Why Celebrate Fandom Holidays?

There are a lot of fandom holidays this June.

In 2025, we’ve had a Friday the 13th, a reoccurring date that horror fans delight in. However, to fans of Psych this also means celebrating the show’s parody episode of the famous horror flick, “Tuesday the 17th”. June 26 is Lilo and Stitch Day, with the notation of 6/26 also being Stitch’s experiment number. The 8th is known as Ghostbusters day, marking the film’s theatrical release in 1984 and sparking celebrations across the country.

Or, if you’re like me, you’re celebrating June 15th as the double release of Gravity Falls and Welcome to Night Vale, both in 2012. (Gravity Falls fans also celebrate again on June 18th, as the number 618 is hidden throughout the show – marking creator Alex Hirsch and his twin sister Ariel’s birthday.) Not to mention, the entirety of June is Pride Month – a time in which fans celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community’s history in fandom culture. Needless to say, there’s a lot to keep track of. 

But why celebrate these holidays? To a lot of people, fandom holidays are nothing more than a fun fact on a calendar. Everyday could be a fandom holiday if you play by these rules. 

In a previous article, “On “Conclave” and Blurring the Lines between Religion and Fandom”, I mentioned that fans celebrate their holidays the same way someone would observe a religious holiday like Christmas or Eid al-Fitr. In fact, fandom holidays have a lot more in common with religious celebrations than meets the eye. 

Just as religious holidays have traditions, so do fandom holidays. Every May 4th (May the 4th Be With You) Star Wars fans gather around the world for movie marathons, visit Galaxy’s Edge at the Disney parks, and some churches will even play the iconic theme song with their bells. On February 2nd, you can expect to see fans of Groundhog Day gathering in Woodstock Square, Illinois, where the movie was filmed. These celebrations follow rituals of watching (and maybe eating) with people all sharing a common element of their identity together. Sounds a lot like Christmas to me. 

These traditions serve as community bonding experiences. In a time where third spaces are becoming less accessible, fandom has taken up that responsibility of bringing people together. Holidays, much like conventions, serve as an excuse to get together in person or online. These gatherings forge a sense of cultural memory for fans.

In her book Rogue Archives: Digital Cultural Memory and Media Fandom, Abigail De Kosnik describes how “Memory has gone rogue in the sense that it has come loose from its fixed place in the production cycle. It now may be found anywhere, or everywhere, in the chain of making” (4). Celebrating holidays online or by digitizing photographs/experiences allows these memories to be accessed later on, rather than be fixed to just a specific person or place. It lets our fandoms live outside of us as individuals. 

Traditions also mark the passage of time and bring a sense of familiarity to a changing world. They provide routine and comfort, especially for those who may find other holidays difficult to celebrate due to religious or political persecution, or loss of close family and friends. Fandom can take the place of other holidays and create new and positive memories. It binds us in the same way our religions, jobs, and neighborhoods do. 

Pop culture is exactly as the name suggests, it’s a part of our culture as humans. Movies, TV shows, and books all represent our values as a society, and those traditions reflect our on-going bond throughout the years. After all, some of our favorite films and TV shows were released decades ago– allowing generations of fans to partake in the same public appreciation as those who came before them. We celebrate the past and the future of fandom. 

So why celebrate fandom? Well… why not? 

Stories bring us together. They create excuses for joy and community. Whether you’re just wearing a t-shirt to mark the occasion or attending a full-on party, celebrating fandom demonstrates how even the smallest of things can have a big impact on each of us. 

Author: Abby Kirby

Abby Kirby is an English teacher and fan studies scholar. She holds an M.A. in Media and Cinema Communications from DePaul University.

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