300+ holiday hashtags and days of observance for your 2023 marketing calendar

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As marketers, we’re all familiar with the significance of holidays to consumers, but have you considered those that could be uniquely special to your audience? To help you curate your own marketing calendar, bookmark our list of social media holiday hashtags for 2023, with examples of brands that engaged with thoughtfulness and clear intent within their marketing strategy.

For instance, beyond New Year’s Day and Valentine’s Day, you can connect with your customers and fans on social media with holidays like #OrganizeYourHomeDay on January 14th or National Make Life Beautiful Day on June 11th — and make your spin on the holidays your own. And although there are an array options throughout the year, the key to your brand’s success with socially relevant holidays is to embrace thoughtfulness, a little fun (and intentional messaging), and a genuine approach to cultivating community with your audience.

Jump ahead to each month on our social media hashtag calendar:

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Ignite your audience with action in January.

At the beginning of the year, it’s highly likely that your audience will be focused on creating a new mindset for new possibilities within the new year. Consider a monthly theme like Get Organized Month or National Vision Board Day on January 14th that supports the consumer mindset of starting the new year off with productivity and focus.

In 2022, Brookshire Brothers shared insightful tips on how their customers could live a balanced life in all areas of their lives. They provided a thoughtful approach to sharing information with their fans, from health to self-care. If you take this angle to your messaging, remember to speak with your audience (not at them).

January 2023 monthly themes:

January 2023 holiday hashtag calendar:

January 1 – New Year’s Day #NewYearsDay#NewYears2023
January 2 – National Motivation and Inspiration Day #MotivationandInspirationDay
January 2 – Science Fiction Day #ScienceFictionDay
January 2 – World Introvert Day #WorldIntrovertDay
January 4 – National Trivia Day #NationalTriviaDay
January 6 – National Technology Day #NationalTechnologyDay
January 9 – Clean Off Your Desk Day #CleanOffYourDeskDay
January 11 – Human Trafficking Awareness Day #HumanTraffickingAwarenessDay
January 13 – National Sticker Day #NationalStickerDay
January 13 – Public Radio Broadcasting Day #PublicRadioBroadcastingDay
January 14 – National Vision Board Day #VisionBoardDay
January 14 – Organize Your Home Day #OrganizeYourHomeDay
January 15 – National Hat Day #NationalHatDay
January 16 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day #MLKDay
January 19 – Get to Know Your Customers Day #GetToKnowYourCustomersDay
January 21 – National Hugging Day #NationalHuggingDay
January 22 – Chinese New Year #YearOfTheTiger
January 23 – National Pie Day #PieDay
January 23 – Community Manager Appreciation Day #CMAD
January 24 – National Compliment Day #NationalComplimentDay
January 25 – Opposite Day #OppositeDay

Inspire remembrance or connectivity in February.

February is all about remembering heritage, personal commitments, or human connection. If you’re planning to celebrate Black History Month or Random Acts of Kindness Day, lead your messaging to bridge connection rather than merely celebrating for visibility. If you plan to show your support, do it with intention, like Target’s Black Beyond Measure Campaign, which has a mission of honoring the sacrifice of Black leaders of the past while amplifying and celebrating the voices of the Black community of today.

February 2023 monthly themes:

February 2023 holiday hashtag calendar:

February 2 – Groundhog Day #GroundhogDay
February 2 – World Wetlands Day #WorldWetlandsDay
February 3 – National Bubble Gum Day #BubbleGumDay
February 4 – World Cancer Day #WorldCancerDay
February 5 – National Weatherperson’s Day #NationalWeatherpersonsDay
February 7 – National Send a Card to a Friend Day #SendACardToAFriendDay
February 7 – Safer Internet Day #SID2023
February 8 – National Boy Scouts Day #BoyScoutsDay
February 11 – Inventors Day #InventorsDay
February 12 – National Pizza Day #NationalPizzaDay
February 12 – Super Bowl LVII #SuperBowl2023
February 13 – Self-Love Day #SelfLoveDay
February 13 – World Radio Day #WorldRadioDay
February 14 – Valentine’s Day #ValentinesDay
February 14 – International Book Giving Day #InternationalBookGivingDay
February 17 – Random Acts of Kindness Day #RandomActsOfKindnessDay
February 18 – National Battery Day #NationalBatteryDay
February 20 – Presidents’ Day #PresidentsDay
February 20 – World Day of Social Justice #SocialJusticeDay
February 20 – Love Your Pet Day #LoveYourPetDay
February 21 – National Pancake Day #NationalPancakeDay
February 21 – Mardi Gras #MardiGras
February 21 – International Mother Language Day #IMLD
February 22 – National Wildlife Day #NationalWildlifeDay
February 23 – Digital Learning Day #DLDay

