Hallmark holiday
Term for holiday created mainly for commercial purposes
In the United States, a Hallmark holiday is a holiday that is perceived to exist primarily for commercial purposes, rather than to commemorate a traditionally or historically significant event.
Background
The name comes from Hallmark Cards, a privately owned American company, that benefits from such manufactured events through sales of greeting cards and other items.
Holidays that have been referred to as "Hallmark holidays"
- Boss's Day
- Clergy Appreciation Day
- Mother's Day
- Father's Day
- Friendship Day
- Grandparents Day
- Groundhog Day
- National Doctors' Day
- National Nurses' Day
- Sisters' Day
- Sweetest Day
See also
- Anna Jarvis and Mother's Day
- Christmas in July in the Northern Hemisphere
- Valentine's Day
- List of food days
References
- ^ Wood, Zoe (May 2010). "Birthday Wishes: Hallmark Celebrates a Century of Schmaltz". The Guardian. London. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ Stampler, Laura. "Here Are The 7 Dumbest 'Hallmark Holidays'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
- ^ "How a Holiday Becomes A Card Sending Occasion" (Press release). Hallmark Cards. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
While we're honored that people so closely link the Hallmark name with celebrations and special occasions, we can't take credit for creating holidays
- ^ "Happy Father's Day! Google marks the occasion with a Doodle, but is it". Independent.co.uk. 21 June 2015.
Further reading
- Mooney, Linda & Brabant, Sarah (1998). "Off the Rack: Store Bought Emotions and the Presentation of Self". Electronic Journal of Sociology. 3 (4). ISSN 1198-3655.
- Schmidt, Leigh Eric (December 1991). "The Commercialization of the Calendar: American Holidays and the Culture of Consumption, 1870–1930". Journal of American History. 78 (3). Organization of American Historians: 887–916. doi:10.2307/2078795. JSTOR 2078795.
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Holidays, observances, and celebrations in the United States
- New Year's Day (federal)
- Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (federal)
- Birthday of Eugenio María de Hostos (PR)
- Confederate Heroes Day (TX)
- Eve of Three Kings' Day (PR, religious)
- Feast of Epiphany / Feast of Theophany (religious)
- Fred Korematsu Day (AZ, CA, FL, HI, VA)
- Idaho Human Rights Day (ID)
- Inauguration Day (federal quadrennial)
- Kansas Day (KS)
- Makar Sankranti / Pongal (religious)
- Robert E. Lee Day (FL)
- Stephen Foster Memorial Day (36)
- The Eighth (LA)
- Three Kings' Day (PR, VI, religious)
- World Religion Day (religious)
- Chinese New Year / Lunar New Year (NY, cultural, religious)
- Vasant Panchami (religious)
American Heart Month
Black History Month
- Birthday of Luis Muñoz Marín (PR)
- Candlemas (religious)
- Charles Darwin Day / Darwin Day (CA, DE)
- Day of Remembrance (CA, OR, WA, cultural)
- Georgia Day (GA)
- Groundhog Day
- Imbolc (religious)
- Lincoln's Birthday (CA, CT, IL, IN, MO, NY, WV)
- National Girls and Women in Sports Day
- National Freedom Day (36)
- Nirvana Day (religious)
- Presentation of Our Lord to the Temple (religious)
- Promised Reformer Day (religious)
- Ronald Reagan Day (CA)
- Rosa Parks Day (CA, MO)
- Saviours' Day (religious)
- Susan B. Anthony Day (CA, FL, NY, WI, WV, proposed federal)
- Tu B’shvat (religious)
- Ash Wednesday (PR, religious)
- Carnival (PR, VI, religious)
- Clean Monday (religious)
- Courir de Mardi Gras (religious)
- Intercalary Days (religious)
- Mahashivaratri (religious)
- Purim (religious)
- Shrove Tuesday (religious)
- Super Tuesday
Irish-American Heritage Month
Colon Cancer Awareness Month
Women's History Month
- Annunciation of the Virgin Mary / Annunciation of the Theotokos (religious)
- Casimir Pulaski Day (IL)
- Cesar Chavez Day (CA, CO, TX, proposed federal)
- Emancipation Day in Puerto Rico (PR, cultural)
- Evacuation Day (Suffolk County, MA)
- Harriet Tubman Day (NY)
- Hola Mohalla (religious)
- Holi (NY, religious)
- L. Ron Hubbard's Birthday (religious)
- Lailat al-Mi'raj (religious)
- Liberation and Freedom Day (Charlottesville, VA, cultural)
- Mardi Gras (AL (in two counties), LA)
- Maryland Day (MD)
- Medal of Honor Day
- National Poison Prevention Week (week)
- Nowruz (cultural, religious)
- Ostara (religious)
- Pi Day
- Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Day (HI)
- Promised Messiah Day (religious)
- Saint Joseph's Day (religious)
- Seward's Day (AK)
- Texas Independence Day (TX)
- Town Meeting Day (VT)
- Transfer Day (VI)
- Trans Day of Visibility (cultural)
- Good Friday (CT, NC, PR, NJ, VI, religious)
- Hanuman Jayanti (religious)
- Holy Thursday (PR, VI, religious)
- Holy Week (PR, religious, week)
- Lazarus Saturday (religious)
- Mahavir Janma Kalyanak (religious)
- Mesha Sankranti / Hindu New Year (religious)
- Palm Sunday (PR, religious)
- Passover (religious, week)
- Easter Monday / Bright Monday (VI, religious)
- Ramnavami (religious)
- Chandramana Uugadi / Souramana Uugadi (religious)
Arab American Heritage Month
Confederate History Month
Asian American and
Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Jewish American Heritage Month
Military Appreciation Month
- Memorial Day (federal)
- Mother's Day (36)
- Cinco de Mayo
- Ascension of Baháʼu'lláh (religious)
- Ascension of Our Lord (religious)
- Caliphate Day (religious)
- Declaration of the Bab (religious)
- Harvey Milk Day (CA)
- International Workers' Day / May Day (CA, unofficial, proposed state)
- Law Day (36)
- Loyalty Day (36)
- Malcolm X Day (CA, IL, proposed federal)
- Military Spouse Day
- National Day of Prayer (36)
- National Day of Reason
- National Defense Transportation Day (36)
- National Maritime Day (36)
- Peace Officers Memorial Day (36)
- Pentecost (religious)
- Shavuot (religious)
- Truman Day (MO)
- Vesak / Buddha's Birthday (religious)
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender Pride Month
- Bunker Hill Day (Suffolk County, MA)
- Carolina Day (SC)
- Don Young Day (AK)
- Fast of the Holy Apostles (religious)
- Flag Day (36, proposed federal)
- Helen Keller Day (PA)
- Honor America Days (3 weeks)
- Jefferson Davis Day (AL, FL)
- Kamehameha Day (HI)
- Litha (religious)
- Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Sahib (religious)
- Odunde Festival (Philadelphia, PA, cultural)
- Senior Week (week)
- Saint John's Day (PR, religious)
- West Virginia Day (WV)
- Asalha Puja Day (religious)
- Birthday of Don Luis Muñoz Rivera (PR)
- Birthday of Dr. José Celso Barbosa (PR)
- Emancipation Day in the U.S. Virgin Islands (VI, cultural)
- Guru Purnima (religious)
- Khordad Sal (religious)
- Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea (HI, unofficial, cultural)
- Martyrdom of the Báb (religious)
- Parents' Day (36)
- Pioneer Day (UT)
- Puerto Rico Constitution Day (PR)
- Tisha B'Av (religious)
Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
- Labor Day (federal)
- Brazilian Day (NY, cultural)
- California Admission Day (CA)
- Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Day (36)
- Constitution Day (36)
- Constitution Week
- Defenders Day (MD)
- Elevation of the Holy Cross (religious)
- Feast of San Gennaro (NY, cultural, religious)
- Ganesh Chaturthi (religious)
- Gold Star Mother's Day (36)
- His Holiness Sakya Trizin's Birthday (religious)
- Mabon (religious)
- National Grandparents Day (36)
- National Payroll Week (week)
- Nativity of Mary / Nativity of the Theotokos (religious)
- Native American Day (proposed federal)
- Patriot Day (36)
- Von Steuben Day
Hispanic Heritage Month
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Disability Employment Awareness Month
Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month
Filipino American History Month
LGBT History Month
- Columbus Day (federal)
- Halloween
- Alaska Day (AK)
- Child Health Day (36)
- General Pulaski Memorial Day
- German-American Day
- Indigenous Peoples' Day
- International Day of Non-Violence
- Leif Erikson Day (36)
- Missouri Day (MO)
- Nanomonestotse (cultural)
- National School Lunch Week (week)
- Native American Day in South Dakota (SD)
- Nevada Day (NV)
- Spirit Day (cultural)
- Sweetest Day
- Sukkot / Feast of Tabernacles (religious, week)
- Virgin Islands–Puerto Rico Friendship Day (PR, VI)
- White Cane Safety Day (36)
Native American Indian Heritage Month
- Veterans Day (federal)
- Thanksgiving (federal)
- Ascension of ‘Abdu’l Baha (religious)
- All Saints' Day (religious)
- Beginning of the Nativity Fast (religious)
- Beltane / Samhain (religious)
- Barack Obama Day in Alabama (Perry County, AL)
- D. Hamilton Jackson Day (VI)
- Day after Thanksgiving (24)
- Day of the Covenant (religious)
- Discovery of Puerto Rico Day (PR)
- Election Day (CA, DE, HI, KY, MT, NJ, NY, OH, PR, VA, WV, proposed federal)
- Family Day (NV)
- Guru Nanak Gurpurab (religious)
- Hanukkah (religious)
- Lā Kūʻokoʻa (HI, unofficial, cultural)
- Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur (religious)
- Native American Heritage Day (MD, WA, cultural)
- Presentation of the Theotokos to the Temple (religious)
- Trans Day of Remembrance (cultural)
- Unthanksgiving Day (cultural)
- Advent Sunday (religious)
- Alabama Day (AL)
- Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib (religious)
- Bodhi Day (religious)
- Chalica (religious)
- Christmas Eve (KY, NC, SC, PR, VI)
- Day after Christmas (KY, NC, SC, TX, VI)
- Festivus
- HumanLight
- Hanukkah (religious, week)
- Immaculate Conception (religious)
- Indiana Day (IN)
- Kwanzaa (cultural, week)
- Milad Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (religious)
- National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (36)
- Nativity of Jesus (religious)
- Old Year's Night (VI)
- Pan American Aviation Day (36)
- Pancha Ganapati (religious, week)
- Rosa Parks Day (OH, OR)
- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (religious)
- Wright Brothers Day (36)
- Yule (religious)
- Zartosht No-Diso (religious)
Legend:
(federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to a specific racial/ethnic group or sexual minority, (week) = week-long holidays, (month) = month-long holidays, (36) = Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies