National Days
National One-Hit Wonder Day
September 25 has six celebrations and one ‘fourth Tuesday in September’ day. With today being Tune Tuesday, I couldn’t pass this up. Today, we honor National One-Hit Wonder Day. And, curiously, the folks at National Day Calender have no idea when this particular celebration was created.
Do you have a favorite one-hit wonder? I have several. But, for today, I will jump back ten years from my previous Tune Tuesday post. I’m a large fan of surfing music, so here is one from 1963.
Pipeline by The Chantays peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1963.
Also celebrated today:
National Lobster Day (Yum!)
National Comic Book Day
National Tune Up Day
National Research Administrator Day (That’s a mouthful.)
Math Story Telling Day (Who knew math needed stories…)
National Voter Registration Day (Fourth Tuesday in September)
Cheers and enjoy! ~Vic
National POW/MIA Recognition Day
September 21 has two celebrations, two ‘third Friday in September’ celebrations and a brand new celebration. Today, I showcase one of the ‘third Friday in September’ days…National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Though National Day Calendar states that this day has been observed since 1989 by Presidential Proclamation, according to www.pow-miafamilies.org:
Until July 18, 1979, no special commemoration was held to honor America’s POW/MIAs, those returned and, those still missing and unaccounted for from our nation’s wars. That first year, resolutions were passed in Congress and the national ceremony was held at the National Cathedral, Washington, DC.
National POW/MIA Recognition Day legislation was introduced yearly until 1995 when Congress opted to discontinue considering legislation to designate special commemorative days. Since then, successive Presidents have signed an annual proclamation.
www.timeanddate.com adds some additional data to the history:
The United States Congress passed a resolution authorizing National POW/MIA Recognition Day to be observed on July 18, 1979. It was observed on the same date in 1980 and, was held on July 17 in 1981 and 1982. It was then observed on April 9 in 1983 and July 20 in 1984. The event was observed on July 19 in 1985 and, then, from 1986 on-wards, the date moved to the third Friday of September. The United States president each year proclaims National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Many states in the USA also proclaim POW/MIA Recognition Day together with the national effort.
The passage of Section 1082 in the 1998 Defense Authorization Act covers the display of the POW/MIA flag.
There is, also, still a National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, permanent to April 9 in any year.
Also celebrated today:
National New York Day
National Pecan Cookie Day (Yum! People love to celebrate food!)
National Tradesmen Day (Also on the third Friday in September)
National Chai Day (Founded by Somrus and proclaimed by The Registrar at National Day Calender, today!)
Cheers and enjoy!
Constitution Day & Citizenship Day
September 17 has three celebrations. Constitution Day & Citizenship Day commemorates the 1787 signing of the Constitution of the United States, despite Rhode Island holding out until 1790 and, all naturalized citizens. Patrick Henry refused to attend the Convention as he preferred the Articles of Confederation. He feared a strong central government and saw the Constitution a step backwards.
Will the abandonment of your most sacred rights tend the security of your liberty? Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings—give us that precious jewel and you may take everything else. But I fear I have lived long enough to become an old-fashioned fellow. Perhaps an invincible attachment to the dearest rights of man may, in these refined, enlightened days, be deemed old-fashioned: if so, I am contented to be so.
He managed to settle himself down after the Constitutional ratification as the convention members proposed 40 amendments, some of which became the Bill of Rights.
Under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, citizenship is defined as “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
This holiday was first recognized in Iowa in 1911. The Sons of the American Revolution promoted it in 1917.
Also celebrated today:
National Apple Dumpling Day (Yum!)
National Monte Cristo Day (Also, yum!)
Cheers and enjoy!
National South Carolina Day
August 31 has four celebrations and one proclamation day. National South Carolina Day honors the eighth state to join the United States, ratifying the U.S. Constitution on May 23, 1788. Initially part of Province of Carolina, The Palmetto State (Clarendon Province) was split in 1712 from what would become North Carolina (Albemarle Province). It was the first state to vote in favor of secession in late 1860.
It is home to Table Rock & Caesars Head State Parks, Cherokee Foothills Scenic Parkway, the Fort Sumter National Monument, the East Coast Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island and, Charleston, the oldest & largest city in the state. The two largest Native American tribes were the Cherokee and the Catawba.
An earthquake struck Charleston on this very day in 1886 killing 60 people.
Notable South Carolinians:
Francis Marion [Swamp Fox] – Revolutionary (1732 – February 27, 1795)
James Strom Thurmond, Sr. – Governor (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003)
Melvin Horace Purvis, II – FBI Agent (October 24, 1903 – February 29, 1960)
William Childs Westmoreland – General (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005)
James Joseph Brown – Musician (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006)
Also celebrated:
National Matchmaker Day
National Diatomaceous Earth Day
National Trail Mix Day (Yum!)
***National College Colors Day (If on the Friday before Labor Day…Go Pack!)
Cheers and Enjoy!
