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"National" Days Definition

Walk on Stilts Day

Date When Celebrated : This holiday is always held on July 27

If ever there was a day to stand tall amidst your peers, today is the day to do so. Today is Walk on Stilts Day. With a pair of stilts and a little practice, you can be a full participant in this tall day. Considered a hobby or a sport, stilt walking takes skill and practice. While stilt walking is not for everyone, chances are you've been on them at least once when you were a kid. If that was a long time ago, don't worry. Stilt walking is like riding a bike.... once you've learned it, you never forget. If you've never been on a pair of stilts, you had a sheltered childhood.  

Stilts have a long and lofty history. Stilts were first used in the sixth century B.C. in ancient Greece. Stilts have been used for a wide variety of applications. In ancient times, shepherds would mount the stilts to get a bird's eye view, as they watched over their sheep. Got a tall fruit tree? Stilts have been used in the harvest. The drywall and construction industry uses them today, to reach high places. Stilts were used in jousting contests, too. We see stilts most often used for entertainment at the circus, in theaters, at parades and at many street events.  Circus clowns, jugglers and entertainers all use stilts. There are many career professional stilt walkers among us.

Stand out in a crowd by hopping onto a pair of stilts. If you are about to mount stilts for the first time, begin with a pair that is short... low to the ground. Once you've mastered your first pair of stilts, you can easily graduate to taller and taller ones. Looking for stilts to get started? You might not find them at a toy or hobby store. But, they are easy to acquire online.

For the Record According to Guinness World Book of Records, the world's tallest stilt was 53' 10" (16.41 m). The record was set on November 15, 2006 by Saimaiti Yiming of Xinjiang, China. Yiming took ten steps on the stilts without a safety net. In case you didn't know, a stilt is measured from the ground to the ankle.

Thought for Today: " You can make more friends in two months by being interested in other people, than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." - - Dale Carnegie

 

 This special holiday was created by Bill "Stretch" Coleman of Denver, CO. Stretch is a professional stilt walker. Stretch said he could not remember when he created it, but it was about 20 years ago. So, we'll estimate its creation was in 2000.

As for why Stretch Coleman created this day, here is what he told us: " I founded the day to encourage more folks to take up stilt walking for sport, hobby or career. With increased height, one's perspective changes in many ways. Suddenly, things that were over the horizon are visible. You are more aware of balance and surroundings. Your thinking changes for the good.  Walk tall and stretch your imagination!"

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Holiday Insights, where every day in July is a holiday, a bizarre or wacky day, an observance, or a special event. Join us in the daily calendar fun each and every day of the year.

Did You Know? There are literally thousands of daily holidays, special events and observances, more than one for every day of the year. Many of these holidays are new. More holidays are being created on a regular basis. July holidays are no exception. At Holiday Insights, we take great efforts to thoroughly research and document the details of each one, as completely and accurately as possible.

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