a dedicated law each time. Even in this case, however, the choice of theme is quite arbitrary and influenced by the current legislature. For example, on April 15 of this year, Italy celebrated the first-ever National Made in Italy Day, while March 20 marked the first National University Day – coinciding with the International Day of Happiness and French Language Day worldwide.

The importance of national and international days for brands

In addition to the World Days established by the UN and national ones initiated by governments, there are many other unofficial observances promoted by various organizations, including companies. In these cases, the initiative is often purely for marketing purposes, such as World Nutella Day or Carbonara Day. These days are not listed in any official registry, so establishing them only requires organizing a massive communication campaign. There are no specific studies or data quantifying the impact of these observances, but if well-executed, they can be very beneficial for a brand, especially online, becoming an opportunity to promote products and gain greater visibility. The United States is particularly prolific and creative with national days, to the extent that multiple observances are often celebrated daily. Among many examples are Pineapple Pizza Day, USB Stick Day, Eraser Day, or even a day celebrating people who go to the office in pajamas. But how do you register one? Simply visit the National Day Calendar, which serves as a historical archive from which thousands of media outlets draw to publicize these peculiar festivities. In the U.S., many national days focus on the culinary sector, and they are particularly effective at encouraging people to purchase products they might not otherwise consider, just to honor the observance. This is the case, for example, with Avocado Day or Milkshake Day. Similarly, Ice Cream Day was established by President Ronald Reagan in 1984 precisely to boost ice cream sales. Over the years, the U.S. has added to this observance (held on the third Sunday of July) with days like Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, Ice Cream Cake Day, Vanilla Ice Cream Day, and Peach Ice Cream Day, among many others – a sign that perhaps the proliferation of national and international days has gone a bit too far?