Not Your Average Holiday

Akshay and Matt
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Hobbies
  • Updated Weekly

A podcast where random holidays get the main character treatment! Every single day deserves a celebration, and we seek out the bizarre traditions, historical events not taught in school, and unusual community gatherings to fill your calendar with adventure!

  1. Sep 20

    Pepperoni Pizza, Hobbits & One-Hit Wonders | This Week's Holidays

    This week, Matt and Akshay celebrate National Pepperoni Pizza Day, International Day of Peace, Hobbit Day, and National One-Hit Wonder Day — and somehow a conversation about pizza toppings turns into one about peace, adventure, nostalgia, and knowing when it's worth leaving the safety of home.It starts with the important questions: Is pepperoni actually better than plain cheese? Does pineapple belong anywhere near it? And why does ordering pepperoni in Italy not necessarily get you what you expect?Then International Day of Peace gets surprisingly personal as Matt and Akshay talk about what peace actually looks like in everyday life before heading to the Shire for Hobbit Day. Bilbo and Frodo lead to a much bigger conversation about being underestimated, taking chances, career risks, responsibility, and the tension between a comfortable home and the adventure waiting outside it.Finally, National One-Hit Wonder Day brings things back to music, nostalgia, and those songs that somehow find us at exactly the right moment.In this episode:National Pepperoni Pizza Day — Pepperoni vs. cheese, pineapple combinations, pizza preferences, and the Italian-American origins of pepperoniInternational Day of Peace — The UN Peace Bell, whether one day devoted to peace can make a difference, and what actually makes each of us feel peacefulHobbit Day — Bilbo, Frodo, the comforts of the Shire, being underestimated, and deciding when it's worth leaving safety behind for an adventureNational One-Hit Wonder Day — The songs that seemingly came out of nowhere, stayed forever, and became attached to particular moments in our livesPlus: Gangnam Style, seven hobbit meals, traveling far from home, comedy, career risks, learning, and why some songs find you exactly when you need them.New episodes every Sunday. Thanks for celebrating the strange with us!#NotYourAverageHoliday #Podcast #ComedyPodcast #FunnyPodcast #PepperoniPizzaDay #InternationalDayOfPeace #HobbitDay #OneHitWonderDay #Pizza #Hobbits #OneHitWonders #Comedy #Nostalgia📚 Sources & Further ReadingNational Pepperoni Pizza DayNational Day Calendar — September 20 / Pepperoni Pizza DaySmithsonian Magazine — Pizza and the Italian-American origins of pepperoniMerriam-Webster — Pepperoni definition and etymologyInternational Day of PeaceUnited Nations — International Day of PeaceUnited Nations — The Peace BellHobbit DayThe Tolkien Society — Hobbit Day and Tolkien WeekThe Tolkien SocietyJ.R.R. Tolkien — The Hobbit and The Lord of the RingsNational One-Hit Wonder DayNational Day Calendar — National One-Hit Wonder Day

  2. Sep 13

    Play-Doh, Bamboo & Cheeseburgers | This Week's Holidays

    This week, Matt and Akshay bounce from National Play-Doh Day and World Bamboo Day to the Battle of San Jacinto in Nicaragua and National Cheeseburger Day — with sports movies, childhood nostalgia, comfort food, and plenty of unexpected tangents along the way.The episode starts with a little history before quickly deteriorating into Matt defending himself with the “echo of justice” and an exercise ball. From there, Akshay and Matt swap favorite underdog movies, debate whether mixing Play-Doh colors is acceptable behavior, discover Play-Doh's strange beginnings as a wallpaper cleaner, and revisit the toys they loved growing up.Eventually, the holidays lead to bamboo sustainability, hypothetical zoo diets, giant burgers, wartime food names, hibachi, chili, and the foods we'd happily eat when we need a little comfort.In this episode:🇳🇮 Battle of San Jacinto — Nicaraguan history, national identity, resistance, and the inevitable question of what you'd grab if you suddenly needed to defend yourselfNational Play-Doh Day — Play-Doh purism, mixing colors, childhood nostalgia, and the surprising reason Play-Doh was originally inventedWorld Bamboo Day — How quickly bamboo grows, why it's considered a renewable resource, and some of the surprising things we make from itNational Cheeseburger Day — Cheeseburger history, a massive 1,800-pound burger, “Liberty Sandwiches,” and our favorite comfort foodsPlus: the “echo of justice,” hibachi, chili, and whatever else comes up along the way.New episodes every Sunday. Thanks for celebrating the strange with us!#NotYourAverageHoliday #Podcast #ComedyPodcast #FunnyPodcast #NationalCheeseburgerDay #NationalPlayDohDay #WorldBambooDay #Cheeseburger #PlayDoh #Comedy #Trivia #FunFacts #Nostalgia📚 Sources & Further ReadingBattle of San Jacinto — NicaraguaEBSCO Research Starters — San Jacinto Fight Day (Nicaragua)https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/san-jacinto-fight-day-nicaraguaGo Carpathian — Important Holidays in Nicaraguahttps://gocarpathian.com/holidays/important-holidays-in-nicaragua/National Play-Doh DayNational Day Calendar — National Play-Doh Dayhttps://nationaldaycalendar.com/celebrations/national-play-doh-day-september-16World Bamboo DayWorld Bamboo Organization — World Bamboo Dayhttps://www.worldbamboo.net/worldbamboodayRepurpose — Why Bamboo Is Sustainablehttps://repurpose.com/blogs/blog-the-compost/why-bamboo-is-sustainableNational Cheeseburger DayNational Day Archives — National Cheeseburger Dayhttps://www.nationaldayarchives.com/day/national-cheeseburger-day/HowStuffWorks — Who Invented the Cheeseburger?https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/cheeseburger.htmThe Half Wall — 10 Interesting Facts About Hamburgershttps://thehalfwall.com/10-interesting-facts-about-hamburgers/

  3. Sep 6

    Books, Egg Tosses & Wonderful Weirdos | This Week's Holidays

    This week, Matt and Akshay celebrate Read a Book Day, Great Egg Toss Day, Wonderful Weirdos Day, and Swap Ideas Day — and somehow end up talking about everything from dragons and 300-foot egg tosses to college lock-ins and whether sharing your best idea is actually a good idea.Matt shares some practical ways to read more without turning reading into homework, while Akshay makes the case for bite-sized learning and audio. From there, things get progressively stranger: an absurd egg-tossing record, the origins of celebrating weirdness, Akshay's questionable sound effects, and Matt's days planning wildly over-the-top events as an RA.Then Swap Ideas Day leads to a bigger question: Should you protect your best ideas or share them? Matt and Akshay talk inspiration versus plagiarism, why execution matters more than the original premise, and how collaboration can turn an idea into something completely different — including this podcast.In this episode:Read a Book Day — Finding more time to read, quitting books you don't enjoy, audiobooks, and why the real world is serious enough that books should have dragonsGreat Egg Toss Day — The ridiculous skill required to throw an egg hundreds of feet without turning it into breakfastWonderful Weirdos Day — Why weirdness is worth celebrating, Akshay's mysterious sound-effect abilities, and Matt's extremely committed RA eraSwap Ideas Day — Inspiration versus plagiarism, sharing creative ideas, and why someone else can never execute your idea exactly the way you wouldWhether you're a reader, a creative, a proud weirdo, or just someone wondering how far you could throw an egg without breaking it, come celebrate the strange with us.New episodes every Sunday. Thanks for celebrating the strange with us!#NotYourAverageHoliday #Podcast #ComedyPodcast #FunnyPodcast #ReadABookDay #WonderfulWeirdosDay #GreatEggTossDay #SwapIdeasDay #Books #Creativity #Reading #Comedy #ShortPodcast📚 Sources & Further ReadingRead a Book Day & ReadingNPR — How to Read More This Summerhttps://www.npr.org/2026/06/12/nx-s1-5856397/how-to-read-more-this-summerGreat Egg Toss DayCheckiday — Great Egg Toss Dayhttps://www.checkiday.com/fbe2f215b6dcc7239bea20a41672c612/great-egg-toss-dayWonderful Weirdos DayNational Today — Wonderful Weirdos Dayhttps://nationaltoday.com/wonderful-weirdos-day/Swap Ideas DayNational Day Calendar — Holiday Calendar & Celebrationshttps://nationaldaycalendar.com/

