On April 23rd, National Picnic Day encourages everyone to pack up their lunch and take it outdoors.
There are a variety of ways to take part in a picnic. This meal hearkens back to mid-18th-century al fresco French dining when all you needed was a bottle of wine, a loaf of bread, some cheese and fruit and you could have a party under the sky.
From the French for piquenique, picnicmeans a meal eaten outdoors.
From barbecues to simple cold plates, picnics are light informal affairs intended to be relaxing and fun for everyone to enjoy the day. Some favorite picnic foods include sandwiches, chips, fresh fruit and vegetables,light salads, and homemade bars. However, picnics can be expanded to include grilled items, too. Burgers and corn on the cob cook up nicely on a portable grill. During large picnics, guests often bring a dish to share creating a pot luck atmosphere.
The fresh air tends to rev up our appetite, so getting in some physical activity while enjoying a picnic is nice, too. Games of horseshoe, Frisbee, catch or flying a kite add to the fun of the day.
Celebrate this day by having a picnic of your own. Pack up a cooler or basket with a few of your favorite items. Make sure to include a beverage or two. Be sure to keep perishable items on ice so no one gets sick. Visit a favorite park or recreation area. Lay the blanket out in the sun or shade (whichever you prefer) and enjoy the day with a meal under the sky. Bring a Frisbee or a ball to toss around, too.
If the weather does not cooperate, have a picnic in your home on the living room floor! Share your photos on social media using #NationalPicnicDay.
Where would we be without our backyards? Backyards – whether right behind your home or a neighborhood park – are a place for fun, happiness and freedom. On March 19, we celebrate National Backyard Day and all the creative ways we embrace and enjoy our backyard.
From gardening to scavenger hunts to backyard campouts and homemade obstacle courses, these green spaces let us find solace and creativity outdoors. In celebration of all the simple, but special backyard memories from this past year and every year, we encourage everyone to celebrate #NationalBackyardDay.
ZYRTEC® has always believed in the power of the backyard – whether right behind your home or a neighborhood park– and in 2020, backyards truly became a place of safety and happiness. On the anniversary of backyards becoming the green space to escape to, ZYRTEC® officially designated March 19, 2021, as the first-ever National Backyard Day.
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On National Backyard Day, share photos and stories of how you’ve been spending time in your backyard space with the hashtag #NationalBackyardDay. We want to see your backyard movie nights, impromptu soccer games and picnics in your local park.
March 7th urges us to get our bowl spoon ready for National Cereal Day each year! Since the end of the 19th century, cereal has become America’s most popular breakfast food.
Now, not only is cereal eaten for breakfast, but it has become a popular bedtime snack. Some people even enjoy a bowl for an evening meal. Bakers turn to cereal in their cake, cookie and bar recipes. The most popular one is Rice Crispy Bar Treats.
Ferdinand Schumacher, a German immigrant, began the cereal revolution in 1854 with a hand oats grinder in the back room of a small store in Akron, Ohio. His German Mills American Oatmeal Company was the nation’s first commercial oatmeal manufacturer. In 1877, Schumacher adopted the Quaker symbol, the first registered trademark for a breakfast cereal.
Granula, the first breakfast cereal, was invented in the United States in 1863by James Caleb Jackson, operator of Our Home on the Hillside, which was later replaced by the Jackson Sanatorium in Dansville, New York. The cereal never became popular since it was inconvenient as the heavy bran nuggets needed soaking overnight before they were tender enough to eat.
Do you remember mornings eating a bowl of cereal, reading the back of the box and trying to find the toy inside the box?
The cereal industry rose from a combination of sincere religious beliefs and commercial interest in health foods. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg experimented with granola. He boiled some wheat, rolled it into thin films, and baked the resulting flakes in the oven; he acquired a patent in 1891. In1895 he launched Cornflakes, which overnight captured a national market.
In 1906, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg’s brother, William K. Kellogg, after working for John, broke away, bought the corn flakes rights from his brother, and set up the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company. His signature on every package became the company trademark and insurance of quality.
Charles W. Post introduced Grape-nuts in 1898 and soon followed with Post Toasties.
Because of Kellogg and Post, the city of Battle Creek, Michigan is nicknamed the “Cereal Capital of the World.”
What’s your favorite cereal? Have a bowl for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Share it as a snack or bake something and share your recipes. Use #NationalCerealDay to post on social media.
National Dress Up Your Pet Day on January 14th provides a special day to celebrate with your pet and show off their fashion style. Pets do become part of one’s family. Whether you take a visit to the groomer or take it a step further and dress up in matching outfits, be sure your pet companion is safe and comfortable.
The name of the day tells you how to celebrate it; dress your pets up! Keep your pet’s comfort first and foremost. A visit to the groomer for a bit of polish and trim always improves our pet companion’s appearance. Get a snazzy bandana, bow, or collar to show off the fresh do. How about a sweater for chilly, long walks? If the tutu is too, too much, your pooch will let you know. Be sure to share your favorite pet poses with us. Use #DressUpYourPetDay to post on social media.
Every year on December 14th National Monkey Day celebrates unique characteristics of simians. The day also focuses on other non-human primates such as apes, tarsiers, and lemurs.
Monkeys, also referred to as simians, live all over the world. More than 260 species of monkeys populate Africa, Central America, South America and Asia. They range in size from mere ounces like the pygmy marmoset to the mandrill at a heavier 80 pounds and tend to walk on all four limbs. As a member of the primate family, they are considered a lesser ape. Most monkeys have a tail, though not all do. Monkeys are divided into two categories – Old World monkeys and New World monkeys.
These sometimes adorable creatures are indeed still wild animals. You should not attempt to get one as a pet as it is prohibited in many places. The exotic pet trades, circuses, and research industries are cruel to these animals. Their safety and health can be compromised in order to maximize profits. If you can and do adopt one please remember they are indeed wild animals.
Their personalities and habits capture the attention of humans on many levels. These intelligent animals with opposable thumbs live in family groups, too. However, many species of monkeys are endangered.
A Michigan State University art student, Casey Sorrow, created National Monkey Day when he wrote Monkey Day on his friend’s calendar. A celebration followed and grew.
Please be aware if you come across wild feral monkies there are reasons to leave them alone. They can bite, causing harm to both other animals and people. Those in Silver Springs State Park, some have tested positive for rabies and other diseases.
Feral rhesus macaques are wild troupes of the rhesus macaque released by researchers, zoos, or private owners, that have been able to survive and propagate in several places in the United States.
Silver Springs State Park Florida
A colony of rhesus macaques was established around Silver Springs in Florida around the spring of 1938. The monkeys were released by tour boat operator Colonel Tooey to enhance his Jungle Cruise ride. A traditional story that the monkeys were released for scenery enhancement in the Tarzan movies that were filmed at that location is false, as the only Tarzan movie filmed in the area, 1939’s Tarzan Finds a Son! contains no rhesus macaques, in part because of the species’ bad temperament.The monkeys continue to thrive along the Silver River to this day. wikipedia source
Discover more about these fascinating primates. Learn about monkeys who live through all kinds of weather in Nature’s Snow Monkeys. Disney’s documentary Monkey Kingdom about the monkeys of South Asia follows a family and the shows us the social hierarchy that exists among the community.
Read about monkeys and their habitats. Children’s books that teach them about monkeys include:
