Talk Like a Pirate Day

September 19

When I tell people what I do—write about holidays every day—they inevitably ask, “So, like real holidays? Or, like Talk Like a Pirate Day?

The implication being that the latter is a “made up” holiday.

Which it is.

First of all, all holidays are “made up”. It’s just the ones we take for granted were made up before you were born.

Second, if the age be the sole determiner of legitimacy, Talk Like a Pirate Day is older than other, several nations’ independence days, including Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and East Timor.

Talk Like a Pirate Day was made up by these guys.

Capn Slappy & Ol Chumbucket
Cap'n Slappy & Ol' Chumbucket

So the legend goes…In the mid-1990s, one of the two salty sea-dogs pictured above had a bizarre sports injury that briefly caused him to talk like a pirate. Every year thereafter (except for when they forgot to) they spoke ‘pirate’ for a day–though not on the anniversary of the injury, which was on June 6 (D-Day).

They chose September 19, because it was Cap’n Slappy’s wench’s birthday at the time. Also no doubt because—as I too have discovered—September 19 holiday pickings are slimmer than Panama at high-tide. No offense to St. Kitts and Nevis, which celebrates Independence Day today. But as we’ve covered the Independence Days of 7 other American nations this week (Mexico, Chile, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua) I’ve opted to let my hair down, hoist the jib, walk the plank, and do whatever it is that pirates do these days when they’re not illegally downloading software.

But, ahoy, if ye yellow-bellied sapsuckers harbor a tight lip, for fear of soundin’ land-locked, this video surely’ll be fixin’ ta loosen yer tongue.

Me hearty.

How to Talk Pirate

What is a pirate’s favorite sock?

Aaarr-gyle!