Count Your Buttons Day is a holiday that honors the common fastener found on many of our garments. Although most people don’t think too much about buttons on a daily basis, these fasteners are found in jeans, shirts, and jackets and are an indispensable part of our lives.

What would life be like if buttons were never invented? Our guess is that life without buttons would be a whole lot harder. That’s why we suggest that everyone celebrate this holiday on October 21st annually.

The History of Buttons

We tried to find the history of Count Your Buttons Day, but unfortunately, we were unable to uncover who invented this holiday or when it was invented. So we decided to switch tracks and instead research the history of buttons.

And we were surprised to find out that the history of buttons isn’t as boring or as simple as we assumed. Buttons actually have a storied history that goes back thousands of years. The first buttons that anthropologists have found weren’t used as fasteners but were instead used either as seals or decorations.

Buttons have not only been found in the Bronze Age civilization known as the Indus Civilization from 2800 B.C. but have also been found in numerous Bronze Age sites all over Ancient Rome and China. For inhabitants of the Indus Civilization, their buttons were made out of seashells.

For other civilizations, they were made out of various types of rocks. Later on, precious metals would be used to craft buttons. The first buttonholes were created by leatherworkers during the Roman Empire. They were used by legionnaires to close their Loculus—a leather satchel.

Buttons and buttonholes were also used by the Byzantine Empire to fasten the necks of tunics during the 5th century. However, buttons for other purposes weren’t really used until the 13th century. This is when functional buttons and buttonholes became used for fastening clothing.

Interesting Facts About Buttons

Let’s talk a little bit more about buttons. Now that we know that buttons have been around for thousands of years, let’s talk about some other interesting facts about them. We’ve discovered a couple of interesting button facts that we’d like to share.

• Although most modern buttons are made from plastic, metal, and sometimes wood, ancient buttons were made from seashells, horns, metal, wood, and bones.
• The size of buttons uses a measurement system known as “Lignes.” Forty Lignes equals 1 inch.
• Buttons were used for decoration not only in Ancient China and Rome but also in Ancient Greece as well.

Observing Count Your Buttons Day

If you want to celebrate Count Your Buttons Day, all you have to do is take some time out of your day to think about the common button. Buttons are all around us, but we give little to no thought to them, and that’s a shame.

You can also take the time to spread the button love on the internet using the hashtag #CountYourButtonsDay. Let everyone know how special buttons are and why they deserve our respect.