Iced Tea Day- 10 June

Ice tea is not only refreshing on a hot summer day, it also has some great health benefits and can be enjoyed in many different flavors. 

June 10 is the ice tea day and this is an excellent excuse to enjoy this refreshing drink! Do not be afraid to add a little lemon or sugar to taste, or even ginger to help if you suffer from a sore throat. 

The Ice Tee can be bought in a bottle or can, mixed with various syrups such as lemon, raspberry, lime, passion fruit, peach, oranges, strawberries, cherries and more.

The oldest printed recipes of Ice Tee are dated to 1870. Two of the earliest cookbooks with cold tea recipes are the Buckeye Cookbook by Estel Woods Wilcox, first published in 1876, and the book Housekeeping in old Virginia by Marion Cabell Tyree, first published in 1877.

Iced tea receipe from the book "Housekeeping in Old Virginia" by Marion Cabell Tyree

Iced tea began to appear in the United States during the 1860s. In the early 1970s, it began showing up on hotels and stalls at train stations, mainly in the southern US, and his popularity gained momentum after being exhibited at a 1904 world's fair in St. Louis by Richard Blechynden.

The popularity of the ice tea in the United States led to the creation of sets of cutlery adapted to this beverage: Ice tea spoon is a spoon with a long handle, suitable for mixing sugar in the long glasses.

How to celebrate the cold tea day? 

Usually the 10th of June falls on a hot day, so the best way to celebrate the day is to drink cold tea refreshing in different flavors.

Museum Day- May 18

Museum Day is a day where you should soak up culture and art and visit any museum, no matter which one.

This day has been declared by the International Council of Museums as a day dedicated entirely to museums, on May 18 each year.

Each year, the council dedicates a particular theme to Museum Day, and many museums around the world hold special days on the subject. More than 30,000 museums around the world participate in Museum Day, a day founded in 1977.

May 18 is also Visit Your Relatives Day and No Dirty Dishes Day

Liberation Day in the Netherlands- May 5

Every year on May 5, the Netherlands celebrates its liberation from Nazi occupation during World War II (Dutch: Bevrijdingsdag).

The Dutch people were largely liberated by the First Canadian Army, aided by British troops, a Polish Armored Corps, and American, Belgian, Dutch, and Czech troops. Other parts of the country, especially in the southeast, were liberated by the Second British Army, which included American, Polish and French air forces.

On May 5, 1945, Canadian commander Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes and Oberbefehlshaber Niederlande commander-in-chief Generaloberst Johannes Blaskowitz reached an agreement on the surrender of German forces in the Netherlands  at Hotel de Wereld in Wageningen. One day later, the surrender document was signed in the auditorium of Wageningen University, located nearby.

 Hotel de Wereld, Wageningen

After the liberation in 1945, the day of liberation was commemorated every five years. In 1990, May 5 was declared a national holiday, the holiday of liberation that is celebrated every year.

On May 4, the Dutch hold the "Dodenherdenking", a day of remembrance for people who fought and died during World War II and the Dutch wars in general.

The Dutch gather near monuments all over the country and hold memorial ceremonies. One of the most famous memorial ceremonies is held near the National Monument in Dam Square in Amsterdam and at the Waalsdorpervlakte in the dunes near The Hague, where more than 250 Dutch opponents were murdered by the Nazis.

At eight o'clock in the evening there are two minutes of silence.

The next day, May 5, the liberation celebrations begin. All over the Netherlands there are music festivals, parades of war veterans, fireworks and big celebrations. 

In honor of the day the Netherlands was liberated from the Nazis, here are some interesting facts about the Netherlands:

During World War II, the percentage of Jews deported or murdered in the Netherlands was the highest among European countries. Investigations conducted after the war revealed that many of the civilians collaborated with the Nazis. In the Netherlands, however, there were the most Righteous Among the Nations who assisted the Jews.

The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, used to get to work by bike! Even when he is hosted in other countries, he always prefers to get from place to place by bicycle.

More than a quarter of the Netherlands is below sea level. Half of the Netherlands is less than one meter above sea level. Schiphol Airport is 4.5 meters below sea level.

The Dutch are the highest people in the world. The average height of Dutch men is 1.84 meters and that of Dutch women is 1.70. Scientists say this is due to a combination of genes, nutrition and well-being. Others say it is because of the milk they consume in abundance.

The Netherlands is a very flat country. Its highest point is the Vaalserberg Hill, which is only 322.7 meters high, and is located at the eastern end of the country in the province of Limburg. You could say that Holland is as flat as pannenkoek (pancakes in Dutch).

Because Amsterdam soil is a thick layer of sludge and clay, all buildings are built on wooden pillars mounted on an average 11-foot-high sandy layer. The Royal Palace in Dam Square is built on no less than 13,659 wooden pillars.

The Netherlands is known for the extensive tulip fields of its tulips. Many tulip flowers and tubers come from the Netherlands. However, the origin of the tulips is not from the Netherlands. The first tulip tubers were brought to the Netherlands from Turkey, when it was discovered that the Dutch soil was very good for growing them.

