The Case Against International Kiss a Ginger Day by Eryn Jones

If you have Twitter and pay any attention to trending hashtags you are probably aware that there is a nonsensical holiday attached to nearly every day of the year – sometimes more than one! January 12th happens to be ‘International Kiss a Ginger Day’.

Now before I begin I feel the need to disclaim that I find redheads as attractive as any other member of the population. This is not an attack on any redheaded individual but instead on the concept of the ‘holiday’. I am not here to make enemies either, especially not among the Irish and the Scottish (I’m Welsh I am with you I swear), still I am here to put in my argument against the ‘holiday’ known as ‘International Kiss a Ginger Day’. Imagine me air-quoting holiday here because I was. There is no religious significance, no presents, no chocolates, no potential day off of work, I feel like at the very least one of those boxes should be ticked to earn that title.

Before I get carried away with this argument, I suppose it might help to have a bit of background. According to the Irish post, ‘International Kiss a Ginger Day’ was founded in 2009 as a pushback against an episode of South Park which included a ‘kick a ginger day’. Now I have never seen an episode of South Park so I cannot verify these claims, but it does seem on par for what I know of the show so I choose to believe the Irish Post. Now on principal I am not against turning negativity into positivity but as far as origin stories go it’s pretty silly and having to reference a South Park episode definitely sits it in the negative column.

But lets forget about the origins! After all I’m sure not many people think of St. Valentine on Valentine’s day or about the origins of May day, the origins aren’t always going to be important to everyone I guess. So letting that slide let us air some further grievances.

1. What if you don’t know any ginger’s in your life and your cat is a tabby to boot so you haven’t even got that excuse? You can’t even go down the pub anymore because we are in a global pandemic oops. So it’s very inconvenient and people might feel left out.

2. Related to the feeling of missing out; what if you are ginger and no one kisses you?

3. It’s hard to tell if someone is a natural redhead sometimes, is it seven years bad luck to kiss a fake ginger on ‘International Kiss a Ginger Day’? Probably not as I just made this up, but do you want to risk it?

4. It is very unlikely that I will ever get the opportunity to kiss Karen Gillan on this day which is unfair.

5. Unsanitary. I think this last year has made us all more aware of not wanting strangers faces too close to our own.

If you are yourself a redhead or are in a relationship with one then I suppose most of these arguments don’t hold up, but think of us lonely singles before you speak please.

‘This all just sounds bitter,’ you might say, but that is not the place I am trying to come from! Neither is this a plea for equality. I am not asking for a day for brunettes or blondes or people who have dyed their hair so often their natural colour is a mystery known only to a select few. Rather I think that much like dogs are not just for Christmas redheads are not just for January 12th.

Besides which redhead out there really wouldn’t prefer an ‘international give a ginger some chocolate and a day off work day’? Anybody?

PS. I hope anyone participating in this ‘holiday’ (I am still using air-quotes) is following local guidelines and only kissing gingers inside their social bubble.

PPS. If you happen to be an owner of a ginger cat please give them a kiss for me regardless of your stance on this holiday and regardless of the day you are reading this.

Words by Eryn Jones

Edited by Bodil Jonsson