Special Days: Economic or psychological? Or both?
This article isn’t about the official holidays that we all are looking forward to. However, when you consider first the official and religious holidays, then Valentine’s Day after that the New Year’s Eve, the special days are nearly celebrated 365 days of the year. Even though the whole family and friends coming together, keeping the traditions alive and having the celebrated days as work holidays have positive psycohological effects, those days also have economic reasons. There are of course some people who refrain from celebrating special days, but most people keep up with this unending cycle of celebration.
So comes the shopping trends that suit the meaning and importance of the celebrated day. Regardless of the reason for celebration, the economic curve kicks in on those special days. This spending craze supported by the deals that the companies offer, brings together an increase of turnover and profitability. The florists, the shops increase their earnings and so does the tourism sector. Hotels and restaurants achieve a %100 occupancy rate. When we look at the numbers and examples closely, we see that the highest increase in earnings are seen on Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. The story of the Mother’s Day is as meaningful as the name of the day: Mother’s Day became offical with the congress approval in 1914 in U.S.A. after Anna Jarvis lost her mother in 1908 and she wanted to create something special to honor her life and memories.
Usually coming to existence with good intentions such as to remember a memory or to keep it alive, the scope of the special days have become different in years with marketing campaigns and economic motives. Mother’s Day for example, creates a significant economy. Every year, just to celebrate this day, more than 3-4 billion TRY is spent around the world in May. Retail sales increase 20-40%. To give another example, last year the market expected 8-9 million TRY turnover on 14 February for Valentine’s Day. This being the case, with the companies’ profits and the pschyology of people, more and more special days are born. This month we are celebrating Women’s Day. Most people actually thinks that this day, that started with the aim of providing women “equal rights and equal work” is now a spending frenzy filled with flowers and jewellery that has lost the original meaning.
Is social media creating new special days?
Considering the dominance and vast usage of social media in our lives, it’s not a suprise that everyone creates a day of his/her own liking and spreads it through social media. The people who like the idea of the new day to be celebrated, celebrate it. Even though some of those days seem absurd to most, who can guarantee that tomorrow we all wouldn’t be celebrating “World Eraser Day”? Sometimes for marketing reasons, other times for psychological reasons, once we have done our research, we have found out that there are many “new generation” special days out there. Absurd but fun, we have gathered a list of those special days that remind us to cherish each day. Everything you think is wrong day, everything you do is right day, remembering video tapes day, Pi day, love your neighbour day, compliment day and more… Every day of the year there is something to celebrate, once you want to do so!
Special Days in March
1 March Plan a Solo Vacation Day
2 March Old Stuff Day
3 March I Want You to bе Happy Day
4 March March Forth and Do Somеthing Day
10 March Mario Day
11 March Oatmеal Nut Wafflе Day
12 March Napping Day
13 March Jеwеl Day
14 March Pi Day
15 March Evеrything You Think is Wrong Day
16 March Evеrything You Do is Right Day
18 March Awkward Momеnts Day
19 March Lеt’s Laugh Day
20 March Proposal Day
21 March Common Courtеsy Day
22 March Intеrnational Goof Off Day
26 March Makе Up Your Own Holiday Day
29 March Smokе and Mirrors Day
30 March Takе a Walk in thе Park Day