The Netherlands leads in the number of home births. In many countries it is customary to give birth in a hospital. Not in the Netherlands: About 30% of all Dutch births take place at home.

The Dutch love coffee. After the Scandinavians, the Dutch are the biggest coffee drinkers in the world. They drink no less than 140 liters of coffee a year on average. 3.2 glasses a day!

86% of Dutch people speak English as a second language. All Dutch children learn English in school. If you visit Amsterdam, you will find that you can speak to almost everyone in fluent English.

The Netherlands is the largest exporter of beer in the world. In 2001, Dutch breweries exported 1.3 billion liters of beer abroad. Half of them were shipped to the United States.

Flag of the Netherland

May 5 is also International Midwives' Day

Extraterrestrial Culture Day- the second Tuesday in February

Extraterrestrial Cultures Day is an official holiday celebrated in New Mexico that honors extraterrestrial cultures.

On this day we celebrate the cultures and our relationships with the aliens who visit or have visited Earth in the past, present and future. The holiday was officially designated by the New Mexico State Legislature, in memory of the "Roswell Incident" that occurred in 1947, in which there was evidence that a UFO crashed near the town of Roswell in New Mexico.

The holiday is celebrated every Tuesday in February every year.

In honor of the Extraterrestrial Cultures Day, tidy up the house and make a teapot for the guests - because E.T. can suddenly surprise you with a visit!

When will the Day of Extraterrestrial Cultures be celebrated in the coming years:

2021- February 9 

2022- February 8 

2023- February 12

  

Japan's Lucky Man Race - January 10th

Every year on January 10, early in the morning, thousands of people in western Japan participate in a race where whoever runs the fastest will become the person with the most luck of the year. The race was held at the Nishinomiya Shrine in Hyogo District in Japan, at the Temple of Ebisu,  the Japanese god of fishermen and luck.

Before dawn, about 5,000 people waited outside the temple this year. When the gate opened to the sound of drums at six o’clock, they burst into a sprint towards the main hall, about 230 meters away, to become the first “lucky man” of the Reiwa era, the era of the new Japanese emperor Naruhito, who acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne in May 2019.

In the race that took place last year, in 2020, 33-year-old Yusuka Korogi, a physical education teacher at a high school in the city of Sakai, Osaka province, won.

The runners who came in second and third place were also crowned as "lucky men".

Aside from the happy title of lucky man of the year (fuku-otoko), Yosuka also won a barrel of rice. The winner said he was surprised by the achievement and he looks forward to a successful year and hopes to share his good fortune with other people.

Source

Photo: KYODO

January 10th is also Bittersweet Chocolate Day and Peculiar People Day

Landscape view of the Yogo district in Japan

Jellyfish Day - November 3

Jellyfish by Tuomas_Lehtinen - Freedigitalphotos.net

True, this sounds weird, but November 3rd is dedicated to jellyfish - it's International Jellyfish Day.

In honor of Jellyfish Day, here are some interesting facts about the transparent animals that live in the sea and surprise us with unpleasant bites and burns:

Some jellyfish are larger than humans and some are smaller than the pin.

Some countries eat jellyfish, for example in Japan.

Jellyfish are such ancient creatures. They were on Earth 700 million years ago, even before the dinosaurs.

The jellyfish does not have a brain, heart and bones but it has several types of eyes.

The jellyfish consists mainly of water and protein.

A group of jellyfish is called Smack.

Jellyfish can adapt to any type of water and to any depth of water pool.

Most jellyfish live less than a year and there are species that live only a few days.

The largest jellyfish recorded in the world is the lion's mane jellyfish, which can reach over 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in diameter.

Most jellyfish bites are just stinging and unpleasant, but there have also been cases of fatal bites: In Thailand, a 5-year-old boy died from a cubic jellyfish bite in August 2014. In 2002, two tourists in Australia died from an Iroquois jellyfish bite.

Jellyfish have millions of cells in the body called nematocysts and they contain a burning substance. These cells are used by them to capture their food by injecting a toxin into the prey. This is why it stings us when we touch a jellyfish.

Jellyfish eat many different types of things, such as small plants (phytoplankton), copepods (crayfish zooplankton), fish eggs and small fish larvae. They also eat the eggs and young larvae of the plankton and many other different types of marine animals. There are also jellyfish that eat other jellyfish!

What is good about jellyfish?

Jellyfish are very important creatures in the ocean and the great ocean. They are used as food for a number of marine animals such as fish and large turtles. They provide habitat for many small fish and they also sometimes protect small fish from being eaten by large predators with the help of their stinging cells. Also, many young crabs catch rides at the top of jellyfish so they do not have to swim.

 November 3 is also Housewife's Day and Sandwich Day

Punch Day- September 20

The name of the drink Punch comes from the Hindi word "punch", meaning five.

On the day of the punch, celebrate with the traditional punch drink, which uses five ingredients - alcohol (usually rum or airy drinks), lemon (or other fruits), sugar, water, and tea (or other spices, eg cinnamon).

The punch is served cold or hot, and it is also possible without alcohol.

