February 22 ~ Happy World Thinking Day

Happy World Thinking Day February 22 by Everydays_A_Holiday
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    World Thinking Day is a Girl Scout holiday.  Each year the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts designates a theme for World Thinking Day, and the activities for the guides and scouts are focused on that theme.  February 22nd was chosen for this holiday because it is the birthday of scout founder Robert Baden-Powell and his wife Olave Baden-Powell.

     No, my thoughtful gorilla has nothing to do with Girl Scouting, but why should they have all the fun... Everyone should be allowed to think on Thinking Day!

January 15 ~ National Hat Day

National Hat Day January 15 by Everydays_A_Holiday
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To find out more about hats and vote for the "Hat Person of the Year" visit The Headwear Association's website.  

To celebrate today, wear your best chapeau. And if you don't have one, today's a good day to go out and buy one...

and for those of you that would love to learn how to make your own fabulous fashion hats...

January 6 ~ Epiphany

Ok, before I get comments that this is not a weird or wacky holiday let me just remind you that my purpose is to relay holidays that may not be "the norm" for everyone.  And since this is a religious holiday only celebrated by Christians it falls with the realm of odd holidays.

From Wikipedia:
Epiphany is celebrated by both the Eastern and Western Churches, but a major difference between them is precisely which events the feast commemorates. For Western Christians, the feast primarily commemorates the coming of the Magi; Eastern churches celebrate the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. In both traditions, the essence of the feast is the same: the manifestation of Christ to the world (whether as an infant or in the Jordan), and the Mystery of the Incarnation.


If your not inclined to celebrate today as a religious holiday, let's take a look at the word epiphany... 
a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

Maybe today's the day for you to have your own epiphany, or just a good day to add it to your vocabulary.

December 22 ~ Haiku Poetry Day

Haiku is a form of traditional Japanese poetry that adheres to strict rules. The entire poem is short containing only 17 syllables in 3 lines. The first line must be 5 syllables, the second lines is 7, and the last line is 5 again, giving the poem a graceful meter. Traditionally the poetry will make reference to the season, and most often it pertained to winter which is why this holiday is on the Winter Solstice.

Obviously well known traditional Japanese Haiku when translated to English will not necessarily have 17 syllables, but by reading some of them, you will get the idea of the imagery associated with this form of poetry.

* Night; and once again,

* the while I wait for you, cold wind

* turns into rain.

Masaoka Shiki

* The crow has flown away:

* swaying in the evening sun,

* a leafless tree.

Soseki Natsume

* The moment two bubbles

* are united, they both vanish.

* A lotus blooms.

Kijo Murakami

To learn more about Haiku, or to learn to write some of your own, try some of these books available at Amazon.

November 19, 2010 ~ World Toilet Day

I have to admit, I really thought this one was a hoax...but, not only is it on the level, The World Toilet Organization even has their own website that you can visit. WTO is a non-profit organization founded in 2001, with the idea to improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide.

I made sure that you have plenty of options for cards and gifts to celebrate World Toilet Day at my Zazzle shop...

Create a personalized gift at Zazzle.

Happy flushing!!!

November 8 ~ National Harvey Wallbanger Day

Bottoms up!!!

Stir 3 parts vodka and 6 parts orange juice in a collins glass with ice. Float 1 part Galliano on top.  Garnish with orange slice and maraschino cherry.

Before you have one too many try these super delicious looking cupcakes....

Recipe found at Cocktail Cupcakes for Your Bachelorette Party Supplies. 

If you are in need of Party Supplies (keep in mind these are not kids parties) they seem to have it all...  

I will definitely be trying some of those cupcakes!!

Saxophone Day ~ November 6

The inventor of the Saxophone, Adolph Sax was born November 6, 1814... hence today is "Saxophone Day"  And the best way to celebrate today??? Listen to some great sax music of course.

 

If you're a sax player or know someone who is, we have a great tie available at our Zazzle shop...

