When is Hobbit Day? When is Star Trek Day? and other Days that matter to Sci-Fi and Fantasy Fans.
Most people know of Star Wars Day thanks to the slogan “May The Force Be with You.” If you are a sci-fi and fantasy fan, you might be delighted to know that there’s a full year’s worth of sci-fi and fantasy days that might catch your interest.
It’s a great way to know what book to read or movie to watch this week. Or you could use these dates to plan get togethers with your sci-fi and fantasy friends.
I believe in giving people what they ask for, therefore:
Here’s a Sci-Fi and Fantasy Calendar with all the dates we could find!
Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) jumped ahead to the future which is now the past but was the future when the past was the present. Anyway, celebrate their jump on October 21.
| October | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 6 | National Mad Hatter Day | Alice in Wonderland | A tea party is the obvious way to celebrate, but when did the Mad Hatter ever do the obvious thing? Still, a tea party is a really good idea for this one. | |
| October 12 | Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Day | HHGTTG | Date the first novel was published in 1979 | |
| October 15 | National Costume Swap Day | Those old costumes you didn't get rid of on Purge Night (March 21)? You can exchange them with friends to try something new this year. | ||
| October 18 | Jayne Day | Firefly | Raise one to the Hero of Canton. I'm suggesting beer, wine or a cocktail on this one. That mudder's milk does NOT look appetizing. Maybe a good day to share ill-begoten gains with the downtrodden (or any gains regardless of how they were begotten). | |
| October 21 | Back to the Future Day | BttF | The day Marty and Doc Brown jumped to in 2015, which used to be the future. | |
| October 26 | Worldwide Howl at the Moon Night | Howl at the moon to celebrate the macabre -- and wolves. Do not underestimate the restorative power of a good howl or two. Also do not overestimate the patience of your neighbors. | ||
| October 27 | Frankenstein Friday | Frankenstein | Celebration of the book, the author & the characters -- chosen to be a Friday for the alliteration | |
| October 31 | Magic Day | magic | Takes place during Magic Week | |
Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Photo Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney
| November | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 3 | Godzilla Day | Celebrate the big guy on the anniversary of the release of his very first movie in 1954. | ||
| November 5 | Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Day | Gaming | Other D&D dates in different countries | |
| November 6 | Stranger Things Day | Recognizing the date Will Byers first disappears to kick off the series. In season 4 we learn a lot more about that day. | ||
| November 17 | Life Day | Star Wars | Introduced in the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special then entering canon through a mention on Starwars.com and finally on-screen in the Mandalorian. | |
| November 18 | Mickey Mouse Day | Disney | Commemorates the release of Steamboat Willy on November 18, 1928 | |
| November 18 | National Princess Day | Multiple | This celebration is for all princesses, but who are we kidding. These days you say "princess," you think "Disney." So here's to (here we go…) Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Rapunzel, Tiana, Mulan, Cinderella, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Elsa, Merida, Moana, Leia, Shuri (I'm sure I'm missing some -- Vanellope maybe?). | |
| November 23 | Tardis Day | Doctor Who | Can you have a set day that celebrates a time-traveling spaceship? | |
| November 29 | Chadwick Boseman Day | Marvel | Celebrate the life and work of actor Chadwick Boseman (Wakanda Forever) | |
The Grinch (2018) movie presented by Illumination and Universal Pictures is based on the children's holiday classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957) by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel.
| December | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 5 | International Ninja Day | Created by Ninja Burger, this is a day to celebrate the fun side of being a Ninja. 12/5 was the release date of The Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise | ||
| December 6 | Walt Disney Day | Disney | Celebrate the creator of the House of Mouse around his Birthday (12/5/1901) | |
| December 8 | Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day | Multiple | Dust off your anachronisms… | |
| December 9 | Grinchfest | Dr. Seuss | All the Whos down in Whoville like Grinchfest a lot, but the Grinch, who lives just north of Whoville… likes it even more! | |
| December 20 | Games Day | Gaming | Celebrate games - video games, board games, role playing games, card games… Grew out of a British gaming convention that began in 1975 | |
| December 21 | International Dalek Remembrance Day | Doctor Who | Celebrates the best known antagonists of the Doctor Who franchise. Exterminate! | |
| December 21 | Phileas Fogg Wager Day | Jules Verne | Commemorates the day Phileas Fogg must make it around the world to win his wager | |
| December 28 | Stan Lee's Birthday | Marvel | Celebrate this versatile actor who appeared in more than 20 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Oh, yeah, I think he had something to do with some writing stuff too. | |
Celebrate Dragons, Buffy and Roy. Bonus if you can identify the pictured dragon
(hint: think about 30 years before Drogon lit up the screen).