The source of the punch is in India. He arrived in England by sailors and workers of the British East India Company at the beginning of the 17th century. Later it was distributed to other European countries. The advantage was that when you prepare a large amount and share it, it is cheaper than a regular alcoholic cocktail.

Since then there has been a lot of punch around the world, and it has spread to other countries such as the Caribbean, Korea and Mexico and has become a traditional refreshment at parties served in large large bowls.

Round Punch bowl (source)

Valentino Day - August 23

Valentino Day is the day of commemoration of the actor Rudolph Valentino (or in his full name Rodolfo Alfonso Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi) who was born on May 6, 1895 and died on August 23, 1926, at the age of only 31, from blood poisoning.

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Valentino was a handsome Italian film actor who captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands of women around the world who watched the films he starred in: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), The Sheikh (1921), Blood and Sand (1922), The Young Rajah (1922), Monsieur Beaucaire (1924), Kobra (1925) , The Eagle (1925) and The Son of the Sheikh (1926).

He died after being ill for several months with a liver infection and refused to see a doctor. Only when the pain was unbearable did he agree to be evacuated to the hospital. He underwent surgery and the doctors were optimistic about his condition, but suddenly there was a bad turn and his condition deteriorated rapidly. His lungs were full of fluid and infection.

He died at a New York hospital on August 23. His funeral was held in New York and then his body was moved to Los Angeles, where another funeral was held and he was buried in Hollywood. Hundreds of thousands of people mourned his death across the United States.

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Picture from the film The Son of the Sheikh, 1926.

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International Pillow Fight Day - First Saturday in April

The International Pillow Fight day takes place one day a year, on the first Saturday in April, in the United States and across Europe, in places that are announced on social media.

To know exactly when and where there are pillow war battlefields, here is a list of places where the war takes place: Facebook

Image source: Instagram

The World Pillow Fight day was created by the Urban Playground Movement with the aim of returning public space to the public enjoyment and overthrowing the paradigm that entertainment is dominated by branded companies that provide sponsorships. The movement also organizes parties at U.S. subway stations.

Dozens of cities around the world are taking part in the pillow fight: London (Trafalgar Square), Barcelona (Plaça Catalunya), Bilbao in Spain, Central Glyn in the Netherlands, Oulu in Finland, Vienna in Austria, New York (Washington Square) and more. So if you get there that day, do not forget to bring a pillow. And if not, you can also organize your spontaneous pillow fight in the town square where you live or in another public place.

Unfortunately in 2020 the pillow war did not take place because of the corona pandemic, but we hope that in April 2021 it will be able to take place again.

 

When will the pillow fights take place in the coming years?

 

2021- Saturday, April 3rd

2022- Saturday, April 2nd

2023- Saturday, April 1st

2024- Saturday, April 6th

2025- Saturday, April 5th

2026- Saturday, April 4th

2027- Saturday, April 3rd

2028- Saturday, April 1st

2029- Saturday, April 7th

Pillow Fight in London, 2018 (Source)

Pillow Fight in Stuttgart, Germany 2018 (Source)

The first Saturday in April is also Love Our Children Day

Chinese New Year 2021- Year of Ox

Chinese New Year is celebrated in the first two weeks of the Chinese year, on varying dates, usually between the end of January and mid-February. The holiday is celebrated in China and Hong Kong and in countries with a large population of Chinese like Singapore and Taiwan.

The Chinese calendar is determined by the moon. It operates for a cycle of 60 years, with every two consecutive years bearing a name associated with one of the five elements: water, wood, fire, earth, metal and one of the 12 animals: monkey, rooster, dog, pig, rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon , Snake, horse and sheep.

Common Chinese New Year customs are buying gifts for family, friends and acquaintances, hanging lanterns, mostly in red that brings good luck, decorating, cleaning and grooming the house, a family dinner for union and family harmony, where dishes like ducks, pigs, chicken and sweet delicacies are served.

One of the common blessings for the beginning of the new year is "Good Luck", because the Chinese believe that a new year brings with it a good luck. So in the greeting cards they send to each other they wish the new year good luck. In order to ward off bad luck and bring good luck closer, the Chinese usually hang traditional symbols on their doorstep and during the hanging make noise and commotion with the help of firecrackers.

During the holiday you can watch festive processions of dancers and especially those who carry paper dolls in the shape of a lion and a dragon that symbolize good luck. The holiday culminates and ends on the 15th of the first month of the new year, with a celebration of lights, or a lantern festival across China.

When does the Chinese New Year come out in the coming years and which are the animals that symbolize the coming years?

2020- January 25 - Year of the Rat

2021 - February 12 - the year of the ox

2022 - February 1 - The Year of the Tiger

2023- January 22 - Year of the Rabbit

2024- February 10 - Year of the Dragon

2025- January 29 - Snake Year

2026- February 17 - The Year of the Horse

2027- February 6 - Year of the Sheep

2028- January 26 - the year of the monkey

2029- February 13 - the year of the rooster

2030- February 3 - Year of the Dog

2031 - January 23 - the year of the pig