January 17, 2016

Today we celebrate:

Ditch New Years Resolutions Day – It is by this day that most people have given up on all those promises you made in the heat of the moment on New Year’s Eve. You know you were unrealistic about it anyway.  After all, who has time to go to the gym three days a week for a whole year? A couple of weeks is good enough, we all know how busy you are.  Of course, your health is important enough to make the time, but we know you’ll think about that next week.

Kid Inventors' Day – Today we honor the birthday of the famous inventor, among many other things, Benjamin Franklin, by celebrating the inventions made by kids. Let's get busy kids, use those incredible brains of yours and make something new!

Cable Car Day – If you have access to a Cable Car because you live in San Francisco, since I think that is the only place left in this country that has working Cable Cars, take a ride on it today. The rest of us will just have to read about it.

Hot Heads Chili Days (17-18) – This day is so hot, it needs two days to celebrate. Or maybe one day to partake and one day to recover.

Ben Franklin's Birthday – As previously mentioned, this is Benjamin Franklin's birthday. Born in 1706, he was one of our founding fathers and was just an incredible individual. If you go to Philadelphia today, you will probably see a parade in his honor.

Hot-Buttered Rum Day – This is a warm alcoholic beverage that consists of butter, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves all mixed together with rum. This beverage was invented here in America in colonial days. I guess it must be good if it has lasted this long, although you don’t generally hear someone order one at a bar.

World Religion Day – Celebrated on the third Sunday in January, this is a day to acknowledge all of the many, many, many different religions in the world.

World Snow Day - This is a day to “Bring Children to the Snow”, a campaign that the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) has been engaged in for several years.  They want to motivate children between the ages of 4 and 14 to get out into the snow and discover how much fun it can be. They want children to “Explore, Enjoy and Experience” all that snow fun has to offer. While they desire to increase their profits, they also want to teach children about the importance of snow to the environment, promote the health benefits of snow sports, and make sure children know how to behave and be safe while on and off the snow. This day is celebrated on the third Sunday in January.

World Day of Migrants and Refugees - The theme for this year’s celebration is “Migrants and Refugees Challenge Us.  The Response of the Gospel of Mercy.” It was chosen by Pope Francis in order to highlight the epidemic of migrants and refugees and the treatment that they must endure by the world.  They are ignored, starved, beaten and worse because people forget that migrants and refugees are people too.  They deserve the same consideration you would give your next door neighbor because they are everyone’s neighbors.