October 2023 Observances for Your

Senior Activity Calendar

Find interesting and unique observances and holidays for you to use as inspiration for your senior activity program.

October 2023 Monthly Observances

• ADHD Awareness Month
• Adopt-a-Shelter-Dog Month
• American Cheese Month
• American Pharmacists Month
• Billiards Awareness Month
• Caffeine Addiction Recovery Month
• Celebrating the Bilingual Child Month
• Church Library Month
• Computer Learning Month
• Contact Lens Safety Month
• Co-op Awareness Month
• Down Syndrome Awareness Month
• Dyslexia Awareness Month
• Emotional Intelligence Awareness Month
• German-American Heritage Month
• Global Diversity Awareness Month
• Go Hog Wild – Eat Country Ham Month
• Health Literacy Month
• Healthy Lung Month
• Home Eye Safety Month
• LGBT History Month
• Liver Cancer Awareness Month
• National Apple Month
• National Applejack Month (hard cider)
• National Arts and Humanities Month
• National Audiology Awareness Month/Protect Your Hearing Month
• National Bake and Decorate Month
• National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month
• National Caramel Month
• National Chili Month
• National Chiropractic Health Month
• National Cookbook Month
• National Crime Prevention Month
• National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
• National Dental Hygiene Month
• National Depression Education and Awareness Month
• National Dessert Month
• National Disability Employment Awareness Month
• National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
• National Field Trip Month
• National “Gain the Inside Advantage” Month
• National Kitchen and Bath Month
• National Liver Awareness Month
• National Medical Librarians Month
• National Orthodontic Health Month
• National Pasta Month
• National Physical Therapy Month
• National Pickled Peppers Month
• National Pizza Month
• National Popcorn Poppin’ Month
• National Reading Group Month
• National Roller Skating Month
• National Seafood Month
• National Spina Bifida Awareness Month
• National Stamp Collecting Month
• National Work and Family Month
• Organize Your Medical Information Month
• Photographer Appreciation Month
• Polish-American Heritage Month
• Positive Attitude Month
• Rett Syndrome Awareness Month
• Spinach Lovers Month
• Squirrel Awareness Month
• Talk About Your Medicines Month
• Vegetarian Month
• Workplace Politics Awareness Month
• World Menopause Month

October 2023 Weekly Observances

• Banned Books Week – Let Freedom Read (October 1-7)
• Getting the World to Beat a Path to Your Door Week (October 1-7)
• Mental Illness Awareness Week (October 1-7)
• National Carry a Tune Week (October 1-7)
• Industrial Water Week (October 2-6)
• World Space Week (October 4-10)
• Earth Science Week (October 8-14)
• Emergency Nurses Week (October 8-14)
• Fire Prevention Week (October 8-14)
• National Metric Week (October 8-14)
• OCD Awareness Week (October 8-14)
• National School Lunch Week (October 9-13)
• National Character Counts Week (October 15-21)
• National Chemistry Week (October 15-21)
• National Forest Products Week (October 15-21)
• National Friends of Libraries Week (October 15-21)
• National Health Education Week (October 16-20)
• Nuclear Science Week (October 16-20)
• Pastoral Care Week (October 22-28)
• Spiritual Care Week (October 22-28)
• Disarmament Week (October 24-30)
• National Magic Week (October 25-31)

October 2023 Daily Observances

October 1

• Country Inn, Bed-and-Breakfast Day
• International Coffee Day
• International Day of Older Persons
• National Hair Day
• National Homemade Cookies Day
• National Pumpkin Spice Day
• World Communion Sunday
• World Vegetarian Day

October 2

• Child Health Day
• Guardian Angels Day
• International Day of Non-Violence
• National Custodial Worker Day
• National Name Your Car Day
• Not Just Bingo Day, a day encouraging activity directors to provide fun activities besides bingo for their senior residents on this day
• World Architecture Day
• World Day of Bullying Prevention
• World Farm Animals Day
• World Habitat Day

October 3

• Boyfriend’s Day
• Mean Girls Day

October 4

• Banned Websites Awareness Day
• International Ships-in-Bottles Day
• National Golf Lover’s Day
• National Kale Day
• National Pumpkin Seed Day
• National Taco Day
• National Vodka Day
• National Walk to School Day
• Random Acts of Poetry Day
• Ten-Four Day, recognizing radio operators on this fourth day of the tenth month
• Walk & Roll to School Day
• World Animal Day

October 5

• Chic Spy Day, a day to replicate the styles of film spies like James Bond
• National Apple Betty Day
• National Depression Screening Day
• World Teachers’ Day

October 6

• International Geodiversity Day
• Kids Music Day
• Mad Hatter Day
• MFG (Manufacturing) Day
• National Diversity Day
• National German-American Day
• National Noodle Day
• National Plus Size Appreciation Day
• World Smile Day

