Month: December 2019

December 31st National Champagne Day

December holidays

National Champagne Day December 31st

Champagne is a sparkling wine named for the region it comes from in France. It is appropriate that today falls on December 31st when many, many bottles will be uncorked to celebrate the coming of the New Year. Raise a glass and bring in the New Year with something as bright and bubbly as we all hope your future will be.

How to celebrate – Welcome in the New Year. Celebrate the New Year with a glass of champagne. Visit the Champagne region in France for the New Year.

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December 30th Bacon Day

December holidays

There are several Bacon days during the year. International, National, and just plain bacon day. Today is just plain bacon day. It supposedly started before 2000 in the UK but who knows, as bacon has been popular for a lot longer than that! In fact, I don’t know a time when bacon has not been popular! Even Vegans try to make something that tastes like bacon, it doesn’t, but the point is, they at least try. I am curious, how does a Vegan know what bacon tastes like? Well, good on them for at least trying. Those meat eaters among us seem to prefer bacon to nearly any other kind of meat. Salty, crisp and filled with flavor it may indeed be the perfect food! And there is nothing like the scent of bacon cooking!

How to celebrate – Cook up some bacon. They even have bacon ice cream these days, see if you can invent something new like… bacon cereal! Wear some bacon perfume!

December 29th Pepper Pot Day

December holidays

“The soup that won the war!” During the American revolution, the Colonial Army was forced into suffering through the winter of 1777 at Valley Forge. The men were hungry and moral was low since they had suffered another of many defeats. The army was falling apart. George Washington asked his chef to come up with a meal that would feed the men as cheaply as possible and warm them up at the same time. He took as many different types of meat as he could lay his hands on and mixed them into a soup with peppercorns. It was served hot and spicy and did exactly what Washington had asked it to do. The first serving came on December 29th, 1777 and became a staple of the Continental Army from there on out.

How to celebrate – Have some pepper pot soup (warning, it is spicy). Read about the struggles at Valley Forge. Try making your own soup with whatever left over meats you have after Christmas.

December 28th Card Playing Day

December holidays

Now that the major part of the holidays are done it’s time to relax (although New Years is still yet to come). One of the best ways to relax, and still keep your mind busy, is to play cards (maybe not poker though). Playing cards is a fun way to pass the time and carry on conversations while not sitting around doing nothing. It can be challenging, somewhat exciting and always contains a bit of luck. Kids can spend hours playing cards, some games like slap jack and spoons can get a little noisy but if it happens to be snowing outside, or too cold to go out, it’s a good way to contain their energy. Cards also keep your mind sharp.

How to celebrate – Play a card game. Organize a Bridge tournament. Learn a new card game.

December 27th National Fruitcake Day

December holidays

Boy, doesn’t that look yummy! It is chocked full of everything you can imagine and dripping with sugar… and if done right, dripping with whiskey as well! Fruitcake is something handed down from family to family, in some cases the same fruitcake year after year. I knew a man who kept the same old fruitcake alive for nearly ten years handing it down to family members after adding a little more whiskey to it. He would always end up with it again the next year. Eventually the bread part of it began to mold and he had to throw it away. I don’t really know anyone who likes fruitcake, I mean… it’s not bad but one slice is enough for an entire year. It is commonly given as a gift to someone you have no idea what else to give. That way, they can give it to someone who has no idea what someone else would like either!

How to celebrate – Give a fruitcake to someone this year. Try a slice of fruitcake this year. Make a celebration out of burying your fruitcake in the back yard.

December 26th National Candy Cane Day

December holidays

Dec. 26th National Candy Cane Day

The flavor of the candy cane has been with us for a long, long time… probably ever since candy was first invented. The candy cane, with the red stripe was first believed to appear in 1844 and is first referred to in literature in 1866. It became associated with Christmas in 1874 and was known to have been used to decorate trees since 1882. That’s more than we know about a lot of other candies but then again, ever since it became a symbol of Christmas, how could it’s popularity not have been increased. The original candy candies did not have the hook and it may have been added when the association with Christmas was added, resembling the Shepherd’s walking sticks. The world’s largest candy cane was made by Alain Roby in Geneva, coming in at a little over 51 feet.

How to celebrate – Get some candy canes for the holidays. Make your own candy canes. Decorate your Christmas tree with candy canes this year.

December 25th Christmas Day

December holidays

In case you hadn’t heard, today is Christmas. It celebrates the birth of Christ, though no one really knows the exact date He was born. The Catholic Church set this date against a pagan holiday so that Christians, as well as others, would have something to celebrate instead. It has worked out well. The symbols of Christmas surround us this time of year, the Christmas tree standing for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; Santa for St. Nickolas; the songs for celebration, and the idea of giving gifts just as the Magi gave gifts to Jesus. We distort it, claim it for our own and don’t even know what the true date is but it still stands for the peace and harmony we all strive for. It is a time for family, friends, and even to forgive our enemies. Have a wonderful Christmas whether you believe or not.

How to celebrate – Go to church. Gather your friends and family. Celebrate love.

December 24th National Egg Nog Day

December holidays

It seems only natural that we should celebrate National Egg Nog Day on Christmas Eve. There is no other drink so associated with the holidays as egg nog. You can make it yourself, you can buy it in a store and you can add a little whiskey or cognac, or both, for the adults in your crowd. It’s become a tradition in many families, starting around Thanksgiving and lasting until the end of the year before being put up for the next season. I was unable to find a true history of egg nog, though honestly I didn’t look real hard for it, but it seems to have been around since the middle ages. It’s simple enough to make, is sweet and flavorful and requires nothing that wasn’t readily available even 800 years ago. So before it disappears again for another year make sure you add egg nog to your parties and holiday get togethers. If you don’t like egg nog, just add a bit more booze and you won;t even know you are drinking it.

How to celebrate – Have some egg nog. Check out all the items made to taste like egg nog. Make your own egg nog drink.

December 23rd Festivus

December holidays

If you don’t celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa or Ramadan there is still one holiday you can still celebrate, it was created by Daniel O’Keefe (A writer on the Seinfeld show) on December 18, 1997 for the character Kramer, it’s Festivus. No, it doesn’t really stand for anything for those who don’t really believe in anything. It is symbolized by an aluminum pole with no other decorations on it, meatloaf as a dinner meal and a feat of strength after the meal. I suppose there are those that celebrate Festivus even though it doesn’t really exist. Even the date is wrong, it should be December 18th, not December 23rd. But does it matter? The clear answer is, no.

How to celebrate – Celebrate Festivus when ever you want. Find something you believe in so you don’t have to celebrate Festivus. Watch re-runs of Seinfeld.

December 22nd Channukah

December holidays

This year, the celebration of the Festival of Lights, begins today. It is a celebration of a flask of oil that should have lasted at best a day and kept the fires burning for eight days. It was freedom for the Jews from Greek persecution in 167 B.C.. The Macabees led the way for their people in this revolution and though the dates changes yearly it is a celebration of joy and wonder. It is also spelled in many different ways, in America perhaps best recognized as Hanukkah. it is celebrated by the lighting of a menorah in symbolic representation of the oil that burnt for 8 days. Generally gifts are given each of the 8 days. These eight days are filled with joy, peace and love for family, friends and faith.

How to celebrate – Celebrate Channukah in faith or tolerance. Allow others to keep their faith in order that you may keep yours. Find your own peace, love and joy.