National Retro Day: Taking It Back To Simpler Times

If ever there was a day that was better than Thanksgiving and Christmas combined, National Retro Day would come pretty damn close, we think!

Nostalgia addicts are coming together to celebrate one of the biggest days in the nostalgiac calendar - National Retro Day! It's a day when we let the wave of nostalgia wash over us; reminisce over our childhoods and teen years; remember the simplicity of the past, and try to get through the day with as few distractions from modern day life as possible! Although National Retro Day is celebrated in America, there's no reason why nostalgia addicts all over the world shouldn't participate in this fabulous event. So let's take a look at what this day is all about and how to observe it.

WHAT IS NATIONAL RETRO DAY?

It's a day in which we celebrate our love for all things retro and let our nostalgiac flag fly - with the emphasis on embracing simpler times and avoiding the distractions of modern day life. It's a day to forget about likes, followers and hashtags; it's a day to ignore who's saying what on social media, and it's a day to switch the devices off and party like it's 1999!

WHEN IS IT?

27th February - which is also the day of:

• The first Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans (1827)

• The godfathers of psychology Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud meeting for the first time in Vienna (1907)

• Birth of Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor (1932)

• Female suffrage granted in Egypt (1956)

• Birth of TLC's Rozonda Thomas aka Chilli (1971)

• Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder recording Ebony and Ivory (1981)

• Angel Noire getting engaged!

HOW DID IT ALL START?

National Retro Day is the brainchild of Hermelinda A. Aguilar and her son and daughter-in-law Robert and Tina Duran (yep, we're thinking it too - great name!) Together they founded National Retro Day which has been observed since 2018 - making this year's NRD the fourth to ever take place - when the folks at National Day Calendar declared that National Retro Day was to be held on February 27 every year.

WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF NATIONAL RETRO DAY?

Do you remember when that little rectangular device in our pockets was for making and receiving calls only? Do you remember even further back when leaving the house with a phone seemed like the impossible dream??? Well today we can't live without our mobile phones which seem to perform a million and one functions! In fact we can't seem to live without any kind of technological gadget, and if Wi-Fi is down even for five minutes - it almost feels as though someone has cut off our oxygen supply!

There's no denying that there are huge advantages to living in an age of great technological advancements and where we can get everything at the click of a button and at our door the next day. But many of us are also well aware that there is a downside to being connected all the time. And one of the disadvantages is that ironically it has made us a little disconnected - from ourselves, from reality and from each other! We find ourselves at the beck and call of our gadgets; we buy into the seemingly perfect life of the latest social media darling, and despite having five thousand 'friends' on Facebook, loneliness has become a severe issue of pandemic-like proportions sweeping over the nation.

So what's the point of National Retro Day, you ask? Well besides being a day to celebrate all things retro - both for those who want to relive a past decade they grew up in and for those who want to know what life looked like at a particular time - it's a chance to bask in the memories of the good ol' days, and fly the flag for nostalgiacs everywhere; it's a day to unplug and take it back to more simpler times before the internet, Wi-Fi, and social media started to take over our daily lives. Whenever we think back to highlights from our childhoods, we think about simple pleasures and quality time spent with the people we love. National Retro Day reminds us of how good it is to look back at these great times and remember to spend some time away from the demands of new technology and modern day living. It's a day to create some new retro-inspired memories, and live in the moment without a gadget in the palm of our hands!

SO WHAT COUNTS AS RETRO?

Good question! The definition of 'retro' will mean different things to different people but the emphasis is always on 'old school' 'back in the day,' and times gone by.' While we can all agree that retro basically constitutes, er, 'old,' it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what point in time is considered 'retro.'

To some people, retro is all things 1950s. To others is 1980s. Some believe 'retro' denotes a time when comic books, pinball machines and superheroes ruled the world, while others would say it's before dial-up connection and floppy disks... before mobile phones... before Wi-Fi... before reality TV... Before Little Mix... Your guess is as good as theirs.

But yes - retro still means old! But in a GREAT way!!!

WHICH DECADES CAN WE CELEBRATE FOR NRD?

The time considered to be 'retro' are the fifties right up to the nineties. But as we've said, there is no concrete definition as to what constitutes a 'retro period' so nostalgia fans can celebrate any retro time period they prefer.

SO WHAT EXACTLY DO I HAVE TO DO FOR NATIONAL RETRO DAY?

One of the prerequisites for National Retro Day is that you stay as unplugged as much as possible - or better still, you stay completely unplugged. Which means no endlessly scrolling through your phone, no constant social media use, no being glued to your laptop. The aim is to live as simply as possible - for one day! We're taking it back to the days of in-person, face-face-connection;* family meals eaten around the dining table and not in front of the telly; when kids spent time outside the house and explored more than just the web, and participated in activities that didn't require Wi-Fi. Do you get it now? National Retro Day is a day to do all things the old school way!

Just a few things you can do for National Retro Day

There are many things you can do in order to celebrate retro-ness in all it's nostalgic glory. The creators of NRD encourage celebrants to participate in activities that fall into one of these four categories: wear it, play it, drive it, and show it. Nostalgia Pie decided to add a few more unofficial categories just because we wanted to: make it, attend it, consume it, read it, watch it, do it!

Read on for celebratory ideas.

WEAR IT

• Wear retro clothes relating to your chosen decade. Some classic retro clothes might include ra-ra skirts, drainpipes, bell bottoms, ripped jeans, 'Choose Life' T-shirts, leather jackets, platform shoes, shell suits, puffball dresses etc.

• Certain designers are synonymous with certain decades so you could always dress in Chanel, Mary Quant, Karl Kani, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Ossie Clark etc.

• Think about classic retro hairstyles. Get your quiffs, pompadours, beehives and perms in order!

• Rock make-up that is associated with your chosen decade.

• Accessories often get overlooked, so don't forget those chokers, peace sign medallions, bandanas, and retro hair bobbles.

• Wear a watch. We know, right! Who even does that any more!

PLAY IT

• Play those retro video game consoles - Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Atari 2600, Sega Saturn, etc.

• Play a classic board game such as Scrabble, Monopoly, Ludo, Risk, Axis and Allies etc.

• Listen to your collection of vinyls, cassette tapes, or compact discs.

• Pick a particular musical genre - rock 'n' roll, glam rock, disco, techno, hip-hop, punk - or a particular artist - Elvis, Diana Ross, Rolling Stones, David Bowie. Or you could just listen to a big retro selection!

• Play music on a non-internet jukebox.

• If you're the proud owner of a vintage instrument - play it!

DRIVE IT

• If you have a classic vehicle, be sure to get it out on the road.

SHOW IT OFF

• If you collect any kind of vintage memorabilia, now's your chance to show them off: Milk bottles, vintage magazines, sports cards, movie posters, action figures...

• This'll be your opportunity, if you're a pop fan, to display all the merch you've collected over the years.

• If you're into retro styling, showcase the hair and make up skills you've learned with the help of your trusty polaroid!

• Rock retro-style clothes that you've sewn/crocheted/knitted yourself

• Those of you who have styled your home in retro fashion may want to take this opportunity to highlight your interior design skills

MAKE IT

• Indulge in crafts that were popular back in the day - macramé, tie-dying, paper marbling, model aeroplanes etc.

• Cook or bake something from a vintage cookbook

• Sew/knit/crochet a retro-inspired item of clothing

• Create old-school soft furnishings for your home

ATTEND IT

• See a movie at a drive-in theater.

• Have a date at an old-school fifties style diner

• Go to an arcade.

• Head to a roller rink. Roller disco anyone!

• Go to an eighties event

CONSUME IT

• Have dinner around a table with your family or friends.

• Eat at the oldest restaurant/café/diner in your neighbourhood

• Grab dinner at a drive-in restaurant.

• Scoff a pack of those sweets and chocolates you couldn't get enough of as a kid.

• Create a three course meal based on dishes that were popular at your chosen time.

READ IT

• Read a print newspaper or magazine.

• Read a book - not an eBook!

• Choose a well known retro novel - Valley of the Dolls; The Handmaid's Tale, Midnight's Children, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

• Read something by an author who was popular during a particular period - Harold Robbins, Jackie Collins, Barbara Taylor Bradford

• Reread a book from a series you were addicted to as a teen - Sweet Valley High, Nancy Drew, Babysitters Club

WATCH IT

• Stick on a VHS tape/DVD and watch a retro film: Rebel Without a Cause; Psycho; The Graduate, Diamonds Are Forever; The Shining; Jaws; The Omen; Star Wars, The Godfather; Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, E.T. The Terminator; Sister Act; Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump... take your pick!

• Watch an old television show: Dallas, Dynasty; Friends; Happy Days; Hill Street Blues; St. Elsewhere; Cold Feet; Starsky and Hutch Dukes of Hazard...

• Check out documentaries about past decades

• Watch a TV show or film that absolutely screams a particular decade: Valley of the Dolls (1960s) Abigail's Party (1970s) Wall Street (1980s)

• Watch a type of TV format that was once super popular but now... not so much (damn you, reality TV!) - quiz shows; comedy sketch shows; candid camera type shows, TV anthology series etc.

DO IT!

• Call someone on a landline telephone - rotary, cordless, or push button. It's all good!

• Send someone a handwritten letter

• Go outside and play some sports

• Go for a bike ride

• Don those rollerblades and go for a skate along the beach/in the park

• Use a clock, an actual clock, for the time. And not your phone

• If you have trouble adding up digits, use a calculator. And actual calculator. Not your phone

• Use a non-digital camera to take pics

• Pretend it's 1985 and use a notebook and pen!

This may seem to be a bit of a contradiction considering that we're all supposed to be offline, but one of the official suggestions for National Retro Day is to share what fantastical retro magic you're getting up to on social media, using the hashtag #NationalRetroDay. But there's no reason why you can't post something the night before of what you plan to do. Or you could take pics on the day and post them the next morning. That sounds fair enough and we're sure you won't get carted away by the retro police! The important thing is that you enjoy this day and have fun - lots of it.

*At the time of writing this post, we are well aware that the world is still in the midst of the pandemic which will inevitably limit the kind of activities you can do this year depending on the rules of where you live. Remember there's always next year when hopefully life will return to some kind of normal!

Happy Retro Day!!! Enjoy!

Photos: Pixabay

Blog graphics: Angel Noire