Social media holidays, you ask?
They’re special days celebrated on social media, from global events like Earth Day to fun ones like National Pizza Day.
Here’s the deal: they’re not just dates on a calendar. These holidays are golden opportunities for brands and individuals to engage with online communities through relevant, relatable content.
Why does this matter?
Engaging in these holidays allows businesses to flaunt their brand personality, connect over shared interests, and ramp up their social media presence.
What’s the result?
Increased engagement, boosted visibility, and a stronger community feel. But with a holiday for every imaginable term, knowing which to target and what to let go of can boost your organic reach and also save you time and effort.
Dive with us to see what are the most popular social media holidays in 2024 that you and your team can leverage.
PS: We have added the respective hashtags to help you better target your audience.
Social Media Holidays for 2024
January Social Media Holidays
January, known as a strategic month for capitalizing on New Year’s resolutions, promoting health and wellness trends, and tapping into post-holiday sales opportunities to kickstart the fiscal year.
January 1: New Year’s Day #HappyNewYear
January 2: Science Fiction Day #ScienceFictionDay
January 3: International Mind-Body Wellness Day #InternationalMindBodyDay
January 4: National Trivia Day #NationalTriviaDay
January 5: National Bird Day #NationalBirdDay
January 8: World Typing Day #WorldTypingDay
January 8: Clean Off Your Desk Day #CleanOffYourDeskDay
January 11: Human Trafficking Awareness Day #HumanTraffickingDay
January 13: National Sticker Day #NationalStickerDay
January 14: World Logic Day #WorldLogicDay
January 15: National Hat Day #NationalHatDay
January 15: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day #MLKDay (third Monday of January)
January 15: Blue Monday
January 16: National Nothing Day #NothingDay
January 16: International Hot and Spicy Food Day #InternationalHotandSpicyFoodDay
January 17: Ditch Your Resolution Day #DitchYourResolutionDay
January 17: Judgment Day #judgementday
January 19: National Popcorn Day #NationalPopcornDay
January 18: Get to Know Your Customers Day #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay (Third Thursday of January)
January 20: National Cheese Lover’s Day #NationalCheeseLoversDay
January 21: National Hugging Day #NationalHuggingDay
January 23: National Pie Day #PieDay
January 23: Community Manager Appreciation Day #CMAD
January 24: National Compliment Day #NationalComplimentDay
January 25: Opposite Day #OppositeDay
January 27: National Chocolate Cake Day #ChocolateCakeDay
January 28: Data Privacy Day #PrivacyAware
January 29: National Puzzle Day #NationalPuzzleDay
February Social Media Holidays
February is known as a month rich in opportunities for Valentine’s Day promotions, engaging with Black History Month themes, and leveraging the leap into spring marketing strategies. Events that run for the entire month: LGBTQ+ History Month #LGBTHistoryMonth, Black History Month #BlackHistoryMonth.
February 2: Groundhog Day #GroundhogDay
February 4: World Cancer Day #WorldCancerDay
February 5: National Weatherperson’s Day #NationalWeatherpersonsDay
February 6: Safer Internet Day #SID2024
February 7: National Send a Card to a Friend Day #SendACardToAFriendDay
February 8: National Boy Scouts Day #BoyScoutsDay
February 9: National Pizza Day #NationalPizzaDay
February 10: Chinese New Year #lunarnewyear #chinesenewyear
February 11: International Day of Women and Girls in Science #WomenInScience
February 11: National Inventors’ Day #InventorsDay
February 11: Super Bowl LVI #SBLVI #SuperBowlSunday #SuperBowl
February 13: Galentine’s Day
February 13: World Radio Day #WorldRadioDay
February 13: Mardi Gras #MardiGras
February 14: Valentine’s Day #ValentinesDay
February 17: Random Acts of Kindness Day #RandomActsOfKindnessDay
February 18: National Battery Day #NationalBatteryDay
February 19: Presidents’ Day #PresidentsDay (US)
February 19: Family Day (Canada, except Quebec)
February 20: World Day of Social Justice #SocialJusticeDay
February 20: National Love Your Pet Day #LoveYourPetDay
February 21: International Mother Language Day #IMLD
February 22: World Thinking Day #WorldThinkingDay
February 23: National Skip the Straw Day #SkipTheStrawDay
February 23: International Stand Up to Bullying Day #StandUpToBullying
February 24: World Bartender Day #WorldBartenderDay
February 25: National Clam Chowder Day #NationalClamChowderDay
February 26: Letter to an Elder Day #LetterToAnElderDay
February 27: International Polar Bear Day #InternationalPolarBearDay
February 28: Floral Design Day #FloralDesignDay
March Social Media Holidays
March offers diverse opportunities to engage with Women’s Day, capitalize on the energy of spring themes, and harness the excitement of events like Proposal Day.
