Weird And Wacky Holidays

National Bootleggers Day - Ep17 - Show NotesToday’s featured holiday is,.National Bootlegger Day.We as a society have a love / hate relationship with alcohol. Descriptive terms range from “Nectar of the gods” to “Demon Rum”.So how did National Bootlegger’s Day come to be?January 17 is the birthday of famed criminal and bootlegger Al Capone, and Templeton Rye Whiskey.In the wake of Prohibition in the early 1920s, a number of residents of a small town in Iowa became outlaws. They produced a smooth tasting, high quality whiskey called Templeton Rye. Templeton, Iowa, a tiny town of 350 became a hotbed of whiskey distilling, producing a product known as, “The Good Stuff”.The term “bootlegger” was born in the 1880s, when midwestern traders would hide flasks of liquor in their boot top when they met with Native Americans to conduct business.After the passage of the 18th Constitutional amendment outlawing the brewing, transportation, and sale of alcohol in 1920, the term was used to describe people who transported al

Ep16 - National Religious Freedom Day - Show NotesToday’s featured holiday is, National Religious Freedom Day.The roots of RelIgious Freedom Day extend back to January 16, 1786, when the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was signed into law. The statute was introduced by Thomas Jefferson. This Virginia law was the model for the Establishment Clause of the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution, that clause reads,"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…"Beginning in 1993, January 16th is National Religious Freedom Day by presidential proclamation.How can we celebrate this day? I suggest talking with your children or grandchildren about the importance of religious freedom and why it’s vital that every religion be acceptedand the people who practice religions other than our own be allowed to do so in peace without criticism.If you choose to comment on social media, use the hash tag #ReligiousFreedomDay.If you have thoughts related to

Weird, Wacky, and Traditional Holidays - Ep15 Show NotesToday’s featured holiday is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!Let’s begin with a question asked by Dr. King: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” Dr. King. asked this question of everyone in the United States and beyond. We’ll return to this question in a moment, but let’s first explore how Dr. King’s birthday become a federal holiday despite fierce opposition by some of our elected representatives.Dr. King’s birthday ultimately became a federal holiday after his death, but enacting the law was not an easy legislative effort A bill was introduced in the House of Representative in 1979 by Democratic Representative John Conyers of Michigan. Republican Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts introduced the bill in the Senate.The bill was first debated in the House. While there was bipartisan support from many Republicans and Democrats, the bill fell five votes short of passage. Those who opposed the bill pointed to th

Today’s featured holiday is, “Dress Up Your Pet Day” - Ep14 - Show NotesAt the top of our conversation about Dress Up Your Pet Day, I suggest you refrain from bringing your cat to the party unless you and your kitty have had a serious conversation about what your feline will tolerate. I knew a cat 40 years ago who was fine with his owner dressing him up in doll clothes and taking him for a spin in a baby carriage. Having interacted with hundreds of cats in my lifetime, this is the ONLY kitty I know of who allowed such liberties to be taken. He truly was one a million.If you own a dog, you’ll likely have far better odds of your pooch getting in step with the pet dress up program.Let’s see what clothing items are available for the well attired K9.Checking the web, we see that Hot Dog Collars is offering a cute Sea Captain pet costume. For those of you in cold weather climates, Chewy’s is offering the Canada Pooch North Pole Dog Parka for $41. Average 5 star rating from 34 happy buyers. No word on how many stars

Show Notes: National Vision Board Day - January 13Today’s featured holiday is National Vision Board Day. This holiday came to be when the Registrar of “National Day Calendar” proclaimed that the second Saturday of every January would be National Vision Board Day.It’s hard to believe, but the film, “The Secret” was released nearly 12 years ago on March 26, 2006. One of the results of that blockbuster film was a huge increase in the popularity of the Vision Board as a way to engage the, “Law of Attraction”.A Vision Board is a tool to help you achieve key life goals. You can display photos, inspirational quotes, objects, and anything else that helps you focus on the outcomes you want. It’s a tool for manifesting your heart’s desires. One popular activity is to Vision Board Parties. During these parties, people get together and work on their vision boards and the boards of other party goers. There is, after all, power in numbers. Many people believe that energy increases exponentially as people focus their attent

Ep 12 Show Notes: National Pharmacist Day Welcome to episode 12 of the Weird and Wacky Holidays Show”. I’m your host, Stephen Carter. Today’s featured holiday is National Pharmacist Day.Each year January 12 is set aside to honor the 293,000 men and women who are professional pharmacists. We normally associate pharmacists with retail stores such as CVS, Walmarts, supermarkets, and so forth. But licensed pharmacists also work in hospitals, medical and surgical clinics, nursing homes, prisons, and other facilities. They’re important members of medical research teams in commercial drug companies and universities.Increasingly, pharmacists are included as valued members of health care teams focused on patient care. This is especially true in critical care facilities.Pharmacists often offer health and wellness advice above and beyond information on medications. In many states, they are providing vaccine injections and other patient care services beyond filling prescriptions.Who started National Pharmacist Day and wh

