Editorial: Every day there to appreciate

On one day of the year chocolate retailers and florists implore us to open our hearts (and our wallets) to celebrate that special person in our lives.

It is called Valentines Day.

It falls on February 14, and like Christmas Day and Easter it has become a staple part of the commercial landscape.

A bright and fluffy day, many will insist, although it was on that day, back in 1929, that seven mob associates of the Bugs Moran gang in Chicago were gunned down. Had they neglected to deliver chocolates to their loved ones?

The year is filled with special days, as each week is devoted to a specific social, environmental or health-associated cause.

We have bade farewell to Valentines Day, and last Saturday the world turned green (without mention of saving whales or the endangered Venezuelan barking frog) as St Patrick's Day descended.

But we have missed several celebratory days in these opening 11 weeks of the year.

Few would have realised that back on March 11 it was the Scouting Association's National Cubs Day.

"Be Prepared" is the motto of this fine organisation, yet I was not.

Nor was I privy to the fact that January 10 was Houseplant Appreciation day.

Or that three days later it was International Skeptics day ... it transpires the latter falls on the first Friday the 13th of every year.

The first Friday the 13th of the year is also (and I'm not making this up) Blame Someone Else day.

Oh, and don't forget to put a ring around September 19 on the calender - it is Talk Like a Pirate Day.

In some sectors this has expanded, with participants not just content to unleash the usual "arrrr Jim lad" and "avast there me hearties" - they dress like pirates as well.

There are, of course, the more high-profile "days" as in Mother's Day on May 13 and Father's Day on September 2 - both of which fall into the same commercial category as those mentioned at the beginning of this piece.

So what about today?

Well, unless you have taken a leaf out of March 11 and are "always prepared" then you may have overlooked the fact that today is Neighbours Day Aotearoa.

Yes, the day you should take that borrowed wheelbarrow back.

It is a celebration of getting to know neighbours and waving and smiling ... of offering a cheery "gidday".

Which is fine and dandy, of course, but in the back of my mind I can't help thinking that today should be like Mothers Day and Fathers Day.

Every day should be a day of appreciation, or recognition ... not just one day of the year.

But hey, any recognition is good recognition, I guess.

Not sure about 365 days of talking like a pirate though.