Today is one of the more interesting holidays. January 16 is National Nothing Day. The intention is to have one day where there is nothing to celebrate. One in seven January 16th often fall on Martin Luther King, Jr Day, which is the third Monday of January, thereby usurping the concept of celebrating nothing. However, celebrating nothing can come in many forms. Perhaps for the whole day you respond with nothing. What are you plans today? Nothing. What’s for dinner? Nothing. Perhaps you send an email with nothing written and leave it blank. I think one should decide what nothing truly means to them and take appropriate action.
Nothing is a pronoun meaning not anything, no single thing. I think one could argue that it doesn’t mean the absence of things but a lack of distinction. This might propose some existential questions, but I believe that nothing does not mean a lack of things. In a way, this post is really about nothing. I do hope you’ll all leave nothing in the comments. I had considered not posting at all today. But no post would be something. And a post about nothing is something. And also nothing. What is anything really? What is nothing?
In 1972, columnist Harold Pullman Coffin proposed National Nothing Day. The day has been observed in all its nothingness since 1973. The observance is sponsored by Coffin’s National Nothing Foundation, registered in Capitola, California.
James Pack 