March 1: National Wedding Planning Day #NationalWeddingPlanningDay
March 1: World Compliment Day #WorldComplimentDay
March 1: 🚫 Zero Discrimination Day #ZeroDiscriminationDay
March 1: Employee Appreciation Day #EmployeeAppreciationDay
March 2: Read Across America Day #ReadAcrossAmerica
March 3: Caregiver Appreciation Day #CaregiverAppreciationDay
March 3: World Wildlife Day #WorldWildlifeDay
March 4: National Backcountry Ski Day #NationalBackcountrySkiDay
March 4: National Grammar Day #NationalGrammarDay
March 6: National Frozen Food Day #NationalFrozenFoodDay
March 6: National Dress Day #NationalDressDay
March 7: National Cereal Day #NationalCerealDay
March 8: International Women’s Day #InternationalWomensDay
March 9: Barbie Day #BarbieDay
March 9: National Crab Meat Day #NationalCrabMeatDay
March 10: Harriet Tubman Day #HarrietTubmanDay
March 11: World Plumbing Day #WorldPlumbingDay
March 12: Plant a Flower Day #PlantAFlowerDay
March 13: National K9 Veterans Day #NationalK9VeteransDay
March 14: National Potato Chip Day #NationalPotatoChipDay
March 14: World Kidney Day #WorldKidneyDay
March 14: Pi Day #PiDay
March 15: World Consumer Rights Day #WorldConsumerRightsDay
March 15: World Sleep Day #WorldSleepDay
March 16: 🐼 Panda Bear Day #PandaBearDay
March 17: St. Patrick’s Day #StPatricksDay
March 18: ♻️ Global Recycling Day #GlobalRecyclingDay
March 19: National Poultry Day #NationalPoultryDay
March 20: World Oral Health Day #WorldOralHealthDay
March 20: International Day of Happiness #InternationalDayofHappiness
March 21: World Down Syndrome Day #WorldDownSyndromeDay
March 22: World Water Day #WorldWaterDay
March 23: National Puppy Day #NationalPuppyDay
March 23: World Meteorological Day #WorldMeteorologicalDay
March 24: National Cheesesteak Day #NationalCheesesteakDay
March 24: National Cocktail Day #NationalCocktailDay
March 26: National Spinach Day #NationalSpinachDay
March 27: World Theatre Day #WorldTheatreDay
March 29: National Vietnam War Veterans’ Day #NationalVietnamWarVeteransDay
March 29: National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day #NationalMomPopBusinessOwnersDay
March 30: Doctors’ Day #DoctorsDay
March 31: National Clams on the Half Shell Day #NationalClamsOnTheHalfShellDay
March 31: International Transgender Day of Visibility #TransDayofVisibility
April Social Media Holidays
April is a month for leveraging spring themes, engaging with Earth Day initiatives, and tapping into the fresh start sentiment that comes with the onset of warmer weather.
April 1: April Fool’s Day #AprilFoolsDay
April 2: World Autism Awareness Day #WorldAutismAwarenessDay
April 2: National DIY Day #NationalDIYDay
April 3: World Party Day #WorldPartyDay
April 4: Tell a Lie Day #TellALieDay
April 5: National Flash Drive Day #NationalFlashDriveDay
April 5: Walk to Work Day #WalkToWorkDay
April 6: National Student-Athlete Day #NationalStudentAthleteDay
April 6: National Carbonara Day #NationalCarbonaraDay
April 7: National Beer Day #NationalBeerDay (US)
April 7: World Health Day #WorldHealthDay
April 10: Siblings’ Day #NationalSiblingsDay
April 11: 🐾 National Pet Day #NationalPetDay
April 12: Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day #GrilledCheeseDay
April 12: International Lawyers’ Day (#InternationalLawyersDay)
April 13: International Plant Appreciation Day #PlantAppreciationDay
April 13: National Scrabble Day #NationalScrabbleDay
April 14: National Gardening Day #NationalGardeningDay
April 15: National Laundry Day #NationalLaundryDay
April 15: Tax Day #TaxDay
April 16: National Librarian Day #NationalLibrarianDay
April 17: National Cheese Ball Day #NationalCheeseBallDay
April 18: National Lineman Appreciation Day #NationalLinemanAppreciationDay
April 20: 420 #420
April 20: Volunteer Recognition Day #VolunteerRecognitionDay
April 21: Kindergarten Day #KindergartenDay
April 22: 🌎 Earth Day #EarthDay
April 23: National Picnic Day #NationalPicnicDay
April 24: World Laboratory Day #WorldLaboratoryDay
April 24: Pigs in a Blanket Day #PigsInABlanketDay
April 25: National Mani and Pedi Day #NationalManiPediDay
April 25: World Penguin Day #WorldPenguinDay
April 28: National Superhero Day #NationalSuperheroDay
April 29: International Dance Day #InternationalDanceDay
April 30: Independent Book Store Day #IndependentBookStoreDay
April 30: International Jazz Day #InternationalJazzDay
April 30: Healthy Kids Day #HealthyKidsDay
May Social Media Holidays
May presents opportunities to connect with Mother’s Day campaigns and engage with themes around graduation and the onset of summer.
May 1: May Day #MayDay
May 3: National Space Day #SpaceDay
May 4: Star Wars Day #StarWarsDay, #MayThe4thBeWithYou
May 4: National Fitness Day #NationalFitnessDay
May 5: Cinco de Mayo #CincoDeMayo
May 6: International No Diet Day #NoDietDay
May 6-10: Teacher Appreciation Week #TeacherAppreciationWeek
May 9: National Moscato Day #NationalMoscatoDay
May 10: National Small Business Day #SmallBusinessDay
May 11: Twilight Zone Day #TwilightZoneDay
May 11: Fair Trade Day #FairTradeDay
May 12: 👩👧👦 Mother’s Day #MothersDay
May 12: International Nurses Day #InternationalNursesDay
May 15: International Family Day #FamilyDay
May 17: National Graduation Tassel Day #GraduationTasselDay
May 17: International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia #IDAHOT
May 17: World Baking Day #WorldBakingDay
May 18: 💉 National HIV Vaccine Awareness Day #HIVVaccineAwarenessDay
May 18: International Astronomy Day #InternationalAstronomyDay
May 18: International Museum Day #MuseumDay
May 18: Visit Your Relatives Day #VisitYourRelativesDay
May 20: National Rescue Dog Day #RescueDogDay
May 22: International Day for Biological Diversity #BiodiversityDay
May 22: World Goth Day #WorldGothDay
May 22: World Paloma Day #WorldPalomaDay
May 23: Lucky Penny Day #LuckyPennyDay
May 23: World Turtle Day #WorldTurtleDay
May 24: National Asparagus Day #NationalAsparagusDay
May 24: National Road Trip Day #RoadTripDay
May 25: National Missing Children’s Day #MissingChildrensDay
May 25: Tap Dance Day #TapDanceDay
May 26: National Heat Awareness Day #HeatAwarenessDay
May 27: National Sunscreen Day #SunscreenDay
May 27: Memorial Day #MemorialDay (US)
May 28: National Hamburger Day #HamburgerDay
May 30: National Creativity Day #CreativityDay
May 31: National Smile Day #SmileDay
May 31: 🚭 World No Tobacco Day #NoTobacco
June Social Media Holidays
June is a month to capitalize on summer-themed campaigns, celebrate Father’s Day, and engage with Pride Month initiatives, reflecting diversity and inclusion.
