Hug A Holmesian Day, 2019

Well, here we are, Hug A Holmesian Day, 2019! Caught me by surprise this year, but I'm always glad to see it come around. March 11th is quickly becoming my favorite day of the Sherlockian year, since the holiday's inception.

On this special day, we honor the great huggers of the Canon, good and bad, who remind us just how important hugs are.

• Alexander Holder, who hugged the recovered stones from the Beryl Coronet to his bosom, helping us to treasure our friends, those gems who crown our lives.
• Hall Pycroft, hugging himself over his new five-hundred-a-year position, reminding us that our full potential awaits, and should be embraced with gusto.
• Black Gorgiano, the Krampus of Hug A Holmesian Day, who hugged Emilia Lucca with a bear-like embrace, showing us plainly that the #MeToo movement should have started long ago, and that non-consentual hugs can get you stabbed, really hard.

Sometimes we might overlook the hugs of the Sherlockian Canon, as Doyle and Watson preferred to write about "huge" things -- so many huge things! But the hugs are there, whether in the silent "h" hug-boys Hugh Boone and Hugh Pattins, or the uggo huggos:  Hug-o Baskerville, Hug-o de Capas, Hug-o Oberstein (or is it "Oberstain?" Curse you, Mandela effect!"), or the Norman Hug-os.

Hug seedlings planted in the original Canon have grown and flowered over the years, to bloom in the Sherlock of the day, where, sure, a lot of the hugs are naked hugs, but still, hugs!

So if you can find a Holmesian (or a Sherlockian, as like St. Patrick's Day and being Irish, we're all Holmesians on Hug A Holmesian Day. Just be sure not to be a Gorgiano or bad Hug-o and get that all-important consent first, even if you're pulling a Hall Pycroft and just hugging yourself.

You've got a few hours left, so have a happy Hug A Holmesian Day, everybody!