Celebrate progress in March.

March is packed with socially relevant holidays, including Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on March 8th. As you build your content messaging, consider ways to connect your audience beyond the content. For example, Pinterest amplified the presence of women-owned businesses during Women’s History Month 2022 while leveraging its Pinterest Elevates program to incorporate women from their platform community into high-profile initiatives beyond its celebration in March.

March 2023 monthly themes:

March 2023 holiday hashtag calendar:

March 1 – National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day #PeanutButterLoversDay
March 2 – National Read Across America Day #ReadAcrossAmerica
March 2 – World Book Day #WorldBookDay
March 3 – World Wildlife Day #WorldWildlifeDay
March 3 – National Day of Unplugging #DayOfUnplugging
March 3 – National Employee Appreciation Day #EmployeeAppreciationDay
March 4 – National Grammar Day #GrammarDay
March 6 – National Dentist’s Day #DentistsDay
March 7 – National Cereal Day #NationalCerealDay
March 8 – International Women’s Day #InternationalWomensDay #IWD2023 #EachforEqual
March 8 – National Proofreading Day #NationalProofreadingDay
March 9 – Popcorn Lover’s Day #PopcornLoversDay
March 10 – Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day #NWGHAAD
March 12 – National Girl Scout Day #GirlScoutDay
March 12 – Daylight Savings #DaylightSavings
March 13 – National Napping Day #NationalNappingDay
March 14 – Organize Your Home Office Day #OrganizeYourHomeOfficeDay
March 14 – Potato Chip Day #NationalPotatoChipDay
March 14 – Pi Day #PiDay
March 16 – National Freedom of Information Day #FreedomOfInformationDay
March 17 – World Sleep Day #WorldSleepDay
March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day #StPatricksDay
March 18 – Awkward Moments Day #NationalAwkwardMomentsDay
March 19 – National Let’s Laugh Day #NationalLetsLaughDay
March 20 – International Day of Happiness #InternationalDayofHappiness
March 20 – World Storytelling Day #WorldStorytellingDay
March 21 – First Day of Spring #FirstDayofSpring
March 21 – Elimination of Racial Discrimination Day #RacialDiscriminationDay
March 21 – World Poetry Day #WorldPoetryDay
March 22 – World Water Day #WorldWaterDay #Water2me
March 23 – World Math Day #MathDay
March 23 – National Puppy Day #NationalPuppyDay
March 25 – Tolkien Reading Day #TolkienReadingDay
March 25 – Earth Hour Day #EarthHourDay
March 26 – National Spinach Day #NationalSpinachDay
March 26 – Purple Day #PurpleDay
March 31 – Transgender Day of Visibility #TDOV

Spark fun in April.

Humor can go a long way into your messaging, but you must be clear on your audience and how they would resonate with your brand’s humor. If you plan to share chuckles with your audience, remember that human temperament varies, and it’s all about knowing your audience. Be thoughtful in your approach and strategic in your angles (and responses) while preparing for the outcome. In 2012, Adult Swim’s April Fool’s prank went so well that it relaunched the fandom’s rebirth around Toonami and anime.

