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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260915
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260922
DTSTAMP:20260406T091747
CREATED:20260310T201500Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T201500Z
UID:225018-1789430400-1790035199@wp.aofonline.org
SUMMARY:Ask An Atheist Day
DESCRIPTION:National Ask an Atheist Day (https://www.wheniscalendars.com/national-ask-an-atheist-day/) is a movible secular holiday that occurs twice each year — first on the 3rd Thursday of April (which can be anywhere from April 15 to April 21)\, then on the 3rd Thursday of September (from Sept 15 to Sep 21). As if atheists don’t have enough to do already. “NAaA Day” is an opportunity for secular groups across the country to dispell stereotypes about atheism and to encourage constructive\, courteous dialogue between believers and nonbelievers. And it is an opportunity for the general public—particularly people of faith—to approach non-theists and ask questions about secular life. Please don’t be afraid to spark up a discussion with us\, we won’t bite. Most don’t\, anyway. The first event was in February of 2011\, when members of the Secular Student Alliance (https://secularstudents.org/) (SSA) at the University of Illinois set up a table with a sign that said “Ask an Atheist.” The next month an article appeared in the Friendly Atheist website (https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/)\, written by a “Guest Contributor” (probably an SSA member)\, saying the event was a smashing success and the Illinois group hoped to take the day nationally. “The SSA is ready to help\,” it added. Since then NAaA Day has occured across the nation each April since\, and soon in September as well. For those interested\, it helps to know a bit about atheism. Of course the point is to ask atheists questions\, but here is some background. Generally\, atheists have no belief in deities\, which is not quite the same as a positive belief that no deity exists. The prefix “a” just means “without.” Atheism has no set ideology—atheists may be humanists\, rationalists\, unitarian universalists\, postmodernists\, secularists\, among other things. Historically\, Greek and Roman philosophers and writers such as Epicurus\, Democritus\, and Lucretius had an influence on what would become atheism. The term didn’t appear until the sixteenth century\, a time when freethought and skepticism began to flourish. Some that lived during the Age of Enlightenment were the first to identify themselves as atheists. The supremacy of human reason was an facit of the French Revolution\, and it was at this time that atheism first became used politically. Science also began to lock horns with orthodox religion during the second half of the nineteenth century. Today it is challenging to estimate how many atheists are in the world. A 2015 poll claimed about 11% of the world’s population are atheists\, and a 2012 poll claimed the number to be 13% (both WIN/Gallup International polls). A BBC poll from 2004 put the number at 8%. Europe and Asia seem to have the largest number of atheists. In 2015\, 61% of Chinese citizens identified as atheists. How to observe the day. If you call yourself an atheist\, you can celebrate the day in a variety of ways. For example\, set up a table where believers and others can come up to you and ask you questions about atheism\, secular living\, and your beliefs (or nonbeliefs). You can email (mailto:organizers@secularstudents.org) the SSA for supplies for your table\, such as brochures\, stickers (https://secularstudents.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/AAAD-stickers-768×632.jpg)\, posters\, and flyers. You could also wear the stickers and put flyers up on campus (flyers could be put up before the day as well). You could organize an “ask an atheist” panel event\, or go on a radio station and have an “ask an atheist” segment where listeners are able to call in and ask you questions about atheism. When posting on social media\, use the hashtag #askanatheist. For more about the day and how to participate\, take a look at the Ask An Atheist Day Activity Guide (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XJObSWsJnmFY29WDsCGmMeJzCGax0QfQ/view). But what if you aren’t an atheist? Celebrate NAaA Day by asking an atheist about atheism! The day is meant to be filled with respectful dialogue\, so make sure to participate in such a way\, no matter if you are an atheist or the person asking questions.
URL:https://wp.aofonline.org/event/ask-an-atheist-day-2/
CATEGORIES:Secular Holiday
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260915
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260922
DTSTAMP:20260406T091747
CREATED:20260310T201501Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T201501Z
UID:225020-1789430400-1790035199@wp.aofonline.org
SUMMARY:World Cleanup Day
DESCRIPTION:In the United States\, World Cleanup Day (https://www.worldcleanupday.us/) (WCD) is the third Saturday of September\, which due to calendar vageries can drift from Sept 15 to Sept 21. But eco-groups urge us to think of all of September as World Cleanup Month. And that’s a great idea. The idea of WCD began in the small country of Estonia in 2008\, when 50\,000 people united to clean up the entire country in just five hours. On that day\, a bottom-up civic movement was born. It spread virally around the globe\, capturing the hearts off people worldwide\, who followed suit with the same ambitious ‘one country\, one-day’ formula. By 2018 it had united 18 million people across 157 countries and territories. Today the simple idea is a global movement with millions of volunteers and charismatic leaders. The simple act of cleaning has bound together people and groups that would otherwise never unite to work towards the same goal. Civil society\, governments and global corporations\, women in Saudi Arabia\, people defying war in Yemen and Syria\, Muslims\, Jews\, Hindus and Christians\, men and women\, children. Why? Because every human has a place they call Home\, be it a mansion\, a street\, a hut or a cardboard box. Then there are the cities\, countries\, and regions we call home; the planet we call home. When the Estonians successfully cleaned their home in 5 hours\, the world took notice. The simplicity of the idea and the ‘let’s do it’ attitude took off and the rest\, as they say\, is history. After all\, anyone can pick up trash. But World Cleanup Day has become much more than that. Daycares\, schools\, companies\, government officials – the old\, the young\, the rich\, the poor\, the able and less able – everyone has contributed. Because they can. Because they wanted to be involved in making their home a better place. Because they were given an opportunity to help. Because they belong to a community\, and the community belongs to us. How can you help? Go to https://www.worldcleanupday.us (https://www.worldcleanupday.us/) or https://www.worldcleanupday.org/ (https://www.worldcleanupday.org/)\, find your local contacts\, register for a Cleanup\, and rise early that day to help to beautify your parks\, trails\, beaches\, mountains\, and open spaces. The world will be better for it\, and you will be a better person.
URL:https://wp.aofonline.org/event/world-cleanup-day/
CATEGORIES:Secular Holiday
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260919
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260920
DTSTAMP:20260406T091747
CREATED:20260310T201501Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T201501Z
UID:225019-1789776000-1789862399@wp.aofonline.org
SUMMARY:Talk Like A Pirate Day
DESCRIPTION:Avast ye lubbers. International Talk Like a Pirate Day (http://talklikeapirate.com) is a day to show your Piratude. Created in 1995 by John Baur and Mark Summers\, promulgated to worldwide popularity by humorist Dave Barry in a syndicated column\, this is a secular holiday we can celebrate in many ways: garb like pirates\, talk like pirates\, swill grog like pirates\, stagger and fall down like pirates. What’s grog? Never mind\, just find some and knock it back. Then haul your keel\, shiver your timbers\, and do wha’ ever else seem right and proper\, ’cause this be a day to celebrate. More info ahoy\, here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Talk_Like_a_Pirate_Day).  (http://www.talklikeapirate.com/) Other Piratey links: How to Talk like a Pirate\, instructions here (http://www.yarr.org.uk/talk/). Translate text into Pirate Talk here (http://funtranslations.com/pirate). Google’s Pirate Search engine is here (http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-pirate).
URL:https://wp.aofonline.org/event/talk-like-a-pirate-day/
CATEGORIES:Secular Holiday
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260922
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260924
DTSTAMP:20260406T091747
CREATED:20260310T201500Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T201500Z
UID:225017-1790035200-1790207999@wp.aofonline.org
SUMMARY:Equinox (September)
DESCRIPTION:The September Equinox is one of two days in the calendar year when day almost equal the night hours. In the northern hemisphere it is also the first day of Autumn or Fall (Gregorian calendar)\, called the Autumnal Equinox. (In the southern hemisphere it is the first day of Spring.) The Autumnal Equinox marks when green things begin to shed\, when growth which was young in the spring has reached maturity. Animals prepare for winter\, tree leaves turn colors\, and the air takes a chill. In most cultures this a time for harvest and taking stock of life’s fragility. It is a time when people begin noticing the waning hours of daylight in anticipation of the winter. Since this time of year is one of the most temperate\, it is also a good time to reflect on the meaning of life. In every culture the Autumnal Equinox signals the return of weather that favors slowing down\, introspection\, and conservation. Many cultures celebrate the harvest as a means to defeat the starvation brought on by winter. It is also a time closely associated with the dead. Though the dead do not return to life nor walk the earth this time of the year\, it is well to remember or memorialize those who are no longer with us. For freethinkers the Autumnal Equinox is a great time to celebrate the lives of those who contributed to the freethought movement. It is also a perfect day to contemplate your own thoughts on the meaning you invest in life\, and share those thoughts with others.
