Environmental Holidays

It is time we begin to celebrate Environmental Holidays! We provide links for more information when available. Please send your suggestions for additions, including links, to me at harold (at) planetpatriot.net.

Environmental Holidays

January

  • 1 – One Day of Peace and Sharing
  • 10 – Robinson Jeffers Day (1887-1962) – California poet and Pantheist. Jeffer’s Tor House is now a privately-operated historic site in Carmel, California. See Robinson Jeffers: Visionary Poet and Pantheist by Margie Gibson, in Pantheist Vision – Winter, 2017 (PDF – on box.com file sharing site).
  • 11 – Aldo Leopold Day – (1886-1948) – Honoring the author of A Sand County Almanac and creator of the “land ethic.”
  • 14 – Albert Schweitzer Day (1875-1965) – Humanitarian who extolled a “reverence for life”
  • 29 – Edward Abbey Day (1927-1989) – chronicler and novelist for western Wilderness.
  • 31 – Stewart Udall Day (1920-2010) – The greatest Secretary of the Interior in U.S. history, and a life-long advocate for environmental protection.

February

  • 2 – Ground Hog Day – Based on a German superstition, this holiday is a chance to celebrate winter and winter’s passing.
  • 12 – Charles Darwin Day (1809-1882) – Celebrated theorist of evolution
  • 20 – Ansel Adams Day – (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984)) – recognizing the great photographer and conservationist
  • 23 – Woody Guthrie writes “This Land is Your Land” in 1940
  • 25 – Howard Clinton Zahniser (1906-1964) – father of the Wilderness Act of 1964
  • Variable – Tu B’Shevat the Jewish New Year of Trees – celebrated on the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Shevat (usually January or February) – This Jewish Tree Planting Holiday is gaining more interest from year to year as a day to focus on the importance of nature and the environment. See also, Torah, Jews & Earth by Arthur Wakow.

March

  • First Weekend in March – Global Day of Unplugging
    Since 2009, Global Day of Unplugging has been celebrated annually in March. Whether it is 1 hour or 24 hours, at some point during the first weekend of March, people all over the world, will step away from their screens and intentionally shift into an offline activity. When you leave screens behind, you have more hours to do what you love. There are hundreds of ways to unplug and add more meaning, fun and relaxation into your life. an in-person interaction, a real-life gathering or simply a meaningful conversation about their relationship with technology. For 2025, the organizers recommend observing the Global Day of Unplugging on March 7-8 sundown to sundown. Learn More here: https://www.globaldayofunplugging.org/ 
  • 1 – First National Park established – Yellowstone, 1872
  • 10 – Hazel Wolf Day – (1898-2000) – 101 years of activism for Audubon. Click for Press Release
  • 14 – International Day of Action Against Dams and for Rivers, Water and Life – from International Rivers Network.
  • 21 or 22 – Vernal Equinox – The time of year when the sun crosses the equator to begin autumn in the southern hemisphere and spring in the northern hemisphere.
  • Variable – Arbor Day – This major tree planting holiday is celebrated on dates determined by the best tree planting times in each state or nation – e.g. March 7 in California, April 22 in Nebraska.

April

May

  • 3 – Pete Seeger Day – (1919 – 2014) – Activist, song-writer, folk singer, and environmentalist who is a leading inspiration for many younger activists, song-writers, folk-singers, and environmentalists. Seeger was largely responsible for the revival of American folk music in the 1950s and 1960s. His songs, many of which have themes embracing planetary patriotism, include “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “If I Had a Hammer.”
  • 18, 2012 -variable – Endangered Species Day – A day to learn about the importance of protecting endangered species and everyday actions that people can take to help protect disappearing wildlife and last remaining open space. Started by the United States Senate, Endangered Species Day is the third Friday in May.
  • 25 – Ralph Waldo Emerson Day (1803-1882) – Preeminent Transcendentalist essayist
  • 27 – Rachel Carson Day – (1907-1964) celebrating the life of the woman who first brought our attention to the toxic threats caused by mis-use of chemicals. See also the biography of Rachel Carson at RachelCarson.org.
  • Variable – Space Day – celebrated each May on the Thursday prior to the anniversary of U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 challenge to “land a man on the moon and return him to the Earth,” a tribute to those endlessly engaging phenomena which constitute our universe — and to the people who, through their space-related work, have contributed so much to science, medicine and everyday life.
  • Variable – Endangered Species Day – third Friday in May. See www.endangeredspeciesday.org.

