Today, May 3, is an auspicious day. It is national lumpy rug day. Tomorrow, national Star Wars day, Friday tuba day, and so forth, until packaging design day at the end of the week. But in the annals of national day lore, the first Wednesday of May is also, most importantly, Travel Agent Appreciation Day.

Indeed, the not-yet national holiday was consecrated in 2012 and has been steadily growing ever since, and in a typical year agents might celebrate with cake and balloons, while suppliers profess love and respect with kind words, and in many cases, special booking incentives. A Facebook page is even devoted to the occasion.

In fact, in some quarters, travel agent day has morphed into travel agent week and month, not least with ACTA, which says this year is more important that ever as “the travel industry has been through a lot in the past three years, from working overtime with no guarantee of outcome due to pandemic restrictions, to political unrest, severe weather, infrastructure issues, mass schedule changes, cancellations, and more.”

Moreover, with travel booming again, combined with staff shortages, agents are busier than ever in a classic case of it never rains but it pours.

So, here’s to travel agents – after all, Canadians honour many important people each year, such as their mothers, fathers, religious figures, politicians (Upper Canada’s first lieutenant governor Lord Simcoe), and long-dead monarchs. Even important rodent weather prognosticators – Wiarton Willie, who tells us each year what we want, what we really, really want: To know when our woeful winter is going to end.

Then again, Friday last was national hairball awareness day, and there are other annual celebrations dedicated to the likes of waffles, whiners, and wiggling your toes; clothes (underwear) and no clothes (lost socks, braless, bare feet). And food: tater tots, string cheese, peanut butter and jelly, pierogies, and pigs in a blanket, amongst others.

Alas, national wear your pajamas to work day has perhaps lost some of its resonance now that so many of us work at home, and every day feels like blame someone else day.

Nevertheless, travel agents, who, for their expertise and effort at finding us places to go on holiday, and trying to get there and back again, as Bilbo would say, when disrupted by hurricanes, volcanoes, and infectious disease outbreaks, are every bit as deserving of being feted as Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny.

So, celebrate and be celebrated today. And why not again on May 25 – national wine day? Make a toast and live it up a little on champagne day, Dec. 31. (But keep in mind, that the following day, Jan. 1, is national hangover day).

All of which is to say: every day should be travel agent day.

Indeed, hats off to travel agents! Unless, of course, it’s Jan. 15 – national hat day!

(Note: this is a reprised version of a column that first appeared on May 6, 2020)