Although Draw A Bird Day is not a recognized holiday, it's celebrated worldwide on April 8 as a way to find joy in life's simple pleasures and to help people temporarily forget their suffering. According to the Draw A Bird Day website, the holiday dates back to 1943 when a 7-year-old British girl named Dorie Cooper went to visit her uncle who'd been wounded in the war. The man was distraught after losing his leg to a landmine, so in an attempt to distract him, Dorie asked him to draw her a bird. He drew a picture of a robin, and Dorie laughed, saying he wasn't a very gifted artist but that she'd hang the drawing in her room anyway. The young girl's honesty and acceptance lifted the soldier's spirits, and every time Dorie visited after that, he and the other wounded soldiers would have a contest to see who could create the best bird picture. In a matter of months, the ward's walls were covered in bird drawings.