Signing Savvy, Your Sign Language Resource

In this series of articles, I discuss how to sign dates in American Sign Language. In this article, in particular, I discuss how to sign the number of the day of the month.

In ASL, there is a little trick to knowing how to sign the day of the month:

• If the number of the day is 1 through 9, it is signed with a little twist.
• If the number of the day is 10 or above, you simply sign the number.

Signing the day of the month when the day is 1 through 9:

Examples of Signing the Day of the Month

New Year's Day is on:

These sentences would all be signed using the sign with the twisting motion, as shown above:

• New Year’s Day is always on the 1st.
• New Year's Day is January 1.
• New Year's Day is January 1st.

Independence Day is on:

These sentences would all be signed using the sign with the twisting motion, as shown above:

• Independence Day is always on the 4th.
• Independence Day is July 4.
• Independence Day is July 4th.

Veteran's Day is on:

These sentences would all be signed using the regular number sign, with no twisting motion, as shown above:

• Veteran’s Day is always on the 11th.
• Veteran's Day is November 11.
• Veteran's Day is November 11th.

Valentine's Day is on:

These sentences would all be signed using the regular number sign, with no twisting motion, as shown above:

• Valentine's Day is always on the 14th.
• Valentine's Day is February 14.
• Valentine's Day is February 14th.

St. Patrick's Day is on:

These sentences would all be signed using the regular number sign, with no additional twisting motion, as shown above:

• St. Patrick’s Day is always on the 17th.
• St. Patrick’s Day is March 17.
• St. Patrick’s Day is March 17th.

Juneteenth is on:

These sentences would all be signed using the regular number sign, with no additional twisting motion, as shown above:

• Juneteenth is always on the 19th.
• Juneteenth is June 19.
• Juneteenth is June 19th.

Christmas is on:

These sentences would all be signed using the regular number sign, with no twisting motion, as shown above:

• Christmas is always on the 25th.
• Christmas is December 25.
• Christmas is December 25th.

Halloween is on:

These sentences would all be signed using the regular number sign, with no twisting motion, as shown above:

• Halloween is always on the 31st.
• Halloween is October 31.
• Halloween is October 31st.

Remember: The twist is only for dates that use numbers 1-9.  No other numbers have the twist.

Signing the Month and the Day Together

To sign a date that includes a month and a day, simply sign the month and then the number for the day of the month following the guidelines above.

Examples of Signing the Month and the Day Together

New Year's Day is on:

Independence Day is on:

Valentine's Day is on:

Christmas is on:

Halloween is on: