Mad Hatter Day

(Google Image) 

By Diane Forrest

A very merry

Unbirthday to you,

To you, A very merry

Unbirthday to you,

To you,

It's great to

Drink to someone ,

And I guess that

You will do,

A very merry

Unbirthday to you!

statistics prove that you've

one birthday

one birthday every year

but there are 364 un birthdays

that is why we are all gathered here

a very merry unbirthday to all

to all

a very merry unbirthday to all

to all

thats how we sing the day away

a verry merry unbirthday

to all

These are the lyrics to a song sung by the Mad Hatter made popular in the 1951 Disney Movie of Alice in Wonderland.  I like to think that the meaning of this song is to celebrate every day, if it's your birthday or not!

(Google Image) 

In the book by Lewis Caroll, the Mad Hatter was never called "Mad" .  That name came much later.  However, there was a chapter in the book called “The Mad Tea Party” and the Cheshire cat referred that the hatter and the March Hare were both mad.

The term Mad as a hatter evolved during the manufacturing of hats back in the day.  Mercury was used during the process called carroting, and this mercury lead to lead poisoning, which drove some men who wore hats, crazy.

(Google Image) 

The card on the hat reads 10/6, which refers to the cost of the hat, 10 shillings and a 6 pence. Today, on 10/6, or October 6, we celebrate Mad Hatter's Day.  In 1986, a group of computer technicians in Boulder, Colorado celebrated the first Mad Hatter Day. They designated the holiday as a day of silliness and year after year it has grown in popularity.  This is a day to celebrate silliness, wear a hat, and be crazy.   So if today is Your birthday, or your unbirthday, celebrate, act crazy and have a great day.  Today is my mother's birthday, so she gets to act extra crazy today.