Celebrate Every Day

Welcome to November 11, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate ice cream bliss and our enduring love for Veterans. From the late 1800s on, states passed what were known as Blue Laws. They were intended to prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sunday. But the laws also prevented the sale of soda, which could be used as a mixer. That meant that drug stores couldn’t sell ice cream sodas. In...

Welcome to November 10, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a sacred fruit and a tradition of loyalty. Pomegranates have been a favorite of fruit lovers for a very long time. A big favorite. In Ancient Egypt, there are wall paintings depicting the fruit and King Tut was even buried with some so that he could enjoy pomegranates in the afterworld. This delicious fruit was a part of...

Welcome to November 9, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate spooky adventures in the swamp and in the kitchen. If you visit Louisiana and you’re the adventurous type, you may want to take a trip to Manchac Swamp. Located about 30 minutes from New Orleans, the swamp is a beautiful but sometimes frightening area. And we aren’t talking about the gators. It’s rumored to be haunted by...

Welcome to November 8, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate the technology that inspires us every day. What we know as the cappuccino was first served in Vienna coffee houses in the early 1800s. The coffee, when mixed with cream and sugar, took on a shade of brown that reminded the baristas of a monk’s robes. Specifically, the shade of brown worn by the Capuchin monks. Hence, the...

Welcome to November 7, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate sleeping in and coziness in the kitchen. During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson enacted Daylight Saving Time as a way to conserve energy. After the war, Congress repealed the Act due to its unpopularity. And that would have been the end of Daylight Saving Time, but New York City and Chicago kept using the system. So...

Welcome to November 6, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate smooth solos and our national beast. The song “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty is instantly recognizable and it’s all thanks to the epic saxophone solo. This classic is a pretty good rock song, but could easily have been forgotten if not for that sax riff. Rafael Ravenscroft, who played the solo, was paid only about $36 f...

Welcome to November 5, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a bonus donut day and standing out in a crowd. In America alone, more than 10 billion donuts are produced each year. That is roughly 30 donuts for each person in the country. But as common as this delicious bakery item may be, the last name Donut is just as rare. Really. There are really people with that last name. At las...

Welcome to November 4, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a prehistoric fruit and the sweet invention born of necessity. Figs are an interesting fruit. They’ve been around a long time. Like a really long time—about 100 million years ago. Fig trees were on Earth at the same time as dinosaurs. Humans began cultivating them in the Middle East as the first civilizations grew across...

Welcome to November 3, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate star-struck sandwiches and a trick for beating stress. If you’re famous, it’s a rare honor for a restaurant to name a sandwich after you. Especially if the sandwich is good. For example: the Leonardo DiCaprio sandwich from Lioni’s in New York is roast beef, sun dried tomatoes, fried eggplants and a drizzle of balsamic vin...

Welcome to November 2, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate outrageous tax laws and a spicy history. During the late 1800s, Peter the Great imposed a beard tax on his citizens. That’s right! Men were charged an annual fee if they chose to grow out their whiskers. This meant that peasants were charged every time they entered cities. Those who paid the tax were allowed to keep their...

Welcome to November 1, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate trade secrets and the stories they inspire. Agatha Christie is the queen of the Whodunit. Of the nearly 80 murder mysteries she wrote, about half of them involve death by poisoning. Christie had an extensive knowledge of drugs and poisons because of her time spent working in a hospital pharmacy during World War I. She wat...

Welcome to October 31, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate magical history and all things spooky. During the Golden Age of Magic, there was only one magician more famous than Harry Houdini. Adelaide Herrmann. Her husband had a very popular magic show and when he died in 1896, she kept it going. Adelaide became wildly successful in her own right, performing for the next 25 years....

Welcome to October 30, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate spooky endings and sweet beginnings. If you hear a knock at your door this time of year, you can expect to see kids in costumes asking for candy. It is, after all, a Halloween tradition. But people living in Sweden or Finland don’t get visits from Trick or Treaters in October. Instead, this celebration takes place during...

Welcome to October 29, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a freaky Friday and a good start to the day In 1815, a massive volcanic eruption in Indonesia spread ash around the entire globe. The following year was dubbed The Year Without a Summer. The skies were dreary and dark, and temperatures were far below normal. In the midst of this, a legendary novel was born. Lord Byron inv...

Welcome to October 28, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a tempting fruit and a chocolate lover’s dream. For fans of apples, this is the best time of the year. Once Autumn comes around, it’s apple picking season. On average, each American will consume about 16 pounds of apples every year, so it’s good that the trees produce as much of the delicious fruit as they do—about 840 po...

Welcome to October 27, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate chilly beverages and breaking a bad wrap. America’s love affair with beer started even before the United States was a country. In 1612, Dutch traders Adrian Block and Hans Christiansen established a brewery on what would become Manhattan Island. At the time, the area was called New Amsterdam and was a fur trading outpost....

Welcome to October 26, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate the Southern hospitality of our feathered friends and the workhorse of the Old West. If you find yourself in Memphis, Tennessee, it’s likely because you are there to visit Graceland. But once you’re done exploring Elvis Presley’s mansion, head downtown to the Peabody Hotel. Here you’ll find one of the most unique traditio...

Welcome to October 25, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate creepy dolls and greasy spoons. For those of you who aren’t Chucky fans, you have a pass. All others, get your popcorn and beverage of choice and hit play! I’m talking of course about Chucky, the Notorious Killer Doll movies. Some who celebrate, dress up as Chucky and collect his merchandise, while others read up on the b...

Welcome to October 24, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate magical mother-in-laws and the first name in lunch meat. Okay, we’re getting close to Halloween and if you think celebrating National Mother-In-Law Day is more than a little scary, here's something to lighten your spirits. The most magical, fictional mother-in-law award goes to … Agnes Moorhead as Endora on Bewitched. Not...

Welcome to October 23, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a confusing dessert and a talk show legend. You may be confused when you order Boston Cream Pie and end up with a piece of cake. Hardly anyone is disappointed, however, by the buttery layers of sponge cake, paired with pastry cream and a shiny coat of chocolate. At the time the dessert was created, cakes and pies were bak...

Welcome to October 22, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate rewarding our true blue friends and a dash of color. There are lots of days that celebrate our furry friends but this one celebrates the most loyal. For the dogs who have stood by our side through thick and thin today is all about them. It doesn't take much to please our pups: an extra long walk or a special treat would d...

Welcome to October 21, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate our scaly neighbors and an early Thanksgiving treat. The Mary River Turtle of Queensland, Australia definitely stands out in a crowd. First of all, it has feelers growing out of its chin. It’s also known as the Punk Rock Turtle. That’s because of the bright green moss that grows on the turtle’s head in the shape of a moha...

Welcome to October 20, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate delicious mashups and building up our youth. One of the South’s most famous food creations is chicken and waffles. But this delicious combination of flavors was actually born in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. During the 1940s, the Wells Supper Club was a popular late-night spot and attracted Jazz musicians afte...

Welcome to October 19, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate a state with a big impact and smooth medicine. Kentucky is known for many things—horses, bluegrass, and bourbon whiskey. It also has a unique city named Middlesboro, which makes a claim no other city in the United States can. It’s built in a meteorite crater. About 300 million years ago, a meteor crashed to Earth in this...

Welcome to October 18, 2021 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate getting a kick out of fashion and great moments in beard history. Although it’s a year-round staple, when the temperature drops down in the Fall it’s officially legging season. Once a necessity that provided an added layer of warmth, leggings are now part of an iconic style that’s both comfortable and fashionable. Legging...