Rat-Catcher's Day

When Celebrated

Always on June 26th

Gifty-ness

About the Holiday

Initially, Rat-Catcher's Day could seem like an odd holiday, though, if you've ever had to deal with these critters, having someone who can actually get rid of them is definitely appreciated. The origin of Rat-Catcher's Day is tied to the date of when the Pied Piper led the rats out of Hamelin, Germany.

There is some dispute on the day of that event, and thus this holiday. According to the late German fairytale publishers Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm (the Brothers Grimm), the Pied Piper led the children away on June 26, 1284. Whereas Robert Browning, the 19th-century British poet, has written the date as July 22, 1376. Seeing as Hamelin itself acknowledges the June 26 date, and seems to have some historical backing^[1], we've chosen to use the June 26th date.

References

1. ↑ National Geographic News: Rat Catcher's Day Eludes Pest Control Industry by John Roach, July 21st, 2004

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