Today, May 6, is an auspicious day. It is national crepe suzette day. Tomorrow, national roast leg of lamb day, Friday coconut cream pie day, and so forth, until clean up your room day at the end of the week. But that’s not why we’re here. In the annals of national day lore, May 6 is also, and more importantly, Travel Agent Day.

Indeed, the first Wednesday of May was consecrated so in 2012 and has been steadily growing ever since, and in a typical year agents might celebrate with cake and balloons, and suppliers profess love and respect with kind words, and in many cases, special booking incentives.

In fact, in some quarters, travel agent day has morphed into travel agent month, not least with ACTA, which announced Monday a series of initiatives throughout May to “have some fun while building awareness and to educate the travelling public, policymakers and the media on the value that travel agents contribute to the travel ecosystem.”

Sadly, this year, with most agents enduring an incredible flight-less of being, celebrations will be subdued, or at least, creative.

The Travel Agent Next Door, for example, is collecting testimonials of clients saying in their words why they appreciate their travel agents.

And so they should, 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 tuba 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, no bra, bare feet). And food: tater tots, string cheese, peanut butter and jelly, pierogis, and pigs in a blanket, amongst others.

Alas, national wear your pajamas to work day has perhaps lost some of its resonance during the pandemic, and every day feels like blame someone else day.

Nevertheless, travel agents, who, for their expertise and effort at finding us good places to go on holiday, and trying to get us home again 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.