January 9, 2017

Today we celebrate:

International Choreographer’s Day - Born on this day in 1904, George Balanchine was one of the greatest choreographers of the world. In his memory, we honor all choreographers today. They have the unique ability to match movement to music, to see what will look good before it even happens.

National Word Nerd Day - This is a day for all those people out there who love words. Using words, learning new words, making up new words, spelling words, and correcting punctuation everywhere you see errors.

National Apricot Day – Apricots are one of my daughter's favorite fruits. Full of Vitamin A and beta-carotene, they are a delicious and nutritious option if you get tired of peaches.

Play God Day – This is meant to be a day where you are inspired to do something good for someone else, but people seem to be wary of well meaning interference that causes more problems than it solves so be cautious of your choice of good deed.

Panama's Martyr Day – This is a day for Panamanians to salute the martyrdom of soldiers who lost their lives on this day in 1964, defending their nation. Many other countries also celebrate Martyr Day, but they do it on different days of the year depending on their unique historical events.

National Static Electricity Day – We've all experienced static electricity. Well today you can show your kids how static electricity will make balloons stick to walls. This Bill Nye the Science Guy video will help.

Balloon Ascension Day – Dig out that hot air balloon you've been keeping in the closet. Today is the day to blow it up and take a ride. This day in 1793 was apparently the first recorded trip in a hot air balloon by Jean Pierre Blanchard and was witnessed by General George Washington.

National Clean Off Your Desk Day – Celebrated on the second Monday in January, this is a day to clean off your desk. I know you've got stacks of important papers and not so important papers and assorted knicknacks and other such things that are there because you didn't know what to do with them. Well, today is the day to figure it out and clean it up.

Coming of Age Day – A holiday in Japan that is celebrated on the second Monday in January, this is a day to honor everyone who has reached the age of majority (20 years old according to the Japanese) in the past year. There are coming of age ceremonies and parties among family and friends. This has been celebrated in Japan since 714 AD but it became official in 1948.