Hail to all of us Gingers

Being a redhead all of my life (yes I was born with it) I have at times hated the color and at times been very proud of the color. Today is one of those days that I'm glad to be a redhead.

Today is National Redhead Day, that means it's all about us.

When I was very young, I hated being a redhead.

I was always made fun of by those other people (by those other people, I mean blondes and brunettes)

I spent most of my childhood with nicknames like Penny (because in the sun my hair was like a bright shiny penny) and Red.

Once I got into my early twenties I decided that being a redhead was pretty cool and unique.

For many years I'd have other women ask me who colored my hair, because they wanted to have them color their hair red.

When I would tell them that it was natural, and everyone of them would tell me how lucky I was.

As a matter of fact I'm now in my early 50's and I've never colored my hair and have very few grey hairs.

So that's a great thing about being a redhead,

It wasn't honestly until about 4 years ago that I discovered that redheads were referred to as Gingers.

My son said something one day and I had no idea all these years that I was a ginger.

That of course was the same day that he also told me that gingers have no soul.

For the longest time my daughter would tell her friends to not look me strait in the eye, as I had no soul and would steal theirs.

Little brats.

Here are 10 others reasons courtesy of ABC11.com (though I'm sure there are thousands) why being a redhead is awesome:
1. Only 2% of the world's population has red hair. Redheads are rare,

2. You have your own festival. The festival, called Roodharigendag (in Dutch) takes place in The Netherlands, and it is attended by thousands of people with natural red hair.

3. You can produce your own vitamin D. According to Health Magazine, redheads can produce their own vitamin D when exposed to low levels of light.

4. You may not need as much pain medication. The gene responsible for red hair (MC1R) also releases a hormone that is similar to endorphins which limit the feeling of pain. This means that redheads need less painkillers to treat ailments.

5. Redheads don't go grey. Red hair initially tends to turn blond and then white.

6. People with red hair are more likely to be left-handed.Recessive traits often happen in pairs so commonly people with the gene for red hair also possess the trait for left-handedness.

7. You may have more fun between the sheets. Red is known as provocative color, and a study by a German researcher found that women with red hair have sex more often.

8. Blue eyed redheads are super rare. Blue eyes and red hair forms the rarest combo on earth. Most (natural) redheads will have brown eyes, followed by hazel or green shades.

9. Redheads are natural muses. Art history shows us that many painters chose to depict muses with red hair, such as The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli.

10. Red hair is thicker than other colors. Each strand of red hair is generally thicker than other shades which compensates for the fact that redheads have less hair.

If you are a redhead, happy day, treat yourself.

If you know a redhead, make sure to congratulate them on having their own day.

And if you wanted to send your favorite redhead flowers or bring them something nice, that would be appreciated too.