formerly National Ampersand Day
Hello & thanks for stopping by. I’m Chaz DeSimone, founder of AmperArt.
A year or two after creating AmperArt, I discovered a very interesting & entertaining website, NationalDayCalendar.com, which gave me the idea to “acknowledge & applaud the ampersand” with its own special day & designated September 8 as National Ampersand Day. In 2022 the designation was changed to World Ampersand Day. (The ampersand, as it turns out, attracts AmperArt.com subscribers from around the world.) I appreciate how accommodating & effortless the staff at National Day Calendar was in changing the designation of National to World. They even said it was a good idea, which was a nice validation. The official logo remains the same, with the updated “world” designation:
Why this particular date? It was apparent several of the characters in “September 8” can be cleverly disguised as ampersands when certain fonts are used like this, as perceived and created by Chaz DeSimone:
For you typophiles & hardcore amperfans, here are the fonts & font families used for the ampersands in the SEPTEMBER 8 ampergram†:
*Each “letter” spelling out SEPTEMBER 8 (World Ampersand Day) is actually an ampersand set in the font stated underneath, except for P & M which are actual character glyphs, not intended to resemble ampersands & set in Optima to“blend in” with the other styles.
If you know of any fonts where the ampersand resembles a P, M or R, let me know. Nancy Upper, ampersand historian & long-time AmperArt subscriber, found one, contributing the Sophia font ampersand to perfectly represent the R. Thanks, Nancy!
Logo & chart ©2015, 2022 Chaz DeSimone
All rights reserved.
May be reproduced & redistributed
intact with credit attributed to:
Chaz DeSimone, AmperArt.com
†A typogram is the deliberate use of typography to express an idea visually, such as “adddition” & “UPPER&lowercase.” The above rendered “SEPTEMBER 8” would be a true typogram if it spelled “AMPERSAND” with ampersands, but since there’s no term for spelling a date with ampersands we’ll call this an ampergram. All right, Mr. Webster?
World Ampersand Day logo
While we’re at it, here are the font families used in the official World Ampersand Day logo. We’re using the former National Ampersand Day logo for demonstration:
Do you know any September 8 birthdays?
Do you know a Birthday Boy or a Birthday Girl whose special day falls on World Ampersand Day, September 8? Send them this link to their own Birthday Page featuring the stylish greeting you see above & fun facts about the ampersand:
amperart.com/happy-birthday-ampersand-day
MORE ABOUT THE AMPERSAND:
Did You Know…
& The ampersand used to be the last letter of the alphabet?
& The ampersand is a ligature of “e” & “t”? That’s “et” in Latin, meaning “and.”
& The word “ampersand” is a slurring of “real words” run together over time?
& The plus sign is actually an ampersand?
Read about these & other fun facts here.
ENJOY THE FUN & FABULOUS AMPERSAND
SUBSCRIBE HERE
Celebrate the Ampersand
Celebrate National Ampersand Day by having fun with it:
& Use lots & lots of ampersands!
& Substitute “&” for “and” in everything you write.
& Think of syllable replacements such as &roid, c&elabra, b&.
& Send friends whose names contain “and” a special note — &y, &rea, Alex&er, Gr&ma.
& Design new styles of ampersands. (Remember, the ampersand represents the letters “et.”)
& Use #AmpersandDay & #AmperArt on social media.
& Tell your friends to visit AmperArt.com.
& Send anyone whose birthday is September 8 this Happy Birthday link:
amperart.com/happy-birthday-ampersand-day
Every Day Is Special
Visit National Day Calendar to see all the observed days of the year. Which one falls on your birthday?
There are celebrations for:
- National Cream Puff Day
- National Rubber Ducky Day
- National Hat Day
- National Shower with a Friend Day
- National Homemade Soup Day
- National Bagel Day
- National Hug a G.I. Day
- Naitonal Proofreading Day
- National Barbie Day
- World Autism Awareness Day
- National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day
- National Tweed Day
- National Star Wars Day
- National Cartoonists Day
- National Bike to School Day
- National Olive Day
- National Go Barefoot Day
- National Weed Your Garden Day
- National Beans ‘N’ Franks Day
- National Country Music Day
- National Nude Day
- National Root Beer Float Day
- National Coloring Book Day
- National Coast Guard Day
- National Beer Lovers Day
- National Hug Your Boss Day
- National Swap Ideas Day
- National Homemade Cookies Day
- National Good & Plenty Day
- National Techies Day
- National Mad Hatter Day
- National Parents as Teachers Day
- National Cappuccino Day
- National Cook For Your Pets Day
- National Violin Day
- National Black Cat Day
- National Card Playing Day
- National Champagne Day
…and many more.
Order a National Day Wall Calendar or subscribe to their free announcement emails & never miss one of your favorite National Days again. Find your favorite days to celebrate at NationalDayCalendar.com.
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Receive a free & fabulous ampersand art print download, suitable for gallery-quality printing & framing, each month!