November 5: Happy National Redhead Day!

There’s something super fun about a redhead: Even though you get mocked a lot as a kid for your fiery hair and freckles, as a grownup you understand they always kind of set you apart. And every year around this time, I become a little obnoxious because Nov. 6 is my birthday, and Nov. 5 is National Redhead Day.

Created by redheaded sisters Adrienne and Stephanie Vendetti, who founded the website “How to Be a Redhead,” the day celebrates natural redheads and anyone who identifies as a redhead. It’s all about getting to celebrate ourselves, and appreciation for a color that only about 1 to 2 percent of the world’s population naturally has.

My sister Mary and I are both redheads, and my brother Jeep was born blonde. My dad was brunette and my mom was blonde, so in high school when we were learning Punnett Squares, I worked out the probability. Since we had a redheaded grandmother on both sides, Mom and Dad would have to have 32 more kids before they had another redhead. At least, that’s what the scientific probabilities stated. Mary went on to have a redheaded son, and Jeep married Lenea, another beautiful redhead. They had a redheaded daughter.

We take our redheadedness seriously in our family, needless to say.

From copper and auburn to strawberry blonde, redheads come in every shade, and we know that as a group, we’ve long been a source of fascination for some people. We’re the subject of cliches (“redheaded step child”), songs (Redheaded Woman, Redhead Walking, Redheaded Stranger), and plenty of characters on NCIS, where the unflappable Leroy Jethro Gibbs is a big fan. Myths have always claimed we had fiery tempers, had no souls, or were somehow magic.

Bad pickup lines abound as well. Don’t ask about what matches or use the line about how you’ve never dated a redhead. We’ll walk the other way.

Pop culture has done its part to celebrate red hair, albeit in a weird way sometimes. There have been great Lucille Ball’s comedic brilliance, Prince Harry’s royal charm, and Reba McEntire’s country sass. Even fictional redheads like Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables have helped generations fall in love with the idea of fiery red hair.

For those who dye their hair red, National Redhead Day is open to you too. The celebration isn’t just about genetics: it’s about the individuality that red hair represents.

So whether you’re a natural ginger, a bottle-born red, or just an admirer, take a moment today to celebrate your favorite redhead, even if it’s you. Wear red, post your favorite redhead selfies, or give a compliment to that carrot-top coworker who brightens your day.

Because as any redhead will tell you, it’s not just a color. It’s an attitude.