May 31, 2018

Today we celebrate:

National Meditation Day - Meditation is a tool that can be used to bring harmony back to your life. It can help you de-stress, maintain your composure, reduce your anger, and increase your peacefulness, awareness and relaxation. Give it a try today, it only takes a few minutes a day to give you lasting benefits.

Save Your Hearing Day – This is a day to focus on a very important sense, our ability to hear. For as long as I can remember, young people have been determined to destroy this sense as quickly as possible. Probably something to do with knowing that they will one day have very loud children and so they know already that there will come a day when they will be glad that the noise is somewhat muffled. Or, maybe it is simply because they like loud music. Who doesn't? I like to crank up my radio when I'm alone in the house too, but I also have to endure the many complaints of my family members that I should get my ears checked because I can't hear diddlysquat. Which is nonsense. Who wants to hear diddlysquat anyway? What kind of sound is that anyway? What?

World Otter Day - Let’s just start by agreeing that otters are adorable. If you disagree with that statement, then you are a monster and you’ll just need to accept that right now. Today is all about recognizing that otters are important to the environment but are in danger like so much of our wildlife today because everyone thinks they are adorable and wants to own one. This is called the illegal wildlife trade and it must be stopped. Frankly, while I love to look at otters swimming around, and I love to see pictures of them doing absolutely anything, I would love them a little bit less if I were the one who had to feed them and take them out to do their business just because my children are too lazy to get out of bed and away from their phones. These are animals who are fully capable of fending for themselves in the wild….so let’s let them do that and enjoy their antics from afar.

World No Tobacco Day – This is a day for absolutely everyone to spread the word any way they can that tobacco can cause many health problems. Some ideas include: working on banning tobacco advertising, holding anti-smoking meetings, going into schools and telling kids how bad tobacco is, stopping people in public places and encouraging them to stop smoking, holding public marches and demonstrations. Because you never know, some people who have lived under a rock for the last twenty or so years, just might emerge today and be receptive to your information. You could save a life today. The theme for this year is, “Tobacco and Heart Disease”.

National Macaroon Day – Macaroons are cookies made with egg whites, sugar, ground almonds, coconut and maybe some chocolate. They do not use flour. They are also not to be confused with macarons, which are sandwich like treats filled with butter or jam. Have some macaroons today. These won't even mess up your gluten-free diet if you are on one.

What You Think Upon Grows Day – This is a day that is all about the power of positive thinking. Whatever you allow your mind to dwell on, will come to pass. If you persist in thinking about negative things, negative things will happen in your life. So anytime you start thinking negatively, push those thoughts right out of your head and replace them with positive thoughts. The more positive thoughts you have, the more positive things will happen in your life.

Speak In Complete Sentences Day - This is a day that requires us to focus on how we speak. Far too many of us speak in slang, texting shorthand, and just plain poor grammar. I have tried to teach my children that in the business world, no one is going to take you seriously if you don’t speak like a mature adult is supposed to speak. Saying “like” every other word or juvenile forms of speech like, “Me and Dave” instead of “Dave and I” are going to lead to problems when you are trying to impress your boss or a client.

Corpus Christi - This is not about the city in Texas, although I have been there and enjoyed it thoroughly and feel they deserve to have a day. But alas, this is not it. No, this is a day that is celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday in Christian churches and is actually called The Feast of Corpus Christi which is Latin for “Body of Christ”. The super simplification of the day is that it celebrates the belief in the body and blood of Jesus Christ. If you talk to a clergyperson, you will get a much better explanation that I can provide to you.

Goodbye

I'm sorry to announce that I have decided that tomorrow I will be sharing my last Crazy Days to Celebrate post with you. I apologize to my faithful readers and hope that you understand that life has just gotten too busy. For a while now I haven't had the time to do what I really want to do with this blog and I have decided that I don't want to take shortcuts and risk making lots of mistakes. I would rather just set it aside for now and perhaps there will come a day when I will be able to pick it back up and start fresh.

I want to thank you all for your generous support, helpful tips, constructive criticism, and willingness to share with your friends. I especially want to thank Edward for teaching me how to improve my graphics from simple internet pictures, to something approaching artwork. This page would not have been nearly as good without all of his expert and supremely patient help.

I am not deleting this blog anytime soon and will happily check in periodically and answer any questions about holidays that you may have. Thank you again for all of your support and I wish each and every one of you a blessed life.

May 30, 2018

Today we celebrate:

My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It Day - I couldn’t find a source that could tell me exactly what this day is about or who created it. But I did find numerous references to it so I can only assume that it is real. It might be an homage to Hank Williams’ song by the same name, or it might be about appreciating buckets with or without holes, or it might be a metaphor for our lives and how none of us are perfect. Take your pick.

National Mint Julep Day - This is a cocktail made with bourbon whiskey, mint, water and sugar. Many people feel this is a summer drink and wouldn’t think of having it in the winter. It is most popular in the south and is the official drink of the Kentucky Derby.