URL:https://wp.aofonline.org/event/equinox-september/
CATEGORIES:Secular Holiday
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260923
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261001
DTSTAMP:20260406T091747
CREATED:20260310T201502Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T201502Z
UID:225024-1790121600-1790812799@wp.aofonline.org
SUMMARY:Banned Book Week
DESCRIPTION:(http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/) September’s end marks Banned Books Week\, a celebration of the Freedom to Read\, established by the American Library Association in 1981 in response to growing attempts to ban books in public libraries across the country. First observed in 1982\, we celebrate it each year during the last week starting in September\, to remind our fellow citizens not to take for granted their freedom to read the written word. Every year bookstores and libraries across the United States celebrate Banned Books Week with displays of and readings from books that have been banned or threatened throughout history. Such works range from the Bible and Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason to Shakespeare’s Hamlet\, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series\, and has included books on atheism\, science\, tolerance\, social issues\, love and sex\, and philosophy. Jean-Jacques Rousseau\, Thomas Paine\, Voltaire\, Aristophanes\, Margaret Sanger\, Mary Shelley\, Ambrose Bierce\, Charles Darwin\, George Eliot\, Mark Twain and John Locke were all victims of censorship during their lifetimes and still face censorship in some sections of the world today. Banned Books Week stands as a reminder that freedom is precious\, that without constant diligence and defiance we can loose it\, even in the United States. If anything this should motivate freethinkers everywhere to read banned books\, discuss them\, and protect the rights of all Americans to read what they want\, when they want\, in libraries across the country. Banned Books Week sponsors include the …    American Booksellers Association (http://www.bookweb.org/)\,    American Booksellers Foundation of Free Expression (http://www.abffe.org/)\,    American Library Association (http://www.ala.org/) (ALA)\,     Association of American Publishers (http://www.publishers.org/)\,    American Society of Journalists and Authors (http://www.asja.org/index9.php)\, and    National Association of College Stores (http://www.csref.org/).  It is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book (http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/). 
URL:https://wp.aofonline.org/event/banned-book-week/
CATEGORIES:Secular Holiday
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260930
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261001
DTSTAMP:20260406T091747
CREATED:20260310T201502Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260310T201502Z
UID:225023-1790726400-1790812799@wp.aofonline.org
SUMMARY:Blasphemy Day
DESCRIPTION:Secularists and freethinkers worldwide celebrate International Blasphemy Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_Day) or “Blasphemy Rights Day” to mark the anniversary of when images of Muhammad appeared in the Denmark newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005. Conservative Muslims reacted to the drawings with worldwide protests\, riots\, embassy burnings and death threats. Formally founded in 2009 by Ronald Lindsay\, Directory of the Center of Inquiry in Ahmherst\, New York\, and promoted by the Campaign for Free Expression (http://www.centerforinquiry.net/campaign_for_free_expression)\, this secular holiday now stands as a platform for individuals freely to express criticisms of religion and religious establishments. As Ronald Lindsay said in a television interview: “… religious beliefs should be subject to examination and criticism just as political beliefs are\, but we have a taboo on religion.” “… we’re against restrictions on speech based purely on the possibility that some people might be offended\,” he also said; “Because if you go down that path there’s no end to it.” Participants have celebrated Blasphemy Day in various ways: with speeches\, art exhibitions\, feasts\, poetry\, music and song\, and by taking the Blasphemy Challenge (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_Response_Squad#The_Blasphemy_Challenge). Use your imagination. Unlike most holidays\, this one even has its own Facebook page. Visit it here (http://www.facebook.com/blasphemyday).
URL:https://wp.aofonline.org/event/blasphemy-day/
CATEGORIES:Secular Holiday
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