By Lee Scott
It recently came to my attention that my birthday lies on National Pickle Day.
What?
I have never heard of this holiday before. When I looked at my calendar, I realized that if I had been born three days earlier, my birthday would be on National Ice Cream Sundae Day.
Now that is one, I would enjoy. If my mother had known about National Pickle Day, when I was a child, would she have made me some strange green submarine shaped cake that looked like a huge dill pickle?
Instead if I had been born those three days earlier. All my little girlfriends would have enjoyed some delicious sundaes instead of pickles.
When I saw the calendar with all these assorted National Days, I started looking closely. There is a Guacamole National Day, National Beer Lover’s Day, National Greasy Food Day along with many others.
Here I thought that Hallmark Cards made up all these minor holidays. After all, it seems like they were the ones that came up with Grandparents Day and Sister Day.
But as it turns out there is a group called the National Day Calendar. They track nearly 1,500 National Days, National Weeks, and National Months. They also try to figure out how these “days” originated and come up with new ones. You can also submit your request for your own very National Day. Whether or not you get accepted is up to them.
So, I looked up National Pickle Day. Turns out that pickles have been a popular food for thousands of years. Cucumbers were preserved and eaten as pickles. They also have nutritional value.
I started to feel better until I looked up my spouse’s day. His is International Museum Day. Now that is the kind of day to share. His presents could have been books about the Louvre, or a trip to the National Air and Space Museum.
No pickle cakes for him.
With so many National Days, it is that some would make sense. Like January 1st, National Hangover Day; National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day on February 14; and for the Ides of March – National Everything you think is Wrong Day.
Then there are some unique ones, like National Napping Day which is the day after the return of Daylight Savings Day. Many of us can relate to this one.
And many of the days are geared toward food like National Peach Cobbler Day, or National Deep-Dish Pizza Day and National Eggs Benedict Day.
Coming up in October we can expect to celebrate National Homemade Cookies Day and, of course, National Caramel Apple Day.
The whole idea behind the National Day Calendar is that every day is worth celebrating something. So, celebrate even if it is only pickles.
Lee Scott, award winning humor writer takes her “Walter Mitty” like persona and spins tales around everyday life. She enjoys boating, reading, and meeting people. Scott lives in Beaufort with her husband, JD, along with their dog Brandy. You can reach her at Lasshood@aol.com.
