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| New York Today: January’s Obscure Holidays | New York Today: January’s Obscure Holidays |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Good morning on this warmish Wednesday. | Good morning on this warmish Wednesday. |
| You’re back at work after the holiday break and checking your calendar. After weeks of festivities, January looks bleak. | You’re back at work after the holiday break and checking your calendar. After weeks of festivities, January looks bleak. |
| Why not pencil in an obscure holiday to celebrate? | Why not pencil in an obscure holiday to celebrate? |
| The month is full of odd holidays and observations, most of which are not popular enough to be highlighted in the average day planner. | The month is full of odd holidays and observations, most of which are not popular enough to be highlighted in the average day planner. |
| Today, for instance, you can celebrate National Spaghetti Day or Dimpled Chad Day (to commemorate the scraps of paper “left over from various and sundry contested elections.”) | Today, for instance, you can celebrate National Spaghetti Day or Dimpled Chad Day (to commemorate the scraps of paper “left over from various and sundry contested elections.”) |
| January is also National Bath Safety Month, National Hobby Month and National Slow Cooking Month. | January is also National Bath Safety Month, National Hobby Month and National Slow Cooking Month. |
| These lesser-known observances are typically created by politicians (we have Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to thank for Pollinator Week and Mayor Bill de Blasio for “The View Day”), groups like the United Nations, or even friends and families of those so honored. | These lesser-known observances are typically created by politicians (we have Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to thank for Pollinator Week and Mayor Bill de Blasio for “The View Day”), groups like the United Nations, or even friends and families of those so honored. |
| Perhaps the most official source of less-than-official holidays is Chase’s Calendar of Events, which receives hundreds of submissions for special days and festivals each year. | Perhaps the most official source of less-than-official holidays is Chase’s Calendar of Events, which receives hundreds of submissions for special days and festivals each year. |
| New this year: Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day (Jan. 11) and National Wingman’s Day (Feb. 13). | New this year: Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day (Jan. 11) and National Wingman’s Day (Feb. 13). |
| But not every holiday makes the cut. | But not every holiday makes the cut. |
| The requests are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. To be considered they must have been celebrated before, said Holly McGuire, the editor of Chase’s calendar book. | The requests are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. To be considered they must have been celebrated before, said Holly McGuire, the editor of Chase’s calendar book. |
| Whether they catch on depends on how much they resonate with people. | Whether they catch on depends on how much they resonate with people. |
| “If the people who come up with silly or quirky holidays are passionate about it and celebrate it, there’s a better chance that their fellow humans will as well,” Ms. McGuire said. | “If the people who come up with silly or quirky holidays are passionate about it and celebrate it, there’s a better chance that their fellow humans will as well,” Ms. McGuire said. |
| One of the more popular celebrations on Jan. 4, she said, is National Trivia Day, and naturally, it has ties to our city. A bit of trivia, if you will: The earliest college trivia contests were organized by Ed Goodgold and Dan Carlinsky in the 1960s, when they were students at Columbia University. | |
| The pair once wrote that the “flower of trivia” could be distinguished from “the weed of minutiae” because trivia “is concerned with tugging at heartstrings.” | |
| Which is something that it shares with commemorative days, Ms. McGuire said: “They exist to bring a little smile to your face.” | Which is something that it shares with commemorative days, Ms. McGuire said: “They exist to bring a little smile to your face.” |
| Here’s what else is happening: | Here’s what else is happening: |
| Say hello to a relatively warm respite before a streak of the super-chilly. | Say hello to a relatively warm respite before a streak of the super-chilly. |
| We’ll have a high of 52 today, with spots of sunshine, but next up: a chance of flurries on Thursday and Friday, followed by highs in the 20s all weekend. | |
| We’ll take it, though we can’t help but wonder when we’ll be getting our first big snow of the season. | We’ll take it, though we can’t help but wonder when we’ll be getting our first big snow of the season. |
| • Turmoil among the Rockettes, who are scheduled to perform at Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, and the company that manages them. [New York Times] | • Turmoil among the Rockettes, who are scheduled to perform at Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, and the company that manages them. [New York Times] |
| • Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo pledged that the state would cover tuition costs at state colleges for hundreds of thousands of middle-and low-income New Yorkers. [New York Times] | • Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo pledged that the state would cover tuition costs at state colleges for hundreds of thousands of middle-and low-income New Yorkers. [New York Times] |
| • A steep drop in gang violence in 2016 drove shootings in New York City to the lowest number in at least a quarter-century. [New York Times] | • A steep drop in gang violence in 2016 drove shootings in New York City to the lowest number in at least a quarter-century. [New York Times] |
