December 5 Holidays

International Volunteer Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 1985 to recognize the contribution of volunteers to economic and social development — an estimated 1 billion people volunteer globally, contributing an economic value equivalent to $1.35 trillion annually. Chester Greenwood Day is a Maine state holiday celebrating Chester Greenwood, who invented earmuffs in Farmington, Maine in 1873 at age 15 and patented them in 1877 — his hometown celebrates with a parade. National Blue Jeans Day celebrates the blue jeans — patented by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis on May 20, 1873 — the indigo-dyed denim trousers that became the most globally worn garment in history. Bathtub Party Day was created to celebrate the bathtub as a venue for relaxation, rubber duck racing, and aquatic social events — a whimsical observance with no documented rationale beyond the pleasure of the premise.