Talk Like a Pirate Day

created in 1995 by John Baur (Ol' Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (Cap'n Slappy), of Albany, Oregon,[1] U.S., who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like a pirate.[1] For example, an observer of this holiday would greet friends not with "Hello," but with "Ahoy, matey!" The holiday, and its observance, springs from a romanticized view of the Golden Age of Piracy. It has become a holiday for members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.[2]

Forget Christmas, Easter and Halloween because they all pale into insignificance when you compare them with International Talk Like a Pirate Day! That's right folks today is officially the day when we should all dress up and talk like pirates. This crazy (but cool) celebration was created in 1995 by John Baur (otherwise known by his pirating name Ol' Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (AKA Cap'n Slappy), both of whom hail from Oregon. Goodness knows why but these two chaps decided that every year, on the 19th September, we should all talk like a pirate.  So, for example, instead of greeting pals with "Hello," a true devotee would exclaim "Ahoy, matey!" Oddly enough many (liberal and fun loving) organisations have taken the day to their heart and instruct all their staff to speak with customers in a mock pirate accent. Clearly denizens of the west country don't have to go to any great lengths to achieve this affect (only kidding!).

If you feel like embellishing your beautiful Pirate accent with a costume, there's plenty to choose from. Just don't forget to add a fake parrot... Talking of which maybe we should start a national 'Talk like a Parrot Day!'