Festival of Popular Delusions Day

June 5th is Festival of Popular Delusions Day. It is said that this holiday originated in Germany on June 5, 1945. A little background information is in order.

History of Festival of Popular Delusions Day

On June 6th, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied soldiers landed on a 50-mile stretch of beach in Normandy, France. The area was heavily guarded by Nazi troops to prevent the enemy from reaching the interior of the country. Operation Neptune, known as D-Day, aimed to break the boundaries and liberate the European continent.

The assault was originally scheduled to take place in May but had to be postponed until more landers were available. It looks like bad weather conditions on the morning of June 6th will cause another delay. General Dwight D. Eisenhower made the decision to proceed with the plan.

Dense clouds hampered air strikes and some paratroopers parachuted to their landing sites for miles. By the end of the day, an estimated 10,000 Allied troops had been killed, wounded, or missing during the campaign. The Allies fought for the base, finally breaking through Normandy on 15th August. Ten days later, they liberated Paris. German forces withdrew shortly thereafter.

On June 6th, 1944, the German army did not expect an invasion. They assumed that the Allies would not attack when bad weather would put them at a disadvantage. June 5th, 1944, was the last day the Nazis could make the illusion that they would rule the Earth for a thousand years.

Supposing, it was the inspiration for the first Festival of Popular Delusions Day. Maybe we are delusional when we want to believe this legend. There are certainly plenty of popular illusions to choose from these days. Whichever you choose, have a fun Festival of Popular Delusions Day!

How to celebrate Festival of Popular Delusions Day

This day can be used for reflection and work to root out the illusions you nurture yourself and the illusions that society is all about. There are amusingly personal delusions that you can get into, such as thinking that food dropped on the floor does not accumulate any bacteria, and there are large, controversial delusions of great importance that divide a lot of the population follows political error lines, and there are all in between.