Show Notes: National Human Trafficking Awareness Day - Ep11:Today’s featured holiday is, “National Human Trafficking Awareness Day”.In 2007, the United States Senate designated January 11th as “National Human Trafficking Awareness Day”.Human trafficking is a huge global scourge. Experts estimate there are 20 to 30 million people in slavery around the world. The U.S. State Department estimates there are 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year. Eighty percent of those people are female and half are children.Sadly, children are 12 to 14 years old on average when they enter the sex trade. Many are runaways who experienced abuse before leaving home.Human trafficking is the third largest international crime generating $32 billion every year, with $15.5 billion of that number made in industrialized countries. Only drugs and weapons trafficking earn more moneyBut let’s look beyond the numbers. Every person, every child lured or forced into sex or labor slavery is a living, brea

Houseplant Appreciation Day - Ep10 Show Notes:Today’s featured holiday, started by the Gardener’s Network, is, “Houseplant Appreciation Day”!The end of year holidays are behind us. Decorations are all back in their appointment storage containers and - if you observe Christmas and put up a real tree - the Christmas tree needles are all vacuumed up.Those decorations certainly made your home look festive, but things are looking a touch barren and sparse. What to do?How about sprucing your living space up with a few new plants and tending to any existing plants that may have been forgotten during the busy holiday season. Start by giving your existing plants some fertilizer as a January gift. Ensure your plants are properly watered and otherwise tended to. They may be feeling a touch ignored over the holidays.Now it’s off to the store to purchase some new plants. Orchids are a great addition along with other house plants such as Philodendron and Dracaena.Philodendrons are an easy to care for vinnining houseplants

National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day - Ep11 ShownotesToday’s featured holiday is, “National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day”!As a former police officer, trainer, and Chief of Police, this day is near and dear to my heart. Across the U.S. alone there are more than 800,000 sworn police officers serving communities large and small. When we add in federal, military, and special police, we have more than a million men and women working to protect us. In addition to sworn law enforcement officers, there are hundreds of thousands of other people working in law enforcement agencies such as dispatchers, crime scene specialists, and administrative personnel.It’s no secret that policing is a dangerous profession. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, there were 64 officers killed in firearms related incidents in 2016. That was a 56 percent increase over 2015. Twenty-one of those deaths resulted from ambush type shootings, the highest total in more than two decades.In total, the death to

Ep8 - National Bubble Bath DayToday’s featured holiday is, “National Bubble Bath Day”!While the exact date when the bubble bath was born, we know it extends back to the 1930s. Bubble bath photos appeared with the marketing of a product called Dreft in 1933. A bubble bath scene was in the 1936 production of a play called, “The Woman.According the statistics site, “Statista”, the leading bath fragrance bubble bath brand is Dr. Teal’s Bath, followed by private label brands, Village Natural Therapy, Me Bath, Mr. Bubble, with other bubble bath products.As far as when National Bubble Bath Day came to be, there is no reliable information that tells when the unofficial holiday was first celebrated or who created it.So, how should we celebrate the holiday? The kids should not have all of the bubble bath fun!How about purchasing your favorite bubble bath product, drawing a warm bath where you can leisurely soak for an hour or more, pouring a glass of wine or a cup of your favorite tea, light a candle, and step into the

National Say Something Nice Day - Ep7Today’s featured holiday is National Say Something Nice Day!When I looked at the various holidays celebrated on January 7, none of them called to me as worthy candidates for you and I to celebrate. Those holidays are:Old Rock Day;National Bobblehead Day; and,National Tempura Day.When during meditation I asked my subconscious what should we celebrate, the answer came to me loud and clear: celebrate National Say Something Nice Day.Never mind there is no such National Holiday on any of the resources I use for this show. In my opinion, there SHOULD be a Say Something Nice Day. So, I am declaring today as National Say Something Nice Day!Here are some examples of how to spread smiles and good feelings to others with just a few words:- While checking out at my local Safeway, I happened to be in the checkout line of a new checker. When she spoke, I immediately knew she was from Ireland. I said to her, I love your accent, how long have you been in the U.S.? That led to a conversati

Show Notes: National Cuddle Up Day - Ep6Today’s featured holiday is National Cuddle Up Day!For those of us who live in the northern hemisphere, January typically is a cold, snowy month. Keeping with the cold weather, January is National Soup Month and National Hot Tea Month. So it’s no wonder someone came up with the idea for Cuddle Up Day. While there’s no reliable source to identify the genesis of this unofficial holiday, we know it’s a wonderful and worthy day to slow down and experience special moments.When we think of cuddling up, we usually think about spending time with a significant other in front of a blazing fire cooing romantic words of love and adoration. And that is certainly a wonderful way to spend Cuddle Up Day.But what if no special someone is available? Must you miss out on those oxytocin rich feel good moments? No!There are countless ways to celebrate National Cuddle Up Day. Do you have a pet? Dogs and most kitties love to cuddle. If you have a warm fire in the fireplace, pets can sit for h