June 1: Dinosaur Day #DinosaurDay
June 1: Global Day of Parents #GlobalDayOfParents
June 1: National Olive Day #OliveDay
June 2: World Running Day #WorldRunningDay
June 2: National Doughnut Day #NationalDoughnutDay
June 3: 🚲 World Bicycle Day #WorldBicycleDay
June 3: World Cider Day #WorldCiderDay
June 4: National Cheese Day #NationalCheeseDay
June 5: 🌏 World Environment Day #WorldEnvironmentDay
June 6: National Higher Education Day #HigherEducationDay
June 7: National Donut Day #NationalDonutDay
June 8: World Oceans Day #WorldOceansDay
June 8: National Best Friends Day #BestFriendsDay
June 10: Herb and Spices Day #HerbAndSpicesDay
June 10: National Iced Tea Day #IcedTeaDay
June 11: National Corn on the Cob Day #CornOnTheCobDay
June 14: 🩸 World Blood Donor Day #WorldBloodDonorDay
June 14: National Flag Day #FlagDay
June 15: Global Wind Day #GlobalWindDay
June 16: National Fudge Day #FudgeDay
June 17: Nursing Assistants Day #NursingAssistantsDay
June 18: International Sushi Day #SushiDay
June 19: Juneteenth (US) #Juneteenth
June 20: 🦅 National American Eagle Day #AmericanEagleDay
June 20: World Refugee Day #WorldRefugeeDay
June 21: 🧘 International Yoga Day #InternationalYogaDay
June 21: National Selfie Day #NationalSelfieDay
June 21: World Music Day #WorldMusicDay
June 22: National HVAC Tech Day #NationalHVACTechDay
June 25: Global Beatles Day #BeatlesDay
June 27: 🩺 National HIV Testing Day #HIVTestingDay
June 27: National PTSD Awareness Day #PTSDAwarenessDay
June 28: Insurance Awareness Day #InsuranceAwarenessDay
June 30: Social Media Day #SMDay, #SocialMediaDay
July Social Media Holidays
July is a month to capitalize on summer activities and themes, engage with Independence Day promotions in the USA, and harness the vacation mindset for travel and leisure-related campaigns.
July 1: Canada Day #CanadaDay
July 1: International Joke Day #InternationalJokeDay
July 3: International Plastic Bag Free Day #PlasticBagFreeDay
July 4: Independence Day (US) #July4th
July 6: International Kissing Day #InternationalKissingDay
July 7: World Chocolate Day #WorldChocolateDay
July 10: National Pina Colada Day #NationalPinaColadaDay
July 12: 🥧 Pecan Pie Day #PecanPieDay
July 14: Shark Awareness Day #SharkAwarenessDay
July 17: World Emoji Day #WorldEmojiDay
July 18: World Listening Day #WorldListeningDay
July 20: National Moon Day #NationalMoonDay
July 22: Mango Day #MangoDay
July 26: ♿ Disability Independence Day #DisabilityIndependenceDay
July 27: National Refreshment Day (Fourth Thursday) #NationalRefreshmentDay
July 29: International Tiger Day #InternationalTigerDay
July 30: International Friendship Day #DayOfFriendship
July 31: National Avocado Day #NationalAvocadoDay
August Social Media Holidays
August is a key month for back-to-school campaigns, capitalizing on the peak of summer activities and starting to transition into early autumn marketing strategies.