(hint: think about 30 years before Drogon lit up the screen).
| January | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2 | Science Fiction Day | An accepted date of Isaac Asimov's birth | ||
| January 8 | Roy Batty Inception Date | Blade Runner | Celebrate the replicant before he watched C-beams glitter in the dark | |
| January 12 | Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day | Multiple | "Wild men" appear in LOTR, Game of Thrones, and other fantasy works | |
| January 16 | Appreciate a Dragon Day | Multiple | Created in 2004 by Author Donita K. Paul promoting her novel "DragonSpell," whether you're appreciating Regidor, Drogon, Smaug, Shenron, Dragonite, Mushu, Toothless, Vermithrax Pejorative, Norberta, Ramoth, Saphira, Puff, or even taking a trip to Pulau Komodo, do it with the gusto they deserve. | |
| January 19 | Brew a Potion Day | Multiple | A great time to whip up the devilishly difficult Felix Felicis, a draught of living death, or maybe just a nice cup of tea or a cocktail. No silly wand waving required. | |
| January 19 | Buffy Summer's Birthday | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | So many ways to celebrate the Slayer's birthday | |
| January 25 | Winter-een-mas | Gaming | Celebrate video games. Created by the comic strip Ctrl+Alt+Del. Winter-een-mas is always the last seven days of January. | |
| January 31 | Gorilla Suit Day | Needs no explanation, though how they get the gorillas to wear suits (to say nothing of where they get the suits).... Oh, wait. I see. Put on a gorilla suit and have fun! | ||
Raven Fox Black Hooded Cloak with Pockets on Princess Peach at Silicon San Jose 2021.
| February | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 1 | Robinson Crusoe Day | Shouldn't this always be on a Friday? | ||
| February 14 | Pris' Incept Date | Blade Runner | Boil some eggs and airbrush your eye shadow | |
| February 14 | Extraterrestrial Culture Day | Established by New Mexico's General Assembly in 2003. Proposed by Representative Daniel Foley of Roswell, NM. One might have thought this would be around the beginning of May, you know, in the Area of 5/1. | ||
| February 15 | St. Skeletor's Day | For those who hate love, or at least St. Valentine's day. Begun in 1998 by comedian Richard Herring. Skeletor is an antogonist in the Masters of the Universe franchise | ||
| February 24 | Twin Peaks Day | Twin Peaks | On the anniversary of Laura Palmer's Death. Have a slice of cherry pie | |
| February 26 | Tell A Fairy Tale Day | If you go back to the source materials, this would be a dark and terrifying day. Or stick with the Disney versions and have a lot of fun. | ||
| February 27 | Pokémon Day | Celebrate the phenomenon on the anniversary of its first appearance in 1996. | ||
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy sci-fi story by Douglas Adams. The Hitchhiker movie (2005) includes Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman), Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell), Trillian (Zooey Deschanel), and Ford Prefect (Mos Def).
| March | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2 | Dr. Seuss's Birthday | Dr. Seuss | I am what I am! That’s a great thing to be! If I say so my self, Happy Birthday to me! | |
| March 4 | Game Master's Appreciation Day | Gaming | Because without them… | |
| March 6 | Star Fleet Remembrance Day | Star Trek | Join the crew in remembering those who have been lost in the effort for galactic peace and exploration of space. Traditionally recognized by wearing a pin indicating a previous ship you have served on, but short of that, take a moment to remember those who have come before us. Introduced in Strange New Worlds as Stardate 1377.3. | |
| March 11 | Douglas Adams Birthday | HHGTTG | DNA was taken much too soon. I like to think he's up there somewhere with Elvis. There's no better way to celebrate than a party with a group reading of some of his work. | |
| March 14 | Pi Day | Celebrating many people's favorite irrational number, π day (get it? 3.14...) is traditionally celebrated by eating deliciously alliterative pie. Interestingly Pi Day doesn't exist in countries that put the date before the month because April does not have 31 days. | ||
| March 15 | World Contact Day | Established in 1952 by the International Flying Saucer Bureau | ||
| March 18 | Colonial Day | Battlestar Galactica | Commemorating the signing of the Articles of Colonization in the face of Cylon attack. | |
| March 20 | Hufflepuff Pride Day | Harry Potter | It seems appropriate that this house of un-sung heroes should get the first Pride Day each year. You might choose to wear yellow (or maybe your own house color if you're not lucky enough to be Hufflepuff), or maybe just take the opportunity to celebrate the Potter Universe. If you're into the movies, maybe watch Goblet of Fire where a member of Hufflepuff plays a very prominent role. | |
| March 21 | Purge Night | The Purge | All crime is legal. Still not convinced this is a good idea. Maybe a good time to clear out the closet? That seems like a safer option. | |
| March 21 | Slytherin Pride Day | Harry Potter | ||
| March 22 | Talk like William Shatner Day | Star Trek | On... the... good... captain's birthday. | |
| March 22 | Gryffindor Pride Day | Harry Potter | ||
| March 23 | Ravenclaw Pride Day | Harry Potter | ||
| March 23 | Hellboy Day | Originated in 2019 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the creation of Hellboy, and originally recognized with a special 25th anniversary release of the original comic. A great day to revisit some favorite issues. | ||
| March 25 | Tolkien Reading Day | LOTR | Anniversary of Sauron's defeat. Suggested by newspaper columnist Sean Kirst in 2003 | |
| March 26 | Live Long & Prosper Day | Star Trek | Leonard Nimoy's Birthday | |
| March 29 | National Smoke & Mirrors Day | magic | Celebrates magicians, origin unkown | |
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) playing Quidditch in the fantasy book series Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.