June

  • 5 – World Environment Day – established 1972
  • 11 – Jacques-Yves Cousteau Day (1910-1997) – To recognize the achievements of oceanographer, science popularizer, and global environmentalist Jacques Cousteau.
  • 19 –  World Sauntering Day.  The goal of this holiday is to urge individuals to relax and appreciate life instead of racing through it. The day counteracts the emphasis on running by encouraging people to walk, ramble and meander. We frequently catch ourselves hurrying through even the most basic of activities, like daily walks, because of our fast-paced lifestyles and perpetually hectic schedules, which make time appear to fly by. World Sauntering Day deviates from this trend by urging people everywhere to take a leisurely stroll and slow down.
    This day is meant to serve as a reminder to everyone to take a break from their hectic schedule, embrace a slower pace, and fully engage in the moment at hand.
    The idea of sauntering is based on the art of going for a casual walk.
  • 21 – World Whale Day
  • 21 (on or around) Summer Solstice – First day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day of the year
  • 30 – Asteroid Day –

    Asteroid Day is a UN-sanctioned global awareness campaign held annually on 30 June. Its mission is to inspire, engage and educate the public about asteroids opportunities and risks. Asteroid Day is observed annually on 30 June to mark the date of Earth’s largest asteroid impact in recorded history, the Siberia Tunguska event on 30 June 1908.

    Every year the participants host events and share educational resources on multiple platforms. Asteroid Day events are held around the world annually on or around 30 June. These events are largely independently organized by museums, space agencies, universities, clubs and enthusiastic educators around the world for people of all ages and mostly free-of-charge. Events range from lectures and to short story contests to live concerts and broader community events. The Asteroid Day Foundation hosts the 100X Declaration, which is a scientifically-based declaration about the need for the rapid discovery of near-Earth asteroids to ensure the safety of our planet, and called on governments to accelerate the funding of asteroid discovery programs. Today, this petition, the 100x Declaration, has been signed by over 50,000 private citizens, scientists, engineers, artists, space explorers, Academy Awards winners, Nobel Laureates, business leaders, policy makers, technologists and futurists, including more than 125 astronauts. You may read, see some of the prominent people who have signed it, and sign the Declaration yourself at: https://asteroidday.org/about/asteroid-day-100x-declaration/ 

    Learn more about Asteroid Day at https://asteroidday.org  

July

  • 1 – David Brower Day – (1912 – 2000)
  • 12 – Henry David Thoreau Day – (1817-1862)
  • 14 – Woody Guthrie Day (1912-1967)
  • 20 – Lunar Landing Day – celebrating the day in 1969 when humans first set foot on the Earth’s moon.

August

  • Restore Hetch Hetchy Day –  On the anniversary of the groundbreaking on O’Shaughnessy Dam in 1919, advocates for restoring the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park gather to contribute to the effort to someday restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley.
  • 2 – Enid Larson Day (August 5, 1905 – April 6, 1991) – Enid Larson was born near Bishop in 1905 of an Eastern Sierra pioneering family. Her family was forced to sell their land
    and move from the Owens Valley in 1923. She graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in biology and taught for years in Oroville, Carmel and Walnut Creek high schools. Her teaching won national recognition in a 1957 Reader’s Digest article, “The Teacher Who Won’t Answer Questions.” So inspiring was her teaching that 25 per cent of her biology students, reportedly went on to major in science. Her life-long study of Merriam’s chipmunk gave her her the nickname “The Chipmunk Lady” and resulted in the publication of the classic work on rodent behavior: “Merriam’s Chipmunk on Palo Escrito in the Santa Lucia Mountains of California.” Retiring from teaching, Enid returned to the Owens Valley in 1970, where she continued to work for the preservation of local ecosystems. She was active in local politics, the Sierra Club, Wilderness Society, Friends of the Earth, and the Universal Pantheist Society, and many enterprises advocating world peace. She served as Vice-President in the Universal Pantheist Society since its founding in 1975 until her death in 1991.
    To learn more about Enid, see this special issue of Pantheist Vision: April, 1991 – Enid Larson: In Memorium (PDF) – on the box.com file sharing site.
  • 28 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Day (1749-1832) – German poet, dramatist, and scientist with a profound and poetic sensibility to Nature.

September

  • 1 – Species Requiem Day (PDF) – Last Passenger Pigeon died in a Cincinatti, Ohio Zoo,1914. – A day to mourn the loss of a once-numerous species, which can symbolize all the species lost to extinction by human hands.
  • 3  – Wilderness Act Anniversary –  On September 3, 1964, after 8 years of effort by conservationists, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Wilderness Act. The 1964 Wilderness Act provides the highest level of protection for some of our most iconic, wild landscapes through wilderness designation. This historic bill established the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) and set aside an initial 9.1 million acres of wilderness and called for further studies and public involvement on potential additions. Over the subsequent years,  as a result of citizen campaigns throughout the United States, Congress has added over 111 million acres to this unique land preservation system. The current 803 (as of 2022) wilderness areas within the NWPS are managed by all four U.S.A. federal land managing agencies, the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and National Park Service.  We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act in 2014.  The system continues to grow: 37 new wilderness areas in California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah were designated on March 12, 2019 by the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. Unfortunately, some academics trapped by “indoor philosophy,” and now many social justice advocates, who should know better, argue that wilderness is an antiquated idea that ignores the fact that people lived in those places, regarding wild nature “as a transcendent realm apart from the Native people who inhabited those realms.” Close examination reveals that this “Big Lie About Wilderness” is a literary/philosophical construct little related to the Real Wilderness Idea that conservationists have used to establish the National Wilderness Preservation System. Wilderness has never meant “unpeopled” – the Wilderness Act very carefully used the much more accurate term: “untrammeled.”  Here are some essays which further correct this “big lie”:
  • 4 – National Wildlife Day – An  opportunity to learn more about endangered species, preservation and conservation efforts around the world.  Zoos, aviaries, and marine sanctuaries provide a variety of ways to get involved.  From participating in presentations and volunteering to fundraise for rehabilitation services, these facilities have something for everyone to learn.  
  • 7 – Australian National Threatened Species Day – highlights the plight of Australia’s threatened species and ecological communities. September 7 is the date that the last tasmanian tiger died in captivity in 1936.

  • 14 (2024) – (and October 4, 2025, and October 17, 2026) – International Observe the Moon Night – Everyone on Earth is is invited to learn about lunar science and exploration, take part in celestial observations, and honor cultural and personal connections to the Moon. International Observe the Moon Night occurs annually in September or October, when the Moon is around first quarter. The first quarter Moon is great for late-afternoon and evening observing. You are welcome to to participate on a different day, but NASA encourages you to observe as close to the official date as possible, because the official day is close to a first-quarter Moon, which is visible in both the afternoon and evening ― a convenient time for most hosts and participants.

  • 21 (on or around) Autumn Equinox – First day of Autumn.