October 7

• International Frugal Fun Day
• National Inner Beauty Day, a day to raise awareness and support victims of human trafficking
• World Card Making Day
• World Cotton Day
• You Matter to Me Day

October 8

• Clergy Appreciation Day
• Father-Daughter Day
• National Flutternutter Day
• National G.O.E. (Growth.Overcome.Empower) Day, a day to support those healing from abuse trauma
• National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day
• National Pierogi Day
• National Salmon Day
• World Octopus Day

October 9

• Columbus Day
• Indigenous Peoples’ Day
• Leif Erikson Day, honoring the Norse explorer who led the first Europeans into North America
• Moldy Cheese Day
• National Kick-Butt Day
• National Nanotechnology Day
• Thanksgiving Day (Canada)
• World Post Day

October 10

• Ada Lovelace Day, honoring the achievements of women in STEM fields
• International Face Your Fears Day
• National Angel Food Cake Day
• National Cake Decorating Day
• National Handbag Day
• National Metric Day
• National Tic Tac Day
• World Child Development Day
• World Day Against the Death Penalty
• World Homeless Day
• World Mental Health Day

October 11

• Emergency Nurses Day
• International Day of the Girl Child
• International Top Spinning Day
• National Bring Your Teddy Bear to Work Day
• National Coming Out Day
• National Fossil Day
• National Sausage Pizza Day
• National Take Your Parents to Lunch Day
• Southern Food Heritage Day

October 12

• Day of the Six Billion, when the world’s population reached six billion in 1999
• Freethought Day
• International Moment of Frustration Scream Day
• National Farmer’s Day
• National Gumbo Day
• World Arthritis Day
• World Sight Day

October 13

• Friday the 13th
• International Day for Failure
• International Day for Disaster Reduction
• National M&M’s Day
• National Yorkshire Pudding Day
• No Bra Day
• World Egg Day

October 14

• Be Bald and Be Free Day
• I Love Yarn Day
• National Chess Day
• National Dessert Day
• National Women in Franchising Appreciation Day
• Solar Eclipse
• Universal Music Day
• World Migratory Bird Day (also celebrated on May 13)

October 15

• Blind Americans Equality Day (also known as White Cane Safety Day)
• Global Handwashing Day
• International Day of Rural Women
• National Grouch Day
• National Latino AIDS Awareness Day
• National Mushroom Day
• National Pug Day

October 16

• Dictionary Day
• Global Cat Day
• National Boss Day
• National Liqueur Day
• World Food Day

October 17

• Black Poetry Day
• International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
• Mulligan Day, a day promoting do-overs
• National Pasta Day
• National Playing Card Collection Day

October 18

• Hagfish Day, a day to celebrate the beauty of ugly by raising awareness of the uniqueness of all sea creatures, even the hagfish
• International Pronouns Day
• National Chocolate Cupcake Day
• Persons Day (Canada)
• World Menopause Day

October 19

• Alaska Day
• Evaluate Your Life Day
• Get Smart About Credit Day
• LGBT Center Awareness Day
• National Seafood Bisque Day

October 20

• National Brandied Fruit Day
• National Mammography Day
• XIX Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile begin

October 21

• Bridge Day, a day when up to 300 BASE jumpers leaf off of North America’s longest single span bridge (876 feet) in West Virginia
• International Raw Milk Cheese Appreciation Day
• National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day
• Sweetest Day, an observance recognized in the Midwest in which women give gifts and candy to the men

October 22

• International Stuttering Awareness Day
• Mother-in-Law Day
• National Color Day
• National Nut Day
• Smart Is Cool Day

October 23

• National Boston Cream Pie Day
• National Canning Day
• National Mole Day, encouraging students to become interested in chemistry by honoring the specialized counting of the Avogadro number

October 24

• National Bologna Day
• National Food Day
• Recycle Your Mercury Thermostat Day
• United Nations Day
• World Development Information Day, a day to focus on improving the dissemination of information and preventing roadblocks for development

October 25

• National Greasy Foods Day
• Sourest Day

October 26

• National Mincemeat Pie Day
• National Pumpkin Day

October 27

• Cranky Coworkers Day
• Frankenstein Friday
• National Black Cat Day
• National Breadstick Day
• Navy Day
• World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

October 28

• Full Hunter’s Moon
• National Chocolate Day

October 29

• Daylight Saving Time ends in the European Union
• National Cat Day
• National Oatmeal Day
• Reformation Sunday
• World Stroke Day

October 30

• Checklists Day
• Devil’s Night, the night before Halloween
• Haunted Refrigerator Night
• National Candy Corn Day
• World Audio Drama Day, commemorating Orson Welles “War of the Worlds” broadcast in 1938

October 31

• Books for Treats Day
• Halloween
• Magic Day
• National Candy Apple Day
• National Caramel Apple Day
• National Knock Knock Day
• National Unicef Day
• Reformation Day
• Trick or Treat (or Beggars’ Night)
• World Cities Day