Bart Rovenhorst Draws Over 150 to World Redhead Day
May 26 marks world redhead day, an unofficial holiday for people with fiery red hair. Bart Rovenhorst expected a few red-haired models at a casting call, but over 150 redheads showed up instead.
The turnout fed a holiday that has become a visible annual moment for people who make up only about 1–2% of the world’s population. It also reflects a wider effort to support people who have faced stereotypes, jokes, bullying, and even old associations with the supernatural.
Bart Rovenhorst and the Dutch origin story
One version of the holiday’s history says activists in the Netherlands started Redhead Day in the mid-2000s to support people with red hair and draw attention to discrimination. Another version links the holiday to Bart Rovenhorst, a Dutch artist whose painting casting call drew over 150 redheads and grew into the large Redhead Days festival.
That festival now brings together thousands of people from different countries every year. Red hair is considered one of the rarest natural hair colors in the world, and scientists say it results from a mutation in the MC1R gene.
Netherlands, Ireland, and Ukraine
The holiday is particularly popular in the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Every year on May 26, social media is flooded with photos of redheads from around the world, while many countries host themed gatherings, festivals, and photo shoots.
In Ukraine, world redhead day is gradually gaining popularity. On social media, users share old photos, joke about their fiery temperaments, and send greetings to their red-haired friends.
Red hair and public visibility
The holiday lands as a rare moment of visibility for people whose hair color has often made them a target for jokes and prejudice. The source says redheads also became associated with the supernatural in the Middle Ages, a history that helps explain why a celebration built around red hair took hold so widely.
For readers joining the celebration, the practical marker is simple: May 26 is the day to look for Redhead Days gatherings, festival photos, and social media posts that bring together people who usually make up a small share of the population. The event’s growth from a casting call to a festival with thousands of attendees is the clearest sign of how far it has spread.