  • September 22 – National Elephant Appreciation Day
    Created in 1996 by Mission Media, a graphics and publishing company, the day’s origins are largely based on owner Wayne Hepburn’s personal fascination with elephants. His interest, in turn, began when he received an elephant paperweight as a gift from his daughter. Despite its somewhat ridiculous back story, the day has received some official recognition.
    That said, elephants are certainly worthy of some appreciation from all of us. They are, after all, the largest land mammals in the world and sadly, many species of elephants face the threat of extinction, due to environmental factors and the ivory trade.
    People of all ages are fascinated by elephants.  They are larger than life and profoundly intelligent animals.  The average lifespan of an elephant is 60 to 70 years, and they develop remarkably close family bonds.  They are very playful animals who love to frolic in the water.  Elephants are herbivorous animals who will eat almost any type of plant from grass to trees.  In captivity, they are also very fond of cabbage, lettuce, bananas, apples and many other types of fruits and vegetables.
    See also August 12 – World Elephant Day.
    HOW TO OBSERVE
    Show your appreciation today by visiting the elephants at your local zoo. Use #ElephantAppreciationDay to post on social media.
  • 26 – Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman) Day – (1774-1845) To celebrate the life of Johnny Appleseed, who planted thousands of apple trees around the Northwest Territories. See also our Johnny Appleseed Stamps and Covers.
    • See also Johnny Appleseed Home Page
    • 3rd Sunday: World Peace Day
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_of_Peace
      Day to demonstrate for peace with justice throughout the world.

  • 29 Michael Servetus Day (c.1509-1553) – An early Spanish theologian burned at the stake for his beliefs that embraced “a pantheism that found god to be coextensive with nature…(and) laid the groundwork for a universalist pantheism, which rejected a transcendent, sovereign, deterministic and punitive God.” 

  • September 29 – J. Horace McFarland Day – founder of the nationwide “City Beautiful” movement and advocate for the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916, who worked hand-in-hand with Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, and naturalist John Burroughs on the preservation of Yosemite and Yellowstone parks, Niagara Falls, the Everglades and many other natural and scenic areas across the United States.
  • Variable – National Public Lands Day – Last Saturday in September – a day to improve and enhance resources in national parks and forests, reservoirs and other public lands where Americans go to enjoy the outdoors.
  • 30  Rumi Day 1207 – 1273)
    Persian poet and mystic who expressed a belief that matter, man, and God compose basically a single entity and essence. Historian P.N.K. Bamzai refers to Rumi as “the greatest pantheistic writer of all ages.”
  •  

October

  • 2 Gandhi’s Birthday and International Day of Non-Violence

    Mahatma Gandhi was born October 2, 1869.  Gandhi employed non-violence civil disobedience to lead India to independence.  He inspired such important peace activists as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela.  The United Nations General Assembly declared October 2 the International Day of Non-Violence.  Gandhi was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1930 and was runner-up to Albert Einstein as Time‘s “Person of the [20th] Century”.  Einstein said of Gandhi:

    Mahatma Gandhi’s life achievement stands unique in political history. He has invented a completely new and humane means for the liberation war of an oppressed country, and practised it with greatest energy and devotion. The moral influence he had on the consciously thinking human being of the entire civilized world will probably be much more lasting than it seems in our time with its overestimation of brutal violent forces. Because lasting will only be the work of such statesmen who wake up and strengthen the moral power of their people through their example and educational works. We may all be happy and grateful that destiny gifted us with such an enlightened contemporary, a role model for the generations to come.

    Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this walked the earth in flesh and blood.

    Gandhi made the short list for the Nobel Peace Prize, but he never won.  In 1948, the year Gandhi was assassinated, the award was not given as there was “no suitable living candidate”, an indirect reference to Gandhi’s death.

