Posts

Chester Greenwood Day

/0 Comments/in

chester greenwood dayChester Greenwood Day

Even if you’ve never heard of Chester Greenwood, chances are, he’s been keeping your ears warm for years. Greenwood was born on December 4, 1858, in Farmington, Maine.

At the age of fifteen, he fashioned the first pair of earmuffs, with his grandmother’s help, from wire, beaver fur, and velvet.

He was awarded a U.S. patent for his “ear-mufflers” in 1877.  By his mid-20s, 50,000 pairs of Greenwood Champion Ear Protectors were being mass-produced annually at a local factory.

He accumulated over 100 more patents for inventions as diverse as a mechanical mousetrap, a steel-toothed rake, a donut hook, and a shock absorber that became the basis for a component of airplane landing gear.

Farmington became the Earmuff Capital of the World. By 1937, when Greenwood died, his company had its best year ever, selling 400,000 pairs.

In 1977, the state of Maine declared December 21—the first day of winter—as Chester Greenwood Day. Farmington parade organizers moved it to the first Saturday of December because it is closer to Greenwood’s birthday, provides a slightly better chance of mild weather, and always falls on the weekend, so families can attend together.

Festivities in Farmington

The day’s celebrations include the annual Chester Greenwood Day 5K Run/Walk, Gingerbread House Contest, Chili Challenge, and Polar Bear Dip. As always, the highlight of the day is the Chester Greenwood Day parade.

Recent parade themes have included 2024’s “Music Through Time” and 2023’s “Celebrate Maine!” All are welcome to participate, as long as they have a flat-bed truck and giant earmuffs. Floats without them are disqualified, which means that everything from a Nativity scene to a SpongeBob SquarePants sock hop must sport a huge pair of these:chester greenwood day

All floats are judged on originality, appearance, and quality of onboard performances. There are a couple more guidelines on the submission form.

Floats, or any other units, advocating, opposing or depicting any social issues are subject to approval of the Chester Greenwood Day Parade Committee. Entries by political (ballot) measures supported or opposed by individuals, groups, political action committees or by any other form are not allowed.

The Parade Committee reserves the right to withdraw any unit of which the costume or performance does not meet these rules and regulations, or does not conform to the standards of reasonable public behavior.

One more thing: Throwing candy from any float is forbidden, as this may cause children to run into the street and be struck by extremely slow-moving parade vehicles. (Flying sweets also pose a risk of eye injury to paradegoers not wearing glasses.) Anyone throwing anything from any entry will result in everyone on the float being banned from the parade for life.

Now, get out there, have fun, and celebrate the man who invented ear hats!

Share this:

International Sweater Vestival

/0 Comments/in ,

Today is the International Sweater Vestival, also known as Sweater Vestival or the Festival of Sweater Vests. Always occurring on the first Friday of December—identified by some as the second Friday after Thanksgiving—it celebrates the sartorial splendor inherent in the collective donning of sweater vests.

The first known mention of “Sweater Vestival” occurred in 2008 when Carolyn Johnson interviewed the holiday’s creator for the Boston Globe. Who is this mysterious genius? Is it Johnson herself? Perhaps fearing scandal, Johnson isn’t telling; one might say she’s playing her cards close to the vest. Here is an excerpt from the article.

Q: Why should I wear a vest? Isn’t this a made-up holiday?

A: It certainly is made-up, and that is exactly why you should take part. All holidays are made-up – a collective recognition of some person or historic event or cause. These can range from the sincere to the ironic to the nonsensical. In apparent seriousness, for example, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm established Narcolepsy Awareness Day on March 9. A more arch holiday is 11/11, set aside for the Corduroy Appreciation Club to “hail the wale.” Name your cause and there’s a day: International Talk Like A Pirate Day (Sept. 19), World Wide Knit in Public Day (the second Saturday in June), or National Boss Day (Oct. 16).

The purity of a holiday’s origins tends to get buried in the commercial detritus that blossoms in the middle aisle of local drugstores. So understand that the Sweater Vestival is a nascent holiday – a rare opportunity to get in on the ground level of a holiday, before manufacturers are churning out tiny, edible, foil-wrapped vests.

[Editor’s note: seen on store shelves since 2015]

Sweater Vestival Day

tiny, edible foil-wrapped vests

 

More importantly, it is not a holiday about historical figures or causes or ideals: It is about all the other people who wear the vest.

Q: Can you tell me more about the holiday’s origins?

