National Just Because Day

Sometimes taking a holiday and celebrating happens for a specific reason. And sometimes it can happen for no reason at all! Which is the exact idea behind National Just Because Day.

History of National Just Because Day

Founded by Joseph J. Goodwin in the late 1950s, National Just Because Day started as a way to encourage families to spend time together, rest from work and enjoy leisure time. Though it was originally celebrated as a movable holiday on the third Wednesday of May, National Just Because Day is an annual holiday that takes place on the same date each year in the month of August.

National Just Because Day is meant to celebrate lazy afternoons at the beach, taking time off and doing whatever you want or feel like in the moment. Just Because!

How to Celebrate National Just Because Day

National Just Because Day is an amazing time to enjoy, well, just about anything! And it’s all “just because”.

Play Hooky from Work or School

Simply taking the day off is the best way to get started on celebrating Just Because Day. Take the morning to sleep in, or get started early and take a short road trip to the mountains or the lake. Eat dessert for breakfast. Wear a hat for no reason at all.

And don’t forget to tell family members they are loved – just because!

Pay It Forward

Enjoy the fun of randomly blessing someone by paying for the order of the person behind in the drive through. Buy the next round of drinks. Or buy up a box of nutritious muffins and hand them out to homeless people while walking to work. Be willing to give instead of get in honor of National Just Because Day.

Perform Random Acts of Kindness

Could there be a better time to surprise friends, neighbors and coworkers with random acts of kindness than National Just Because Day? Probably Not! Take advantage of this day by showing people how much they are loved and cared for. Offer to mow the neighbor’s lawn, take out the trash without be asked, or surprise a friend with their favorite coffee drink!

National Just Because Day is an excellent opportunity to do the kindest things for the people nearby. Try out some of these other ideas to encourage people, just because:

• Offer an Unexpected Compliment. Keep an eye out to notice something special about someone. A new haircut on a friend, a delightful drawing by a child, or a tell a coworker they look great today.
• Show Kindness While Driving. One of the places many people struggle and get angry is in traffic. So take this day as an opportunity to let someone merge in front of you.
• Leave Positive Messages. Use National Just Because Day as a motivator to leave random messages for different people. Get a pad of blank sticky notes, fill them up with messages like “you are beautiful” and leave them all over the office or other places in the world.