What Does it Mean to Have a Red-Letter Day?

Are you having a red-letter day? Maybe you are: maybe you aren’t. Let’s find out!

We don’t hear the term “red letter day” too often anymore, but it’s an old idiom that means the day is an occasion: something to remember and cherish. If you’re having a red-letter day, it means something significant or wonderful is happening to you on that particular date.

The term comes from history. Before we had calendars on our phones and computers, we used paper calendars.

And religious calendars marked their holy days or feast days in red. Because all the other dates on the calendar were printed in black, those red numbers really stood out! So today, when you’re having “a red letter day,” it means something really special is happening on that day.

It doesn’t even have to be a holiday. A red-letter day can be any day that’s important to you. A birthday or an anniversary can be a red-letter day. So can any other day that really stands out. If you got a raise, won the lottery, or got straight A’s on your report card, you can certainly call those “red letter days!”

As time races by, why not take a cue from the red-letter days of yesteryear? Get creative and create your own calendar. Then, mark it with days that are meaningful to you and your family.

You can use your Uncle Goose Create a Calendar or Perpetual Calendar Blocks to show off your own special red-letter days. How will you bring attention to special dates? Maybe you’ll use an image of a wrapped present to show off a birthday. Or how about an apple for the first day of school? Or starbursts to commemorate the Fourth of July?

The Create a Calendar set gives you plenty of creative options for making your red-letter days stand out! And the Perpetual Calendar Set also lets you use icons to decorate your special dates.