May is often referred to as the merry month. Nevertheless, it is strange. Sunscreen, duct tape, redheads, the colour grey, even the snail – they all have their own (usually not entirely serious) holiday in May. Super-creative when it comes to curious holidays: the Americans. They first celebrate the Day of the Supernatural, only to set themselves right one day later with the Day of Reason. But the English also celebrate, in May, cucumbers and biscuits. What does this have to do with shoes? Well, shoes and other widely used footwear creates an unnatural cluster of strange holidays in the merry month of May. And of course, most of them were invented by the Yanks.

It all starts on 3 May. You may have noticed one or two people wearing two different shoes on that day. The “Wear Two Different Coloured Shoes Day” is said to have existed in the USA since 2009. As “Two Different Colored Shoes Day” it celebrates versatility and the differences that make us unique. So just wear two different coloured Zeha shoes on this day. We really do have enough colours in our range – unique colours.

Of course, there are holidays that we support in terms of content but simply cannot endorse commercially. No Socks Day, for example, which celebrates freedom for the feet on 8 May. By not wearing socks? No Socks Day was invented by Ruth and Tom Roy. Thomas Roy is actually an actor and played a small role in the film 12 Monkeys with Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis. The couple has invented more than 80 celebrations and commemorations. If you don’t want to celebrate “No Socks Day”, maybe try their “Full Crumbled Keyboard Day” or “Hug an Australian Day”. But back to socks. We have plenty of those too and they don’t restrict the freedom of feet, they flatter them.

Which in turn brings us to 9 May, “Lost Sock Day”. Who doesn’t know it, this strange phenomenon? Washing machines that eat socks. But only one at a time. Two English housewives from Manchester started this important day, the “Lost Socks Memorial Day” back in 1998. Stocking up on socks works well for us, too.

And finally, there is 10 May. The “One Day Without Shoes Day” or in English “One Day Without Shoes Day”. It was created to draw attention to people who walk without shoes because they don’t have the money to buy them. This is not really a reason to celebrate, but a reminder of the Shoe Aid project. The Shoe Aid collection boxes are in our ZEHA stores in Prenzlauer Allee. They are for Cameroon. We’ve been supporting the project since July 2021, so bring us your shoes, the ones from the far corners of your shoe cupboards and breathe a second life into them. Fill up our boxes – that would be a reason to celebrate, wouldn’t it?

By the way, the next strange shoe and foot holiday won’t be until August with “Wiggle Your Toes Day”, the origin of which is completely unknown. Probably because wiggling your toes is fun on any day. And there is also a celebration on 17 August: “I like my feet day” or “I Love My Feet Day”. Of course, this is also an American invention. It has been celebrated since 2015 and was created by Carolyn Jenkins, a foot and shoe consultant, as a day on which people should not only love their feet, but also take proper care of them. For example, by choosing proper and beautiful footwear.

Holidays – especially the strange ones – are often invented by manufacturers. Should we perhaps also consider? The “Wear four stripes on your feet day” probably doesn’t exist yet. Maybe you have better ideas? Then let’s hear them.