National Massachusetts Day
August 17 has five celebrations. National Massachusetts Day highlights the sixth state to join the Union and, the first New England colony. This is the place of the famous Boston Tea Party, the Sons of Liberty and, its capital is Boston. Officially, it is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts but, it has a few nicknames:
The Bay State
The Pilgrim State
The Puritan State
The Old Colony State
The Baked Bean State
It is home to Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Martha’s Vineyard. It is also the home of the ‘real’ Boston Creme Pie, something called a ‘Fluffernutter‘ (that will be celebrated October 8), New England ‘Boston’ clam chowder and cranberries. It was the home of the Springfield Armory (now, a National Historic Site) and the 1692 Salem witch trials.
Notable Bay Staters:
Benjamin Franklin – Founding Father (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790)
Samuel Adams – Founding Father (September 27, 1722 – October 2, 1803)
Paul Revere – Patriot (January 1, 1735 – May 10, 1818)
John Adams – Founding Father (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826)
John Hancock – 1st Governor of Massachusetts (January 23, 1737 – October 8, 1793)
Eli Whitney – Inventor (December 8, 1765 – January 8, 1825)
John Quincy Adams – 6th U.S. President (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848)
Ralph Waldo Emerson – Philosopher/Poet (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882)
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. – Physician/Poet (August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894)
Susan B. Anthony – Women’s Activist (February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906)
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. – Jurist (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935)
Richard Buckminster ‘Bucky’ Fuller – Author/Futurist (July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983)
Theodore ‘Dr. Seuss’ Geisel – Author (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991)
John Fitzgerald Kennedy – 35th U.S. President (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963)
George H. W. Bush – 41st U.S. President (June 12, 1924)
Robert Francis Kennedy – Senator (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968)
Edward Moore ‘Ted’ Kennedy – Senator (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009)
Francis Lee Bailey, Jr. – Attorney (June 10, 1933)
Michael Stanley Dukakis – 65th Governor of Massachusetts (November 3, 1933)
Also celebrated:
National Non-Profit Day
National I Love My Feet Day (I’m not kidding…)
National Thrift Shop Day
Black Cat Appreciation Day (Not to be confused with National Black Cat Day…because black kitties deserve two days to be celebrated!)
Cheers and enjoy!
National Airborne Day
August 16 has four celebrations. National Airborne Day was created by President George ‘W’ Bush in 2001.
On August 16, 1940, a “Test” Platoon led by Major William Lee and consisting of 48 volunteers of the U.S. 29th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, GA, made the first U.S. Army parachute jump from an aircraft in order to explore its applications in battle:
During the time between the World Wars, the 29th Infantry Regiment trained infantry soldiers and leaders, demonstrated tactics and tested innovations in Infantry warfare at Fort Benning including providing soldiers for the first parachute unit in the U.S. armed forces.
The first combat jump was in November 1942 when members of the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, leapt from a C-47 into North Africa.
Also celebrated:
National Tell A Joke Day (HA!)
National Roller Coaster Day (Weeeee!)
National Rum Day (OMG, YUM)
So, let’s all have a rum drink, ride a roller coaster, tell a joke and cheer on our Airborne folks! Enjoy, everyone!
National Connecticut Day
August 10 has four reasons to celebrate. National Connecticut Day showcases the fifth state to join the United States. It is known, officially, as ‘The Constitution State‘ but, has other interesting nicknames:
The Nutmeg State
The Provisions State
The Land of Steady Habits (my favorite!)
It is the southernmost state in the New England area, settled by the Dutch. Early colonists were noted for their production of brass and, supplied buttons and munitions to the Revolutionary Army. It is the home state of the infamous Benedict Arnold.
Notable Nutmeggers:
Nathan Hale – Patriot (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776)
Noah Webster, Jr. – Educator (October 16, 1758 – May 28, 1843)
Charles Goodyear – Chemist (December 29, 1800 – July 1, 1860)
Phineas Taylor ‘P.T.’ Barnum – Entertainer (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891)
Harriet Beecher Stowe – Author (June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896)
Samuel Colt – Manufacturer (July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862)
John Pierpont ‘J.P.’ Morgan – Banker (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913)
Charles Henry Dow – Journalist (November 6, 1851 – December 4, 1902)
Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt – Theodore’s First Lady (August 6, 1861 – September 30, 1948)
Alfred Pritchard Sloan, Jr. – General Motors CEO (May 23, 1875 – February 17, 1966)
Dr. Benjamin McLane Spock – Pediatrician (May 2, 1903 – March 15, 1998)
Ralph Nader – Activist Attorney (February 27, 1934)
Gene Francis Alan Pitney – Musician (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006)
Joseph Isadore ‘Joe’ Lieberman – Political Attorney (February 24, 1942)
George “W” Bush – 43rd President (July 6, 1946)
Richard Carpenter – Musician (October 15, 1946)
Anna-Lou ‘Annie’ Leibovitz – Photographer (October 2, 1949)
Karen Anne Carpenter – Musician (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983)
Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend – Lt. Governor of Maryland (July 4, 1951)
Michael ‘Bolton’ Bolotin – Singer/Songwriter (February 26, 1953)
Also celebrated:
National Shapewear Day (No kidding…)
National Lazy Day (I like the sound of that!)
