World Day Against The Death Penalty - This day was created by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. They are trying to raise awareness of the fact that that many countries have added death penalty punishments to drug related crimes, and their goal is to try to educate the world of this fact so that people can band together and ask their governments to eliminate that method of punishment for that type of crime.
Hug a Drummer Day - All the best musical groups out there have a drummer. I think it’s probably even fair to say that The Beatles wouldn’t have been The Beatles without their drummer. So find a drummer and give him/her a hug today.
International Stage Management Day - I have met a couple of professional stage managers, and I know another future stage manager who I’m sure will be fantastic. The fact is that stage managers are absolutely vital to the performances that happen every day all over the world on stage or on television or in movies. Without someone to coordinate everything that is going on in all the different aspects involved in putting on any kind of production, nothing would happen smoothly. A really good stage manager makes the backstage shenanigans invisible to the audience.
National Cake Decorating Day - Now this is a passion of mine. Not because I am particularly good at it, but because I like to do things that aren’t usually done. I ask my kids every year what they would like their cake to be and I do my best to make it look like that as much as possible. I took a few cake decorating classes a number of years ago but I don’t like to do flowers and basket weaves and such. I like to make barns and grass and animals. I even made cakes that looked like pizzas once. So try something new today when you decorate your cake. Don’t be afraid to shape your cake to look like something besides a cake.
National Handbag Day - OK, may I just say that many women are a little obsessed with handbags? I am not one of them. I only have three. One I use every day until it falls apart and I am forced to get another one, and two that I have for special occasions and I use one of them once a year and the other one never because it is red and I never wear anything that goes with it. However, I recognize that I am unusual in this matter. I have friends who spend a great deal of money on handbags and have quite a few of them. I spend very little on my handbags because they are there for a purpose, to carry my stuff, not to be an ornament. So this is not a day for me. This is a day for people who coordinate their handbags with their outfits, and change them frequently.
National Metric Day - This day was originally celebrated on May 10th, but that was too close to the end of the school year for many schools so it was changed to today. The tenth of the month was selected because 10 is the base of the entire metric system. So no other number made sense. This day was begun by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in 1976 which was the year after the metric Conversion Act of 1975.
National Tuxedo Day - This is a day to celebrate the tuxedo. Styles and fashions have changed a great deal over the years but the tuxedo for special formal occasions, like proms and weddings, has remained a standard.
Powers of Ten Day - This day was inspired by the Powers of Ten film by Charles and Ray Eames. It’s a nine minute movie that takes the viewer from a picnic scene on our beloved planet, all the way out into space, and then back down to Earth all the way to a carbon atom in the hand of a man. Every ten seconds, the view is ten times further away or closer when it goes the other way. It is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. So this is a day to expand the boundaries of the way you think and cross over from cosmic to miniscule, from geography to mathematics, from science to languages. There is no limit, and everything is connected.
World Homeless Day - There are countless numbers of homeless people in our world. It is a sad situation that normal everyday people like me don’t know what to do about. I see them sometimes but there are so many, I know I can’t help them. I can barely pay my own bills sometimes. But the thing is, if everyone helps a little bit, together we can make a difference. The entire community needs to get involved.
National Angel Food Cake Day – Light and airy, this is delicious with strawberries and whipped cream.
Naval Academy Founder’s Day – On this day in 1845, the Naval School (later known as the United States Naval Academy) opened in Maryland with 50 students and 7 professors. It’s a little bit bigger these days with 4,536 students as of 2012 and a faculty of somewhere around 600 professors.
World Mental Health Day – The World Health Organization celebrates this day that was created by the World Federation of Mental Health. The purpose is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and help those who need it to find help for their issues. Let’s be real here, I think we all have mental health issues at some point in our lives. Some of us just have more issues than others. At least that’s my perception, but I guess you could say that I have some issues.
World Porridge Day – This is a day that started in Scotland and has spread throughout the world as an effort to feed hungry children in poor countries. Porridge is a traditional dish in Scotland and it is easy to make for large groups of hungry people so Mary's Meals (a Scottish-based charity) has been working hard to use it to feed people all around the world.
Squid Day/ Cuttlefish Day – On this cephalopod day, we focus on the exciting squids and cuttlefish. Did you know there is a giant squid that lives in the deepest parts of the oceans? I'm not sure why it used to come up and attack the sailing ships of 3 or 4 hundred years ago and not the ships of today, but we'll count our blessings because those things are huge. Maybe there were more of them then and they had more competition for food or maybe it had something to do with the size or shape of the ships. Maybe they used to look more like food back then. These are purely my speculations because I am curious about such things.
Columbus Day – This is the Anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival at the Americas in 1492. This had a upside, which of course is our eventually being able to live in this wonderful country. However, the downside is pretty huge because it also led to the death of almost an entire civilization of people who already lived in the Americas. This day is always the official Columbus Day but when it falls on a day other than Monday, the actual celebration is on the second Monday in October.
National Day of Mourning – Celebrated on the second Monday in October, this is a day to remember Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas in 1492. The Native Americans see this as a Day of Mourning because that arrival was the beginning of the end of their way of life and of the death of millions of their people.
National Kick Butt Day – I was all excited about this day until I discovered that I don't get to kick someone else's butt, only my own. We are to kick ourselves in the butt in order to encourage ourselves to take action on the things we have been meaning to do, but haven't done yet. This can be anything from keeping promises to completing our to do lists. Skip all the excuses and just get your butt in gear and get it done. This day is always celebrated on the second Monday in October.
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