January National Days 2027
Updated November 6, 2026 · Edited by the JanuaryCalendar.com team
January is National Blood Donor Month, National Mentoring Month and National Radon Action Month in the US, and the month of Dry January and Veganuary in many countries. It also has dozens of themed national days, most of them unofficial. This page lists the month-long observances, the floating dates and every January national day by date.
- US awareness months
- Blood Donor, Mentoring, Radon Action
- Health campaigns
- Cervical Health, Glaucoma, Thyroid
- Lifestyle challenges
- Dry January, Veganuary
- MLK Day of Service
- Monday, January 18, 2027
- Blue Monday
- Third Monday (marketing term)
What are national days
A national day is a date or month set aside to draw attention to a cause, group, food or activity. Most are unofficial: they are created by companies, trade groups, nonprofits or calendar websites and spread through social media. They carry no legal status, and nothing closes for them.
Official observances are different. In the US they come from presidential proclamations or congressional resolutions. International days are designated by the United Nations or its agencies, such as the International Day of Education on January 24 and International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.
Even an official observance is not a day off unless a law makes it a public holiday, as with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. For the dates that do close offices and banks, see January holidays.
January awareness months
These month-long observances run through all of January. Health campaigns are led by medical groups, nonprofits or government agencies; the food and hobby months are informal.
| Observance | Focus | Where |
|---|---|---|
| National Blood Donor Month | Encouraging blood and platelet donation during winter | US |
| National Mentoring Month | Recruiting volunteer mentors for young people | US |
| National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month | Awareness of human trafficking and forced labor; set by presidential proclamation | US |
| Cervical Health Awareness Month | Cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination | US |
| Glaucoma Awareness Month | Early detection through regular eye exams | US |
| National Birth Defects Prevention Month | Healthy pregnancies and lowering the risk of birth defects | US |
| Thyroid Awareness Month | Thyroid conditions, symptoms and testing | US |
| National Radon Action Month | Testing homes for radon gas; promoted by the EPA | US |
| Dry January | Going alcohol-free for the month; run by Alcohol Change UK | UK origin, now international |
| Veganuary | Trying a vegan diet for the month; run by the nonprofit Veganuary | UK origin, now international |
| National Soup Month | Soup recipes and warm winter meals | US (informal) |
| National Hot Tea Month | Hot tea and tea traditions | US (informal) |
| National Oatmeal Month | Oatmeal and whole-grain breakfasts | US (informal) |
| National Hobby Month | Starting or returning to a hobby | US (informal) |
Radon is a radioactive gas with no color or smell, and the EPA identifies it as the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers, which is why January is used to promote home test kits.
Floating national days in January
Some January observances are tied to a weekday rather than a fixed date, so they move each year.
MLK Day: National Day of Service
The King Holiday and Service Act of 1994 designated Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the third Monday in January, as a national day of service. AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service, coordinates it and encourages people to spend the holiday volunteering. In 2027 it falls on Monday, January 18, 2027.
Blue Monday
Blue Monday is a marketing term, popularly placed on the third Monday in January and promoted as the gloomiest day of the year. It was coined in a 2005 press release from a travel company, and the formula behind it is not scientific. In the US, it lands on the same day as MLK Day.
January national days by date
The table below lists January observances day by day, from official international days to unofficial food and fun days. Each date links to its own page with history, famous birthdays and more, or browse all 31 days of January.
| Date | Observance | Type | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year's Day | US federal | US; public holiday in most countries |
| January 1 | Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God | Religious | Catholic Church |
| January 1 | World Day of Peace | Religious | Catholic Church |
| January 1 | Independence Day | Public holiday | Haiti |
| January 1 | Last day of Kwanzaa | Cultural | US |
| January 2 | 2 January bank holiday | Public holiday | Scotland |
| January 2 | Day after New Year's Day | Public holiday | New Zealand |
| January 2 | Berchtold's Day | Public holiday | Many Swiss cantons |
| January 2 | Ancestors' Day | Public holiday | Haiti |
| January 2 | National Science Fiction Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 4 | World Braille Day | UN / international | Worldwide |
| January 4 | Independence Day | Public holiday | Myanmar |
| January 4 | National Trivia Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 5 | Twelfth Night | Religious | Western Christian tradition |
| January 5 | Three Kings parades (Cabalgatas de Reyes) | Cultural | Spain |
| January 5 | National Bird Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 6 | Epiphany (Three Kings Day) | Religious | Christian churches worldwide |
| January 6 | Epiphany public holiday | Public holiday | Spain, Italy, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Greece and others |
| January 6 | Armenian Christmas | Religious | Armenian Apostolic Church |
| January 6 | Little Christmas (Nollaig na mBan) | Cultural | Ireland |
| January 7 | Orthodox Christmas | Religious | Orthodox churches using the Julian calendar; Coptic and Ethiopian churches |
| January 7 | Christmas public holiday | Public holiday | Russia, Serbia, Georgia, Belarus, Ethiopia, Egypt and others |
| January 7 | Victory over Genocide Day | Public holiday | Cambodia |
| January 7 | Tricolour Day (Festa del Tricolore) | Official | Italy |
| January 8 | Elvis Presley's birthday | Cultural | US |
