INFORMATION ABOUT HOW HOLIDAYS & OBSERVANCES GET STARTED -- Notes

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Subject: INFORMATION ABOUT HOW HOLIDAYS & OBSERVANCES GET STARTED

Author:
Chase's Calendar of Events requires (it's free btw) to be listed in their book;

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Date Posted: 02:35:48 09/15/13 Sun

INFORMATION ABOUT HOW HOLIDAYS & OBSERVANCES GET STARTED
and
HOW TO START ONE YOURSELF

By Brownielocks

Through the years, I've been asked how these holidays and observances all get started. And, I also get asked how someone can create one and also be listed on my site. Below is what I know about this topic and also what I require in order to be listed on my "Official" holidays and observances listing.

1. Holidays or Observances are started by the President of the United States as a proclamation.
2. Holidays or Observances are started by an act of the U.S. Congress as resolution # ___.
3. Holidays and Observances can be started by individual US State legislatures and/or Governors.
4. Holidays and Observances can be started as cultural traditions or due to some historical event.
An example is St. Patrick's Day (Irish culture) or Patriot's Day (September 11).
They are also started based on a religious belief. Examples are Christmas, Ramadan and
Hannukah.

5. Observances can also be started based on someone's date of birth or date of death. This can
either be based on their life or something that they invented or accomplished. An example is
Tolkien Day or Morse Code Day. NOTE: Not every famous person's birthday or death date is an
observance!

6. Observances can also be started by organizations (profit or non-profit).

7. Observances are also started by commercial companies, and are usually publicized on their
websites or on television. An example was "Potty Dance Day" that we just had in 2011 by
Huggies diapers.

8. Observances are also started by individuals! This is the one that most of you are interested
in learning about.

Let me first of all explain the difference between, "create" and "think of." Lots of us can
think of lots of fun things to observe daily. But, that doesn't make them "official" and valid
to be listed on my website. Why not?

Well, for one thing.... if I listed every observance someone wrote to me that they thought was
a cool, fun idea, I'd have hundreds of thousands of listings! Imagine getting 10+ emails a day
from people all over the world coming up with observances that they thought of to put on my
site that were fun? I'd be boggled! And, all that they'd be doing is creating something for
a wee bit of attention and let's say their 15 minutes of fame on the internet. But, they have
absolutely no intention of taking any responsibility for their observance idea at all. So, this
leads me to this question everyone asks,....

"How can I get an observance listed on your website, Brownielocks?"

Answer: It's got to be validated! And, to do that I require a few things. First, I'd like to know the origin of it. And, by doing that I usually require that an observance be listed in the Chase's Calendar of Events or that it has an official website dedicated to it. This, "We don't know how this observance began" doesn't cut it on my site. Otherwise, it could just be made up by someone for attention or to fill in a blank day.

And, the second most commonly asked question is....

"How can I get an observance that I have an idea for started and listed on your website,
Brownielocks?"

Answer: It has to go beyond the idea phase. If you want to create an observance, then you have to be willing to take some responsibility for it other than having me list it and thus, via second-hand, validate it for you.
I'm not going to do that!

To be valid and also listed on my website you are either going to have to fill out the application that Chase's Calendar of Events requires (it's free btw) to be listed in their book; or, spend a little time and money and create a website for your observance with all its information. (A little tip is to make your domain name the same as your observance. It will show up better on search engines.) I do not count free domains like blogs or Facebook pages as official observance websites! Nor do I count forums saying something is an observance. Rumors are not validation! Or if 10 websites say it is. After all, wrong information does get around on the net.

In order to get into Chase's Calendar of Events, you need to write them for an application. Here is the address:

Chases Calendar of Events, Editor
McGraw-Hill Publishing Company
Suite 900
130 East Randolph Street
Chicago, Illinois 60601

The deadline is always tax day, April 15, in order to make it into their book that year. After that date, your observance will be listed in next year's book. They also do not approve of everything that's submitted. They know when kids are trying to goof around or get attention.

When my visitors write and let me know about a valid observance that I don't have, they usually also send me a validation link to the originator of the observance or the factual data that proves it.

My listings are very helpful for a lot of people who use them to plan school lessons, crafts, write stories, club activities, etc. And, as such, I think it's only fair that they do not waste their time dealing with observances that are bogus and not valid. So, this is why I am a bit fussy about what I list on my site and ask that you prove to me an observance is legit before I list it. I know people like fun. And, they want to hear about the fun holidays more than the serious ones. But, I prefer not to flimflam my visitors for the sake of entertainment, smiles or even hits.

So, if you know of a valid observance that I don't have listed, you're always free to write and let me know about it. My email address is on the front page of my website, near the bottom. It's not a link due to spam spiders so you'll have to type it in.

Thanks for visiting my site and enjoy today. I'm sure it's got something to celebrate!

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