| April | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 5 | First Contact Day | Star Trek | Celebrates first contact between Earth and extra-terrestrials (Vulcans) in 2063 | |
| April 7 | Astro Boy's Birthday | Going strong since 1951! | ||
| April 7 | Internet's Birthday | The date RFC1 was published in 1969. The RFC1 (Request for Comment 1) memo was the first time the proposal for the standards that would define the Internet were shared. | ||
| April 14 | National Dolphin Day | HHGTTG | Appreciation and preservation of dolphins, including in media. They're the second smartest life form on the planet, so let's hope they never develop opposable thumbs. | |
| April 23 | Impossible Astronaut Day | Doctor Who | Date of airing of the first episode of series (or "season") 6: The Impossible Astronaut. Celebrate by drawing tallymarks on your skin, and pretending they're not there | |
| April 23 | Shakespeare Day / Talk like Shakspeare Day | Shakespeare's Birthday | ||
| April 26 | Alien Day | Celebrate all things Alien (as in the Alien film franchise). This date was chosen as a reference to LV-426, the moon where humans encounter Xenomorphs | ||
| April 28 | Superhero Day | Multiple | I was always told that every day is "Superhero Day," but I suppose it's prudent to show appreciation for those living among us who can leap tall buildings with a single bound, melt steal with their eyes, call lightning to earth using a hammer, or have so much money they can make a super-powerful suit of iron or such a collection of gadgets, body armor and vehicles that they're virtually invincible. | |
Yoda of the Star Wars universe, first appeared in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back. He is powerful with the Force and served as Grandmaster of the Jedi Order.
| May | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1 | MerMay | Multiple | MerMay is a month-long celebration of creativity, community and above all… MERMAIDS | |
| May 2 | International Harry Potter Day | Harry Potter | Declared by (muggle) Prime Minister David Cameron in 2012. Anniversary of the battle of Hogwarts in 1998 | |
| May 4 | Science Fiction Day | Another accepted birthdate of Isaac Asimov (no one is sure whether that's actually the day he was born) | ||
| May 4 | Star Wars Day | Star Wars | May-the-fourth be with you | |
| May 4 | Anniversary of the Battle of New York | Marvel | One suspects that in-Universe, this is a day more like 9/11 than any sort of celebration. Fortunately, we're not actually in a Universe where a finger-snap could do just about anything. So Avengers fans, this is your day to enjoy some Shwarma and maybe watch a particular movie. | |
| May 6 | Revenge of the 6th | Star Wars | More Star Wars celebration, this time with a sith-twist | |
| May 7 | Free Comic Book Day | *Participating comic-book stores only. | ||
| May 9 | Goku Day | Dragon Ball Z | Chosen because 5 and 9 read as Go and Ku in Japanese | |
| May 10 | Whacking Day | Simpsons | Snakes beware | |
| May 13 | Piccolo Day | Dragon Ball Z | Originally celebrated on May 9th (see Goku Day), it is believed this day – which celebrates the day that King Piccolo declares his ruling of Earth – was changed to the 13th because the number 9 is considered unlucky in Japan. | |
| May 14 | Black Fae Day | Promoting positive representation of Black people in mainstream media, particularly in Fantasy. Celebrate by frolicking in pastels, meadows, and creeks (or however you feel is appropriate if "frolicking" really isn't your thing. Though you should probably examine that a bit). BlackFaeDay.com | ||
| May 21 | National Talk Like Yoda Day | Star Wars | Release of "The Empire Strikes Back" this celebrates | |
| May 22 | World Goth Day | You know who you are, and we're there for you. | ||
| May 25 | Towel Day | HHGTTG | Something, something hoopy frood.... Originated as a tribute two-weeks after the death of Douglas Adams in 2001. | |
| May 25 | Geek Pride Day | Star Wars | Comes with a bill of rights. Celebrated on the anniversary of the release of Star Wars, geeks are just people with a passion about something. Maybe it's food, or cars, or science fantasy films. It's all good. Be proud. | |
| May 27 | Black MerMay Day | Created in 2021 partly in response to the loss of Black life to drowning, Black MerMay Day is intended to celebrate the place of water in Black culture, and to encourage swimming education. It’s also a day to don your favorite tiara, crown, carefully-placed clamshells and, of course, tail-like attire to celebrate the glorious mer-person you are! | ||
While there is some debate about the date, fans have celebrated Captain Picard Day on June 16th of each year. That date is equivalent to stardate 47457.1, which is mentioned in the episode "The Pegasus".
