Leon Day (holiday)

Leon Day
Date	June 25
Next time	25 June 2017 (2017-06-25)
Frequency	annual

This article is about an unofficial holiday. For the Spanish holiday, see Castile and León Day. For the baseball player, see Leon Day.

In the United States, Leon Day is the halfway mark to Christmas. Leon is Noel spelled backwards. It is celebrated on June 25th, i.e. the turning point when Christmas begins to come closer on the calendar. ^[1] It is exactly six months before Christmas day. ^[2]

Observance

Although not an official holiday, Leon Day may be celebrated in a number of ways. For example:

Retailers may offer deals and promotions for Christmas.^[3]
Radio stations may play Christmas music, either for part of the day or for the entire day.^[4]^[5]
Nonprofit organizations, such as the Salvation Army, may use the day to remind people of the need for funds year-round to assist needy communities and families.^[6] ^[7]
Community organizers may host celebrations and public events in observance of the holiday.^[8] For example, Onondaga County in central New York celebrated its 2nd annual LEON festival on June 25, 2015, featuring a free kids concert, face painting, and fireworks.^[8]

For many crafters, Leon Day is a time to begin thinking about creating gifts and decorations for the Christmas holiday. The day has become popular enough that American Greetings offers e-cards for Leon Day.

History

The origin of this unofficial holiday is still unknown. This coincides with other celebrated events ^[9] like National Catfish Day, Lighting Day, Strawberry Parfait Day, Special Saints Day, and Doonesbury Day for Washington, DC.

References

↑ June 25: Leon Day, Please take my children to Work Day Retrieved 19 November 2013
↑ Leon Day Retrieved 19 November 2013
↑ June 25: Holidays and Celebrations Today Retrieved 19 November 2013
↑ "Leon Day, Christmas in summer, is new event at Onondaga Lake Park". syracuse.com. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
↑ "All Christmas on KSSK radio". honoluluadvertiser.com. 2003-12-05. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
↑ "The Salvation Army to observe LEON Day on June 25". hawaiitribune-herald.com. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
↑ "Leon Day on KSSK". Star1019.com. KSSK Radio. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
1 2 "Celebrate Christmas in summer at LEON festival". LOCALsyr.com. June 25, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
↑ June 25 at the National Day Calendar Retrieved 19 November 2013

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