January 3rd - Festival of Sleep Day, Fruitcake Toss Day, and Chocolate Covered-Cherry Day

HOW I CELEBRATED

Didn't I say in the initial post that I would celebrate AT LEAST one holiday for every day of the year? Today I saw three that could be celebrated in a single day, so I celebrated three of them.

For Festival of Sleep Day I had to adjust yesterday's schedule as well. I normally am relatively nocturnal, and go to sleep at around 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning, so in order to properly celebrate the day by taking a nap, I stayed up all night. Like I planned, this left me pretty exhausted, taking not one but two naps today. The first was from about 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. and the second, pictured below (yes, we've finally got pictures!) was after I went to my mom's house from about 4:00-6:30 P.M.

Fruitcake Toss Day I had to fudge a little bit I couldn't find an actual fruitcake to toss at Meijer (it's a superstore in the Midwest region of the U.S. for any out-of-area readers), so my mom and I decided that Nature Valley brand Fruit and Nut granola bars would be an acceptable substitute. After dinner, we held a small "fruitcake" throwing contest in the basement. I originally planned to hold it outside, but my mom refused to go out into the cold just to throw a "fruitcake", so the basement it was. The rules were whichever of us threw our acceptable substitute the farthest won in a best-out-of-three contest. My mom won because her "fruitcake" sat at an angle in the first round, thereby making it a smidge farther than mine. The following photos are a dramatic recreation of the manner in which we threw our granola bars.

(My mom's face was removed from the image by request.)

The last of the holidays for today was Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day. This was also the easiest to celebrate since that one just required buying and eating some. Like the "fruitcakes" we were able to get them at Meijer. We each had a couple chocolate-covered cherries shortly after the "Fruitcake Toss".

HOW OTHERS MIGHT CELEBRATE

Festival of Sleep Day: the site that I discovered this holiday's existence on simply said to spend some time specifically sleeping during the day. Whether you sleep in, take a nap, go to sleep early, or just sleep the whole day away, it's pretty easy to celebrate this one.

Fruitcake Toss Day is similarly simple to celebrate. All you need to do is have a fruitcake (or an acceptable substitute) and throw or toss it in some way. A competition like the one my mom and I had is recommended, but if you'd rather just fling it, go ahead. I'd recommend finding somewhere you won't break a window or hit someone, though.

If you need the proper method of celebrating Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day explained, then you just haven't been paying attention. Buying and eating some is the easiest. You could also make them then eat them, but that seems to me like more trouble than it's worth.

HISTORICAL/CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE

My research online hasn't uncovered a specific origin for Festival of Sleep Day, but common sense suggests that since the Holidays are finally over, and due to massive hangovers, many probably don't get around to cleaning up after their New Year's Eve parties until the 2nd, this holiday originally began just as an opportunity to finally rest and recuperate after the stresses and insanity of the Holiday Season.

Although I have not found any evidence to support this online, in one episode of Home Improvement, Wilson gives the Taylors a fruitcake for Christmas and tells them that British farmers would stick a fruitcake on a sleeping bull's horns then wake it from a distance. If the bull flipped it forward, the coming year would bring prosperity to the farmers, if it flipped it backwards, it would be a hard year. Like I said, however, I have found no evidence to support this claim but if it's true, the current Fruitcake Toss Day would be a bastardization of that tradition.

I have no idea why Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day exists. If anyone has any information on its origin, posting it in the comment section would be much appreciated.

UNOFFICIAL THEME SONG

I'm only going to pick a song for one of these three holidays, and since a song springs immediately to mind for Festival of Sleep Day, that's the one I'm going with. The song is "Daysleeper" by R.E.M. (For anyone who understands the mechanics of sleep, their name is a bonus connection to the holiday, for anyone who doesn't... look it up.)

FOOTNOTES

Other holidays/observances for this date:

-The ancient Romans held a festival in honour of the goddess Pax

-The Catholics hold a feast day in honour of St. Geniveve

-Fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien was born on this day

-Humiliation Day (not what you think)