Today Is National Love Your Red Hair Day So Tell All Your Ginger Friends

There's more than one excuse to be setting off fireworks tonight - gingers, this is your day to celebrate, because it's National Love Your Red Hair Day.

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After years of gentle piss taking, there is finally a day dedicated to those amazing fire crackers of society.

Thanks to the likes of Ed Sheeran, Prince Harry, Rupert Grint, Lauren Ambrose, Emma Stone and Isla Fisher (among many other gorgeous ginger celebs) red hair has risen in popularity.

We should definitely all love ourselves and celebrate who we are, but after the awful 'Kick a Ginger Day' was established, co-founders of the website 'How to be a Redhead', Adrienne and Stephanie Vendetti launched National Love You Red Hair Day back in August 2015 - and now it's celebrated every year on 5 November.

It's definitely no coincidence that the day coincides with fireworks - as we know red heads are notorious for their fiery nature, but that's just one of the reasons we love them.

On their website, the sisters state: "We wanted to create a nationally recognized day of the year that empowered redheads to love their hair. But, most of all, it's a reminder for women everywhere, redhead or not, to love their unique qualities."

There seems to be a lot of 'national days' floating around, but this is one that truly deserves a place in the calendar. It's all about loving your unique qualities and celebrating individuality.

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Statistically speaking, you're actually pretty amazing if you have red hair - less than two per cent of the world's population have it, which makes being the proud owner of ginger hair even more awesome as it's the rarest colour in the world.

To get scientific, having red hair is caused by a gene that is recessive and comes from MC1R, which is around because of a genetic mutation. So you're kind of like the X-Men too.

For a child to be born with ginger hair, both parents must carry the gene and even then, the baby still only has a 25 per cent chance of rocking those gorgeous red locks.

Plus, that lucky two per cent have some pretty impressive qualities - according to a 2003 study by McGill University red heads have a higher pain tolerance and in 2005 the University of Louisville found that the gene meant gingers need less vitamin D than the rest of us.

So, if you're a red head don't shy away, take a selfie and celebrate. Today is your day.

Topics: Ginger hair, Prince Harry, Ed Sheeran

Rachael Grealish

Rachael is a NCTJ qualified journalist from West Cumbria, with a passion for news, features and journalism. Outside of work Rachael loves plenty of coffee, running and reading.

@RachaelGrealish