  • 3 – National Estuaries Day. The theme of this celebration is “Estuaries — Gateways to the Ocean.”
  •  4 – Sputnik Day  – On this day in 1957, the U.S.S.R. launched the first artificial satellite into orbit around the Earth, launching the “space race” and a new era of exploration of the universe. It orbited for three weeks before its batteries died and then orbited silently for two months before it fell back to Earth. Unlike many other scientific discoveries and inventions of which today we see great deal of public doubt (such as the reality of Climate Change or the efficacy of vaccines), as Mike Gray notes, “Anyone who doubted its existence could walk into the backyard just after sunset and see it.” The launch contributed directly to a new emphasis on science and technology in American schools, now largely fading.
  • 4 World Animal Day (Saint Francis of Assisi Day (1182-1286))
    The founder of the Franciscan Order displayed a keen appreciation of wildlife and Nature. Author Henry Adams calls Francis an adherent to the “simplest and most childlike form of pantheism.” Designated in 1931 by a convention of ecologists in Florence, Italy, on this day animal life in all its forms is celebrated, and special events are planned in locations all over the globe. Numerous churches throughout the world observe the Sunday closest to October the 4th with a Blessing of the Animals. World Animal Day, however, has now gone beyond being the celebration of a Christian saint and is today observed by animal-lovers of all beliefs, nationalities and backgrounds.
    http://www.worldanimalday.org.uk
  • 16 – William O. Douglas Day – (1898-1980) – Supreme Court Justice and defender of Wilderness,

November

  • 1 – Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) – Similar to Samhain (a/k/a Wiccan/Neo-Pagan cross-quarter day), indigenous to pre-conquest Mexico. Festival marking the transformation of life to death – the end of the agricultural year, departure of migrating and hibernating animals, and decay and death of vegetal and animal life. Observed by remembering departed ancestors and contemplating one’s own mortality. Dia de los Muertos is a holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration takes place on November 1 and 2. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts.
  • 1 – National Authors Day – A special day to celebrate authors and the books that they write on National Author’s Day. Regardless of what time period or where they’re from, authors have always had the ability to teach, entertain, and move us. Here are some ways to celebrate: 1. Buy a book and give it to a friend; 2. Send your favorite author(s) a quick note via letter or social media letting them know they made a difference for you; 3. Nourish the author within you. Take an hour to write a story, a recent experience, or a poem, and send it to us for the next issue of Pantheist Vision.

  • 3 – Rosalie Edge Day (1877-1962) –  Rosalie Barrow Edge (November 3, 1877 – November 30, 1962) was a New York socialite, suffragist, and amateur birdwatcher who in 1929 established the Emergency Conservation Committee to expose the conservation establishment’s ineffectiveness, and strongly advocate for species preservation. In 1934 Edge also founded the world’s first preserve for birds of prey — Hawk Mountain Sanctuary near Kempton, Pennsylvania. During the Great Depression, Edge was considered the United States’ most militant conservationist .

  • 7 Equitherm –  Samhain in the northern hemisphere (commonly observed on October 31, and as Dia de Los Muertos in Latin America), and Beltane in the southern Hemisphere. The fall equitherm, Samhain commemorates the realization that each life eventually ends in death. In the northern hemisphere, the life of the earth is seen to rapidly retreat as the leaves fall, the weeds wither, chill winds blow, and darkness asserts its dominance. Also known as Ultimate Ancestor’s Day. A day to appreciate the dead and our ancestors. Death and extinction are not completely bad things. These extinctions have made room for new species (such as us), and death makes room for new life. Samhain is thus the time to express our gratitude to those who have gone before us, those who have made our lives possible, those who have influenced us, and those who we remember.
  • 9 – Carl Sagan Day (1934-1996) – Recognizing the noted astronomer, science popularizer, and environmentalist, and co-founder of The Planetary Society. See Also Scientific American Carl Sagan Biography.
  • 16 – International Day of Tolerance  – Proclaimed by the United Nations, a day for appreciation of tolerance as respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. The official website http://www.un.org/en/events/toleranceday/ observes:
    …tolerance is neither indulgence nor indifference. It is respect and appreciation of the rich variety of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. Tolerance recognizes the universal human rights and fundamental freedoms of others. People are naturally diverse; only tolerance can ensure the survival of mixed communities in every region of the globe.
    It further asserts that fighting tolerance requires: (1) law, (2) education, (3) access to information, (4) individual awareness, and (5) local solutions.