Water A Flower Day – Wow, I'm getting it from all sides today. My husband is always on my case because I remember to water my vegetable garden but I never think about the poor flowers. Usually because I'm in a hurry to get to work or get away from the mosquitoes so I only water the “important” things. I know, I know, flowers are important too. Sheesh, I'll water them already.

Loomis Day – This is a day dedicated to people who think outside the box like Mahlon Loomis, a dentist and the inventor of artificial teeth in 1854, was also the earliest inventor of a wireless telegraph, which he patented on this day in 1872. His idea worked, but not for the reasons he thought. He was using kites with metal wires, instead of string, as antennas and thought that if the kites were flown at the same level in the atmosphere, the messages could be transmitted between them. It worked, but it worked because of the length of the wire, not the height of the kite. I don't understand it all, but I do know that Congress wasn't buying the whole concept so even though he got a patent for his idea, it didn't end up going anywhere. He may not have been totally successful, but his ideas sparked a trend that led to the technology we have today.

World MS Day – This day is celebrated on the last Wednesday of May every year. Multiple Sclerosis is a neurological disorder that affects approximately 2 million people worldwide. It usually shows up in young adults so most people are diagnosed between the ages of 25 and 31. More women than men are affected. There is no cure and no one knows what causes it. The type and severity of the symptoms vary widely from person to person but can include weakness of limbs, dizziness, fatigue, tingling sensations, and vision disruptions among many other things. Sometimes patients can be in remission and be symptom free for days to even years and then it will relapse. Others never get a period of remission. Some can live a reasonably healthy life for many years and others become severely debilitated very quickly and do not live long at all. There is no predicting the course of the disease in anyone. Find out more here, and here.

National Senior Health & Fitness Day – This day has been celebrated every year since 1993 with a goal of keeping older Americans healthy and fit. It is always celebrated on the last Wednesday in May and you will find events happening all over the world. The theme for this year is: “With Movement...There’s Improvement!”

May 29, 2018

Today we celebrate:

Paper Clip Day - Ok, I’m not a fan of this day. Yeah, paper clips are useful. I use them every day at work. You could even say I’m a fan of paper clips because they work so great. But really, does that mean that they deserve a holiday? I think not. But as I’ve said before, I don’t make the days, I just tell you about them. It may be that paper clips were invented by Johan Vaaler from Norway in 1899, but I’m not 100 percent sure of that.

National Biscuit Day - This is a day to celebrate biscuits. I love biscuits, they taste great warmed up with melted butter and maybe a little dab of jelly. Yum. Now, ‘biscuit’ means different things depending on what country you come from, for example, in the United Kingdom, what we call ‘cookies’, they call ‘biscuits’. But since I don’t know what country this holiday comes from, eat some biscuits today, no matter what that means to you.

World Digestive Health Day - Created by the World Gastroenterology Organization, this is a day to increase public awareness of what we eat and how it affects us gastrointestinally. For example, coeliac disease can be devastating for the intestinal health of sufferers when they eat even small amounts of gluten. So the theme this year is, “Your Diet and Gut Health.” Every year they focus on a different digestive disorder. Last year was about “Heartburn: A Global Perspective.”

Put A Pillow On Your Fridge Day – Back in the day before there were refrigerators, it was fairly common practice, or so I understand not being old enough to have experienced it, to put cloth in your larder as it was believed to bring good luck and prosperity to the family. Well, no one has a larder any more and not too many of us have piles of cloth lying around so we are encouraged to put a pillow on or in (if you have room) your refrigerator. If you do this, let me know if it works and if you end up having good luck and great wealth. And make sure you have a camera handy to capture the looks on the faces of your loved ones as they attempt to raid the fridge and find a pillow among the food.

Ascension Of Baha'u'Llah – On this day in 1892, Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i faith, died and ascended into Heaven. He left his followers teachings which he believed would lead all of humanity to a “true and abiding peace.”

Learn About Composting Day – This is a day to learn about composting. The basic idea is to reuse our food scraps by collecting them in a compost bin and, over time, turning them into compost which would make good, natural fertilizer.

International Day Of United Nations Peacekeepers - Keeping the peace is a difficult and dangerous job. This is a day, declared by the United Nations, to remember and honor the United Nations Peacekeepers who have lost their lives to this cause. The first UN peacekeeping mission was performed in 1948 and more than 3,200 Peacekeepers have died in the years since then as a result of their pursuit of world peace.

End of Middle Ages Day – According to historians, this day in 1453 was the last day of the Middle Ages. I don't know about you but my first question was: How do they know that? Well, I'll tell you. May 29, 1453 was the day that Constantinople fell, marking the end of the Byzantine Empire. Goodbye, Middle Ages: Hello, Renaissance.

National Coq Au Vin Day – Chicken and wine. Really, that is all this is. Have some chicken and wine for dinner tonight. Oh, you can follow a traditional recipe and make it all fancy if you want and have time. If not, any old chicken and wine will do.