April 2023 monthly themes:

April 2023 holiday hashtag calendar:

April 1 – April Fools’ Day #AprilFools
April 2 – World Autism Awareness Day #WAAD
April 3 – Find a Rainbow Day #FindARainbowDay
April 4 – Hug a Newsperson Day #HugANewsperson
April 5 – National Walking Day #NationalWalkingDay
April 7 – World Health Day #LetsTalk
April 9 – Easter #Easter
April 10 – National Siblings Day #NationalSiblingsDay
April 10 – Encourage a Young Writer Day #EncourageAYoungWriterDay
April 11 – National Pet Day #NationalPetDay
April 12 – International Day of Human Space Flight #HumanSpaceFlightDay
April 16 – National Stress Awareness Day #StressAwarenessDay
April 17 – Haiku Poetry Day #HaikuPoetryDay
April 18 – National Tax Day #TaxDay
April 19 – Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day #PJDay
April 20 – National High-Five Day #NH5D
April 20 – National Look-Alike Day #NationalLookAlikeDay
April 22 – Earth Day #EarthDay2023
April 23 – National Picnic Day #NationalPicnicDay
April 25 – World Malaria Day #EndMalariaForGood
April 26 – National Administrative Professionals Day #AdministrativeProfessionalsDay
April 26 – Denim Day #DenimDay
April 27 – Take Our Daughters & Sons to Work Day #COUNTONME
April 28 – Arbor Day #ArborDay
April 29 – International Dance Day #InternationalDanceDay
April 30 – National Honesty Day #NationalHonestyDay
April 30 – International Jazz Day #JazzDay
April 30 – National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day #AdoptAShelterPetDay

Think outside the box in May.

I know there are a few off-the-wall social media holidays that can appear random at first glance, but if you think a little deeper about the connections, you could find something so unique for your brand it garners attention beyond your campaign. If you plan to participate in a quirky social media holiday, lead your messaging with a desire for a sincere connection with your readers.

May 2023 monthly themes:

May 2023 holiday hashtag calendar:

May 1 – International Workers Day #IntWorkersDay
May 1 – May Day #MayDay
May 2 – Teacher’s Day #ThankATeacher
May 2 – World Asthma Day #WorldAsthmaDay
May 3 – World Press Freedom Day #WPFD2023
May 4 – Star Wars Day #StarWarsDay
May 4 – International Firefighters Day #InternationalFirefightersDay
May 4 – World Password Day #WorldPasswordDay
May 5 – Cinco de Mayo #CincoDeMayo
May 6 – National Space Day #NationalSpaceDay
May 6 – National Nurses Day #NursesDay
May 9 – Europe Day #EuropeDay
May 10 – World Lupus Day #LupusDay
May 10 – National Receptionist Day #NationalReceptionistDay
May 12 – National Limerick Day #NationalLimerickDay
May 14 – Mother’s Day #MothersDay
May 15 – International Day of Families #FamilyDay
May 15 – National Chocolate Chip Day #ChocolateChipDay
May 16 – Love a Tree Day #LoveATreeDay
May 17 – Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia #IDAHOT
May 19 – Endangered Species Day #EndangeredSpeciesDay
May 24 – National Scavenger Hunt Day #NationalScavengerHuntDay
May 26 – Heat Awareness Day #NoFryDay
May 28 – National Hamburger Day #NationalHamburgerDay
May 29 – Memorial Day #MemorialDay
May 30 – National Creativity Day #NationalCreativityDay
May 31 – World No-Tobacco Day #NoTobacco

Unite your community in June.

From Juneteenth to Pride Month, socially relevant holidays in June can inspire your community to discover more similarities than differences. However, beware of “rainbow washing” your brand and adding your support to your messaging without clear, intentional support within your brand values and among your people. To be supportive is to not only include messaging that says you support love for all, it means living it through brand practices, like Proctor & Gamble, which lives its support all year-round.

June 2023 monthly themes:

LGBTQ Pride Month
Men’s Health Education and Awareness Month
National Home Ownership Month

June 2023 holiday hashtag calendar:

June 2 – National Donut Day #NationalDonutDay
June 4 – National Cancer Survivor’s Day #NCSD2023
June 5 – World Environment Day #WorldEnvironmentDay
June 6 – Higher Education Day #HigherEducationDay
June 8 – World Oceans Day #WorldOceansDay
June 8 – National Best Friends Day #BestFriendsDay
June 11 – National Make Life Beautiful Day #MakeLifeBeautiful
June 14 – National Flag Day #FlagDay
June 14 – World Blood Donor Day #GiveBlood
June 18 – Father’s Day #FathersDay
June 19 – Juneteenth #Juneteenth
June 20 – World Refugee Day #WorldRefugeeDay
June 21 – First Day of Summer #FirstDayOfSummer
June 21 – National Selfie Day #NationalSelfieDay
June 21 – World Music Day #WorldMusicDay
June 21 – International Yoga Day #InternationalYogaDay
June 23 – National Columnists’ Day #NationalColumnistDay
June 27 – National Sunglasses Day #NationalSunglassesDay
June 30 – Social Media Day #SMDay, #SocialMediaDay

Activate fun for July.

