La Vida Local: Celebrations you might have missed

La Vida Local
Irregular Notes on West End Life

By Rosanne Graef

Missed It!

After failing to get cards sent before Christmas, I opted to dub them “New Year’s Greetings” instead. Somehow that didn’t work out so well either as my cards didn’t hit the post office until around January 9th.

There was absolutely no excuse for this negligence. I had stamps, my list of recipients, a working pen, and plenty of cards and return address labels sent to me by various 501(c)3 organizations as free gifts (is there any other kind?). What went wrong? I have no clue. But when I got a query from away questioning whether they’d somehow missed my obituary, I knew I needed to get organized and ready to recognize 2023’s celebrations in a timely manner.

Squirrel Appreciation Day

Serendipitously I got off to a great start at the dentist’s office. The calendar at the check-out desk noted that the following day, January 21st, was Squirrel Appreciation Day. When I asked how she planned to celebrate, the receptionist responded, “I don’t know. Just give a squirrel a big hug, I guess.”

On the way home, the impending Squirrel Appreciation Day was announced on the radio. Two reminders within twenty minutes! I had to act fast and ensure that the bird feeders and water dish were filled and ready for the following morning, so our squirrels would know how much we appreciate them.

National Cabbage Day & Other Lesser-Known Celebrations

Preparations for February 17th’s National Cabbage Day will be a snap. Having a constant supply of Brussels sprouts in the fridge was already a 2023 resolution for us.

The arrival of spring means National Pencil Day on March 30th, followed closely by National Rubber Eraser Day on April 15th. Hmmm, any coincidence that’s also Income Tax Day?

May 11th brings National Twilight Zone Day, which I intend to recognize by rewatching the 36 episodes of Season 1 that I found at Goodwill. It’s too bad all the commercials were cut, 1959 probably had some good ones.

Say Something Nice Day arrives on June 1st. I hope everyone in the USA celebrates this year, we could certainly use full participation. If you choose not to, then don’t say anything at all.

Even Celebrations for Paper Bags!

In the 1800s, the paper bag was invented and improved upon by several people. One patent was issued on July 12th, 1859, to William Goodale, and July 12th is now Paper Bag Day. Remember when grocery stores had pre-printed paper bags in September for covering school books? A lost skill ready to be reborn.

The Perseid meteor shower is marked by Global Sleep Under the Stars Night on August 8th. Could be a good chance to watch while lying on a mat made from paper bags!

September 24th is National Punctuation Day… ‘Nuf said!!!

The run up to Halloween gives us National Witch Hazel Day on October 21st. Not sure what this plant has to do with witches, but its yellow flowers are lovely in late fall and winter.

Before the post-Thanksgiving madness of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and #Giving Tuesday, may you have a restful National Button Day on November 16th.

Then we come around again to my new send-by date of December 9th, National Christmas Card Day. Phew! What a year lies ahead…