January 16th is National Nothing Day. This un-event was created by newspaperman Harold Pullman Coffin. It was first observed in 1973. The goal of National Nothing Day is "to provide Americans with one national day when they can just sit without celebrating, observing, or honoring anything." The Smithsonian American Art Museum has a short blurb on this event and a picture that depicts one way to celebrate it.

National Nothing Day is also the theme for our online writing contest. (Scroll down the page until you see the stories listed under contest #200801). The contest is ongoing, with a different first line chosen each month, and is open to kids of all ages The rules are simple: Write a short story using the first line we give you and submit it to CCF.

More links to National Nothing Day:

• Holiday Insights- tradition, fun, facts and more! - A site with information, and lots more, about every holiday you can imagine.
• On this Date: a book with day-by-day listing of holidays, birthdays and historic events lists National Nothing Day on page 16.
• School Library Media Activities Monthly - on page 8 of their PDF January newsletter you'll find mention of this un-event as well as some activities to carry out on that day---though doing anything on this day would defeat the purpose of the day, wouldn't it?
• Cortez Journal mentions the holiday as well as the fact that this year it falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a major federal holiday.
• Stress rating begs for day for nothing - Mark Woods, a reporter from the Florida Times-Union Jacksonville.com writes about how we could all use a nice stress-free day.

Send us additional information you find on National Nothing Day or its creator, Harold Pullman Coffin, and we'll post it here under your name. Also, don't forget to write a 200 words or less story using the first line we give you and submit it to our January online writing contest.