Star Wars Day and more pseudo-holidays we like

Date: Dec. 23

Origin: Reader’s Digest editor and writer Dan O’Keefe created the secular holiday in 1966 to mark his first date with his wife. Years later, his son Daniel gave the holiday national attention when he worked it into a 1997 episode of the sitcom he wrote for, “Seinfeld.” Festivus, “for the rest of us,” is intended for those frustrated with the commercial pressures of the holiday season and is celebrated with an unadorned aluminum pole (shown here being made at a Milwaukee factory) and includes such activities as “Feats of Strength” and “Airing of Grievances.”   (Morry Gash / Associated Press)

Date: June 16

Origin: The celebration of the works of Irish writer James Joyce, specifically the events of his 1922 novel “Ulysses,” began in 1954 when Irish artist and critic John Ryan and writer Flann O’Brien decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the novel’s events (on June 16, 1904) by retracing the path of Leopold Bloom around Dublin. Today, the holiday is celebrated around the world, with readings, dramatizations, pub crawls and more.

Pictured: A statue of James Joyce in Dublin.   (Fran Caffrey / AFP / Getty Images)

Date: January 31

Origin: Mad Magazine artist Don Martin created the idea of National Gorilla Suit Day for a 1963 comic strip in which a character mocks the holiday and is then assaulted by gorillas and people in gorilla suits. Since that time, the holiday has been semi-celebrated every year by fans of Mad Magazine and Don Martin by dressing up in a gorilla suit. In 2007, Martin’s widow asked one of the holiday’s biggest cheerleaders, writer Mark Evanier, to cease promoting it and to remove all mentions of Gorilla Suit Day from his website.

Pictured: An Oakland Raiders fan dressed as a gorilla stands on the field.  (Stephen Dunn / Getty Images)

Date: Sept. 19

Origin: Oregonian friends John Baur and Mark Summers came up with the idea of a holiday dedicated to piratical speak in 1995, but they couldn’t get much interest outside their circle of friends. But in 2002, the friends sent their idea to syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry (pictured), who wrote about the holiday and gave it international appeal. The celebrations have taken on a life of their own and made minor celebrities of the two men, who appeared as pirates on the ABC reality series “Wife Swap” in 2006.   (Diane Bondareff / Associated Press)