Get out your crayons: It’s Draw a Picture of a Bird Day

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It’s the not-really-a-holiday you’ve all been waiting for: Draw a Picture of a Bird Day! (Part of us knows days like Draw a Picture of a Bird Day, National Puppy Day, National Poultry Day, National Pig Day, Squirrel Appreciation Day, Penguin Awareness Day and others of their ilk are pretty silly. But a bigger, louder part of us thinks ‘Why the heck not?’ We love celebrating and we love animals, so what’s not to love about psuedo-holidays that combine those two passions?)

There’s not a whole lot of information out there on the origins of Draw a Picture of a Bird Day (or ‘DAPDay,’ as it’s sometimes acronymized), but some hypothesize -- although most can’t quite put their finger on why -- that it’s a tradition that began in the U.K. during World War II. We haven’t been able to confirm that suspicion, but if any trivia-champion readers out there have further details, we’d love to get your input!

If you, your child or an artistic cat you know draws a bird today, we’d love to see it! Share a photo or digital scan of your artwork at The Times’ photo-sharing site, Your Scene. Looking for ideas? Check out Penguin Books Australia’s flickr set of bird drawings it received from fans via Twitter.

-- Lindsay Barnett

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Video: MagicTears205 via YouTube