  • 17 National Hiking Day – Also known as “Take A Hike Day,” National Hiking Day on November 17 is a day for not only hiking, but any kind of walking, sauntering, meandering, sojourning, whatever you want to call it. The American Hiking Society is one of the sponsors of “Take a Hike Day” https://americanhiking.org/national-take-hike-day/ . The American Hiking Society also sponsors “National Trails Day” taking place on the first Saturday in June of each year.
  • 18 – Asa Gray Day – (1810 – 1888) – Recognizing the “Father of American Botany”
  • Third Thursday in November  (Nov. 21 in 2024)   – World Philosophy Day – The third Thursday in November has been designated as World Philosophy Day by the United Nations (UNESCO).  The day honors philosophical reflection and promotes the opening up of free spaces for philosophical debate on the challenges confronting our society.  Philosophy provides the conceptual bases of principles and values on which world peace depends: democracy, human rights, justice, and equality.  This day is an occasion to ask ourselves questions that are often forgotten: “What do we neglect to think about?” “Which intolerable realities do we get used to?” B.T. Newberg has written about the importance of ancient philosophy for our lives today:
    All the ancient philosophers, from Socrates to the Buddha, investigated their world not just for the sake of learning, but in order to discover how to live a flourishing life.   All their explorations led eventually back to one key question: How should we live?
    Modern philosophy also has an important role. For example, Existentialist philosophy teaches us to find meaning for ourselves, and not rely on tradition or what other people have told us.  Another example is Whitehead’s concept of “Process Theology,” which provides a key basis for a rejection of fundamentalism in any of the world’s major religions, while allowing people to feel spiritually alive.. Today, we know much more about nature than the ancient philosophers ever did.  Yet, we seem to know far less about how to live.  Can ancient philosophy teach us how to find science spiritually-relevant again?
 
  • 24 Baruch Spinoza Day (1632-1677)   – Renowned Dutch philosopher, author of the immense book Ethics, celebrated by scholars as the clearest and most rigorous exposition of a pantheistic religious position in all philosophic literature. Just as he conceived the universe as a single substance, which he called alternately God and Nature, capable of an infinity of attributes, celebrate the diversity of nature on this day.
    One of western philosophy’s most important contributors, who carefully expressed pantheistic ideas with rationalist thinking. Albert Einstein said, “I believe in Spinoza’s God, who reveals himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God who concerns himself with the fate and the doings of mankind.”  Spinoza’s name is frequently associated with pantheism, but there is debate about the nature of pantheism.  In fact, Spinoza distinguished between God (which he calls Natura naturans) and nature (which he calls Natura naturata), making him in some ways more of a panentheist.
    Quotes from Spinoza’s Ethics:
    God is one, that is, only one substance can be granted in the universe.
    Whatsoever is, is in God, and without God nothing can be, or be conceived.
    Individual things are nothing but modifications of the attributes of God, or modes by which the attributes of God are expressed in a fixed and definite manner.
  • 25 – Joseph Wood Krutch Day – (1893-1970) – Recognizing the noted natural history writer and conservationist.
  • 30 John Toland Day (1670-1722) – First to employ the word ‘pantheist’ in English, and envisioned a Pantheist Society.
    http://naturepantheist.org/toland.html
  • Variable – Fourth Thursday in November – Thanksgiving Day – giving thanks for Nature’s bounty

December

  • 21 (on or around) Winter Solstice – First Day of Winter triggering many ancient and modern seasonal traditions from bonfires to gift-giving and solar rites celebrating the return of the sun and longer days
  • 22 – Lady Bird Johnson Day 
  • 30 – David Gaines Day (December 30, 1947 – January 11, 1988)  – The founder and chairman of the Mono Lake Committee, and a respected ornithologist, accomplished mandolin player, classical music lover, devoted father. He was tragically killed at the age of 40 in an auto accident on January 11, 1988. But his inspirational vision of protecting Mono Lake
    for people, birds, and wildlife is being realized today. Among the group’s accomplishments, was obtaining a major precedent-setting ruling in 1983 from the California Supreme Court holding that the Public Trust doctrine impose a “duty of the state to protect the people’s common heritage of streams, lakes, marshlands and tidelands…” even if this meant  reconsidering established water rights.

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