National & International Days on March 5
Below are brief explanations of each observance celebrated on March 5.
Cinco de Marcho
Cinco de Marcho is a humorous pseudo-holiday falling exactly twelve days before St. Patrick’s Day, with a name that playfully riffs on Cinco de Mayo. It’s an excuse for friends to gather at Mexican restaurants or pubs to train their livers and social stamina for the mid-March holiday season. The holiday gained traction through a dedicated website and social media around 2007–2008.
International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness
International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness was established by the United Nations in 2017, this day raises public awareness about the dangers of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. It encourages dialogue and education on disarmament efforts to move the world toward peace and security.
Name Tag Day
Name Tag Day* (Thursday of the first full week in March) is the fourth day of Celebrate Your Name Week (CYNW), created by Jerry Hill in 1997. It encourages people to wear name tags to break down social barriers, ease the awkwardness of forgotten names, and foster open, friendly communication with strangers.
National Absinthe Day
National Absinthe Day commemorates March 5, 2007, when the 95-year U.S. ban on absinthe was effectively lifted, approving the first legal imports and domestic production in nearly a century. Banned in the early 1910s across the U.S. and much of Europe, absinthe had been falsely blamed for causing madness and violent behavior — largely the result of a smear campaign by the wine industry and the temperance movement.
National Cheese Doodle Day
National Cheese Doodle Day celebrates the cheddar-coated, puffed or crunchy corn snack famous for turning fingers bright orange. The cheese doodle is considered an accidental invention, though its exact origin remains debated. Some 15 million pounds are produced annually in the United States.
National Hospitalist Day
National Hospitalist Day* (First Thursday in March) was founded by the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) in 2019 to recognize the contributions of hospitalists — the fastest-growing specialty in modern medicine. First coined by Drs. Lee Goldman and Bob Wachter in a 1996 New England Journal of Medicine article, a hospitalist specializes exclusively in hospital-based care, managing a patient’s journey from admission to discharge and serving as the central coordinator among specialists.
National Multiple Personality Day
National Multiple Personality Day / Dissociative Identity Disorder Awareness Day carries two distinct, sometimes conflicting interpretations: one encourages self-reflection and exploring different aspects of personality, while the other raises awareness of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) — a recognized mental health condition characterized by two or more distinct identities. The founder is unknown, with the holiday gaining traction in the early 2000s.
National Potty Dance Day
National Potty Dance Day is designed to support parents and toddlers during the milestone of potty training. It got its name after the unmistakable wiggle children do when nature calls. Officially established in 2013 by the makers of Pull-Ups training pants, the day aims to take the stress out of the process by turning a potentially frustrating milestone into a fun, celebrated rite of passage.
National Slam the Scam Day
National Slam the Scam Day* (Thursday of National Consumer Protection Week) National Slam the Scam Day raises awareness about government imposter scams — where fraudsters pose as agencies such as the SSA, IRS, or Medicare to deceive victims. Led by the Social Security Administration and its Office of the Inspector General, the day educates the public on how to recognize and report these schemes.
Reel Film Day
Reel Film Day was established in 2017 by Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to advocate for the preservation and continued use of celluloid film in an increasingly digital world. March 5 was chosen because 3/5 corresponds to 35mm — the most iconic film gauge in cinematic history.
World Book Day
World Book Day 🇬🇧🇮🇪* (First Thursday in March) is observed in the United Kingdom and Ireland since 1998 to encourage reading for pleasure — a key indicator of a child’s future success. Every child in full-time education receives a special £1 World Book Day Book Token redeemable at any bookshop in the UK and Ireland.
📕 Not to be confused with the UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day, observed globally on April 23.
National Days to Explore
School Year
National Days — Academic Year 2025–2026
Year 2026
National Days 2026 — Aesthetic
Year 2026
National Days 2026 — Festive
Year 2026
National Days 2026 — Watercolor
Food Days · 2026
Food Days 2026 — Aesthetic
Food Days · 2026
Food Days 2026 — Festive