Holidays and Observances on January 31

Welcome to January 31, 2027, an exceptionally soul-stirring day on the calendar marked by creative artistic expressions, high-flying entertainment milestones, and a cozy celebration of dark comfort beverages!

Today's daily page highlights the festive traditions behind National Hot Chocolate Day, honors the rich sleight-of-hand entertainment heritage of Street Magic Day, and explores the beloved regional pride of National Gorilla Suit Day. Browse our complete chronological directory below to explore moving holiday scheduling rules, historic trivia, and unique facts for this specific day of the year!

 Holidays and Observances
(Alphabetical Order)

2027 Daily Holidays that fall on January 31, include:

• January 31: Appreciate Your Social Security Check Day

• January 31: Backward Day

• January 31: Brandy Alexander Day

• January 31: Gorilla Suit Day

• January 31: Hell is Freezing Over Day

• January 31: Hug an Economist Day

• January 31: Inspire Your Heart with the Arts Day

• January 31: International Day for Street Children's Day

• January 31: International Zebra Day

• January 31: National Eat Brussels Sprouts Day

• January 31: National Hot Chocolate Day

• January 31: National Seth Day

• January 31: Nauru Independence Day

• January 31: Scotch Tape Day

• January 31, 2027: World Leprosy Day (Observed last Sunday in January)

2027 Weekly Holidays that include January 31, are:

• January 29-31, 2027: Big Garden Birdwatch (U.K.) (Falls on Last Weekend of January)

• January 31, 2027 - February 6, 2027: Celebrate Catholic Schools Week (Begins on the last Sunday in January); Also see Discover Catholic Schools Week on November 14-20, 2027

• January 31, 2026 - February 7, 2027: National Meat Week (8 Days starting on the Last Sunday in January)

• January 30 - February 7, 2027: National Storytelling Week (U.K.) (Begins on the last Saturday in January and runs for 9 days)

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

• January 21-31, 2027: Sundance Film Festival (NOTE: Effective 2027, the festival is moving from Park City, Utah to Boulder, Colorado)

• January 22-31, 2027: International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo (Monaco) (Starts on the Second to the last Friday in January and runs for 10 Days)

• January 22 - February 14, 2027: Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase in Tucson, Arizona (Starts on the Last Friday in January over three full weeks)

• January 23-31, 2027: Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona (Runs for 9 consecutive days the last full week and two surrounding weekends in January)

• January 23 - February 2, 2027: International Snow Sculpture Championship in Breckenridge, Colorado (Typically begins on the next to last Saturday in January and spans multiple weeks for sculpting and viewing)

• January 28 - February 7, 2027: Saint Paul Winter Carnival (St. Paul, MN) (Begins on the Fourth Thursday in January and runs for 11 days spanning two weekends)

• January 30-31, 2027: Rolex 24 at Daytona (Daytona, FL)

• January 30 - February 6, 2027: Cordova Ice Worm Days in Cordova, Alaska (Starts on the last Saturday in January and runs for 8 days)

• January 30 - February 9, 2027: Carnival of Venice (Varies yearly; ends on Shrove Tuesday / Mardi Gras, the day before Ash Wednesday)

• January 30 - February 21, 2027: Chinese New Year Festival and Parade (San Francisco, CA) Parade is on February 20, 2027

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!

Season

January 31st 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

• 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!