February 2, 2013

Today we celebrate:

Candelmas – a Christian holiday that celebrates three events: the presentation of the child Jesus, Jesus' first entry into the temple, and the Catholic Church celebrates the Virgin Mary's purification.

Crepe Day or La Chandeleur – In France, crepes are traditionally served on Candelmas.

Groundhog Day – let's all hope for a cloudy, shadowless day today so that spring comes early this year.

Ice Cream For Breakfast Day – celebrated on the first Saturday in February, today is a day to throw nutrition rules out the window and go ahead and have ice cream for breakfast! Enjoy.

Marmot day – Alaska doesn't have many groundhogs so in 2009, they decided that marmots deserved some recognition as well.

Groundhog Job Shadow Day – this is for young people to get an up close look at various jobs so that they can see which ones would suit them better. So they shadow various professionals who sign up for the honor of being a mentor. I'm not sure why the word Groundhog is part of the name, but I am certain that shadowing groundhogs is not one of the options today.

Hedgehog Day – according to legend, hedgehogs were the original groundhogs. The Romans would watch the hedgehogs on February 2nd at night. If the hedgehog came out and saw his shadow in the moonlight, he would go back in and hibernate some more and winter was not easing up any time soon. When people came to America, they switched to the groundhog because hedgehogs were hard to find in this country.

Imbolc – An Irish celebration that marks the beginning of the end of winter when the ewes are nursing their newborn lambs. Spring is right around the corner. To the Romans, this time of year was called Lupercalia and was the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.

Sled Dog Day – Sled dogs have been used in the upper regions of the continent since the 10th century. They can get supplies to places and save people that no one else can get to. This day honors sled dog heroes throughout history. The one's we've heard about like Balto, and the ones we haven't but are heroes nonetheless.

Take Your Child To The Library Day – Begun last year by Nadine Lipman, a retired librarian in Connecticut, this day is a day to promote the multitude of services your library can provide for you. Check with your local library, they might have some special events planned.

World Play Your Ukulele Day – I'm not sure if this is today or May 2nd. I've seen both days talked about on the web. But if you know how to play one, go ahead and celebrate twice.

World Wetlands Day – On this day in 1971, the Ramsar Convention was signed. This raised public awareness of wetland values and benefits.

Heavenly Hash Day – ingredients for this heavenly dish vary widely from region to region, it could have ice cream, brownies, cookies, rice, marshmallows, fruit or whipped cream or any combination of those items and others. Make your own favorite recipe and enjoy.

Today is a busy celebration day. To help you consolidate as much as possible, have some ice cream filled crepes and heavenly hash for breakfast. After that nutritious meal, get on your sled and have your sled dogs take you and your children to the library and have your children shadow a librarian while you play your ukulele for the patrons. When they kick you out of there for making too much noise, go find a groundhog or a hedgehog or a marmot and wake them up so they can look for their shadow. Maybe do it for all three and compare notes. You'll be very popular among the forest animals. Then search for some ewes so you can show your children their cute, little babies. Finally, have the sled dogs take you home by way of the local wetlands and a church so you can celebrate Candelmas. If there are any small forest and/or farm animals chasing you, you can probably lose them among the pews.

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