Europe Day - May 9

Europe Day is the day in which most European countries celebrate the unification of the continent, announced by Robert Schumann, French Foreign Minister in 1950.

Europeans began celebrating this day in 1985, when they set the EU flag.

EU flag

In honor of Europe Day, get some fascinating and interesting facts about the continent:

Europe - Technically, Europe is not a continent because it is not separated from Asia. Greece is the one that decided that Europe would be a continent in itself.

France - The most popular place in Europe is Disneyland (Eurodisney), Paris.

England - Only 1% of the items preserved in the British Museum are actually on display.

Italy - Italians do not drink cappuccino after 11 am.

Germany / Turkey - There are more shawarma restaurants in Berlin than in Istanbul.

Spain - The Church of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, has been under construction for over 130 years and construction is expected to be completed by 2026.

France / Italy - The tallest toilet in Europe is located on Mount Mont Blanc, at an altitude of more than 4,200 meters (13780 Feet)!

Belgium has the most crowded railway network in the world (113.8 km / 1,000 km2).

Bosnia and Herzegovina has one of the last rainforests in Europe. His name is Perućica.

Bulgaria is the oldest country in Europe and it has not changed its name since 681 AD.

Greece - 40% of the population of Greece is in its capital city Athens.

There are no mosquitoes in Iceland at all. Not even one.

Russia has more than 13,000 uninhabited villages and they occupy 40% of the continent of Europe.

Italy - The Tower of Pisa took 200 years to build because of its inclination. He still continues to tilt himself.

Austria / France - The truth is that the croissant was invented in Austria, not France.

Greenland is the largest island in the world.

England - The escalators on the London Underground surround the circumference of the earth twice a week throughout their journey.

Belgium - The place where the most chocolate is sold in the world is the airport in Brussels.

Sweden - Sweden has the largest number of McDonald's branches relative to the number of people.

Scotland - Thanks to the Loch Ness monster, Scotland brings in 7 million euros a year from tourism.

Spain - Half an hour is the time it takes to get from Spain to Africa by ferry.

United Kingdom - The name of the longest city in Europe is Lanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch and it is located in Wales.

Liechtenstein is such a small country in Europe. In her last military involvement in 1866 she sent 80 soldiers who returned with 81. Apparently they had attached a friend to Italy.

The medieval period in Europe lasted twice as long as the United States existed.

May 9 is also Remembrance Day for the Lost Socks

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

Make Up Your Own Holiday Day - March 26

March 26 is Make up your own holiday day. It's your day to think of something you want to invent for a holiday. It can be a person, an animal, an expression, a food or whatever comes to mind that you want to create its own holiday.

This informal day is meant to honor all the special, creative, weird, funny or meaningful days that people have invented in the past, present and will invent in the future.

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The condition is to check only that the day you want to celebrate does not already exist. In the US the holiday is called the National Make up Your Day Holiday.

Special days and holidays can be formal or informal. Official days are days that are usually approved by the government. You get days off, businesses close, studies do not take place, etc. Official holidays can be religious, such as Christmas, Yom Kippur, Eid al-Fitr, Diwali and more. There are also secular holidays that are official like Independence Day or State Constitution Day.

Special days of the year that are unofficial are days that people or organizations have initiated, to hold some theme. They can be serious days like awareness days for social, environmental or health issues, days of appreciation for different professionals, food days or inventions designed to promote sales of various products. There are also silly and funny days that are just meant to make you happy and entertaining.

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How to celebrate your own invention holiday?

The best way to celebrate this day is to invent your own holiday. If you want to make it an official day, you will have to get it passed in government by law to make it a national day.

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March 26 is also Spinach Day and Purple Day

Mardi Gras - Fat Tuesday - Pancake Day

Happy Mardi Gras! The holiday also called Shrove Tuesday and Fat Tuesday is a Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday (known as Shrove Tuesday). Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.

In the photo: a poster inviting to the Mardi Gras celebrations from 1914

Mardi Gras is the last day before the "fast" of the Christians, a 40-day period of the Christians before Easter in which they do not consume animal products. The first day of Lent is called "Ash Wednesday" and it falls 46 days before Easter, always on Wednesday. The fasting period is 40 days, when on Sundays it does not take place.

The Tuesday before Lent is a day dedicated to celebrations in the Christian world. In many localities processions and parades are held, and in many homes large and solemn meals are held. Because on Tuesday it eats a lot of desserts and fattening things without making an account, it is called Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras always falls between February 4th and March 10th.

One of the traditional customs at Mardi Gras is to eat pancakes so Mardi Gras is also Pancake Day.

The pancakes are made from flour, eggs, milk, sugar, baking powder, oil or butter.

