April 11, 2017

Today we celebrate:


Holy Tuesday - This is always celebrated on the Tuesday of Holy Week which is the week before we commemorate the death of Jesus Christ. There will be church services that talk about the Parable of the Ten Virgins from Matthew 25:1-13.

National Cheese Fondue Day – Originating in Switzerland sometime in the 1700's, it endures today because, as everyone knows, cheese makes everything taste better.

Eight Track Tape Day – I know I'm dating myself, but I remember having these wonderful musical devices from the 1960's and 70's when I was a child. My parents probably still have our 8-track collection and our 8-track tape player, which may or may not still work. My favorite one, which I listened to over and over was the Magic of Abba. Sadly, my children have never even seen one of these tapes, let alone held one in their hands.

Barbershop Quartet Day – Barbershop Quartets have been around for a very long time. Their popularity was kind of dying out and you didn't see or hear of them as much, so on this day in 1938, 26 people gathered in Tulsa, Oklahoma and formed the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America. Now, you have to look for them, they don’t hang out at barbershops anymore, but if you want to I’m sure you can find a quartet to serenade you.

National Submarine Day – On this day in 1900, the United States Navy commissioned its’ first modern submarine for a price of $150,000. It started out being called Submarine Torpedo Boat #1 and was eventually named USS Holland (SS-1). Holland refers to the name of the inventor, John P. Holland, not the name of a country.

International “Louie Louie” Day – On this day in 1935, Richard Berry was born. I’m sure a lot of other people were born that day too, but Mr. Berry was special because he later composed “Louie Louie”, a song that is considered by some to be the best party song of all time. A song that no one seems to know the lyrics to, except for the “Louie Louie” part.

National Pet Day – This day was created by Colleen Paige (You may recognize her name from yesterday's National Farm Animals Day. She orchestrated a bunch of animal related celebration days.). This is a day that will hopefully inspire you to help out the over-crowded, under-staffed and under-funded animal shelters all over the country. Thousands of animals are killed in shelters every year because no one wants them and there's not enough money or room to keep them all at the shelters for the rest of their natural lives. Save a pet today and adopt one from a shelter so it can have a loving, forever family.

World Parkinson's Disease Day – Named after Dr. James Parkinson, it is estimated that 6.3 million people suffer with Parkinson's Disease in this world. Today is a day to wear a red tulip to raise awareness of the disease and show support for all those suffering with it and their families. This day is celebrated all over the world with special events.

National Be Kind To Lawyers Day – Celebrated on the second Tuesday in April, this is a day to stop poking fun at lawyers. After all, if your back is to the wall and you are in legal trouble of any kind, you’re going to need a lawyer on your side. We depend on our lawyers for everything from getting out of jail to writing up a contract to making a will, so let’s remember that today and try thanking them instead of ridiculing them.

National Library Workers Day or National Library Day – Celebrated on the Tuesday of National Library Week (which would be this week), this day has a lot of different names but one purpose, which is to celebrate Libraries and everyone who works in them, including the Friends of the Library groups who work hard to help the Libraries fund the programs they have for their patrons. Libraries are not just places to borrow books for free, although that is a great benefit for book lovers on a limited budget. They are also places for people to access the internet, learn how to use computers, learn how to read, get help with their resumes and job searching and countless other programs that are unique to each library. Libraries located in urban areas are more likely to have more programs available to their patrons, than small village libraries. But no matter what size your home library is, it contains a Librarian who wants to help you find whatever it is you want to find.

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