You may have heard that February is Black History Month or that September is National Hispanic Heritage Month. Maybe you have also known that March is Irish-American Heritage Month and April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. But, did you know that there are a lot of quirky, artistic, and scientific months out there, such as National Cyber Security Awareness Month (October) and even a National Fruit Cake Month (December)? Here are eight themed months you should know and should most definitely participate in!
October
Theme: Inktober
Inktober is like the artist's version of the pumpkin spice latte. Participating in it makes you feel all warm and good on the inside, and, you get to share your creations with the rest of the world!
The month long challenge was created and initiated by Jake Parker, an Utah-based illustrator. The purpose of the challenge is to get into the habit of drawing daily (because practice makes perfect) and to learn about inking artwork (traditionally and digitally). So if your social media pages suddenly fill up with ink sketches and drawings in October, this is the most likely reason.
November
Theme: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like! You have to write an entire, fifty-thousand word novel in one, single month! And, no, it is most certainly not impossible!
NaNoWriMo is sponsored by a non-profit organization of the same name. Their mission statement and purpose is to "provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page." Throughout the year, via social media, staff members provide tips on writing and offer workshops where people can come together and learn how to prepare for writing a novel, short stories, and more. Pretty cool, right?
February
Theme: National Haiku Writing Month
Think you know all about haiku writing? Did you know five seven five syllables is actually an inaccurate measurement when writing haikus using the English language? Well, brush up on those haiku writing skills then and get your creative juices flowing in February because you're going to need to write some Japanese poetry!
March
Theme: Women's History Month
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum all join together in March to celebrate women throughout history. The origin of Women's History Month was in 1981 when Congress passed a law to dedicate the week of March 7th as Women's History Week. In 1987, Congress passed a law to dedicate the entire month to women's history, and from 1995, "Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as 'Women’s History Month.'"
This month, read up on your history to see how women have impacted society (and are still doing so today)! Or check out some of these super empowering quotes!
April
Theme: Mathematics Awareness Month
Ah, yes, numbers. Numbers and variables and derivatives and lots and lots of equations that bring the natural world we live in to life! Who doesn't love math? (No, really, math is cool in its own way). To share the love of math, in 1986, President Ronald Regan started off Mathematics Awareness Week with a proclamation on the importance of science and math in many fields and how it has many practical applications. The awareness week then evolved into a month long event and is celebrated by colleges and universities, public information offices, and interest groups, usually in the form of community activities (ex. competitions, exhibits, festivals, etc.).
Theme: National Poetry Month
National Poetry Month was inaugurated in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets and has become the largest literary celebration in the world. There are many activities to part-take in, from reading a poetry piece a day to reading the first chapter of Muriel Rukeyer’s inspiring book The Life of Poetry, to buying a poetry book from the bookstore and supporting poets throughout the world and throughout time.
Theme: National Poem Writing Month
If you are inspired by all the poetry you've been reading in this month, then be happy to know April is also National Poem Writing Month! Thirty days, thirty poems. Are you up for the challenge? I think your answer is...yes!
May
Theme: National Bike Month
Established in 1956 and sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists, National Bike Month is a great way to put that rusty old bike in the garage to good use! The month is dedicated to raising awareness about the benefits of biking and encourage people to bike more or at least learn how to bike. Plus, think of all the greenhouse gasses you wouldn't be releasing if you pedaled your way for 31 days (and all the money on gas that you'd be saving).
So bike this month away like Pikachu's life depends on it!
Getting ready to tackle the month-long challenges like:
