I missed National Ampersand Day,
days ago, not that it matters
particularly, but dang,
it’s my favorite symbol
&&&&&&&&&
this Latin doohickey
“et,”, which, cleverly means
“and,” & to top it off is a
nifty ligature—two or more
letters combined to make
a symbol, an ancient one,
found in Pompeii graffiti
(after super-destructive
Vesuvius blew its top
in 79 AD).
I love that the word
is derived from
“and per se and”
(created by Marcus
Tullius Tiro, Roman
slave to Cicero) in 63 BC
& first appears as
a character at the end
of the Latin alphabet
in 1011 AD. Yes,
& was the 26th letter.
XYZ& !
Mostly I love to
whip a curvy & onto
a page, not to be
confused with the
even more elegant
& equally seductive
treble clef, though
they are kissing cousins
in symbology land,
their cute round
bottoms & curly
tops a delight to draw—
go ahead, try ’em
both (start at the
bottom & work your
way up) & see if
that just isn’t a
whole lot of fun.
(National Ampersand Day is Sept. 8.)
Güd wrtr 
I share your love of the Ampersand symbol. Of COURSE, it’s national day would be on the 8th since it closely resembles the numeral 8. That being said, it should really be celebrated on August 8 making it 8 & 8!
I recently wrote an email speaking about the Ampersand when it appeared in a document I was proofreading. This has happened before, when a message is transcribed from another writing program or a PC to a Mac. I guess it is still part of our alphabet!
Regardless, I always “want it all” so for me it’s not “either-or” but always this &&&&&!
Thanks for the graceful reminder of the Ampersand & the Treble Clef.
Love, ~Connie
You’re so right… it SHOULD be Aug. 8! Brilliant! Thanks, Connie, you who know well both the ampersand & treble clef!