The 1980s have been revived again thanks to everyone’s newfound fascination for it. This trend of 80s nostalgia is likely a part of the “30-Year Nostalgia Cycle” theory. According to this theory, anything that was popular 30 years ago will become popular once again. That’s why The Wonder Years, a show devoted to 1960s nostalgia, became popular during the 1990s, and why the 1970s movie Star Wars was a play on science fiction serials of the 1940s.

And it’s why there’s so much 1980s nostalgia that can be found in current pop culture. This isn’t all that surprising, considering that many of the people making our current media have their own nostalgia for the 80s, either because it was the decade of their childhood, or they had always been fascinated by it.

There are remakes of genre properties such as Ghostbusters Afterlife (2021) and IT (2017) and shows such as Stranger Things, Robot Chicken, and Rick and Morty that have brought 1980s pop culture references back into the popular lexicon.

Movies such as Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023), Top Gun Maverick, and Hellraiser (2022) have been released, and there are talks of movies such as Escape from New York, Highlander, and even The Toxic Avenger being released very soon.

That’s why we decided that we might as well jump in on the 80s pop culture craze and do an article about the holidays this year that people can enjoy to get that sweet 80s buzz.

National Handwriting Day (January 23rd)

Let’s be honest here. Handwriting isn’t something that many of us have had to use in a very long time. That’s why schools all across the U.S. are beginning to drop their handwriting courses.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, however, handwriting was a big deal. Almost everything we do is now on the computer keyboard or on our phones. So National Handwriting Day is sure to be a holiday that brings back nostalgia for many people.

National Retro Day (February 27th)

Even though this holiday can be used to celebrate any decade in the past, we’re going to say that this is the best holiday to embrace the 1970s and 1980s. On this day, people can spend time with their pet rock, listen to Hair Metal, or enjoy one of the many 1980s television shows. Of course, there is no wrong way or right way to celebrate this day. It all depends on what makes you feel nostalgic.

Mario Day (March 10th)

People have been enjoying the Mario games since the 1980s almost non-stop as new ones have been produced regularly. And now there’s a new movie that celebrates this video game franchise: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023). March 10th was selected as a day to celebrate Mario. Why? Well, because Mar10. Makes sense.

National 8-Track Tape Day (April 11th)

Okay, 8-tracks were the most popular in the 1960s and 1970s, but by the time the early 80s came around, you could still find 8-track players in some vehicles. Unfortunately, this technology was phased out of retail stores in late 1982 and early 1983 as compact cassettes became more popular.

Columbia House and RCA did offer some 8-tracks through their Record Clubs up until 1988. By then, the popularity of the 8-track had come and gone. Here’s a day dedicated to this phased-out technology.

Star Wars Day (May 4th)

May the 4th be with you! That’s the way that Star Wars fans address each other on this holiday. Although the first Star Wars movie was released in 1978, the sequel The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980 and Return of the Jedi was released in 1983. All through the 1980s, Star Wars memorabilia reigned. So anyone looking for a little bit of 1980s nostalgia only has to wield The Force to do so.

National Sea Monkey Day (May 16th)

Sea monkeys were a pet that could be ordered from the back pages of comic books during the 1960s through the 1980s. However, they were most popular during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

These “pets” were basically just brine-shrimp eggs that you could hatch by adding them to water, but people were fascinated by the ads that seemed to promise whole sea monkey communities developing in your fishbowl. While that didn’t happen, a lot of people did order these pets. They still sell sea monkeys online for anyone who’s interested.

National VCR Day (June 7th)

It should be no surprise that the VCR was at the heart of 80s life. Just about everyone had one and most of these people would head out to their local Blockbuster or other video store to pick up new movie releases. There was nothing like browsing aisles upon aisles of movies and selecting one that you think you might like. Don’t forget to be kind and rewind!

Pina Colada Day (July 10th)

If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain, then you might want to observe this holiday. This drink, as well as the song Escape by Rupert Holmes (also known as The Pina Colada Song), was popular during the 1980s. This holiday is a good way to get your 80s groove on.

International Ninja Day (December 5th)

The ninja fad was popular in the 1980s. There were television shows that included The Master (1985) starring Lee Van Cleef and Timothy Van Patten and the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987).

There was also the Ninja Trilogy that included Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination. And then there were the books by modern American ninja Stephen K. Hayes — a man who trained under Masaaki Hatsumi, the grandmaster of the Bujinkan in Japan. So yes, this ninja holiday just adds to 80s nostalgia.

That does it for us! We hope you’ve enjoyed this stroll down memory lane.