Animal Pancake Pan Amazon

Pancakes are a dish that is eaten around the world, in different variations. In France the pancake is thin (what we know as crepe). In Germany it is eaten with powdered sugar, jam and lemons. In the Netherlands the rolled pancakes are eaten with savory and sweet toppings. In Russia, Belini is eaten. In Greece it is prepared with yogurt and eaten with honey. In Malaysia and Singapore it is sometimes prepared with soybeans instead of flour and stuffed with cheese, jam, nuts and peanuts. In China, the pancakes are thinly prepared with buckwheat and green onions and are part of the Peking-style duck dish. In India, pancakes are called Uttapam and are made from rice and vegetables. In Japan, they make a fluffy pancake cake called Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き o-konomi-yaki).

When will Mardi Gras be in the coming years?

2022- 1 March

2023 - 21 February

2024- 13 February

2025- March 4th

2026 - 17 February

Electronic Greetings Day - November 29

Electronic Greetings Day is held every year, on November 29th.

This day encourages us to send an electronic greeting, and at the same time, reminds us how many things have changed.

The convenience and speed of electronic greeting delivery allows us more than ever to participate in this thoughtful process. We all enjoy it when someone remembers our birthdays, anniversaries and other important life events and enjoys receiving greeting cards. It is fun to get greeting cards, but to save the trees and the earth, when using electronic greeting cards it is much more economical but also equally significant.

Since the advent of electronic greeting, social media and other messaging systems have been expanding our communication methods. We can send a birthday greeting through the social network or in a messaging system. If a friend is sick, we show that we care simply by pressing a button and sending funny videos. When we miss someone, nowadays we are never very far away. We can send them a video message. The technology of electronic pools is constantly evolving.

The e-greeting came not long after the advent of e-mail in 1993. American computer scientist Judith Donat founded the first e-greeting card site in 1994 at MIT Media Lab. It was called The Electric Postcard and operated from 1994 to 1996.

How to celebrate Electronic Greetings Day?

No matter what your friends are celebrating today, you will find a theme to send them an electronic greeting. By email, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter or whatever you choose, today is the day to pay attention using a beautiful electronic greeting, and the possibilities on the internet are endless!

Cake Day- November 26

"Let them eat cakes!" (in French: "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche") - This is the most famous phrase about cakes attributed to the French Queen Marie Antoinette somewhere in the 18th century. Marie Antoinette was the wife of King Louis XVI, and she was executed in the French Revolution by the angry and hungry people who could not afford bread and certainly not cakes.
The cake is such a wonderful dish. Not only is it usually tasty, but it also serves as a basis for artistic works and has countless versions.
The cake has a very important ceremonial function. It is a must for almost every party, ceremony and holiday.

It is assumed that the first cakes in history were baked in ancient Greece and Egypt. The first cakes were small, heavy and fairly flat, and were eaten at the end of the meal with nuts and honey. In later years the ancient Romans also created their own version of a sweet cake, which was greasy and rich. In many cultures around the world, the cake was often reserved for gods and offered as a gift in temples as a sign of love and reverence.

How to celebrate Cake Day?

  Of course the best way to celebrate the day of the cake is by preparing a cake and eating with family and friends or bring a cake to work and eat with your colleagues. You can also prepare or buy several types of cakes to celebrate the event.

Some interesting facts about cakes:

The cake plays an important role in comedies and protest activities.

In comic films, a cake is thrown into a person's face (the act is called "Pieing") to make people laugh. The first time a cake was thrown in the face of a man as a comedy act in the cinema was in the 1909 silent film "Mr. Flip," starring Ben Turpin.

The first time a cake was hurled at a person's face as an act of protest against something was when Thomas King Forcade, an American activist, an underground journalist and advocate of the legalization of light drugs, threw a cake at the face of sociologist Otto Larsen, chairman of the Presidential Committee on the Study of Abomination and Pornography in 1970.

Have you ever seen an animation on a cake? The talented French artist Alexander Dubosc created a cake that, when it turns, looks like an animated film is going on: Pac-Man eating corn grains, mouths eating popcorn and more. You must see this amazing film.

Link to YouTube video

Pizza means "cake" or "pie" in Italian. (source)

In Brazil, they make cakes with avocado. (source)

The phrase "Let them eat cakes" is not necessarily an original sentence by Marie Antoinette, the spoiled and detached of the people ruler . This sentence first appeared in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Confessions, published in 1767 as an anecdote by one of the former French kingdoms long before the birth of Marie Antoinette.

As part of the Mardi Gras celebrations, a colorful and decorated cake called "King cake" is being prepared in various places around the world. For this cake there are those who put a small plastic baby doll, symbolizing the baby Jesus. According to the belief, whoever gets the piece of cake with the baby will have good luck.

Happy Cake Day greeting cards