A few months ago, my friend Kate was having a tough time. So, she called her sister…

On their phone call, Kate and her sister Laura came up with the perfect solution: a new holiday called The Day of Problems.

Every February 1st, the sisters decided, “you’re allowed to reflect on and complain about all the problems in your life.” The holiday meal? “An assortment of junk food.” Doesn’t it sound cathartic to put aside any silver linings for some good old-fashioned complaining? I’d love to sit in a small group in someone’s living room with piles of sour candy, potato chips, and chocolate. Maybe someone is designated note taker, and all the problems get ceremonially burned at the end of the night.

Thinking about the sisters’ new holiday got me thinking about what others we could add to the rotation.

Seinfeld introduced Festivus (which has a similar “airing of grievances”), the O.C. popularized Chrismukkah, the Christmas-Hanukkah combo, and Galentine’s Day came straight from Parks and Rec.

The winter months are peppered with holidays, so I’m placing mine on the second Wednesday in May. It’s called No Plans Day. There are no food traditions or travel expectations; the day is wide open. The only rule is that you can’t make any advanced plans. Maybe it’s sunny and warm, so you end up hiking; maybe you’ve had a tough few weeks at work, and nothing sounds better than a big mug of tea and the chance to finally start a book that’s been sitting on your nightstand. You could spend the day preparing an elaborate meal and invite friends for dinner, or clean out your closet while listening to your favorite songs from middle school. It’s a mood ring of a holiday; do exactly what you want.

What else is missing from the calendar? Maybe Honorary Aunt Day. Perhaps some sort of festival for the first ripe peach of the season. We could start Double Header Day, where you watch two similar movies in a row. Or a flower walk in the spring, during which you and a friend walk around the neighborhood and smell all the flowers you pass?

Do you already celebrate an invented holiday? If you could create one, what would it be?

P.S. 9 reader comments on rituals, and last year’s Galentine’s Day.

(Photo by Celia Catalino/Stocksy.)