tradition/TRADITION

One of my favorite things about being an adult is the amount of freedom I have to create my own traditions.  To a certain extent society binds you to certain traditions (Christmas, New Year's, Halloween, etc.) but to a much greater extent I've found that it's surprisingly okay to let my freak/hipster flag fly in respect to calender celebrations.

Current

Ghetto-Fabulous Thanksgiving

• This one is a personal tradition I've kept alive for all of...oh...two non-concurrent years now.  I lived in Mississippi for five years of my young adulthood, and Texas for my entire childhood.  You might say I'm familiar with the South.  The only time I miss the South is around the holidays, which makes it the ideal time to eat chicken and waffles and drink ghetto koolaid, shitty screwdrivers, everclear, try to recreate them awful little Krystal burgers, slather all my vegetables in butter, biscuits and gravy/molasses, shoot bourbon, mint juleps and disgustingly sweet caramel frappucinos out of red solo cups.  The possibiliites are endless and I get my nostalgia fix for the coming year.
  
  Pancake Day

• aka Shrove Tuesday, aka Mardi Gras.  Well, I no longer live anywhere near Lousiana.  So the likelihood of me getting a proper King Cake up here are slim to the none.  Luckily I've discovered that another option for kicking off the Lenten season is Pancake Day!  It was brought to my attention by Danisnotonfire.  It's basically what it sounds like.  It's February 12th (ohhey!  That's tomorrow!) You make pancakes and, in my case, drink butterbeer.  Because why would you not drink butterbeer if you had the option?  Gosh.
  
  Guy Fawkes' Day

• This is a little less structured.  No flash-mobs or anything.  Everyone in my generation is at least somewhat familiar with V for Vendetta.  Either they've seen the movie one time or own the movie or have read the graphic novel or have a hard-on for Frank Miller.  Anyway.  It's the type of holiday that sums up politics very well in my mind.  You can try to change the world by blowing up parliament...but you'll probably get caught and probably nothing will really change.  Also people will celebrate your gruesome execution with rockets and fireworks and bonfires and movies about current-future fascist society.  /sigh
  I celebrate it by quoting the poem on Facebook, smoking a cigar and getting depressed. Moving on.
  
  Halloween (observed as New Year's)
  
• Samhain is like New Year's with more fairies, offerings to your ancestors and general pensiveness.  The season shows itself to be in the middle of changing more than it does in January.  

Talk Like a Pirate Day

• This is an excuse to talk like a pirate, dress up, drink copiously and watch bad movies like 1960s Treasure Island, Muppet Treasure Island and Yellowbeard.  I also count 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but I'm not at home to reason after a few snifters.

May the Fourth

• May the fourth be with you, Padawan.  One of these days I'm going to arrange a theatrical production of a Timothy Zahn novel and present it at the Library or something.  Like Trek in the park.  All you otha muthas bettah watch out.

Christmas Celebrated Harry Potter Style

• You know....  I'm at a point in my adult life where I'm not only pretty convinced that I could die at any moment but also that I'm not interested in celebrating holidays that aren't themed.  So given the choice between Harry Potter Christmas and regular Christmas?  Mmm....  Yeah.  The possibilities are endless.

Future

• JRR Tolkien Day (1/3)
• Buffyversary (3/10)
• Pi Day (3/14)
• Towel Day (5/24)
• Glorious 25th May (5/25)
• Alice In Wonderland Day (7/4)
• International Cosplay Day (8/27)
• Back To The Future Day (11/5)
• TARDIS Day (11/23)
• Day of the Ninja (12/5)
• Futurama XMAS/Doctor Who Christmas/Hogswatch, etc.