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On Saturday January 23, 2021, it is National Handwriting Day. National Handwriting Day encourages us to put pen to paper and write our thoughts. According to the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association, it Is a chance for all to re-explore the purity and power of handwriting. 

While technology speeds up the writing process and makes communication more efficient worldwide, there’s something to be said for writing something out longhand. Whether it is a journal, notes, or even a letter to someone, the act of writing with pen and paper is a tactile and patient practice. If it does anything, it forces the body and the mind to slow down and resynchronize.

In merely seconds, letters and words form when we text or email. Phones transmit our voices in real time. Once sent or said, those words cannot be recalled. 

Meanwhile, writing longhand feels like taking a deep breath. Jumbled thoughts must be sorted before the ink spills onto a white page. They must count and be worthy of the lines that will fill it. It’s an exercise in faith. And it requires practice, too. 

How to observe National Handwriting Day:

• Start a journal
• Write a short story or poem
• Write out a to-do list
• Take a calligraphy class
• Send a handwritten letter to a friend or family member

Work on your handwriting and use #NationalHandwritingDay to post on social media. 

You obviously cannot have a Holiday-ish story without the background history regarding the weird holiday.

National Handwriting Day was established by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association in 1977. Their motive is to promote the consumption of pens, pencils, and writing paper. January 23rd was chosen as this is the birthday of John Hancock. John Hancock was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.