Anyone can tell you about how many shopping days there are until Christmas, or what costume they're planning for Halloween, but how many people know when First Contact Day is, or what day of the week the Wookiee Life Day falls on?
Thank goodness, then, for Atlas Obscura's first calendar. With the help of suggestions from our readers, we've assembled over 75 pop culture holidays to help you celebrate your favorite fictional occasions, with birthdays of famous characters from Rory Gilmore to Harry Potter, and important days in fiction from Bloomsday to Judgement Day. While the calendar is far from comprehensive, we've put together a collection of some of the greatest pop culture occasions (that we can put a date to) anywhere this side of Middle Earth.
Click on the holidays in the calendar to learn more about each of them, and find a list of all of the included holidays below. To add the dates to your own Google calendar click on the button at the bottom of the calendar, or get the .ics file for iCal and other applications, there is a link just underneath. Enjoy the calendar, and may you look forward to a happy Gondorian New Year!
Click here to download the .ics file.
List of Pop Culture Holidays in The Calendar
January
01/08: Roy Batty Inception Day (Blade Runner)
01/12: Activation of HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)
01/19: Buffy Summers’ Birthday (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
01/24: Dean Winchester’s Birthday (Supernatural)
February
02/02: Groundhog Day (Groundhog Day)
02/13: Galentine’s Day (Parks and Recreation)
02/14: Pris Inception Day (Blade Runner)
02/15: Annoy Squidward Day (Spongebob Squarepants)
02/23: Dana Scully’s Birthday (The X-Files)
02/24: Anniversary of Laura Palmer’s Murder (Twin Peaks)
March
03/11: Frankenstein’s Day (Frankenstein)
03/09: Babylon 5 Launch Day (Babylon 5)
03/18: Colonial Day (Battlestar Galactica)
03/19: Number Six’s Birthday (The Prisoner)
03/21-22: The Purge (The Purge)
03/24: Breakfast Club Day (The Breakfast Club)
03/25: Gondorian New Year (The Lord of the Rings)
April
04/04: 1984 Day (1984)
04/05: First Contact Day (Star Trek)
04/08: Rex Manning Day! (Empire Records)
04/20: The Start of Robanukah (Futurama)
May
05/02: Harry Potter Day (Harry Potter)
05/02: Sam Winchester’s Birthday (Supernatural)
05/04: Anniversary of the Battle of New York (The Avengers)
05/04: Cinco de Cuatro (Arrested Development)
05/04: Star Wars Day (Star Wars)
05/05 Revenge of the Fifth (Star Wars)
05/08: Katniss Everdeen’s Birthday (The Hunger Games)
05/10: Whacking Day (The Simpsons)
05/15: Miracle Monday (Superman: Miracle Monday)
05/20: Eliza Doolittle Day (My Fair Lady)
05/22: Sherlock Holmes Day (Sherlock Holmes)
05/25: The Glorious 25th of May (Discworld)
05/25: Towel Day (The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy)
June
06/01: Winterfair (The Vorkosigan Saga)
06/05: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
06/16: Bloomsday (Ulysses)
06/16: Captain Picard’s Day (Star Trek)
06/22: Summerween (Gravity Falls)
06/23: Longest Night (Kushiel’s Legacy)
06/25: Half-Christmas (Workaholics)
06/26: The Murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne (Batman)
July
07/04: Lunar Independence Day (The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress)
07/31: Harry Potter’s Birthday (Harry Potter)
August
08/15: Klordny (Legion of Superheroes)
08/18: Percy Jackson’s Birthday (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)
08/29: Judgement Day (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
September
09/2: Atlas Shrugged Day (Atlas Shrugged)
09/13: Breakaway (Space 1999)
09/20: Unification Day (Firefly)
09/22: Anniversary of the Crash of Oceanic Flight 815 (Lost)
09/22: Hobbit Day (The Lord of the Rings)
October
10/08: Rory Gilmore’s Birthday (Gilmore Girls)
10/11: Federation Day (Star Trek)
10/13: Fox Mulder’s Birthday (The X-Files)
10/14: The Sudden Departure (The Leftovers)
10/15: National Grouch Day (Sesame Street)
10/19: Durin’s Day (The Lord of the Rings)
10/25: Back To The Future Day (Back to the Future)
10/26: Prixin (Star Trek)
November
11/07: N7 Day (Mass Effect)
11/12: Anniversary of the Hill Valley Lightning Strike (Back to the Future)
11/13: Odd Couple Day (The Odd Couple)
11/17: Life Day (Star Wars)
11/23: TARDIS Day (Dr. Who)
11/27: Anniversary of Samantha Mulder's Abduction (The X-Files)
11/29: St. Pancake Day (Jack, Jacky and the Juniors)
December
12/16: The Feast of Winter Veil Begins (World of Warcraft)
12/22: Merlinpeen (30 Rock)
12/23: Festivus (Seinfeld)
12/25: Hogswatch (Discworld)
12/25: Refrigerator Day (Dinosaurs)
12/25: Smekday (The True Meaning of Smekday)
12/25: Decemberween (Homestar Runner)
12/25: Holiday Number 11 (Quark)
12/30: International Alliance Day (Babylon 5)