Name days

My birthday is coming up, so I’ve been thinking about birthdays. For the past three years or so I’ve also had a “Casemas” holiday on my calendar for the third Wednesday of July, since I was born on the third Wednesday. I don’t remember quite what the conversation was, butnoaks and I must’ve been discussing it at some point since he invited me to the original event.

This year, I realized that what I’ve been calling “Casemas” would be more accurately “Casegiving,” since Christmas is on the same day every year but Thanksgiving is on the third Thursday.

And that got me thinking about what other name days there could be. Here is a non-exhaustive list. I’ll use my name and birthday (July 25, 1990) in these, but of course you should feel free to adapt them to your own life.

Casemas: July 25

My birthday. So apparently, Christmas was originally calculated by figuring that Jesus died on the day of his conception, then counting forward 9 months. I don’t know the day I will die and I don’t want to think about my conception, so I’m just going to use my birthday.

Casegiving: the 4th Wednesday of July

Like how (American) Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November, Casegiving is celebrated on the same week/day of the month I was born.

Variations include Canadian Casegiving, the 2nd Sunday of June‍—calculated by subtracting 1 from the month, 2 from the week number, and 3 from the weekday of American Casegiving—and Case-Franksgiving, held one week earlier than Casegiving on the 3rd Wednesday in amisguided attempt to provide an extra seven days of holiday shopping.

Caseter: 101 days after Easter

Easter is a famously complicated date to compute, falling on the Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring equinox. However, the full moon is not an astronomical full moon, but rather a Pashcal full moon, the 14th day of a lunar month. Similarly, the equinox is not reckoned according to reality but rather to ecclesiastical tradition that fixes it to March 21.

Apparently, it’s further complicated by the fact that the lunar months follow a 19-year metonic cycle that has been variously calculated throughout history. TL;DR: it’s lunar-solar calendar confusion and really, you’ll be best to contact your local Pope to learn when your name-ster is with any real theological accuracy.

Further (wikipedia) reading:Easter computationsPaschal full moonLunisolar calendarDate of Easter, Gregorian reform

Casedi Gras: 61 days after Easter

It’s a little-known fact that only 325 days belong to the year (the other 40 are Lent). Casedi Gras marks the beginning of the Casenten period. Technically, Ash Caseday marks the beginning of Casent, which makes Casedi Gras a great opportunity to get all the sinning out of the way before the period of reflection. The day is marked by parades, excessive drinking, and Case Cakes, especially in New Orleans.

Case Duckworth Day: the 4th Monday in July

Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which was the Monday before MLK’s birthday the year he was born. This is a good day to observe your birthday for time-off purposes. See also theUniform Monday Holiday Act.

Caseoween: May 31

Caseoween is the day before All Case’s Day on June 1. Over the centuries, it has eclipsed the other day in observances and relative importance, probably because it’s simply a lot more fun.

In modern times, Caseoween has begun marking the beginning of the Caseoday season, though the more traditionally-minded still adhere to Casegiving and the day after, Black Caseday.

Roseanne Barr Day: July 25

While researching this article, I learned the funnest fact that my birthday, July 25, 1990, is the same day that Roseanne Barr sang the national anthem at an MLB game.

The San Diego Tribune labeled her performance a “Barr-Strangled Banner” in which she screeched an off-tune performance with fingers in her ears over a chorus of boos. She capped it all with a crotch-grab and spit before leaving the stadium altogether.

Celebrate your own Roseanne Barr day by finding out what she was doing on your date of birth, or by finding out what national embarrassment you missed out on because you were busy being born.