August 1: World Wide Web Day #WorldWideWebDay
August 4: Chocolate Chip Cookie Day #ChocolateChipCookieDay
August 4: National Sister Day #NationalSisterDay
August 8: International Cat Day #InternationalCatDay
August 9: Book Lovers’ Day #BookLoversDay
August 10: 💤 National Lazy Day #NationalLazyDay
August 11: Son and Daughter Day #SonAndDaughterDay
August 12: International Youth Day #YouthDay
August 14: National Financial Awareness Day #FinancialAwarenessDay
August 15: 😌 Relaxation Day #RelaxationDay
August 16: Tell a Joke Day #TellAJokeDay
August 17: National Nonprofit Day #NationalNonprofitDay
August 19: World Photo Day #WorldPhotoDay
August 20: National Radio Day #NationalRadioDay
August 20: World Mosquito Day #WorldMosquitoDay
August 24: National Waffle Day #NationalWaffleDay
August 26: National Dog Day (US) #NationalDogDay
August 26: 👩⚖️ Women’s Equality Day #WomensEqualityDay
August 30: National Grief Awareness Day #NationalGriefAwarenessDay
September Social Media Holidays
September marks a period of transition with back-to-school campaigns in full swing and the start of autumnal themes. Businesses start prepping for the upcoming holiday marketing season, making it a crucial month for strategic planning and targeted promotions.
September 1: World Letter Writing Day #WorldLetterWritingDay
September 2: Labor Day #LaborDay
September 8: International Literacy Day #LiteracyDay
September 10: National Grandparents Day #NationalGrandparentsDay
September 16: National Guacamole Day #NationalGuacamoleDay
September 17: Citizenship Day (US) #CitizenshipDay
September 21: World Alzheimer’s Day #WorldAlzheimersDay
September 21: International Day of Peace #PeaceDay
September 22: Business Women’s Day #BusinessWomensDay
September 25: National Women’s Health and Fitness Day #WomensHealthAndFitnessDay
September 30: International Podcast Day #InternationalPodcastDay
October Social Media Holidays
Ah, October – the month where marketers and businesses dive into the colorful world of autumn themes, get creative with Halloween campaigns and start the buzz for early holiday shopping. It’s a month full of vibrant opportunities and playful strategies!
October 1: ☕ International Coffee Day #InternationalCoffeeDay
October 1: World Vegetarian Day #WorldVegetarianDay
October 4: World Smile Day #WorldSmileDay
October 5: International Teachers Day #WorldTeachersDay
October 9: Fire Prevention Day #FirePreventionDay
October 9: Indigenous Peoples’ Day #IndigenousPeoplesDay
October 10: World Mental Health Day #WorldMentalHeathDay
October 14: National Dessert Day #DessertDay
October 14: Thanksgiving (Canada) – second Monday #CanadianThanksgiving
October 15: Hispanic Heritage Month ends #HispanicHeritageMonth
October 16: World Food Day #WorldFoodDay
October 17: National Pasta Day #PastaDay
October 25: International Artist Day #ArtistDay
October 26: National Pumpkin Day #PumpkinDay
October 29: National Cat Day (US) #NationalCatDay
October 31: 🎃 Halloween #Halloween
November Social Media Holidays
November rolls in with a cozy, autumnal vibe, offering businesses and marketers a prime time for Thanksgiving campaigns, gearing up for Black Friday sales, and ramping up those heartwarming holiday season promotions.
November 1: National Authors’ Day #NationalAuthorsDay
November 1: World Vegan Day #WorldVeganDay
November 8: STEM Day #STEMDay
November 8: National Cappuccino Day #CappuccinoDay
November 9: World Freedom Day #WorldFreedomDay
November 11: 🎖️ Veteran’s Day #VeteransDay
November 14: World Diabetes Day #WorldDiabetesDay
November 15: ♻️ America Recycles Day #AmericaRecyclesDay
November 16: International Day for Tolerance #ToleranceDay
November 19: National Entrepreneurs Day #EntrepreneursDay
November 20: Transgender Day of Remembrance #TransDayOfRemembrance
November 21: World Television Day #WorldTelevisionDay
November 21: World Hello Day #WorldHelloDay
November 28: 🦃 Thanksgiving (US) #Thanksgiving
November 29: Black Friday #BlackFriday
December Social Media Holidays
And then comes December, the grand finale of the year for marketers and businesses. It’s a festive whirlwind of holiday season campaigns, end-of-year sales, and a time to connect with customers through the spirit of giving and celebration. As we wrap up, December stands as a testament to the year’s efforts and sets the stage for a new beginning in the marketing world.
