10 In-Universe Star Trek Holidays (And When To Celebrate Them)

The Voyager episode 11:59 took a break from the show's typical high concept sci-fi shenanigans to focus on the life of one of Kathryn Janeway's ancestors, Shannon O'Donnel, in the early 21st century.

In the episode, Kathryn slowly pieced together her ancestor's history and learned that it was quite different than she thought. Shannon was a huge inspiration to Kathryn. Kathryn believed she was one of the first female astronauts, a participant in early missions to Mars, and a main engineer for the Millenium Gate project—a fully self-sustaining city that paved the way for future Mars colonies. However, the captain later learned that Shannon was actually only a low-level engineering consultant for the Millennium Gate, but was nonetheless instrumental in getting the project approved. Kathryn was frustrated by learning how easily family history could be distorted, but still admired Shannon for her accomplishments, and continued to view her as an inspiration.

Several other crew members began recounting their family history, and Neelix took the opportunity to start Ancestors' Eve: a holiday celebrated on April 22 in the mess hall to honour all those who came before you. It's possible that Ancestors' Eve was inspired by Prixin, a Talaxian holiday honouring family, which Neelix celebrated. We're not sure if members of the crew went on to continue the tradition of Ancestors' Eve even after Voyager returned to the Alpha Quadrant, but it's very possible.