Monkey Day
Encyclopedia
Monkey Day is a holiday celebrated internationally on December 14.
Hallmark Cards
describes it as the "one day when monkey business is actually encouraged." The holiday was started in 2000 by Casey Sorrow and Eric Millikin, then artists of the popular comic Fetus-X, and first celebrated by Lansing residents and art students at Michigan State University
. Since then, Monkey Day has been celebrated internationally, across countries like the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
. Often there are competitions to see who has the best costumes, who can act like a monkey the longest, or speed knitting
of monkey dolls. The holiday cuts across religious boundaries and provides opportunities to share monkey stories and contemplate our simian relatives. Other Monkey Day activities include going on shopping sprees for Paul Frank
"Julius the Monkey" fashions, eating Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey
ice cream, and spending the day at the zoo.
In 2005, Peter Jackson
's King Kong
was released on the fifth anniversary of Monkey Day.
In 2008, the official Monkey Day celebration was a silent art auction to benefit Chimps Inc., which included paintings from chimps Jackson and Kimie, residents of the Chimps Inc. primate sanctuary. The Biddle Gallery in Detroit also celebrated Monkey Day in 2008 with an annual Monkey Day art sale that included a free banana with each purchase.
There has been an annual Monkey Day Web Comic
Marathon since 2004 with comics including Rob Balder
's PartiallyClips
, David Malki's Wondermark
, Eric Millikin's Fetus-X, and Sorrow's own Feral Calf. Sorrow also maintains a comprehensive "Monkeys in the News" blog with stories on topics like monkey attacks, monkey smuggling, and monkey science
.
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
describes it as the "one day when monkey business is actually encouraged." The holiday was started in 2000 by Casey Sorrow and Eric Millikin, then artists of the popular comic Fetus-X, and first celebrated by Lansing residents and art students at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. Since then, Monkey Day has been celebrated internationally, across countries like the U.S., Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Traditional celebrations
The holiday is primarily celebrated with costume parties intended to help draw attention to issues related to simians, including medical research, animal rights, and evolutionEvolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. Often there are competitions to see who has the best costumes, who can act like a monkey the longest, or speed knitting
Knitting
Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitted fabric consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can...
of monkey dolls. The holiday cuts across religious boundaries and provides opportunities to share monkey stories and contemplate our simian relatives. Other Monkey Day activities include going on shopping sprees for Paul Frank
Paul Frank
Paul Frank is an American cartoonist, artist and fashion designer. His creations adorn clothing, accessories, and many other products...
"Julius the Monkey" fashions, eating Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey
Chunky Monkey
Chunky Monkey can refer to:*A character created by cartoonist Pauline Comanor.*A flavor of Ben and Jerry's ice cream consisting of banana ice cream with fudge chunks & walnuts*Chunky Monkey, a 2001 British film* In American slang, an overweight person....
ice cream, and spending the day at the zoo.
In 2005, Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's King Kong
King Kong (2005 film)
King Kong is a 2005 fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a remake of the 1933 film of the same name and stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody. Andy Serkis, through performance capture, portrays Kong....
was released on the fifth anniversary of Monkey Day.
In 2008, the official Monkey Day celebration was a silent art auction to benefit Chimps Inc., which included paintings from chimps Jackson and Kimie, residents of the Chimps Inc. primate sanctuary. The Biddle Gallery in Detroit also celebrated Monkey Day in 2008 with an annual Monkey Day art sale that included a free banana with each purchase.
There has been an annual Monkey Day Web Comic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
Marathon since 2004 with comics including Rob Balder
Rob Balder
Robert T. Balder is a professional cartoonist, singer/songwriter, game designer and web entrepreneur. He graduated from Roanoke College with a major in English in 1993, and after a variety of jobs, entered a seven year career in IT, starting as a Manager of Database Development, which he left for...
's PartiallyClips
PartiallyClips
PartiallyClips is a webcomic, created by Rob Balder, which has been running since 2002. At the start of 2010, Balder handed authorship of the comic to Tim Crist, the comedy musician behind Worm Quartet....
, David Malki's Wondermark
Wondermark
Wondermark is a webcomic created by David Malki which was syndicated to Flak Magazine and appeared in The Onion's print edition through 2008. It features 19th-century illustrations that have been recontextualized to create humorous juxtapositions. It takes the horizontal four-panel shape of a...
, Eric Millikin's Fetus-X, and Sorrow's own Feral Calf. Sorrow also maintains a comprehensive "Monkeys in the News" blog with stories on topics like monkey attacks, monkey smuggling, and monkey science
Primatology
Primatology is the scientific study of primates. It is a diverse discipline and researchers can be found in academic departments of anatomy, anthropology, biology, medicine, psychology, veterinary sciences and zoology, as well as in animal sanctuaries, biomedical research facilities, museums and zoos...
.