Holidays by Month Archives - Page 54 of 92

March 28 is Respect Your Cat Day

March 28, 2017/5 Comments/in March

Today is Respect Your Cat Day. We would argue that every day is Respect Your Cat Day. Why is today singled out for this observance?

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Legend has it that on March 28, 1384, King Richard II outlawed the consumption of cats. We use the word “legend” because there doesn’t appear to be a lick of truth to it. We wanted to believe it because it’s a great story. Apparently, many sites agree: the Richard II edict dominates the first several pages of Google search results.

Some say that in times of famine, nothing would have been off the table, so to speak. A couple of people stated that cookbooks of the era didn’t feature cat-centric recipes. Another noted that her grandmother had called cats Scotch hares so it was possible they might have been part of recipes that didn’t explicitly use the word “cat.”

In our research, we were unable to find any confirmation of the tale, only repetition. We hate to be party poopers, but this smells like b.s. to us. If you have any information about it, we would be grateful to hear it. In the meantime, we have submitted the statement to Snopes.com, a trusted arbiter of online fact versus fiction.

No matter what the truth is, have a happy Respect Your Cat Day today and every day!

National Joe Day

March 27, 2017/0 Comments/in March

Today is National Joe Day. We have been unable to track down the source of this unofficial observance but that shouldn’t keep you from having fun with it.

Is your name Joe? Congratulations. Inform your friends, family and coworkers about today’s holiday, then sit back and wait for the accolades to come your way. If not, you could become “Joe for a Day.”

Did you know that Joe (or Jo) means “sweetheart” in the Scottish language? In Hebrew, Joe roughly translates to “he will increase.” According to etymology site Behind the Name, Joe ranked #20 in 1880, the first year it reports statistics. It has since dropped in popularity, coming in at #565 in 2014.

Here’s a fun National Joe Day game based on 20 Questions. Have everyone pick Joe nametags from a basket and—without looking—stick them to their foreheads so everyone else can see the name. A player must then ask the others questions to figure out which Joe he or she is wearing. The person who guesses correctly after the fewest questions is a cheater. (The law of averages dictates that there’s one in every group.)

The game continues until one last straggler is still desperately trying to figure it out. At this point, someone whispers, writes a note or otherwise helps the person finish. (This is known as mercy cheating.) Finally, everybody wins the same prize just for participating: a cup of coffee, a jelly bean or something else insignificant yet sure to gratify the losers and ignore the efforts of the winners. (We’re still talking about “average,” right?)

Here are some suggestions for nametags:

Joe Six-Pack
G.I Joe
Joe Blow
Joe Cool
Joe Palooka
Joe Schmoe
Holy Joe

If you’ve got a large group, you could add some real-life Joes:

Joe Namath
Joe DiMaggio
Joe Montana
Joe Guidice
Joe Stalin
Joe Biden
Joe Frazier

Extra credit for Stephen King fans:

Joe King (and no, we’re not joking)

Have a happy National Joe Day!

Make Up Your Own Holiday Day

March 26, 2017/0 Comments/in March

Today is Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, created by Thomas and Ruth Roy of Wellcat Holidays and Herbs. Thomas is an actor perhaps best known for his role as a preacher in 12 Monkeys. Ruth is the proprietor of Wellcat Herbs, selling her own products online and at Pennsylvania Renaissance Faires.

Together, they have invented more than 80 holidays featured in Chase’s Calendar of Events, the bible of unofficial celebrations. Despite reports the Roys are co-authoring a book about practical wellness and expanding holiday information, their website looks like it hasn’t been updated in years.

We can’t say more without infringing on their copyright. So, when it comes to planning today’s festivities, you’re just going to have to make it up on your own. Have a happy Make Up Your Own Holiday Day!

March 25 is Pecan Day

March 25, 2017/0 Comments/in March

Today is Pecan Day, not to be confused with National Pecan Day (April 14) or National Pecan Month (also April). As the only nut tree native to North America, the pecan has been a source of pride since the founding of the United States.

photo credit – Corey Leopold

The pecan tree was declared the State Tree of Texas in 1906; the pecan became State Nut in 1919. Ninety years later, Arkansas also named the pecan as its State Nut. Interestingly, the two states also share the same State Historic Cooking Vessel: the Dutch oven. (We would’ve chosen the George Foreman Grill. That thing is amazing.)

The story behind Pecan Day is this: On March 25, 1775, George Washington planted pecan trees on his grounds in Mount Vernon, NY. They were a gift from Thomas Jefferson, who had transplanted a number of the trees from the Mississippi Valley to his home in Monticello, NY.

A few of those trees still stand today as a reminder that, even as they geared up for war, the founders could still make time for a little agriculture. (Having slaves to do the manual labor probably helped, too, but that’s a story for another time.)

Happy Pecan Day!

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