National Monkey Day: When And Why It Is Celebrated

On this day every year, December 14 is celebrated as National Monkey Day. The holiday celebrates the unique characteristics of monkeys and focuses on other non-human primates such as tarsiers, apes, and lemurs.  It is a great day when it comes to raising awareness about different types of monkeys around the world, as well as the issues they face and how we can help them. 

Aim of World Monkey Day  

Monkey Day aim is to raise awareness of the present threats faced by these animals. Several entities, such as the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic, and Greenpeace, also promote National Monkey Day. 
 
Back story of National Monkey Day  

Monkeys are recognized as part of the human family tree. Interestingly, two college students, Casey Sorrow and Erik Millikin, are responsible for bringing this simian-centric celebratory day into existence. During their time studying art at Michigan State University in 2000, these two students established National Monkey Day. 
 
Sorrow has admitted that he first jokingly wrote down "Monkey Day" in one of his friends' calendars but later ran along with this idea. And when December 14 came, Sorrow and his friends dressed themselves up as monkeys. They started incorporating Monkey Day ideas in their homemade comics and artwork. Over time, many countries, including India, Germany, and Thailand, began to observe Monkey Day on December 14.