| • The New York Legislature gets to work in its 2017 session, with last year’s battles hardly in the rearview mirror. [New York Times] | |
| • Only a few media watchdogs are left in New Jersey. [New York Times] | |
| • The Boy Scouts of America kicked out an 8-year-old transgender boy in New Jersey. [WNYC] | |
| • A year-old boy died after being found unconscious in the lobby of a drug-treatment center in East Harlem. [DNAinfo] | |
| • Commuters are (so far) loving the Second Avenue subway. [New York Times] | |
| • Mourning the closing of Cake Shop, a staple of the Lower East Side music scene. [E.V. Grieve] | • Mourning the closing of Cake Shop, a staple of the Lower East Side music scene. [E.V. Grieve] |
| • Meet the hard-working, adorable dogs of the Police Department. [DNAinfo] | • Meet the hard-working, adorable dogs of the Police Department. [DNAinfo] |
| • Alicia Rivera, a young, single mother of four, works on life at home and then on herself. [New York Times] | • Alicia Rivera, a young, single mother of four, works on life at home and then on herself. [New York Times] |
| • Today’s Metropolitan Diary: “Tantrum on the No. 2” | • Today’s Metropolitan Diary: “Tantrum on the No. 2” |
| • Scoreboard: Sabres stab Rangers, 4-1. Devils sweep Hurricanes, 3-1. | • Scoreboard: Sabres stab Rangers, 4-1. Devils sweep Hurricanes, 3-1. |
| • For a global look at what’s happening, see Your Wednesday Briefing. | • For a global look at what’s happening, see Your Wednesday Briefing. |
| • Before it closes next week, see the exhibition “Carmen Herrera: Lines of Sight” at the Whitney Museum in the Meatpacking District. 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. [$25] | • Before it closes next week, see the exhibition “Carmen Herrera: Lines of Sight” at the Whitney Museum in the Meatpacking District. 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. [$25] |
| • Make good on your New Year’s resolution to get fit with a Salsa fitness class at Poe Park Visitor Center in the Bronx. 3 p.m. [Free] | • Make good on your New Year’s resolution to get fit with a Salsa fitness class at Poe Park Visitor Center in the Bronx. 3 p.m. [Free] |
| • Learn about our city’s first Arab immigrants at a lecture with the author of the book “Strangers in the West: The Syrian Colony of New York City, 1880-1900” at the Mid-Manhattan Library branch of the New York Public Library. 6:30 p.m. [Free] | • Learn about our city’s first Arab immigrants at a lecture with the author of the book “Strangers in the West: The Syrian Colony of New York City, 1880-1900” at the Mid-Manhattan Library branch of the New York Public Library. 6:30 p.m. [Free] |
| • An evening of jazz at Flushing Town Hall in Queens. 7 p.m. [$10] | • An evening of jazz at Flushing Town Hall in Queens. 7 p.m. [$10] |
| • A performance of Sholem Asch’s “God of Vengeance” by the New Yiddish Rep at La MaMa in the East Village. 7 p.m. [$36] | • A performance of Sholem Asch’s “God of Vengeance” by the New Yiddish Rep at La MaMa in the East Village. 7 p.m. [$36] |
| • Knicks host Bucks, 7:30 p.m. (MSG). Rangers at Flyers, 8 p.m. (NBCS). | • Knicks host Bucks, 7:30 p.m. (MSG). Rangers at Flyers, 8 p.m. (NBCS). |
| • For more events, see The New York Times’s Arts & Entertainment guide. | • For more events, see The New York Times’s Arts & Entertainment guide. |
| • Subway and PATH | • Subway and PATH |
| • Railroads: L.I.R.R., Metro-North, N.J. Transit, Amtrak | • Railroads: L.I.R.R., Metro-North, N.J. Transit, Amtrak |
| • Roads: Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s. | • Roads: Check traffic map or radio report on the 1s or the 8s. |
| • Alternate-side parking: in effect until Jan. 16. | • Alternate-side parking: in effect until Jan. 16. |
| • Ferries: Staten Island Ferry, New York Waterway, East River Ferry | • Ferries: Staten Island Ferry, New York Waterway, East River Ferry |
| • Airports: La Guardia, J.F.K., Newark | • Airports: La Guardia, J.F.K., Newark |
| We’re hoping that the Second Avenue subway provides some relief for our overcrowded system. | We’re hoping that the Second Avenue subway provides some relief for our overcrowded system. |
| The subway system now provides 1.8 billion rides a year. Ridership averaged 5.7 million people a day in 2015, the highest since 1948. | |
| Which got us thinking: What happened on the subway’s most crowded day? | Which got us thinking: What happened on the subway’s most crowded day? |
| The day with highest ridership, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, was Dec. 29, 1947, after a large snowstorm paralyzed the city. | The day with highest ridership, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, was Dec. 29, 1947, after a large snowstorm paralyzed the city. |
| Snow-clogged streets halted traffic above ground and crippled virtually the entire bus and trolley system. | Snow-clogged streets halted traffic above ground and crippled virtually the entire bus and trolley system. |
| Long Island Railroad trains were stalled for up to 12 hours. A woman boarded a bus on Fifth Avenue with a cooked turkey, but after not moving for hours, the passengers and the driver ate the bird. | Long Island Railroad trains were stalled for up to 12 hours. A woman boarded a bus on Fifth Avenue with a cooked turkey, but after not moving for hours, the passengers and the driver ate the bird. |
| On the subway, some stations were briefly closed because they were packed to capacity, but amazingly, the trains “adhered to nearly normal schedules,” wrote The New York Times. | On the subway, some stations were briefly closed because they were packed to capacity, but amazingly, the trains “adhered to nearly normal schedules,” wrote The New York Times. |
| On that day, 8,533,468 riders were logged as having used the system. | On that day, 8,533,468 riders were logged as having used the system. |
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