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April 24, 2016

Today we celebrate:

New Kids On The Block Day - Did you listen to the New Kids on the Block back in the 80s and 90s?  Maybe you still do?  Well then this is a day for you.  In 1989, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts declared this day to be a holiday in honor of Danny, Jordan, Jonathan, Donnie and Joey, the members of the group.

World Day for Laboratory Animals - Created in 1979 by the British National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS), this date was chosen because it was the birthday of former NAVS president Hugh Dowding. There will be demonstrations and protests in various places around the world to show opposition to the practice of using animals in laboratory research.

World Meningitis Day - Created by the Confederation of Meningitis Organizations and their partners around the world, this is a day to spread awareness of the symptoms and treatment for meningitis as well as the importance and availability of vaccines to prevent your loved ones from contracting this terrible, and life threatening disease.

Tax Freedom Day –This is a theoretical day. The Tax Foundation, which is a tax research organization based in Washington D.C., has counted every dollar that is officially considered income and every dollar that is officially considered a tax at all levels of government throughout the country. According to them, this is the day that the nation as a whole has made enough money to pay the taxes of the nation as a whole. I confess that I don't find this to be personally relevant and I kind of wonder why they bother and whether any of my tax dollars are paying for this research.

National Teach Your Children To Save Day – If we do not want to raise the next group of debtors, we need to teach our children how to save their money. Many financial institutions visit schools on this day to talk to the kids about how important it is.  This day is celebrated in April every year but the day of celebration is decided by the American Bankers Association.

National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day – Bite sized sausages or hot dogs wrapped in dough, these are commonly served as hors d'oeuvres at parties.

Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day – Between 1915 and 1918, some 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks. Turkey remembers events differently and disputes the validity of this day. The Armenians keep this day going not out of a desire for revenge but out of a desire for recognition and remembrance. Particularly since Turkey continues to deny that it ever happened. In February 2014, Takouhie Keshishian, the last known survivor of this genocide who lived in California, passed away.  She was 99 years old.

International Size Acceptance Day – Begun in the United Kingdom in 1992, this day is now being celebrated by many different countries.  In the United States it has been sponsored by the International Size Acceptance Association since 1998.  The purpose of the day is to focus on having a healthy lifestyle regardless of what size and shape your body may be.  Dieting has limited success and some diets could be dangerous.  Instead, simply eat healthy quantities of healthy foods and get plenty of exercise.  Then accept yourself and your shape for what it is.

Take Our Daughters & Sons To Work Day – For twenty-one years now the goal of this day has been to help strengthen the connections between work and education and the relationships between parents and their children. The theme for this year’s celebration is, “Plant a Seed, Grow a Future.”  This day is primarily for children between 8 and 18 years old.

National Drive It Day – Always on a Sunday close to April 23rd, this day celebrates April 23, 1900 and the 64 cars that left London and embarked upon the Thousand Mile Trial. Forty-six of the cars finally returned to London on May 12th. Don't forget that back then cars were very new and not accustomed to traveling very far or very fast for that matter because today it would only take about 15 hours give or take a little, depending on speed limits and street lights, to travel that distance. Plus they had the added handicap of not having paved roads because there were no such thing back then.

National Pet Parent's Day – Celebrated on the last Sunday in April, this is a day to give appreciation to the special people who open their hearts and their homes to pets of all kinds. Pets are not easy to take care of, even fish need to have their tanks cleaned and sometimes need special water and temperatures.  Bigger pets make bigger messes, need to be walked, fed, cleaned up after, and let’s not even talk about those vet bills.  Kudos to all those pet parents who take these tasks on so willingly.

Mother, Father Deaf Day – Also on the last Sunday of April, this is a day to honor the deaf parents of hearing children. Raising children is difficult under the best of circumstances.  If you can’t hear them when they cry or you can’t hear them when they get quiet because they’re up to no good, it gets a hundred times harder.

Pinhole Photography Day – Celebrated on the last Sunday in April, this day encourages you to make your own camera, take a picture and share it with the world in the hopes of encouraging creativity. All you need is a “light-tight” container, a pinhole in the side of it and a photo sensitive surface inside it.

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