Not only does April seem to be a hit month for having babies, but it also is a major time of the year for hippie celebration.
With 4/20 and Earth Day falling within a single week, I expect to witness, and perhaps even participate in, mass merriment on our liberal campus.
A recognized, formal celebration for nature and a celebration more specifically for an individual element of (or rather, from) nature, are not long-lived traditions in this country.
Both Earth Day and 4/20 were established in the early 1970s. While both dates are similarly appreciated now, they have very different origins.
Senator of Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson officially conceived Earth Day in 1969 in response to deteriorating environmental conditions and to promote an environmental agenda in politics.
The first Earth Day took place in 1970, and some suspected that it was a communist plot because April 22, 1970 marked Vladimir Lenin’s 100th birthday.
Earth Day in the United States takes place about a month after the U.N.’s designated day – the vernal equinox – for Earth Day.
4/20 began in the early ’70s not as a date, but as a time of day for a group of San Rafael high schoolers that called themselves “the Waldos” to meet and get high.
The Waldos used it as code and somehow were able to spread the term throughout a generation. 4/20 is now a counterculture celebration to cherish and consume cannabis.
It is also a time that many in support of amending marijuana laws use to rally backing and try to reform drug policy.
The Waldos are now in their 50s. I wonder if they now favor Earth Day or 4/20 more.
Who Knew?
