Here are three words you might hear or see quite a bit in Pasadena in the coming weeks, including Wednesday on Jan. 1, when the Tournament of Roses begins: “Best Day Ever!”

Every float. Every band. Every performance in the coming extravaganza along the 5.5-mile route has been designed with the theme in mind.

But where did it come from? What’s the meaning behind it?

Enter this year’s Tournament President Ed Morales, his wife Lisa, and their two children — Lainey and Jessie.

They were the ones who helped the couple decide on the theme “Best Day Ever,” Morales said.

Borne from conversations had at bedtime, tucking the kids in at night — “they would say this happened and this happened and this was the best day ever,” Lisa Morales said. “They would come out from a birthday party and stop and hold out their arms and declare it was the best ever.”

The two, college-aged now, had definite ideas on what made an exciting theme.

“We wanted to capture that feeling when you have a fulfilling day, and for us, that’s serving others, and that’s a feeling everyone can recognize,” Lisa Morales added.

Working from that idea, that morphed into the many ways we all have the best moments ever and wanting to celebrate people who create best days ever for others, Ed Morales said.

Because the year’s floats, performers and grand marshal are all selected with the theme in mind, the announcement of theme comes early in the year — or, put another way, shortly after the previous Rose Parade.

So right after the 2024 parade — which celebrates the theme of “Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language” — incoming Tournament President Ed Morales stood in front of a crowd of supporters at the Tournament House in early January announcing a key presidential proclamation:

“This year’s theme celebrates life’s special moments,” he said. “Those moments that excite us, motivate us and fill us with joy.

“It could be the day you learn to ride a bike, a favorite family vacation, or the birth of your first grandchild. These are the moments that make life worth living.”

And yes, it could even be SpongeBob starting an episode by waking up and singing the song “Best Day Ever.”

And now, the Morales family’s conception of it is a thing, as it spreads through the Tournament of Roses zeitgeist — at the end of a year full of tumult at the national and global levels.

For Grand Marshal Billie Jean King, the “parade is a wonderful celebration of joy and community, and it truly represents the ‘Best Day Ever’ for all who attend or watch,” she said when she was announced as the grand marshal.

Morales later said King told him the theme reminds her to live in the moment and be present.

Floatmakers have had loads of fun with it.

“’Best Day Ever!’ represents an opportunity for the student Floaters in our program to reclaim the hands-on learning experience of attending a Cal Poly university,” said the Cal Poly float builders, whose joint effort among Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student volunteers is about taking “what we learn in our classes and transform it into the best “Learn by Doing” experience you can find!”

Their float, “Nessie’s Lakeside Laughs,” builds a story of how Nessie decides to step out of her shell and venture to the surface of the lake she calls home.

“She is pleased to meet a myriad of land animal friends! Together, the animals that live near the lake welcome Nessie, as they find new ways to play both on land and in the lake. Nessie’s Lakeside Laughs captures the beginnings of a great friendship uniting the once shy Loch Ness monster with some eager creatures native to Scotland’s hills.”

It’s a great day for the creatures.

Others leaned into the superlative, declaring they will have the Best Seats Ever in the grandstand, or the Best View Ever. However they bow to this year’s theme, Morales said he hopes people will count this New Year’s Day in their Top 10 Best Days Ever. Planning it is already one of his.