  4. Aug 30

    Frankenstein, Memoirs & Tardiness | This Week's Holidays

    This week, Matt and Akshay celebrate Frankenstein Day, We Love Memoirs Day, Chicken Boy Day, and Be Late for Something Day — and somehow end up talking about everything from Monsters, Inc. and tax-preparing superpowers to fading memories and a giant fiberglass chicken-headed man.Frankenstein Day leads to an important question: If you could turn yourself into a monster with three traits or abilities, what would you choose? Akshay builds a monster suspiciously committed to skipping leg day, while Matt plans for the long game by creating a monster capable of becoming an attractive antihero — with the extremely useful ability to complete his taxes effortlessly.Then We Love Memoirs Day takes the episode somewhere more personal. Akshay shares how several unexpected discoveries brought memories of his mom back into his life, while Matt reflects on a difficult part of his childhood that once felt impossible to forget — but has slowly started fading into distant memory.Things get strange again with Be Late for Something Day and Chicken Boy Day, featuring the Procrastinators’ Club of America, an appropriately late newspaper editorial, a giant Route 66 roadside chicken man, and a college mascot that brings the entire episode unexpectedly full circle.In this episode:Frankenstein Day — Mary Shelley's strange dream, building the perfect monster, Monsters, Inc., skipping leg day, flying, jump scares, and the most practical monster superpower of all: effortless tax preparationWe Love Memoirs Day — The stories worth preserving, unexpected reminders of the people we've lost, childhood memories, and how even experiences that once defined us can begin to fadeBe Late for Something Day — The Procrastinators’ Club of America, escaping the pressure of always being on time, and an editorial about Be Late for Something Day that was appropriately published lateChicken Boy Day — A giant fiberglass chicken-headed man, roadside Americana, hometown mascots, and the surprising return of Akshay's skipped-leg-day monsterWhether you're building the perfect monster, preserving a memory, running a little late, or wondering why someone built a giant chicken-headed man, come celebrate the strange with us.New episodes every Sunday. Thanks for celebrating the strange with us!#NotYourAverageHoliday #Podcast #ComedyPodcast #FunnyPodcast #FrankensteinDay #WeLoveMemoirsDay #ChickenBoyDay #BeLateForSomethingDay #Frankenstein #MaryShelley #WeirdHolidays #Comedy #ShortPodcast Sources & Further ReadingFrankenstein Day & Mary ShelleyEncyclopaedia Britannica — Mary Wollstonecraft Shelleyhttps://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Wollstonecraft-ShelleyThe British Library — Frankenstein and the Doublehttps://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/frankenstein-and-the-doubleWe Love Memoirs DayPurdue University Press — We Love Memoirs Dayhttps://www.press.purdue.edu/blog/2025/08/31/purdue-university-press-loves-memoirs/Be Late for Something DayNational Day Calendar — National Be Late for Something Dayhttps://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-be-late-for-something-day-september-5/Chicken Boy DayChicken Boy — The Statue and Its Storyhttps://www.chickenboy.com/

  5. Aug 23

    Dogs, Banana Splits & Pluto | This Week's Holidays

    Matt and Akshay are back celebrating another week of wonderfully weird holidays—this time featuring **National Dog Day, Banana Split Day, Toilet Paper Day,** and **Pluto Decommission Day**. From dogs with incredible jobs to the surprisingly emotional debate over Pluto's planetary status, the conversation takes plenty of unexpected turns. Along the way, they revisit childhood memories, defend their favorite desserts, debate bidets, attempt some questionable Scooby-Doo impressions, and somehow connect it all back to the week's holidays. Whether you're here for the laughs, the random trivia, or simply to discover a few holidays you never knew existed, there's something strange waiting in this week's episode. ### In this episode: 🐶 Incredible working dogs and the coolest jobs a dog can have 🍌 Banana splits, favorite desserts, and nostalgic ice cream memories 🧻 Toilet Paper Day, bidets, and the little conveniences we take for granted 🪐 Pluto's demotion, Disney's dog Pluto, and a few playful conspiracy theories Every week, Matt and Akshay explore the holidays on the calendar, uncover the stories behind them, and see where the conversation takes them. **New episodes every Sunday. Thanks for celebrating the strange with us!** #NotYourAverageHoliday #Podcast #ComedyPodcast #FunnyPodcast #NationalDogDay #BananaSplitDay #ToiletPaperDay #Pluto #FunFacts #Trivia #Comedy #Conversation #Season2 #newepisode Sources & Further Reading 🐶 National Dog Day National Dog Day (Official) https://www.nationaldogday.com/ Colleen Paige (Founder of National Dog Day) https://colleenpaige.com/ American Kennel Club – Dog History & Behavior https://www.akc.org/ Smithsonian Magazine – Dog Domestication & History https://www.smithsonianmag.com/ National Institutes of Health – The Health Benefits of Dog Ownership https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4348122/ 🦮 Working Dogs Guide Dogs for the Blind https://www.guidedogs.com/ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – Urban Search & Rescue Canines https://www.fema.gov/ Medical Detection Dogs https://www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/ 🍌 National Banana Split Day National Day Calendar – National Banana Split Day https://nationaldaycalendar.com/celebrations/national-banana-split-day-august-25 Banana Split Festival – History of the Banana Split https://bananasplitfest.com/history/ 🧻 National Toilet Paper Day National Today – National Toilet Paper Day https://nationaltoday.com/national-toilet-paper-day/ 🪐 Pluto NASA – Pluto Facts https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/pluto/ NASA – New Horizons Mission https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/ International Astronomical Union (IAU) – Planet Definition (Resolution B5, 2006) https://www.iau.org/ Lowell Observatory https://lowell.edu/ Disney D23 Archives – Pluto https://d23.com/ Snopes – Walt Disney Frozen Myth https://www.snopes.com/

  6. Aug 16

    Fajitas, Bad Poetry & Mosquitoes | This Week's Holidays

    **Season 2 is here!** 🎉Matt and Akshay are back, kicking off a brand-new season by diving into some of the week's weirdest holidays—and seeing where the conversation takes them.This week, they're celebrating everything from **National Fajita Day** to **World Mosquito Day**, uncovering surprising history, ridiculous trivia, and asking the kinds of questions you never knew you wanted answered. Were fajitas really invented by Texas cowboys? Why would anyone create a holiday for bad poetry? And how did mosquitoes become the deadliest animals on Earth?Along the way, expect plenty of laughs, unexpected tangents, and the kind of conversations that make everyday holidays anything but ordinary.### In this episode:🌮 The surprising story behind National Fajita Day—and the great fajita vs. burrito debate.✍️ The delightfully bizarre origins of Bad Poetry Day (plus some truly terrible poetry).🦟 Why mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths than any other animal—and the incredible science trying to stop them.🌎 Fun facts, strange history, and the unexpected connections between food, culture, and science.If you've ever looked at a holiday calendar and wondered, *"Who came up with this?"*—you're in the right place.**New episodes every Sunday. Thanks for celebrating the strange with us!**#NotYourAverageHoliday #Podcast #ComedyPodcast #FunnyPodcast #NationalFajitaDay #WorldMosquitoDay #BadPoetryDay #Trivia #FunFacts #History #Comedy #Conversation #Season2 #newepisode Sources & Further Reading🌮 National Fajita DayNational Today – National Fajita Dayhttps://nationaltoday.com/national-fajita-day/🦟 World Mosquito DayWorld Mosquito Program – World Mosquito Dayhttps://www.worldmosquitoprogram.org/world-mosquito-day✍️ PoetryPoetry Foundationhttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/Academy of American Poetshttps://poets.org/

  7. Season 2 Trailer

    Not Your Average Holiday Returns August 16

    The Not Your Average Holiday podcast returns for Season 2 on August 16! Every week, Matt and Akshay dive into the upcoming week's weirdest holidays, celebrate the ones actually worth celebrating, and see where the conversation takes them. New episodes drop every Sunday. We can't wait to celebrate with you!

  8. Aug 7 ·  Bonus

    Holiday Leftovers Season 1 Special

    When some podcasts are on break, you get nothing. Silence. Wondering if they will ever truly return.Honestly, that's rude. Do those podcasts even love you?When the Not Your Average Holiday podcast goes on break, you get... NEW CONTENT. It's counterintuitive. It doesn't make sense. But here you go. This episode follows the formula made famous by broadcast TV decades ago... the recap episode. We take some new content, some slightly used content, and a lot of contrived script writing to bring you something familiar, something new, and something downright delightful.Some people call them partial reruns. We call them... Holiday Leftovers!We hope you enjoy, and more importantly, come back soon for another great season of leftover hits!

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About

A podcast where random holidays get the main character treatment! Every single day deserves a celebration, and we seek out the bizarre traditions, historical events not taught in school, and unusual community gatherings to fill your calendar with adventure!

Information

  • Creator
    Akshay and Matt
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Akshay and Matt
  • Show Website
    Not Your Average Holiday