| June | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 4 | National Tabletop Day | Gaming | Celebrate Gaming | |
| June 8 | Ghostbusters Day | Ghostbusters | ||
| June 16 | Captain Picard Day | Star Trek | Calculated from stardate 47457.1 in TNG episode The Pegasus | |
| June 24 | Midsummer | traditional | ||
Alice in Wonderland has inspired many adaptations over the years, for example, Disney's Classic Animation version (on the left) and Tim Burton Live Action (on the right.)
| July | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1 | International Zine Month | Celebrating independent publishers. There are zines for just about every topic, but they have been huge in the science-fiction fantasy realm. The first science fiction zine was published in 1930. Zines (formerly "fanzines") were huge in Star Trek fandom in the '70s. The number of erotic Star Trek fanzines alone is much larger than anyone would expect. | ||
| July 2 | World UFO Day | Anniversary of the 1947 Roswell incident | ||
| July 4 | Alice in Wonderland Day | Alice in Wonderland | Lewis Carroll's birthday | |
| July 8 | National Video Game Day | Gaming | ||
| July 13 | Embrace your Geekness Day | Geekness is having a moment -- and has been for more than a decade now. This brings much joy to the heart of those of us who bore the epithet of "Star Wars Freak," back in the day. | ||
| July 31 | Harry Potter's Birthday | Harry Potter | Make a cake and sit on it -- but don't misspell anything! That wouldn't be right. | |
Lando Calrissian played by Donald Glover in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).
| August | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1 | Spider-man Day | Marvel | Spider-man Day, Spider-man Day. Do whatever you want to do on Spider-man Day. Bake a cake, climb a tree... | |
| August 1 | Comic-Con | Anniversary of the first Comic-Con in 1970 | ||
| August 4 | 1984 Day | 1984 | A doubleplusgood day to celebrate fascist dystopia! | |
| August 6 | Sailor Moon Day | Selected in honor of Mamoru's birthday. Celebrate with a Sailor Moon marathon! | ||
| August 12 | Federation Day | Star Trek | Star Trek's Independence Day | |
| August 19 | Gene Roddenberry's Birthday | Star Trek | One can't help but wonder if "Hatching Day" is more appropriate for the Great Bird of the Galaxy. Either way, this is a day to celebrate the father of Star Trek and much more. | |
| August 26 | International Cosplay Day | Or you could turn this around and say that every OTHER day is when you are cosplaying as a normal, responsible member of society, and that Cosplay Day is the time you dress as you really are. | ||
| August 29 | Judgment Day | Terminator | Date of the (thankfully fictional) nuclear holocaust in 1997 | |
| August 30 | Frankenstein Day | Frankenstein | ||
| September | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2 | National Cinema Day | Introduced in 2022, this holiday features low-cost tickets in an effort to get folks back to theaters after the Pandemic. This is the Saturday before Labor Day, which is traditionally a slow weekend for movies. | ||
| September 8 | Star Trek Day | Star Trek | Anniversary of premier in 1966 | |
| September 16 | Batman Day | DC | Begun in 2014 with a date to coincide with San Diego Comic-Con - Batman's 75th anniversary | |
| September 17 | Optimus Prime Day | Transformers | Not to be confused with Amazon Prime Day. | |
| September 19 | Talk Like a Pirate Day | Begun as a joke in 1995, but has become quite serious indeed. Matey. | ||
| September 20 | Unification Day | Firefly | Now might be a good time to find yourself in a dive bar wearing a brown coat and a large chip on your shoulder or looking for someone wearing a brown coat with a large chip on their shoulder, I suppose if you're on the other side. | |
| September 22 | J.R.R. Tolkien Day | LOTR | Tolkien's birthday (1892) | |
| September 22 | National Hobbit Day | LOTR | Anniversary of the release of The Hobbit | |
| September 22 | Chainmail Day | |||
| September 24 | National Ghost Hunting Day | Founded by a ghost-tour company to kick off the season haunted attractions & fall festivals | ||
We’d love to make this a comprehensive list. Wait, it is a comprehensive list!
If you have other sci-fi and fantasy fan dates like Hobbit Day and Star Trek Day to suggest, please comment below.
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