Monday, June 29, 2009

Summer Celebrations

July is almost here and Americans will soon be celebrating their most popular summer holiday, the Fourth of July, or Independence Day. Fondly referred to as the birthday of the United States, the Fourth of July commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration declared freedom from British rule for the 13 American colonies. The Declaration was not completely signed until August, 1776, but July 4th was adopted as the official anniversary date of American independence, with the first celebration taking place on July 4, 1777. Since the early 1800s, Americans have enjoyed their favorite holiday traditions of fireworks, parades and picnics on Independence Day. All over the United States, the red, white and blue of the American flag, and stars and stripes can be seen decorating everything from plates, tablecloths, banners, and balloons, to clothing, and jewelry.





from Sixsisters













Patriotic Flower Focal
from Zuda Gay















Red, White and Blue Heart Pin in Polymer Clay
from Artsy Clay












American Flag Patriotic Half Circle Window Cling Suncatcher
from Clinging Images







Fourth of July Stemless Wine Glasses
from Glitz N Glass











Stars in the Sky ACEO/Sun Catcher
from Designs by Christine








But did you know that July was chock full of other, lesser-known, and somewhat unusual holidays? According to Holiday Insights, almost every day of the month offers something to celebrate. It seems July is sometimes known as National Blueberry Month, National Hot Dog Month, National Ice Cream Month, National Cell Phone Courtesy Month, and National Anti-Boredom Month!

Many of the holidays are related to food:

July 1 - Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day
July 6 - National Fried Chicken Day
July 7 - National Strawberry Sundae Day
July 7 - Chocolate Day
July 9 - National Sugar Cookie Day
July 12 - Pecan Pie Day
July 15 - Tapioca Pudding Day
July 17 - Peach Ice Cream Day
July 18 - National Caviar Day
July 19 - National Ice Cream Day
July 19 - National Raspberry Cake Day
July 21 - National Junk Food Day
July 23 - National Hot Dog Day
July 23 - Vanilla Ice Cream Day
July 28 - National Milk Chocolate Day
July 29 - National Lasagna Day
July 30 - National Cheesecake Day


Though these "holidays" may not be entirely official or universally confirmed (most have cloudy origins), it is still fun to think about ways to spark up the dog days of summer with entertaining, celebratory activities. So break out of National Anti-boredom Month by doing something special for...

July 10, Teddy Bear Picnic Day






Hand Needle Felted Brownie Bear
from Felt 4 Ewe







July 15, Cow Appreciation Day








Happy Holstein
from Luke18










July 20, Moon Day






African Moon Necklace
from Rosegardenfae









July 2, World UFO Day








Whoa...Spaceships, Quilted Fabric Postcard
from Attack of the Vintage










July 25, Threading the Needle Day









Dragonfly Summer Felted Needle Book
from JN Originals








July 11, Cheer Up the Lonely Day







Summer Original Mixed Media Painting of Sunflower
from Yankeegirl's Watercolors










No matter how you decide to spice up the summer, BBEST wishes you lots of fun and memorable times spent with friends and family!

16 comments:

AltheaP said...

What fun! I love all those strange holidays.

On a Whimsey said...

Great post and pic selection! The holidays could only be American, she said, tongue in cheek ;)

We Brits feel like the parents who let their child (US) grow up and leave home.

Happy 4 July!

circleinthesand said...

hehe, only in America could an entire month be known for it's "Food Holidays". what a fun article!!!

Yankeegirl said...

Oooooo July 7th is Chocolate Day!!!! That is my new favorite holiday!! LOL

As always, a very well written, informative feature. Thanks so much for including my sunflower "Summer" mixed media painting!

Kary said...

Who knew about all these holidays?? ggg Thx for sharing! Love the boomer items!

Zuda Gay Pease said...

Great post, Liv!! Very interesting and what a great selection of items to look at. Hummmm, chocolate day and Cheesecake day!!! I will have to add those to my calendar. :)

Judy Nolan said...

What fun, Liv! I don't know where you dug up all these holidays, but they're great. Thanks for featuring so many BBEST members, too (including my needle book). :-)

Jill said...

Great post!!

Fused Glass said...

Great Blog! Thanks for including my ACEO. Didn't know we had so many holidays to celebrate this month!

blazingneedles said...

Loved it Liv! A great read.

Chauncey said...

ohhh we get to celebrate something all month. How fun! Great post, Liv.

gloria said...

This can give us all kinds of ideas! Really good blogpost! Very informative and delightful.

Jean Levert Hood said...

great selections from some of my most favorite boomers!!

joon said...

I'm a little late to the party but this is wonderful, fil! One of the joys of living in America is the spirit of celebration. If only this delight in seemingly common culture were adopted by every nation, how much happier a place this sweet planet of ours would be. Let's spread the fun! Thanks, fil!

Pam said...

Loved the celebrate post! Learned a lot and realized I'm now waaaay behind in my celebrations! Great job creating new celebrations with their accompany art pieces. Wonderful selections. Very clever post! What fun!

summer celebrations said...

great post and great selections of boomers thanks