The summertime brings fun, vacations, and memories. Discover ways to utilize socially relevant holidays in current campaigns already planned within your content marketing strategy. Additionally, emojis can be a light-hearted way to deepen the connection with your audience. Brands like OkCupid and Adobe Spark have mastered incorporating socially relevant content and the play of emojis into their push notification messaging.

July 2023 monthly themes:

July 2023 holiday hashtag calendar:

July 1 – National Postal Worker Day #NationalPostalWorkerDay
July 2 – World UFO Day #WorldUFODay
July 4 – Independence Day #July4th
July 7 – World Chocolate Day #WorldChocolateDay
July 11 – Cheer Up the Lonely Day #CheerUpTheLonelyDay
July 12 – Malala Day #MalalaDay
July 12 – National Simplicity Day – #NationalSimplicityDay
July 15 – Give Something Away Day #GiveSomethingAwayDay
July 17 – World Emoji Day #WorldEmojiDay
July 18 – Nelson Mandela International Day #MandelaDay2023
July 30 – International Day of Friendship #DayOfFriendship

Motivate your audience in August.

With back-to-school underway and many people reshifting their focus to productivity for business health and the good of humanity. A great way to engage your audience with socially relevant holidays is to encourage their participation in the process by sharing information on ways they could share content with their friends and family or highlight influential people connected to the theme or day. Brands like Nordstrom recently highlighted Black-owned businesses with pop-up shops nationwide. During the pop-up shops, Black-owned businesses were encouraged to participate as vendors to promote sales and visibility for their businesses.

August 2023 monthly themes:

August 2023 holiday hashtag calendar:

August 1 – Planner Day #PlannerDay
August 2 – National Coloring Book Day #NationalColoringBookDay
August 6 – American Family Day #AmericanFamilyDay
August 8 – International Cat Day #InternationalCatDay
August 9 – National Book Lovers Day #NationalBookLoversDay
August 11 – National Sons and Daughters Day #SonsAndDaughtersDay
August 12 – International Youth Day #YouthDay
August 12 – World Elephant Day #WorldElephantDay
August 13 – International Lefthanders Day #LefthandersDay
August 15 – National Relaxation Day #NationalRelaxationDay
August 16 – National Tell a Joke Day #NationalTellAJokeDay
August 19 – World Photo Day #WorldPhotoDay
August 19 – World Humanitarian Day #WorldHumanitarianDay
August 20 – National Lemonade Day #NationalLemonadeDay
August 26 – National Dog Day #NationalDogDay
August 26 – National Women’s Equality Day #WomensEqualityDay

Educate in September.

September is packed with monthly themes and days that spark curiosity on how someone could support, give homage, or learn something new! Consider using a monthly theme or social media observance that would provoke your audience to research and think deeper about a cause, mission, or purpose connected to themselves or others.

September 2023 monthly themes:

September 2023 holiday hashtag calendar:

