January 31

 Holidays and Observances
(Alphabetical Order)

2025 Daily Holidays that fall on January 31, include:

• Appreciate Your Social Security Check Day 
  
• Backward Day 
  
• Brandy Alexander Day 
• Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day 
• Eat Brussels Sprouts Day
  
• Gorilla Suit Day 
• Hell is Freezing Over Day 
  
• Hug an Economist Day 
• Inspire Your Heart with the Arts Day 
• International Zebra Day
• National Big Wig Day - January 31, 2025 (Last Friday in January)
• National Fun at Work Day - January 31, 2025 (Last Friday in January)
• National Hot Chocolate Day 
• National Preschool Health and Fitness Day - January 31, 2025 (Last Friday in January)
• National Seth Day
• Nauru Independence Day 
• Scotch Tape Day 
• Street Children's Day 

2025 Weekly Holidays that include January 31, are:

• Catholic Schools Week - January 26, 2025 - February 1, 2025 (Begins on the last Sunday in January)
• Cordova Ice Worm Days - January 25 - February 1, 2025
• Farmhouse Breakfast Week (U.K.) - January 27-31, 2025 (Last Week in January)
  
• International Hot Air Balloon Week - January 26 - February 1, 2025 (Fourth Full Week of January)
  
• Kiss a Shark Week - January 26 - February 1, 2025 (Fourth Full Week of January)
  
• National Clean Out Your Inbox Week - January 27-31, 2025 (Last Business Week in January)
• National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Week - January 27 - February 1, 2025
• National Meat Week - January 26 - February 2, 2025 (8 Days starting on the fourth Sunday)
• National Medical Group Practice Week - January 27-31, 2025 (M-F week that starts on Fourth Monday in January)
• National Storytelling Week (U.K.) - January 30 - February 7, 2025
• Take a New Year's Resolution to Stop Smoking Month (TANYRSS) -  December 17, 2024 - February 5, 2025
• Tax Identity Theft Week - January 27-31, 2025 (5 Days Starting the Last Monday in January)

2025 Monthly Holidays that include January 31, 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:

1. A page on each holiday will be coming soon and linked above.
2. 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)

• 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! 2025 dates are December 25, 2024 - Late February / Early March, 2025, depending on weather conditions. 
• Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show - January 17 - February 8, 2025 (Fort Worth, TX)
  
• Saint Paul Winter  Carnival - January 23 - February 2, 2025 (St. Paul, MN)
  
• Sundance Film Festival - January 23 - February 2, 2025 - An American Film festival held each year in Park City, Utah.
• Spring Festival Golden Week - January 28 - February 3, 2025 (China)
• Chinese New Year Festival and Parade (San Francisco, CA) - January 29 - February 16, 2025, Parade is on February 15, 2025

Astrological Sign

The Astrological Sign for January 31 is an Aquarius.

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

• 1872 – Zane Grey, American novelist (d. 1939)
• 1937 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (d. 2008) (The Bob Newhart Show)
• 1947 – Nolan Ryan, American baseball player
• 1951 - Harry Wayne Casey (KC and the Sunshine Band)
• 1970 – Minnie Driver, British actress
• 1973 – Portia de Rossi, Australian actress
• 1977 – Kerry Washington, American actress
  
• 1981 – Justin Timberlake, American singer ('N Sync)

Famous Deaths

• 1892 – Charles Spurgeon, English preacher and evangelist (b. 1834)
• 1954 – Edwin Howard Armstrong, American electrical engineer and inventor of the FM radio (b. 1890)
• 1956 – A. A. Milne, English author, best known for his Winnie-the- Pooh books (b. 1882) 

Famous Weddings and Divorces

• 1842 - 10th US President John Tyler's daughter Elizabeth marries in White House
• 1957 - Liz Taylor's 2nd divorce from Michael Wilding

Quote of the Day

January 31 is Inspire Your Heart with the Arts Day!! 

I've always loved Arts and Crafts. My grandmother, Maurine was into crafts and that was our thing. We spent a year living in a duplex in El Paso, Texas next to my grandparents, while my Dad who was in the U.S. Army was overseas. 

My sister and I would go to her house almost every afternoon and spend a few hours crafting. Over the years, I've done many creative things. I think that is why I love web design now, because you start with a blank page and create! Make Art Often!

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

Holidays and Observances Recipe of the Day for January 31 is a Blended Vegetable Soup from Kerry of Healthy Diet Habits.  January is National Soup Month so it seems only fitting that we end the month of January with a Soup recipe!

This Day in History

• 1851 - Gail Borden announces invention of evaporated milk
• 1861 - State of Louisiana takes over US Mint at New Orleans
• 1863 - 1st black Civil War regiment, SC Volunteers, mustered into US army
• 1865 – During the American Civil War, the U.S. Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, abolishing slavery in America. The vote was 121 to 24.
  
• 1865 – Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes Commander -in-Chief of Confederate Armies
• 1871 - Millions of birds fly over western San Francisco, darkening the sky
• 1876 - The United States orders all Native Americans to move into reservations.
• 1906 - Strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake in Colombia, 8.6 Richter
• 1915 – During World War I, Germany is the first to make large-scale use of poison gas in warfare in the Battle of Bolimów against Russia.
• 1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape
• 1948 - Magnetic tape recorder developed by Wireway
• 1950 – President Harry S. Truman announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb
• 1958 – Explorer 1, is the first successful launch of an American satellite into orbit.
• 1986 - Mary Lund of Minnesota, becomes the 1st female recipient of an artificial heart
• 1990 – The first McDonald's in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow and is the world's biggest McDonald's.
• 1995 – President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy.
• 2010 – Avatar becomes the first film to gross over $2 billion worldwide.
• 2018 - Both a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse occur
• 2020 - After 47 years of being a member state, the United Kingdom's membership within the European Union ceases in accordance with Article 50

This Day in Music

• 1955 - RCA demonstrates 1st music synthesizer
  
• 1970 - The Jackson 5's, I Want You Back hits #1
• 1971 - My Sweet Lord, by George Harrison hit #1 on the UK pop chart
• 1972 - Joan Baez' album Any Day Now is certified gold
• 1975 - Barry Manilow's, Mandy goes gold
  1975 - John Lennon releases #9 Dream
• 1976 - The Ohio Players', Love Rollercoaster hits #1
• 1981 - The Tide Is High, by Blondie hits #1
• 1993 - Michael Jackson performs with 3,500 local children at the Superbowl XXVII in Pasadena, CA.
• 1999 - Cher performs the U.S. National Anthem at Superbowl XXXIII in Miami, FL. (Stevie Wonder performs at the halftime show.)

My Sweet Lord, was my favorite George Harrison song! I had the All Things Must Pass album which was fantastic!

This Day in Sports

• 1965 - Pud Galvin elected to baseball Hall of Fame
• 1971 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Janet Lynn
  1971 - US male Figure Skating championship won by John Misha Petkevich
• 1971 - Dave Bancroft & George Weiss elected to baseball Hall of Fame
• 1974 - MacDonald's founder Ray Kroc buys San Diego Padres
• 1977 - Joe Sewell, Amos Rusie, & Al Lopez elected to baseball Hall of Fame
• 1982 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Hamilton
• 1988 - Superbowl XXII: Washington Redskins beat Denver Broncos, 42-10 in San Diego Superbowl. The MVP is Doug Williams, Washington, QuarterBack
• 1993 - Superbowl XXVII: Dallas Cowboys beat Buffalo Bills, 52-17 in Pasadena Superbowl.  The MVP is Troy Aikman, Dallas, QuarterBack

Word of the Day from Wiktionary

Wishing You a Great Day Today!