Still Life with Robin: It's Mother's Day and a Whole Lot More

May 9 is Lilac Day 
(Photo via Creative Commons)

by Peggy Robin

 

Sunday, May 9, is Mother’s Day in the US and that’s something to celebrate for most of us, who are either mothers, or have mothers, or both – and some of those who are neither are still happy to take the second Sunday in May to honor those in their lives who have been loving or nurturing or simply a progenitor. But there are and always will be people who don’t see Mother’s Day as their holiday, for any number of reasons – some of them profound and others, well, maybe it’s just a personal quirk, disdaining the Hallmarkification of the holiday. But whatever the reason, there’s an alternative this May 9 to the mother-loving day. In fact, there are EIGHT alternatives. You can pick and choose to celebrate whichever of the following you like best, whether you are looking for: Something significant and world-changing (take Door #1); Something trivial and funny (try #8); or Something in between:

 

May 9 2021 has lots to choose from, as this date is also….

 

1. The 76th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. In Western Europe and the US, May 8 is the more commonly observed anniversary but because of the time difference between Western and Eastern Europe, it was already May 9 when the victory was declared in 1945 in the Soviet Union, where the worst battles of the war were fought – and so May 9 remains the official date for a holiday in the republics that were once behind the Iron Curtain -- with parades, ceremonies and commemorations, and of course, a day off work. For more on this holiday, see:      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Day_(9_May)  https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/victory-day

 

2. The 71st anniversary of the first official meeting of the nations that would become the European Union, and so is celebrated as EU Day or Europe Day in the member states. More about Europe Day at https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/fun/europe-day

 

3. Lilac Day. Local garden stores and nurseries may hold a lilac festival.

http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/May/lilac-sunday.htm

 

4. Billy Joel’s birthday (he’s 72, really!) Call it Piano Man Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEPV4kolz0

 

And now come the silly holidays:

 

5. Hurray for Buttons Day:

Some fun trivia about the history of buttons on this website:

https://www.checkiday.com/dd66d5b129597359589beda17347ef77/hurray-for-buttons-day

 

6. National Butterscotch Brownie Day.

Read all about it here:

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/days-2/national-butterscotch-brownie-day-may-9/

And of course, there’s a recipe to make for this day:

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/blond-butterscotch-brownies/

 

7. National Tear the Tag Off Your Mattress Day.

Is it really illegal to tear the tag off your mattress? https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/31227/it-really-illegal-remove-your-mattress-tag 

https://www.checkiday.com/57e757a99ab2e9d6b02b6b8b67225b2e/tear-the-tags-off-the-mattress-day 

Learned something, didn’t you?

 

And last….and definitely least:

8. Lost Sock Memorial Day.

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/days-2/national-lost-sock-memorial-day-may-9/

Have nothing to say for this one except to note a universal truth of our material world: No sock is ever truly lost. It’s there, somewhere. You just don’t know where.

 

Happy Mother’s Day to you if you celebrate it, and/or a Happy Victory Day/EuopeDay/Billy Joel B-day/Lilac Day/Buttons Day/Butterscotch Brownie Day/Tear the Tag Off Your Mattress Day/Lost Sock Memorial Day to you!

 

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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.