September 4 – National Wildlife Day #NationalWildLifeDay
September 4 – Labor Day #LaborDay
September 5 – International Day of Charity #CharityDay
September 6 – Read a Book Day #ReadABookDay
September 8 – International Literacy Day #LiteracyDay
September 8 – Stand Up To Cancer Day #KissCancerGoodbye
September 10 – National Grandparents Day #NationalGrandparentsDay
September 11 – National Day of Service and Remembrance #911Day
September 12 – National Day of Encouragement #DayOfEncouragement
September 12 – National Video Games Day #NationalVideoGamesDay
September 14 – Live Creative Day #NationalLiveCreative Day #LiveCreativeDay
September 15 – Online Learning Day #OnlineLearningDay
September 18 – Civic Day of Hacking #HackForChange
September 19 – Talk Like a Pirate Day #TalkLikeAPirateDay
September 21 – International Day of Peace #PeaceDay
September 21 – World Alzheimer’s Day #Alzheimer’sDay
September 22 – Hobbit Day #HobbitDay
September 23 – First Day of Fall #1stDayOfFall
September 26 – European Day of Languages #EDL2023
September 27 – World Tourism Day #WTD2023
September 28 – World Rabies Day #WorldRabiesDay
September 28 – National Good Neighbor Day #GoodNeighborDay
September 29 – International Coffee Day #InternationalCoffeeDay
September 29 – National Women’s Health and Fitness Day #FitnessDay
September 30 – International Podcast Day #InternationalPodcastDay
September 30 – National Love People Day #NationalLOVEPeopleDAY

Showcase awareness in October.

Many socially relevant holidays are fantastic for educating your audience about something new, but that doesn’t mean you have to be an expert. Collaborate and partner with organizations or other brands that provide that expertise and great synergy to your fans.

October 2023 monthly themes:

October 2023 holiday hashtag calendar:

October 1 – International Day of Older Persons #UNDOP
October 1 – World Vegetarian Day #WorldVegetarianDay
October 2 – Day of Nonviolence #InternationalDayOfNonviolence
October 2 – World Habitat Day #WorldHabitatDay
October 3 – National Techies Day #TechiesDay
October 4 – World Animal Day #WorldAnimalDay
October 4 – National Taco Day #NationalTacoDay
October 5 – World Teachers Day #WorldTeachersDay
October 10 – World Mental Health Day #WorldMentalHeathDay
October 11 – International Day of the Girl #DayOfTheGirl
October 12 – World Sight Day #WorldSightDay
October 13 – National Train Your Brain Day #TrainYourBrainDay
October 14 – National Dessert Day #DessertDay
October 15 – Global Handwashing Day #GlobalHandwashingDay
October 16 – National Boss’s Day #NationalBossDay #BossDay #BestBossEver #HappyBossDay
October 16 – World Food Day #FoodDay
October 16 – National Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day #CleanYourVirtualDesktopDay
October 17 – Eradication of Poverty Day #EndPoverty
October 21 – Reptile Awareness Day #ReptileAwarenessDay
October 24 – United Nations Day #UNDay
October 25 – Greasy Foods Day #GreasyFoodsDay
October 28 – National Chocolate Day #NationalChocolateDay
October 30 – National Candy Corn Day #CandyCornDay
October 30 – National Publicist Day #NationalPublicist
October 31 – Halloween #Halloween

Give thanks in November.

From World Kindness Day to Thanksgiving, November can hold a place for reflection and care for your audience. During this season, many brands will focus on sales and shopping, but think of ways to bring mindfulness to those dealing with holiday grief or seasonal depression. Utilize socially relevant holidays to remind your audience that you’re thankful for them beyond sales and brand advocacy. They matter to you as human beings.

November 2023 monthly themes:

November 2023 holiday hashtag calendar:

November 1 – World Vegan Day #WorldVeganDay
November 1 – National Authors Day #NationalAuthorsDay
November 1 – National Stress Awareness Day #StressAwarenessDay
November 3 – National Sandwich Day #NationalSandwichDay
November 4 – National Candy Day #NationalCandyDay
November 5 – Daylight Saving Time Ends #DaylightSavings
November 8 – National Cappuccino Day #CappuccinoDay
November 8 – STEM Day #STEMDay
November 11 – Veterans Day #VeteransDay
November 12 – Diwali #Diwali
November 13 – World Kindness Day #WKD
November 14 – World Diabetes Day #WDD
November 15 – Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day #CleanOutYourRefrigeratorDay
November 15 – America Recycles Day #BeRecycled
November 16 – International Day for Tolerance #ToleranceDay
November 17 – International Students Day #InternationalStudentsDay
November 19 – International Men’s Day #InternationalMensDay
November 19 – Women’s Entrepreneurship Day #WomensEntrepreneurshipDay
November 19 – World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims #WDoR2023 #WDoR
November 21 – National Entrepreneurs Day #EntrepreneursDay
November 21 – World Hello Day #WorldHelloDay
November 23 – Thanksgiving Day #Thanksgiving
November 24 – Black Friday #BlackFriday #BlackFriday2023
November 24 – National Native American Heritage Day #NAHertitage #NativeAmericanHeritageDay
November 24 – National Day of Listening #DayOfListening
November 25 – Small Business Saturday #SmallBusinessSaturday
November 26 – National Cake Day #NationalCakeDay
November 27 – Cyber Monday #CyberMonday
November 28 – Giving Tuesday #GivingTuesday
November 30 – Computer Security Day #ComputerSecurityDay

Be jolly in December.

To wrap up the year, brainstorm ways to infiltrate your core values into your holiday messaging approach, especially when it comes to unique holidays outside of those we often think of for the holiday season. It’s okay to be different but always remain intentional.

December 2023 monthly themes:

AIDS Awareness Month

December 2023 holiday hashtag calendar:

December 1 – World AIDS Day
December 3 – Persons with Disabilities Day #IDPWD
December 4 – National Cookie Day #NationalCookieDay
December 5 – World Soil Day #WorldSoilDay
December 7-15 – Hanukkah #Hanukkah
December 8 – Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day #PretendToBeATimeTravelerDay
December 10 – Human Rights Day #HumanRightsDay
December 10 – Nobel Prize Day #NobelPrize
December 11 – International Mountain Day #InternationalMountainDay
December 21 – Crossword Puzzle Day #CrosswordPuzzleDay
December 22 – First Day of Winter #WinterSolstice
December 25 – Christmas Day #Christmas
December 26 – January 1 – Kwanzaa #Kwanzaa
December 27 – No Interruptions Day #NoInterruptionsDay
December 31 – New Year’s Eve #NewYearsEve2023

Five mantras to follow when striving for a better message — all year long

Whenever possible, try to send a better message — not just another message. So put yourself in the mindset and space of your customer. Here are five important mantras to consider whenever you’re crafting messaging for your brand. Follow the links to listen to curated inspirational talks for each:

Show empathy. Feel with people and listen.
Elevate language. Think about how you think.
Energize design. Keep in mind what makes us human.
Innovate experience. Practice, test, and learn.
Inspire action. Start with why — always.

And find more inspiration on Cordial:

10 Clio Award-winning brands winning with a better message — See how Clio Award-winning brands send an authentic message through empathy, language, design, experience, and action.
How brands win awards, hearts, and change with customer data — We share 10 examples of brands achieving outstanding campaigns and change by tapping into their customers’ data and interactions.
How to embrace kindness in your brand messaging — Get tips on kinder marketing with brand examples of kindness in messaging and best practice for building kindness in your process.
How to align consumer messaging with your brand vision — Knowing your brand’s vision and mission statement is critical to creating an effective messaging strategy across all marketing channels. Here’s how to get started.
Intro to growth marketing in the age of personalization — Ditch growth hacking and turn your focus to tried-and-true methods, top stats, and 30 of the most effective campaign types to accelerate engagement and revenue.

Amp up engagement all year long with personalized marketing

No doubt about it: personalization is here to stay. People of all ages appreciate it when brands they know and trust provide customized information and offers. The only question is will your brand step up and embrace this reality? By harnessing the power of an advanced customer data platform (CDP), your company can achieve best-in-class personalization tactics.

A good CDP platform needs to:

Unite robust data management with email, SMS, and mobile app marketing — all in one platform
Consolidate all data from anywhere in your tech stack and activate it to power your outreach
Provide easy-to-use workflows to simplify and accelerate campaign development
Leverage predictive analytics to let you delight customers by anticipating their needs
Empower you to deliver the consistent, cross-channel experiences customers expect

Brands today are on the edge of an unprecedented opportunity to transform how they engage with customers. Those that move swiftly and embrace personalization can dramatically improve their customer experience, increase retention, and remain powerful players in the market.

At Cordial, we’re customer data experts who can guide you to personalization success. Get in touch to schedule a demo and find out how we can put our insights to work for you.

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