On the 20th of February, we pipe smokers gather together, sometimes literally and sometimes just in spirit, to raise a bowl and celebrate International Pipe Smoking Day.

This might seem peculiar to anyone outside of the hobby, just as I am sure Dress Up Your Pet Day seems strange to anyone not obsessed with putting Fido in an Ewok costume (but that would be awesome).

International Pipe Smoking Day (IPSD) is really quite simple, though. Pipe smoking is rare now, very rare. We are fortunate enough to have online means of brotherhood and some of us even find solace in the monthly pipe club, where fellow Brothers of the Briar gather, talk tobacco, drink freely, and laugh loudly. On no other day, however, is there such a feeling of a world-wide family.

More than the mushy-gushy, transcendental stuff, IPSD allows us a time to sit back and appreciate how much this simple item can bring joy and peace into our lives. A simple piece of wood, combined with plastic (or rubber or some other material), stuffed with a dried, combustible plant manages to bring us such immense amount of happiness. That is what IPSD means to me: appreciating how much joy these pipes, pipe-makers, tobacco blenders, and fellow smokers bring into my life every single day, even if they don’t know it. To all of you who are at all involved with the world of pipes: thank you. It would be hard for me to express how much you have improved my life through your hard work.

Smoke on, my friends, and have yourself a happy, healthy International Pipe Smoking Day.