Has Winter left you pastey and glum? Are you ready for Spring yet? Well, have I got a holiday for you:
Short Pants Friday!!!
Hooray for warmer weather, bluer skies, and appreciation of my most favorite season, Spring! There is no other way to acknowledge that Spring has sprung than to participate in this year’s Sixth Annual Short Pants Friday.
What is Short Pants Friday, you ask? Well for all you lovely future Short Pants Friday ParticiPANTS (har har!), I went straight to the Canadian source. I caught up with Amy and Leslie, creators of this most joyous holiday, for more details.
Cherie: “When did Short Pants Friday originate and why?”
Leslie: “It started in the back country of Quebec, where the Winters, so generous with snow, had fenced us in on every side, and cabin fever was inevitable. With April came some faint hope of Spring, some faint hope of escape from the tortuous weather, and so, like early Pagan May Day celebrators we thought we ought welcome the Season of Spring into our lives, to sing Her praises, to worship Her warmth, thus to encourage Her presence to arrive ever sooner. We responded to the frigid cold temperatures by dressing as least-frigid as we could: in short pants.”
Amy: “Yes, the idea for Short Pants Friday was conceived one cold and snowy Thursday afternoon in early April, 2003. I decided that it might be entertaining to see how many of our friends I could convince to also wear shorts the next day, and thus the day was born!”
Cherie: “Nice. Seeing as the holiday has taken off and survived an impressive six years, the initial reaction received must have been wonderful!”
Amy: “Short Pants Friday was born out of the cold snowy Northernly regions of the world, where Spring has not yet fully sprung even in early April, and so it is meant to encourage hope to the individuals who live in these climatic regions that warmer days will soon be at hand. If the weather is still cold, it is meant to prove that hope will prevail regardless!”
Cherie: “Wow. That’s intensely hope-inducing. Very powerful and positive message. Is this holiday just meant for these Northernly regions in which you speak of then?”
Amy: “Well, the day is meant to span borders as well, to stretch across oceans, and to unite all who love warmer weather, and for one day, synchronize their proud display of ankle-revealing clothing.”
Leslie: “Also, the wearing of seasonally-inappropriate-clothing often leads to questions regarding the clothier’s sanity, which can be responded to with explanation regarding the welcoming-in of Spring, and the purposeful revealing of one’s ankles. This thus spreads the common awareness of Springs necessary welcome, and encourages others to view our Earth’s Seasons as fickle friends, needing to be coaxed into our presence with ritual and tradition. We basically just want to get back to the brilliance that was Pagan May Day.”
Cherie: “I see, so basically just to welcome in Spring. So how does one participate in Short Pants Friday?”
Amy: “Well, the rules are as follows:
1. The day always falls on the first Friday in April.
2. One’s ankles must be showing. What one chooses to wear to display their ankles is left entirely to the discretion of the individual.
3. The weather does not matter, the day must go on!
4. Eligible participants include anyone.”
Leslie: “So shorts, short shorts, capris, skirts, etc. The ankles must be showing – that is the main qualifier. It is the freedom of the ankles which are a true signifier of warm weather, after all.”
Cherie: “Very true… well I know I for one will be a particiPANT in this year’s 6th Annual Short Pants Friday event!”
Amy & Leslie: (laughter)
Cherie: “Thank you very much for your time and I’ll do my best to spread the word!”
Amy & Leslie: “Thank you.”
Well, there you have it, folks… The Sixth Annual Short Pants Friday. Bear your ankles this Friday, April 4th, 2008. In support of this wonderful holiday, Misusing Big Words will host a picture posting event. Send your pictures of you participating in this year’s Short Pants Friday to [email protected] and I’ll post them on our site. Represent your neighborhood, town, city, state, etc. as a participant in this Global event.