Have you ever noticed how many different types of hats there are? I mean, there are baseball caps, fedoras, Panama hats, boaters, bowlers, pillboxes, and berets. There are top hats, cowboy hats, boonie hats, buckets, derbies, deerstalkers, and straw hats. And, of course, there are sailor hats, pith helmets, and hard hats.

In other words, there are a lot of hats for people to choose from. Why are we mentioning this? Well, only because March 26th is Wear a Hat Day. We wanted to make sure that people who were celebrating this holiday could choose any hat they wanted, even ones we didn’t specifically list.

The History of Wear a Hat Day

This holiday originally began during the early 1980s by museums, libraries, and schools. It was set on the day in 1797 when the first top hat appeared in court after John Hetherington was arraigned before the Lord Mayor on January 15, 1797. He was charged with a breach of the peace after appearing on a public highway wearing a silk hat, the luster of which supposedly scared old women, children, and even dogs. Of course, we don’t know if the story is true or not, but it is a fun one. Either way, this holiday was moved from January to March after several organizations that support cancer patients used it to raise funds and drum up donations.

Observing Wear a Hat Day

It doesn’t matter if a person wears a fez, a cloche hat, a cocktail hat, or a chef’s hat on this day. All that matters is that they take the time to wear something that they enjoy. People can also use this holiday to raise money for organizations that support cancer patients, or they can donate their used hats to a charity that sells them to raise money. People can also spread the word about this holiday using the hashtag #WearAHatDay on social media.