In various corners of the world and the web today, they are celebrating World UFO Day, but much like the phenomenon itself, the holiday is rather complex and perplexing.
Believe it or not, there are in fact, two World UFO Days: June 24th and/or July 2nd.
Adherents of the June date explain that it commemorates Kenneth Arnold's June 24, 1947 UFO sighting that many point to as the unofficial arrival of the phenomenon into our lives.
However, the July 2nd camp sees the alleged Roswell crash as the more appropriate anniversary to celebrate as can be seen via the annual festivities in New Mexico surrounding the seminal event.
The exact roots of the June 24th date are murky at best, with no clear indication of who started it or when, but it has grown roots and is seen by many to be the official 'World UFO Day.'
Meanwhile, the July 2nd version of 'World UFO Day' appears to have its act together, including an official website for the holiday.
However, this is where things begin to take a darker turn.
Tucked away on a page devoted to frequently asked questions about the holiday is this explosive revelation: "In the past there where two days that were called World UFO day. July 2nd and the 24th of June. The WUFODO (World UFO Day Organization) declared July 2nd to be the official World UFO day."
The argument for the declaration is that it avoids confusion by having two holidays and allows for all UFO enthusiasts to celebrate at one time.
The brash attempt to seize control of 'World UFO Day' by WUFODO has not deterred the many who still believe that June 24th to be the true and only date to celebrate the holiday.
Pragmatists, of course, insist that there's no reason why people cannot celebrate both days as 'World UFO Day.'
Ultimately, much like all religious schisms, the choice is up to the individual.
Just don't run off and start celebrating aliens, because that would be Extraterrestrial Culture Day and we already commemorated that back in February.
In honor of World UFO Day (since C2C celebrates both June 24th and July 2nd), we suggest Coast Insiders dig into our vast archive of UFO-related episodes.
Two episodes that you simply must check out are the classic episode dubbed 'The Great UFO Debate' between legendary ufologist Stanton Friedman and SETI's Seth Shostak as well as the outstanding UFO Roundtable featuring Linda Moulton Howe, Grant Cameron, Bruce Maccabee, and Bob Wood.
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