December 1: World AIDS Day #WorldAIDSDay
December 2: Cyber Monday #CyberMonday
December 3: International Day of Persons with Disabilities #IDPD
December 4: National Cookie Day #NationalCookieDay
December 5: International Volunteer Day #InternationalVolunteerDay
December 10: Human Rights Day #HumanRightsDay
December 17: 🍁 National Maple Syrup Day #NationalMapleSyrupDay
December 24: 🎄 Christmas Eve #ChristmasEve
December 25: 🎁 Christmas Day #ChristmasDay
December 26: Boxing Day (Canada) #BoxingDay
December 26: Kwanzaa Day 1 (lasts through January 1) #Kwanzaa
December 28: Call a Friend Day #CallAFriendDay
December 31: 🎉 New Year’s Eve #NYE #NewYearsEve
4 Next Steps to Effectively Use Your Social Media Holiday Calendar
Now that you’re well-versed with all the holidays, observances, and awareness days, what’s the next step?
Seize the opportunity to engage with your audience by crafting impeccable posts tailored to these special occasions.
It’s not that easy, though.
Everyone will be doing it, even your competitors, when it comes to holiday posting. That’s why you must take several steps to ensure your content aligns with the holidays and resonates with your audience.
Here are the next steps you should consider:
1. Chart Out a Content Plan
After choosing the relevant holidays, start planning your content around them. Decide which type of content you will be creating. Is your post going to be an image, video, or text?
You also need to figure out how you are going to connect your brand with that certain holiday and determine the specific message you aim to convey for each occasion.
2. Know the Right Social Media Specs
It’s a no-brainer that you need to create visually appealing graphics, images, or videos tailored to each holiday if you want to stand out from the crowd.
But something marketers forget in a hurry is that every platform has different sizes and specs for images and videos. That’s why knowing the right specification is important.
You can’t risk publishing images and videos that appear stretched and cropped. You can refer to our guide on social media image sizes guide and video sizes guide to always post right-sized posts.
3. Craft Compelling Captions and Relevant Hashtags
Creating amazing visuals is not enough; you need to write compelling captions as well. Your caption plays a major role in driving users to take action.
The role of caption becomes more important when posting on awareness days. A killer caption can turn your post into something that really speaks to your followers, showing them you care about the cause.
So, take a second to ensure your caption chimes with that holiday vibe and hits just the right note.
On the other hand, hashtags play a vital part in increasing the visibility of your post. You need to plan your hashtag marketing strategically.
Adding relevant hashtags lets your posts pop up when someone searches for that specific holiday or theme.
From general tags like #Thanksgiving to more specific and quirky ones like #UglySweaterDay, you need to thoughtfully add the hashtags, ensuring your posts get the attention they deserve.
4. Use a Social Media Scheduling Tool
You have probably found many holidays that align with your brand. That’s a good thing!
But the blessings come with their own challenges. It will be a herculean task to maintain a consistent posting schedule across multiple holidays.
Of course, our social media holiday calendar helps you pre-plan things, but executing these plans in advance is only possible through a social media scheduling tool.
You can use a social media scheduling tool like SocialPilot to schedule your posts in advance. This ensures that your content is posted at optimal times and you don’t miss out on any holiday.
SocialPilot’s scheduling calendar enables you to create and schedule days, weeks, and even a year’s social media holiday posts in one go. You can find a list of holidays and special occasions for each day with a suggested image and caption. Now, isn’t that time-efficient?
Ready With Your Social Media Holiday Planning?
Holidays present an excellent opportunity to connect with your audience on social media.
Even audiences wait for their favorite brands to come up with discounts, giveaways, or contests, or they use the platforms to speak up on awareness days that resonate deeply with them.
That’s why having a social media holiday calendar for 2024 is like having a secret weapon. From official holidays, observances, and awareness days to those fun, out-of-the-box celebrations, we have packed every occasion in our calendar.
It’s time to add these holidays to your social media calendar and start making some content.
Happy posting!