A: The second Friday after Thanksgiving is a lull in a jam-packed holiday season and a perfect day for people to continue the holiday cheer with something subtle yet uplifting. Unlike other faux holidays – such as Festivus, which first appeared on the sitcom “Seinfeld” as a protest against holiday-season commercialism – Vestival is not a joke at all. It also happens to be funny.

Q: Why is Vestival important?

A: On a superficial level, Sweater Vestival isn’t about something “deep.” In contrast, on a superficial level most other holidays are: Veterans Day is about the serious topic of honoring soldiers who have fought in wars to protect this country. President’s Day salutes our forefathers. Valentine’s Day is about love. But if you look beneath the surface, Valentine’s Day is more about candy and overpriced bouquets. Presidents’ Day has become synonymous with sales at car dealerships, and many people see Veterans Day as just another day off, not an opportunity to consider wars and the weight of history.

Despite its seemingly shallow artifice, though, Vestival carries unusual depth. People wearing vests smile at each other in recognition, discuss the origins of their vests, or give each other compliments. At a time when people can feel more alone than ever, wearing a sweater vest is a reason to connect.

What are you waiting for? Grab those thrift store finds, gifts from Christmas past languishing in the back of your closet, or any sweater you have the urge to liberate from its sleeves. (Common sense advice: obtain permission before wielding the scissors if the aforementioned sweater belongs to someone else.)

Embrace the cold shoulder(s) and have a happy International Sweater Vestival!

Share this:

Krampus

/0 Comments/in ,

KrampusOn Santa’s List Day, we suggested that children who learn the list of who’s naughty and nice has been finalized might be tempted to misbehave in the remaining days before Christmas, with no fear of reprisal. Krampus, today’s holiday, should thoroughly dispel that notion.

Krampus may have originated as a pagan figure in Europe’s Alpine regions, becoming associated with St. Nicholas in the 17th century. The word Krampus derives from the Old High German word for “claw” (Krampen). He is a goat-headed devil with fangs, a pointed tongue, and two cloven hooves or one hoof and one human foot.

Unlike the Santa Claus of North American tradition, St. Nicholas pays attention only to good children. He brings Krampus along on his rounds to deal with little miscreants for whom receiving a lump of coal is the least of their worries. He carries chains, birch branches, or a whip to mete out punishment and sometimes a sack or basket to capture bad children so he can drown them, eat them, or deliver them to Hell.

Europeans have been exchanging greeting cards featuring Krampus for two centuries. Greetings from Krampus (Gruß vom Krampus) cards feature humorous verse and depict the devil looming over children or pursuing buxom women. Modern cards tend to have a cuter, less menacing version of Krampus.

Although its tastefulness and propriety have been questioned over the past century, the holiday’s popularity has grown; celebrations have cropped up across North America, including Toronto, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. We assume that the successful completion of chores has skyrocketed in those towns.

Happy Krampus!

Share this:

Santa’s List Day

/0 Comments/in

Santa's List DayToday is Santa’s List Day. According to legend, it’s the day when Kris Kringle finalizes his list, double-checks it for accuracy, and puts the elves to work manufacturing gifts for children who’ve toed the line of acceptable behavior within their age groups.

Times have changed at the North Pole. Nowadays, many parents and mental health specialists view “naughtiness” as a label that is damaging to a child’s self-esteem. As a result, elves must crank out even more toys as lumps of coal gather dust in a nearby warehouse. (Santa’s workshop runs on solar power.)

Even the most well-behaved child might take the news that Santa has locked in his list as a sign that anything goes for the next three weeks. It’s a risky move; although Santa has refused to grant journalists access, it’s quite possible that he employs tech-savvy elves who scan social media and halt the assembly line in cases of egregious misconduct.

There’s no way to know if workers are capable of making the latest Xbox. Unlike most sweatshop labor forces, elves have 11 months of the year to learn to make new things. Hopefully, they get a little time to relax and sip a mai tai at a resort that caters to diminutive people. (Keebler Beach, perhaps?)

If the workshop sources more complex items from Amazon, as everyone else does, the turnaround time is shortened and, theoretically, bad behavior can be punished on short notice. In the age of Amazon Prime’s free shipping service, will Santa shut down operations and put the reindeer out to pasture?

With Arctic ice melting at an alarming rate, it won’t be long before elves implement a Kickstarter campaign to buy a houseboat for Santa. Just for today, kids can show their appreciation for Santa’s dedication by being good to the extent required of them. Those expecting a big item like a computer or a drone should consider holding off on melting Barbies or setting the family hamster on fire until December 26th.

Happy Santa’s List Day!

#buyahouseboatforSanta

Share this: