Backward Day Date in the current year: January 31, 2024

On this day, people are encouraged to do everything backwards. You can try reading, writing or even talking backwards. When you get dressed, put on your shirt or dress back to front. When you eat your meals, start with dessert and end with appetizer or whatever you typically start your meals with. Just don't cross the street backwards as it is dangerous even on Backward Day.

Backward Day is especially loved by school aged kids. If you have children, you can read Lewis Carroll's “Through the Looking-Glass” to them: the Looking-Glass Land where Alice found yourself is basically a backward version of the real world. For example, to get to the garden Alice had to go in the opposite direction.

Backward Day might seem a silly holiday to celebrate, but why miss an opportunity to have some fun? Follow Leonardo da Vinci's example: he wrote most of his personal notes backwards (in mirror writing) although no one knows for sure why he did so.