| January 8 | National Bubble Bath Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 9 | Martyrs' Day | Public holiday | Panama |
| January 9 | National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 10 | World Hindi Day | Official | India and Indian missions abroad |
| January 10 | National Houseplant Appreciation Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 11 | National Human Trafficking Awareness Day | Official | US |
| January 12 | National Youth Day | Official | India |
| January 12 | Zanzibar Revolution Day | Public holiday | Tanzania |
| January 13 | Lohri | Cultural | North India, especially Punjab |
| January 13 | Korean American Day | Official | US |
| January 13 | Stephen Foster Memorial Day | Official | US |
| January 14 | Orthodox New Year (Old New Year) | Cultural | Russia, Serbia and other Orthodox countries |
| January 14 | Makar Sankranti | Religious | India and Nepal |
| January 15 | Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday | Cultural | US |
| January 15 | Army Day | Official | India |
| January 15 | Wikipedia Day | Unofficial | Worldwide |
| January 15 | National Hat Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 16 | Religious Freedom Day | Official | US |
| January 17 | Benjamin Franklin's birthday | Cultural | US |
| January 17 | National Kid Inventors' Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 17 | Feast of St. Anthony the Great | Religious | Catholic and other Western churches |
| January 18 | Winnie the Pooh Day | Unofficial | US and UK |
| January 18 | Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins | Religious | Worldwide |
| January 19 | Theophany (Orthodox Epiphany) | Religious | Julian-calendar Orthodox churches |
| January 19 | Timkat | Religious | Ethiopia |
| January 19 | National Popcorn Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 20 | Feast of St. Sebastian | Religious | Worldwide; a city holiday in Rio de Janeiro |
| January 20 | Day of National Mourning (Black January) | Public holiday | Azerbaijan |
| January 20 | Penguin Awareness Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 21 | Día de la Altagracia | Public holiday | Dominican Republic |
| January 21 | Errol Barrow Day | Public holiday | Barbados |
| January 21 | National Hugging Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 21 | National Squirrel Appreciation Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 22 | Day of Unity of Ukraine | Official | Ukraine |
| January 22 | Plurinational State Foundation Day | Public holiday | Bolivia |
| January 23 | National Handwriting Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 23 | National Pie Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 23 | Parakram Diwas | Official | India |
| January 24 | International Day of Education | UN / international | Worldwide |
| January 24 | Union Day | Public holiday | Romania |
| January 24 | National Girl Child Day | Official | India |
| January 24 | National Compliment Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 25 | Burns Night | Cultural | Scotland and worldwide |
| January 25 | Conversion of Saint Paul | Religious | Western Christian churches |
| January 26 | Australia Day | Public holiday | Australia |
| January 26 | Republic Day | Public holiday | India |
| January 26 | International Customs Day | Official | Worldwide |
| January 27 | International Holocaust Remembrance Day | UN / international | Worldwide |
| January 28 | Data Privacy Day (Data Protection Day) | Official | US, Canada and Europe |
| January 29 | Kansas Day | Official | Kansas, US |
| January 29 | National Puzzle Day | Unofficial | US |
| January 30 | Martyrs' Day (Shaheed Diwas) | Official | India |
| January 30 | Fred Korematsu Day | Official | California and several other US states |
| January 30 | World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day | UN / international | Worldwide |
| January 31 | Independence Day | Public holiday | Nauru |
| January 31 | National Hot Chocolate Day | Unofficial | US |
How to use national days
Social media calendars
- Pick the few days that fit your audience instead of posting for every one.
- Check dates each year, since floating observances such as the National Day of Service move.
- Confirm who runs an observance before you tag it, so your post points to the right organization.
- Draft January posts in December using a printable January calendar.
Classroom activities
- National Hobby Month: students give a two-minute talk on a hobby.
- MLK Day of Service: plan a class service project for the week before the holiday.
- National Radon Action Month: a science lesson on radioactive gases and how home testing works.
- National Soup Month: a recipe lesson that practices measuring and fractions.
Workplace engagement
- National Mentoring Month: launch or refresh a mentoring program.
- National Blood Donor Month: book a group donation or host a drive with a local blood center.
- Dry January: offer good alcohol-free options at January team events.
- Hot Tea Month: a tea tasting is a low-cost break for a team.
Frequently asked questions
What national month is January?
In the US, January is National Blood Donor Month, National Mentoring Month, National Radon Action Month and National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. It is also Cervical Health Awareness Month, Glaucoma Awareness Month, and the month of Dry January and Veganuary.
Are national days real holidays?
Most are not. Unofficial national days are promotional or awareness dates with no legal status, so schools, banks and offices stay open.
Who creates national days?
Anyone can announce one, which is why most are unofficial. Official observances come from government proclamations, congressional resolutions or the United Nations.
When is Blue Monday?
Blue Monday is popularly placed on the third Monday in January, which in 2027 is Monday, January 18, 2027. The idea came from a 2005 travel-company press release and is not based on science.
What is the MLK Day of Service?
It is the national day of service held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the third Monday in January, under the King Holiday and Service Act of 1994. People mark it by volunteering in their communities.
What is Veganuary?
Veganuary is a pledge to eat a vegan diet for all of January. It is run by a UK-based nonprofit of the same name and has participants in many countries.