Saxophone Tie by What_Knot_Ties
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October 27 ~ Navy Day

I really wanted to share with you the Village People singing "In the Navy" but I couldn't find one on YouTube that I was allowed to use. So, instead we'll take a step even further back in time...

If you know a sailor, send him or her some love today...

National Mulligan Day ~ October 17

A mulligan, in a game, happens when a player gets a second chance at a move or action.  In essence it's a "do-over".  On Mulligan Day you get a second chance.  At what?  It's not specific, so I suppose you get to "do-over" whatever you'd like.

In cooking, mulligan stew is basically a stew made of whatever you have on hand or whatever is left-over.  So I suppose it's foods way of getting a second chance.  When my children were little they loved the story about stone soup.  If you're not familiar with it, basically a wanderer comes into town and has no food.  So he boils up some water and adds a stone.  Everyone in the town wants to share his soup and so the each bring a little something to add... a potato here, a carrot there...until it becomes a real meal.  Now we all know how kids feel about left overs, so I used the story to my advantage.  One of the other issues was that my younger children seemed to love to rip the labels off of canned foods.  I usually knew what was in them, but it actually helped that they didn't. Making sure to have some soup base and vegetables in the mix, I let them pick some unlabeled cans, added some left-overs, water or broth as necessary, and voila ~ they made stone soup.  I'm sure they would have turned their noses up at it if I made it, but because it was their creation they thought it was the best meal ever.

Octoter 9, 2010 ~ Leif Erikson Day

Leif Erikson Day honors the first Scandinavian known to have set foot on American soil and the contribution of the Nordic peoples to the United States.  For a bit of background and history about Leif Erikson I found this website at Net Glimse very informative.
Want more Viking facts and fun...try these...
  

National Fluffernutter Day ~ October 8, 2010

Oh you need Fluff Fluff Fluff to make a Fluffernutter,

Marshmallow Fluff and lots of peanut butter.

As if peanut butter weren't sweet and sticky enough, the addition of Marshmallow Fluff may just put you over the edge.  If you don't think you can handle the sandwich, why not try these cookies found at The Picky Palate.

Fluffernutter Cookies

1 Cup creamy peanut butter

1 large egg

1 cup marshmallow cream

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl mix the peanut butter and egg until well combined with a spoon.  Slowly stir in the marshmallow cream until just combined.  You want to see the marshmallow cream not fully incorporated, almost like swirled through.  With a small-medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until baked through.  Let cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

October 7, 2010 ~ National Frappe Day

What exactly is a Frappe... Well here's an instant Frappe for you... 

Happy Mad Hatter Day ~ October 6, 2010

Obviously celebrated on 10/6 (look at the hat if you haven't figured it out yet), Mad Hatter day is a day to be totally silly and crazy.  Similar to the more familiar April Fool's Day, except that it's more about silliness than pranks or practical jokes.  Just in case you're unfamiliar with this character, he is the invention of Lewis Carroll in his story of Alice in Wonderland.  The most remember element in the story involving the Mad Hatter is the tea party as depicted here.

Hope your day is filled with Silliness and Fun!!!

October 1 ~ World Vegetarian Day

No fast food today!!! I'm sure this one was NOT an idea of McDonald's, Burger King, or Taco Bell...  If you've every thought about it, today would be a good day to try to go the whole day eating a healthy meat free diet.  Yes, I said HEALTHY, even I can go all day and it nothing but chocolate and potato chips.  In all seriousness though, World Vegetarian Day was established in 1977 by the North American Vegetarian Society.  Today is the kick off to Vegetarian Awareness Month which promotes the joy, compassion and life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism.

There is a lot to be said for vegetables...here's a guy that really enjoys his veggies...try doing this with a hamburger...

