A’Phabet Day or No “L” Day – December 25, 2024

History of A’Phabet Day or No “L” Day

A pun, or ‘paronomasia,’ is a form of wordplay that “exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect.” Puns have been around for eons, across the globe, languages, genders, and ages. The earliest evidence of puns came from ancient Egypt, where they were used to interpret dreams and describe myths. Circa 300 B.C. in China, Shen Dao used puns to describe the power held by the king. He stated that the king has power (‘shi’) because of his position. In Mesopotamia, as far back as 2500 B.C., puns were used to represent words in cuneiform. The “Tanakh” also contains puns. The Mayans were known to use puns in their hieroglyphic writing, along with utilizing them in modern languages. In Tamil, ‘Sledai’ is used to mean pun with different meanings. ‘Slesha’ is the equivalent Telugu word.

The ambiguities invoked by puns are a result of the intentional use of homophonic (similar sounds), homographic (same spellings), homonymic (words that are both homophones and homographs), or figurative language. Puns are used in comedy, literature, rhetoric, and design.

A’Phabet Day or No “L” Day is celebrated on December 25 each year. The day uses a pun to reference Christmas Day! The name of the holiday is a play on the word ‘Noel,’ which is intrinsically linked to the idea of Christmas and means ‘to be born,’ and is used by the French to reference the holiday. Though opinions on the, rather unabashed, pun are divided — the day is meant for pun enthusiasts across the world.