National Love Your Red Hair Day Date in the current year: November 5, 2024

Red hair, also referred to as ginger hair or orange hair, is found only in 1-2% of the human population. It is most common among people of Northwestern European ancestry; Ireland has the world’s highest percentage of redheads (10%). Red hair can vary in hue from a bright copper or deep burgundy, to red-orange or burnt orange, to strawberry blond. Natural redheads usually have light eyes, fair skin sensitive to UV light, and freckles.

Although many people find red hair beautiful, it has been ridiculed or feared in some cultures. During the Middle Ages, for example, red hair was thought to be a mark of moral degeneration and a sign of a witch. Even today redheads often face prejudice, stereotyping, and hostility due to their natural hair color. Because of this, the main goal of National Love Your Red Hair Day is to combat discrimination against redheads.

National Love Your Red Hair Day was founded in 2015 by redheaded sisters Adrienne and Stephanie Vendetti, the co-founders of the website How to Be a Redhead. They launched the site in 2011 as a response to the unwanted attention and bullying they experienced at school because of their natural hair color and created a holiday celebrating redheads four years later.

The Vendetti sisters wanted to create a day that would counteract the negativity associated with red hair by spreading a positive message about redheads, encourage redheads to embrace their natural hair color, and remind people that everyone deserves respect regardless of their color.

If you’re a redhead, celebrate the holiday by showing off your hair on social media with the hashtag #LoveYourRedHairDay, treating yourself to a new hairstyle, or getting together with fellow redheads for a party or fun day out. If you’re not a redhead but have always wanted to dye your hair red, go for it!

National Love Your Red Hair Day is sometimes referred to as National Redhead Day which may lead to confusion with a Dutch festival with a similar name. The Redhead Day festival (Roodharigendag) has been held in the Netherlands on the last weekend of August since 2005. Every year, thousands of people with natural red hair from all over the world come to the city of Tilburg to celebrate their gorgeous hair color and participate in various activities, ranging from lectures and workshops to photo shoots and pub crawls.

Redhead Day isn’t the only event for redheads: there are quite a few festivals, conventions, parades, and other events celebrating red hair around the world. They include, for example, Ginger Pride Parade (Rome, Georgia, United States), Redhead Day UK (London, United Kingdom), Festival des Ch’tis roux (Arras, France), RossItalia (Milan, Italy), Red Head Days (Ellicottville, New York, United States), Redhead Sicily (Favignana, Italy), Das Rothaarigentreffen Deutschland (Hamburg, Germany), and many more.