September 28 ~ Cabrillo Day

Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo was the Portuguese explorer who discovered California on 9-28-1542 when he sailed into the bay that would eventually be called San Diego. Cabrillo Day is celebrated in San Diego each year around the 28th of September and includes Portuguese music, dancing, and a reenactment of the discovery of the San Diego Bay.

Today's a good day to try your hand at some Portuguese cooking.

SER FELIZE!

  

September 27 ~ Family Day

Family day is a day to eat dinner with your children.  Created by The National Center on Addiction and Drug Abuse at Columbia University, Family Day was a grass roots movement launched in 2001 that has grown to become a nationwide celebration.  The premise is that the drug problem in this country needs to be addressed at the family level.  Parents need to communicate with their children to keep them off drugs, and the family dinner can make the difference.  To learn more about it you can visit the official Family Day website.  While you're there you can take the pledge to become a Family Day "STAR"  which stands for: 

S- Spend time with my kids by having dinner together

T- Talk to them about their friends, interests and the dangers of drugs and alcohol

A- Answer their questions and listen to what they say

R- Recognize that I have the power to help keep my kids substance free!

Spend even more time with the kids by declaring one night a week family game night...communication is always easier when there is laughter involved.

September 25 ~ National One Hit Wonder Day

Who's your favorite one hit wonder?

September 22, 2010 ~ Elephant Appreciation Day

Created in 1996 by Wayne Hepburn of Mission Media Inc., this holiday is a favorite of many who love elephants.  I have a personal favorite elephant story, one which many think I've fabricated, but for a while my parents had an elephant living in their backyard in Jackson, NJ.  It's not a story with a happy ending because Ned (the elephant) died while he lived with my parents, but the events and turmoil that it caused does have it's humorous points as you can imagine.  Ned was an Asian elephant as opposed to the more recognized African elephant...what's the difference you ask...

The Asian or sometimes called Indian elephant is smaller than it's African cousin.  Proportionately the Asian's ears are also smaller.  The skin tone of the African elephant is predominately grayish while the Asian elephant appear brown or reddish in color.  African elephants rarely lie down unless they are sick or wounded. Indian elephants, in contrast, lie down frequently.  African elephants have three nails on each hind foot, and four on each front foot. Indian elephants have four nails on each hind foot and five on each front foot.  Normally, the skin of an Asian is covered with more hair than its African counterpart.

If you love elephants you might want to check out an assortment of elephant items available at my Zazzle shop...

Browse other personalized gifts from Zazzle.

And, if you're just in the mood for some elephant jokes....

Q: How do you stop a charging elephant?
    A: Take away his credit card.

Q: How can you tell if an elephant has been in the refrigerator?
    A: Footprints in the butter

Q: What do you call an elephant that rides a bus?
    A: A passenger.

Q: Why do elephants wear sandals?
    A: So that they don’t sink in the sand.

Q: Why did the elephant stand on the marshmallow?
    A: So he wouldn’t fall into the hot chocolate.

Q: Why did the elephant wear red sneakers?
    A: So he could hide in the apple tree.

Q: How do elephants talk to each other?
    A: By ‘elephone.

Q: Where do elephants with skin problems go?
    A: Pachydermatologists.

AND MY ALL TIME FAVORITE ELEPHANT JOKE...

Q: What time is it when an elephant sits on your fence?
    A: Time to get a new fence.

September 21, 2010 ~ Happy World Peace Day

Yes, the peace symbol is back in style!  I have no problem admitting that I was around when it was first in style.  Back then there was some controversy over the symbol itself, some believing it was satanic, demonic, or a derivation of a Nazi symbol.  You can still find references to those things on the internet, but for the most part I think today's youth just see it the way the youth of the 60's did... a sign of Peace and Love.  All that aside, today is World Peace Day, first celebrated in 1981 as a holiday declared by the United Nations General Assembly.  Globally there will be thousands of events ranging from prayer vigils to comedy club activities...All with one thing in common, the hope for peace throughout the world...

Celebrate Peace today and every day!!!