Month: December 2021

December 31st New Year’s Eve

December holidays

Today is the last day of the year, celebrate the memories going out with the year and get ready for the new year to come. It’s a time to make new plans and separate yourself from those things you regret doing. It’s a time for change, even if everything stays the same. Why we choose to make a day where we get rid of the old and bring in the new is a little beyond me but we do, and normally we do so with a lot of booze (Makes forgetting seem easier) This year do something that you can actually recognize a change in yourself, your community or in the world around you. It is a new year after all, and the time for setting new goals.

How to celebrate – Welcome in the new year. Say goodbye to the old year. Make a few new resolutions that you might actually keep!

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December 30th Bacon Day

December holidays

Nearly everyone I know loves bacon. Not the vegetarians of course, but nearly everyone else. There is something about the crispy, salty flavor that accents nearly every food with some favorable outcome. Potatoes are better with bacon, eggs are better with bacon, salads are better with bacon… even bacon is better with bacon! Most vegetarians even remember the taste of bacon enough that they remember loving it too so much that they made their own veggie bacon… better than nothing I guess. So today is your day to enjoy bacon in whatever you like to eat… even if it’s just a slice of bacon by itself.

How to celebrate – Make some bacon. Test putting bacon in something you have never had it in before. Thank a pig.

December 29th Pepper Pot Day

December holidays

“The soup that won the war”, Pepper Pot Soup. It was created during the 1777-1778 Valley Forge encampment where food was scare and depression ran rampant through the Continental Army. Washington ordered the cooks to come up with something that would warm the freeze men, cheer them up and give them hope. Somehow this soup did exactly that. It contained tripe, bits of meat and a lot of peppercorn among other things the cooks could find available, which wasn’t much! It was served on December 29th, 1777 and was an instant hit. It’s funny how something so simple can be so helpful when times are down.

How to celebrate – Try some Pepper Pot Soup. Visit Valley Forge. Dress up like a Revolutionary Soldier.

December 28th Card Playing Day

December holidays

Playing cards is a great way to pass some time, either alone or with friends and family. Sometimes it’s not as much about playing cards as it is about the company you keep. There are so many card games to play, so many strategies that can be used and so many ways to play that no game ever comes out exactly the same. There are challenging games like Pinochle and Bridge, gambling games like poker, gathering games like Canasta and mindless games like Old Maid and War. Find some friends or family who like to play and form a regular card playing night, you won’t regret it!

How to celebrate – Find a card game you like to play. Make a party out of it with drinks and snacks. Invent a new card game that only you know the rules.

December 27th Make A Cut Out Snowflake Day

December holidays

Snowflakes, no two are alike… unless you cut them out of paper and make them yourself! When I worked for a school this use to be a favorite activity to keep kids quiet but as we never had kids on December 27th, we never celebrated this day. So maybe this is a day for parents to find something to do with their kids after the newness has worn off the gifts they got for Christmas. In the south they can remind us of what snow looks like and in the north… well, they may not need any more snowflakes but who cares, it keeps the kids busy! If you didn’t get snow for Christmas this year maybe you can cover your yard in these kinds of snowflakes! Probably not a real good idea.

How to celebrate – Cut out some snowflakes. Figure out what you are going to do with all those snowflakes. Come up with other winter symbols you can cut out just for something different.

December 26th National Candy Cane Day

December holidays

One of the most recognized symbols of Christmas is the candy cane. It was invent sometime in the 1500’s or 1600’s as a straight stick of candy but 1674 it was patterned after a shepherd’s hook by a German choirmaster because when turned over it looked like J for Jesus! For whatever reason, it is one of Christmas’ staples, in the 1800’s it began to be hung on Christmas trees as a decoration adding it’s red a white stripes to the green foliage. Well we got to do something with them, after all they make 1.76 billion candy canes a year! But they do taste good and can serves as earrings in desperate times!

How to celebrate – Have a candy cane. Make a new use of candy canes this Christmas. Learn how to make your own candy canes.

December 25th Christmas Day

December holidays

Here’s the day a lot of us wait for all year long, we decorate for it, shop for and celebrate it for many, many reasons. In the Christian world, it’s because of Jesus’ birth but we tend to forget that amongst everything else we are involved in. In a way, it’s okay because God would want you to be happy and celebrate his only son. Just… don’t forget about him completely as you go through your day today. Merry Christmas to all!

How to celebrate – Spend the day with your family. Remember what Christmas is for. Celebrate!

December 24th National Egg Nog Day

December holidays

It’s Christmas Eve Day, are you ready for Christmas to be here? It’s also National Egg Nog Day, and probably one of the last days you’ll find Egg Nog in the stores to buy. It’s sunny how something like Egg Nog can only be found certain times of the year, I guess it’s just too expensive to maintain a production line of the product all year long so it has to stop sometime. Here’s a recipe for making your own Egg Nog once it does disappear on the Grocery Store shelves. There’s also Egg Nog ice Cream, coffee creamer and candy if you can find it.

How to celebrate – Store up on your Egg Nog for the year! (Though it might go bad) Learn how to make your own Egg Nog. Make every day Christmas Day!

December 23rd Festivus

December holidays, Unboxing the Bizarre

Well if you are tired of the old Christmas trappings you may want to look into Festivus, its a non-traditional was to celebrate everything not Christmas! It was created by Daniel O’Keefe to honor his first date with his soon to be wife back in 1966. Daniel’s son, Dan, was a writer on Seinfeld and took the idea to the television show which declared the new holiday on December 18th, 1997. So if you are fed up with Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa try Festivus… it might work for you!

How to celebrate – Don’t actually celebrate anything! Get a Pole for your Christmas Tree, nothing on it… just plain. There are no real decorations for Festivus so don’t worry about decorating.

December 22nd National Date Nut Bread Day

December holidays

When I first saw this day I thought it was, if you are single to date a nut who has a lot of money. Then I realized it wasn’t. (No, I didn’t really think that but you try writing a paragraph about date nut bread without expanding on the truth a little!) Anyway, it’s bread, it contains dates and as many different nuts as you prefer. Oh, and it’s real popular around this time of year! I like date nut bread, it is a little heavy so maybe one slice at a time will do. It’s almost a tradition at Christmas along with the Fruitcake everyone loves!

How to celebrate – Make some date nut bread. Make up your own list of holiday traditions. Add a little cream cheese for taste.