National S’Mores Day
Cheers and enjoy!
National Pennsylvania Day
July 20 has three celebrations. The most notable of the three is National Moon Day, commemorating Apollo 11 and the 1969 moon walk. Everyone knows about that one.
But, today is also National Pennsylvania Day, a recognition of the second state to join the Union. Known as the ‘Keystone State’, Pennsylvania also served as a temporary Capitol for the U.S….Philadelphia, the site of the signing of The Declaration of Independence and The U.S. Constitution. It is the home of the Original Philly Cheesesteak, the Original Banana Split, Hershey’s Chocolate, Marshmallow Peeps and Twizzlers. It is also the home of the largest concentration of U.S. ‘Pennsylvania Dutch’ Amish.
Notable Pennsylvanians:
Daniel Boone – Frontiersman (November 2, 1734 – September 26, 1820)
Elizabeth Griscom ‘Betsy’ Ross – Flag Maker (January 1, 1752 – January 30, 1836)
James Buchanan – 15th U.S. President (April 23, 1791 – March 4, 1861)
Louisa May Alcott – Author (November 29, 1832 – March 6, 1888)
Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman [Nellie Bly] – Journalist (May 4, 1864 – January 27, 1922) [NOTE: Wikipedia reflects May 5]
Lee Iacocca – Auto Executive [Ford & Chrysler] (October 15, 1924)
Arnold Palmer – Golfer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016)
Reginald Reggie Jackson – Baseball Player (May 18, 1946)
Gee. After all that, I think I need to visit!
Also celebrated today:
National Lollipop Day
Cheers and enjoy!
National Simplicity Day
July 12th is another very busy ‘National Day’ with five celebrations. Simplicity Day is observed on the birthday of Henry David Thoreau. He was born on this day in 1817. As a philosopher, he believed in living a simple life:
“In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.”
He was a world-renowned author, historian, abolitionist, tax resister (my hero!), a surveyor, criticized over-development, preferred the natural ways and transcendentalism and, was a friend of and mentored by, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Born nearly 100 years prior to Alan Watts, the two could have been contemporary peers.
In our overly busy lives, steeped in political battles, materialism, social media madness and the struggle to survive, slowing down, disengaging and walking in nature can be a refreshing break. De-cluttering and simplifying one’s life can, ultimately, bring peace and balance.
Also celebrated today:
National Different Colored Eyes Day
National Pecan Pie Day (Yum!)
Paper Bag Day
Eat Your Jello Day (I’m not kidding)
Cheers and enjoy!
National Postal Worker Day & U.S. Postage Stamp Day
The 1st of July is a very busy day of celebration for the nation, leading up to Independence Day. It’s National Postal Worker Day, established in 1997 by a Seattle area carrier. I have two high school classmates that are postmen. They both really enjoy it. It can be a tough job, though.
If you are thinking “Neither rain nor sleet nor snow…” or something along those lines, the U.S. Post Office doesn’t have an “official” motto, really. There seems to be a bit of confusion from a modified translation of Herodotus’ quote regarding the courier service of the Persian Empire:
There is nothing in the world which travels faster than the Persian couriers. The whole idea is a Persian invention, and works like this: riders are stationed along the road, equal in number to the number of days the journey takes – a man and a horse for each day. Nothing stops these couriers from covering their allotted stage in the quickest possible time – neither snow, rain, heat, nor darkness. The first, at the end of his stage, passes the dispatch to the second, the second to the third, and so on along the line, as in the Greek torch-race which is held in honour of Hephaestus.
It’s also U.S. Postage Stamp Day…naturally. The very first postage stamp was issued on July 1, 1847 but, no one seems to know who created the National Day for it. Lost to history, I suppose.
Also celebrated today:
National Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day
National Gingersnap Day
Cheers and enjoy!
National Camera Day
They have a National Day for nearly everything. Some of them are very tongue-in-cheek, if not down-right ridiculous. Did you know there is a Ding-a-Ling Day? Yeah. I didn’t either. Apparently, it’s for dialing up friends, not pointing out stupid people. Who knew.
I wander around and take pictures of everything. I see so much I want to capture. My Samsung stupidphone gets a lot of use. I would really like to get a genuine camera but, I can’t decide what to get and cost is an issue. Expensive cameras don’t have payment plans like, say, a stupidphone.
So, anyway, enjoy National Camera Day…or, what is left of it. Take pix of your family. Take pix of your friends. Take pix of nature. Let your imagination wander. There is always something in a photograph that surprises.
Also celebrated today (I’m not kidding):
National Almond Buttercrunch Day (Yum!)
National Waffle Iron Day
Cheers and enjoy!
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