Even if imaginary holidays on shows like Futurama, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica and Babylon 5 have funny made up names, their all based on real-life holidays like Christmas, Independence day, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah.
Chanukah/Robanukah – Futurama
The “holiest two weeks on the robot calendar”. Traditional Robanukah celebrations include not working, drinking alcohol, dancing the “Robot,” carving industrial barrels like Jack-O-Lanterns, making paper robot cut-outs and watching Fembot wrestle in oil.
Christmas/Life Day – Star Wars
A Wookiee holiday, that is a celebration of their planet’s diverse ecosystem and also a time to remember family who had died, and celebrate new generations.
Dia de Muertos/Day of the Dead Ceremony –Babylon 5
The Brakiri Day of the Dead ceremony is a religious festival in which the dead literally return for one night every 200 years.
Independence Day/Colonial Day – Battlestar Galactica
An annual holiday that celebrates the official signing of the Articles of Colonization, a treaty that unified the twelve colonies. Before this, each colony was a sovereign nation but after the Cylons turned on the humans, everyone put aside their differences with this treaty.
Independence Day/Freedom Day – Futurama
It is celebrated with festivities around the planet such as the Freedom Tub, or nude group hot tubbing, and the traditional Freedom Day Parade.
Inverted Independence Day/Unification Day –Firefly
Unification Day is the day when the Unification War between the Alliance and outer planets (Browncoats) ended with a resounding defeat of the Independent forces.
Mother’s Day – Futurama
A celebration in which robots show their thanks to Mom, their creator.
New Year’s Eve/Festival – Star Trek: The Original Series
Once a year at 6pm on the planet of Beta III, Festival begins. Also known as the Red Hour, this 24 period when lawlessness and debauchery reign are a release for the tranquil, violence-free society.
Thanksgiving/Celebration Of Life – Babylon 5
During the War of 20 Million Deaths, once a year the Centauri would count how many of them had survived and, as a culture, celebrate their good fortune, much like Thanksgiving celebrates the Pilgrims surviving their first winter in New England.
Valentine’s Day/Eros Day – Battlestar Galactica
Eros was one of the founding gods of the Battlestar Galactica world, leaving the human homeworld of Kobol to help found the 12 colonies. His holiday is celebration of love and affection.
