Holidays and Observances on January 16

Welcome to January 16, 2027, a historically significant day on the calendar marked by fundamental civil liberties, major public service milestones, and unique animal awareness themes!

Today's daily page honors the powerful heritage behind Religious Freedom Day, celebrates the critical support systems highlighted for National Without a Scalpel Day, and shines a whimsical spotlight on marine wildlife with Appreciate a Dragon Day. Browse our complete chronological directory below to explore moving holiday scheduling rules, celebrity birthdays, and fascinating facts for this specific day of the year!

 Holidays and Observances
(Alphabetical Order)

2027 Daily Holidays that fall on January 16, include:

• January 16: Book Publishers Day

• January 16: Civil Service Day

• January 16: International Hot & Spicy Food Day

• January 16: National Boston Day

• January 16: National Fig Newton Day

• January 16: National Good Teen Day

• January 16: National Nothing Day

• January 16: National Quinoa Day

• January 16, 2027: National Use Your Gift Card Day (Observed third Saturday in January)

• January 16: National Without a Scalpel Day

• January 16: Prohibition Remembrance Day

• January 16: Psychiatric Technicians Day

• January 16: Religious Freedom Day

• January 16, 2027: Soup Swap Day (Observed third Saturday in January)

• January 16, 2027: Underwater Parks Day (California) (Observed third Saturday in January) See our California State Holidays page

2027 Weekly Holidays that include January 16, are:

• January 16-17, 2027: Bald Eagle Appreciation Days (Third Weekend in January coinciding with peak winter eagle migrations along the Mississippi River)

• January 11-17: Cuckoo Dancing Week 

• January 12-23: Energy Saving Week (U.K.)

• January 10-16, 2027: Home Office Safety and Security Week (Second Full Week in January)

• January 9-17, 2027: International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week (Begins on the second Saturday of January)

• January 10-16, 2027: National Mocktail Week (Second Full Week in January)

• January 10-16: National Obesity Awareness Week (U.K. and parts of the U.S.) 

• January 10-16, 2027: National Pizza Week (Second Full Week of January)

• January 10-16, 2027: Universal Letter Writing Week (Second Full Week of January)

2027 Monthly Holidays that include January 16, are:

There are too many monthly holidays to include here, so please check out my January Holidays page to see all of the holidays that are celebrated the entire month of January.

NOTE: If a date is a movable holiday, that is different every year, I'll include the year as well as the date rule above. Otherwise, the holiday falls on the same date each year.

World Festivals and Events
(Date Order)

• December 21, 2026 - February 21, 2027: Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival: Usually starts annually on January 5, and typically runs for a month or more, in Harbin, China and is the largest ice and snow festival in the world! 2026/2027 dates are a soft opening on December 21, 2026, with the Official Grand Opening on January 5 to the closing of the park on February 21

• January 9-16, 2027: Pennsylvania Farm Show (Harrisburg, PA)

• January 9-24, 2027: National Western Stock Show and Rodeo (Denver, CO) (Begins on the First Saturday after January 5 and runs for 16 consecutive days)

• January 14-24, 2027: Detroit Auto Show (Detroit, MI)

• January 15 - February 6, 2027: Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show (Fort Worth, TX) (Also known as the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo)

Astrological Sign

The Astrological Sign for January 16 is a Capricorn.

Birth Flower of the Month

The Birth Flower(s) for the Month for January are:

• Carnation - The Carnation is the Birth Flower for January. The symbolization of the Carnation means love, pride, beauty, purity, distinction, fascination, and loyal.
• Snowdrop is a white flower with three small petals in the middle surrounded by three larger petals on the outside. The symbolization of the snowdrop means love, fascination, and purity.

See our GARDEN HOLIDAYS page for all the special days celebrating things of the garden!

Birthstone

The Birthstone for January is Garnet, which comes in a rainbow of colors. It is considered a great gift to symbolize friendship and trust.

Famous Birthdays

• 1935 - A.J. Foyt, American race car driver and team owner
• 1950 - Debbie Allen, dancer/actress (Fame)
• 1959 - Sade, Nigerian-born singer  (Love her music!!)
• 1974 - Kate Moss, model
  

Famous Deaths

• 1979 - Ted Cassidy, American actor and screenwriter (Lurch on the Addams Family) (b. 1932)
• 2013 - Pauline Phillips, American advice columnist and radio host, (Dear Abby) (b. 1918)

Famous Weddings and Divorces

• 1865 - Brigadier General John Pegram (Confederate soldier during U.S. Civil War) marries Hetty Cary

Quote of the Day

National Nothing Day is today....so, this seemed like a great quote for the day!!

Healthy Diet Habit Tip of the Day 
or a Recipe of the Day

Today is International Hot & Spicy Food Day and January is National Meat Month, so a Spicy Beef Chili Recipe from Kerry at Healthy Diet Habits, sounds like a great recipe pick for the day. (link goes to her site for the recipe)

Season

January 16th falls within the Winter Season in the Northern Hemisphere.

Winter is one of the four seasons. It follows the Fall Season, and is before the Spring Season. It is the coldest and darkest season in the Northern Hemisphere. It also starts in one year, and ends in the next, so it straddles two different years. 

Check out our Winter Season page for information about Winter, Winter Dates, Major Winter Holidays and Observances, Major Winter Festivals, Fun Facts About Winter, Winter Food Tips, Winter Gardening, Winter Preparation, Winter Quotes, and Winter Weather Information.

Kerry has put together some great information and tips on winter foods: 

• Winter Foods
• Winter Weight Gain
• Winter Weight Loss Tips

If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, this day falls in the Summer Season. 

• Summer
• Summer Cooking 
• Summer Weight Loss Tips 

This Day in History

• 1493 - Christopher Columbus sets sail for Spain from Hispaniola, ending his first voyage to the New World.  
  
• 1547 – Ivan IV of Russia aka Ivan the Terrible becomes Czar of Russia
• 1759 - British Museum opens in London
• 1920 – The League of Nations holds its first council meeting in Paris, France.
• 1945 – Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker, the  Führerbunker.
• 1973 – The final episode of Bonanza airs on NBC.
• 1991 – The Coalition Forces (US & 27 allies) go to war with Iraq, beginning the Gulf War
  
• 2002 – The UN Security Council establishes an arms embargo, and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, and the remaining members of the Taliban
• 2003 – The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107, and disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
• 2020 - The U.S. Senate ratifies the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement as a replacement for NAFTA

This Day in Music

• 1965 - The Guess Who, Shakin' All Over album is released
• 1976 - Peter Frampton released platinum live album "Frampton Comes Alive"
• 1980 - Paul McCartney packs about half a pound of marijuana in his luggage, which lands him 10 days in a Tokyo jail upon arrival.
  
• 1988 - George Harrison hits #1 with Got My Mind Set On You (video below)
• 1996 - Wayne Newton performs his 25,000th show in Las Vegas.
• 1996 - Jimmy Buffett’s seaplane Hemisphere Dancer is shot at by Jamaican authorities after being mistaken for a drug smuggler's plane, and inspires his song Jamaica Mistaica.
  

This Day in Sports

• 1972 - Super Bowl VI: Dallas Cowboys-24 beats Miami-3
• 1974 - NY Yankees Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford are elected to Hall of Fame

Word of the Day from Wiktionary

Wishing You a Great Day Today!