Show Notes: Episode 5 - January 5th - National Whipped Cream DayWelcome to episode 5 of the Weird and Wacky Holidays Show”. I’m your host, Stephen Carter. Today’s featured holiday is National Whipped Cream Day!Before tasting today’s special item on the menu, I would like to revisit an item I mentioned in an earlier episode.January is “National Blood Donor Month”. I encourage you to schedule a blood donation appointment to give the gift of life. Blood is always needed, but donations drop significantly during December and January.January is also National Bath Safety Month, National Literacy Month, National Hobby Month, Hot Tea Month, National Oatmeal Month, and National Soup Month.If we combine all of these together, we can wake up tomorrow morning, take a safe bath, go the breakfast table and have some oatmeal with a lovely cup of hot tea, read the newspaper, and place a can of soup on the counter to fix later for lunch before heading out to the local Red Cross blood donation center.Back to National Whipped Cr

National Spaghetti Day - How it Came to Be: January 4th, Ep4Welcome to episode 4 of the Weird, Wacky, and Traditional Holiday Show: How They Came to Be”. I’m your host, Stephen Carter. With each daily episode, we identify at least one of the official or unofficial holidays celebrated that day and explore how that day came to be. Today’s featured holiday is, well, I gave it away already, National Spaghetti Day!Here are a few fun facts about pasta in general and my favorite food in particular.•There’s evidence that food similar to pasta noodles was eaten in China starting about 5,000 B.C.•The first written record of what we now call pasta appeared in the Jewish Talmud in the 5th Century A.D.•There is evidence a form of pasta similar to today’s spaghetti appeared in Sicily in the 12 Century A.D.•Contrary to popular history, Marco Pollo did not introduce pasta to Europeans. •Thomas Jefferson brought pasta back to the United States when he returned from Naples, Italy in 1789. •Spaghetti became popular in the Unite

Today’s featured holiday is, “Fruitcake Toss Day”.Year’s ago comedian Johnny Carson, host of the “Tonight Show” frequently quipped he believed there was only one fruitcake in the world and people simply passed it around because nobody wanted it.A little research tells us that Carson’s take on fruitcakes wasn’t totally right. There is more than one fruitcake in the world. He was, however, right in asserting that nobody wanted one.So, a little more research tells us the first Fruitcake Toss occurred in Manitou Springs, Colorado in 1995. No one seems to have stepped forward to take credit for this auspicious beginning. Perhaps that individual didn’t want the giver of the tossed fruitcake to know it was sacrificed to create the new holiday.So, if you’re the unlucky holder of a re-gifted fruitcake, gather some friends (not including the giver) and enjoy the thrill of tossing the fruitcake into the local land fill, burying it in the backyard, or otherwise disposing of the thing.Oh, by the way, tradition says if yo

January 2 - Motivation and Inspiration Day:Welcome to episode 2 of the Weird, Wacky, and Traditional Holiday Show”. I’m your host, Stephen Carter. With each daily episode, we identify at least one of the official or unofficial holidays celebrated that day and explore how that day came to be. Today's featured holiday is Motivation and Inspiration Day.Before we explore the details of Motivation and Inspiration Day, a word about one of the featured activities for the month of January. January is National Blood Donor’s Month. The American Red Cross urges you to give the gift of life in January. You’ll find more details at www.redcross.org.Motivation and Inspiration Day:There is more to this actual official holiday than you might imagine. On December 18th, 2001, The United States Congress proclaimed January 2nd as National Motivation and Inspiration Day. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, motivational speaker Kevin L. McCrudden convinced Congressional leaders that the United States needed

Why do we celebrate the beginning of the new year on January 1? We can thank Julius Caesar who in 45 BC proclaimed the Roman Empire would adopt the Julian Calendar, which identified January 1st as the beginning of the new year. By the time Julius Caesar assumed office, it was clear the traditional lunar based Roman calendar in use since the seventh century BC no longer was sufficient. Caesar enlisted help from a renown Alexandrian astronomer who urged the adoption of a solar based calendar. He calculated the solar year as being 365.25 days. Caesar made the needed adjustments to the old traditional lunar based calendar and the Julian calendar was adopted.Fast foreword to the Middle Ages. Because Caesar’s astronomer miscalculated the exact length of the solar year, by the mid 15th century the Julian calendar was 10 days off. This resulted in confusion about exactly when the new year should celebrated.To fix the problem, Pope Gregory XIII commissioned Jesuit astronomer Christopher Clavius to develop a more accur

Preview of coming attractions for this new show about the weird, wacky, and traditional holidays. This show will entertain, inform, and bring smiles. You’ll be saying, “wow, I didn’t know that!”.