Twenty Awesome August Holidays Plus Songs to Help You Celebrate Each

As August draws closer, there are a few of us here around Paste HQ who have been feeling pretty down because it means summer is almost over. But then we found out about 20 days in August worth celebrating. Then we put together this list to help you help us commemorate these upcoming holidays:

Aug. 1: Friendship Day (also National Raspberry Cream Pie Day)
We can't think of any musical group who has embodied true friendship quite like the White Stripes. Divorced husband and wife not only stay pals, but make records, tour the world together and convince everyone they're actually siblings? Impressive. So gather your friends (preferably around a great big slice of raspberry cream pie) and enjoy this sweet little ode to forming friendships.

Aug. 3: National Watermelon Day
Not only does this song teach you not to drink and drive, it also teaches you some pretty sweet dance moves. We've been practicing around the office all week, and hope our readers will do the same. Teasing your hair, while not required, is certainly encouraged.



Aug. 4: Twins Days Festival
OK, so the Ying Yang Twins aren't actually related, and while we have a feeling this would be severely frowned upon at the Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio, we're willing to overlook this minor detail because damn, do these dudes make us dance.


Aug. 5: National Mustard Day
This song has nothing to do with mustard. But eating a whole jar of French's sounds more appealing than bleeding ourselves dry like Coldplay frontman Chris Martin claims to have done. And hey, mustard is "all yellow," so this song makes a pretty decent soundtrack for the day's festivities, and, apparently, for meandering oceanside at sunrise.



Aug. 6: Wiggle Your Toes Day
Listen to this tune and you'll be sure to wiggle your toes. In fact, we'd be willing to bet you'll be fighting the urge to wiggle your whole body, just like these kids:

 

Aug. 8: Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night
Yes, this is for real. It's not every day you get to celebrate summer's produce with a vegetable sneak attack, so take advantage of this one while you can.

Aug. 9: National Polka Festival
Ben Folds had no idea how prophetic he was being when he recorded this song. The Grammy Awards recently eliminated its polka category, essentially slapping polka extraordinaire Jimmy Sturr across his oh-so-friendly-looking face. Luckily, Sturr and friends can use Aug. 9 to whip out their accordions and celebrate the greatness of the snubbed genre.

Aug. 11: Presidential Joke Day
Admittedly, this five-minute-plus musical diatribe against former president George W. Bush isn't exactly a joke. "Let's impeach the president for hijacking our religion and using it to get elected" doesn't make the best punchline. But we're sure Young meant it all in good fun...right?

Aug. 12: Middle Child's Day
That's right, the oft-overlooked middle child has a oft-overlooked August holiday as well. And nothing's better for indulging in a little self-pity than Bright Eyes.

 
Aug. 13: Blame Someone Else Day
Depending on what you've done that you're trying to convince people you didn't do, you can choose from one of these excuses Miss Lewis provides: "I couldn't afford the bus fare," "It doesn't count 'cause I don't care," "That's not even my friend," "I was stone drunk; it isn't clear" or simply, "It wasn't me; I wasn't there."


Aug. 15: National Failure Day (also National Relaxation Day, but we were too lazy to add to our original list)
Below, Metallica accuses a deity of failure. Nothing you have done could ever be that serious.


Aug. 18: Bad Poetry Day
The (good) poet Charles Bukowski once wrote, "One can never be sure / Whether it's good poetry / Or bad acid." Today, we celebrate his less talented peers with a song about Bukowski himself.

Aug. 19: Potato Day
Thanks, Idaho! Here's a song about the potato's sweeter counterpart.

Aug. 20: National Radio Day
Um, duh.

Aug. 22: Be An Angel Day
While everyone else is out causing a ruckus in the streets with their merrymaking and festive revelry in honor of this holiday, you can keep it toned down with this slightly darker track by the Velvet Underground.

Aug. 24: Knife Day
Just don't combine this with Sneak Some Zucchini onto your Neighbor's Porch Night. That is, unless you want salad!

Aug. 25: Kiss-And-Make-Up Day
Ida Maria's plea for forgiveness is also a pretty big "screw you!" But given that the title of her single is "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked," we'd be willing to bet she'd be cool with making up if there's some making out involved as well.

Aug. 27: Petroleum Day
Choose the greener option this day and join Bloc Party in their upbeat, handclap-happy complaint, "The Price of Gasoline."

Aug. 28: World Sauntering Day
No one on the corner, or in the universe, has a swagga like Planet Earth on this holiday.


Aug. 29: More Herbs, Less Salt Day
This holiday probably has some sort of political agenda, but we like to think of it as a good excuse as any to listen to one of our favorite guilty pleasures.