Chocolate candy lovers rejoice! Today is a sweet day. It is National Fudge Day. On this June 16 holiday, we celebrate this irresistible, fabulous, sugary sweet confection. A great way to enjoy this holiday is to go to a candy store that makes fresh fudge right in front of your eyes. Can you pass up the opportunity to sample some fudge when you enter a candy shop? We think not. And, once you’ve tasted a sample or two, it’s nearly impossible to walk out of the store without buying some to eat later at the beach or in front of the television as a late-night snack. 

The meaning of the word has changed over time. In the 17th century, well before the candy was first created, the word “Fadge” was used as a verb meaning “to clumsily fit together or adjust”. A form of this meaning is in use today. For example, we may be working on a difficult estimate and decide to “fudge it”. In the early 1800s, the word meant a “hoax or to cheat”. To this day, kids use the term “Oh, Fudge” as an expletive. Of course, today it has a much sweeter meaning, bringing thoughts of decadent joy.

Fudge is enjoyed around the world. It is a very versatile candy, too. Flavors and varieties are almost unlimited. Can you think of a food item to put into a batch of fudge? How about a combination of items? chances are someone is already ahead of you and has successfully given it the taste test.

For the Record: The largest slab of fudge ever made weighed 5,760 pounds. The Northwest Fudge Factory produced this slab of fudge in Levack, Ontario, Canada, on October 23, 2010.

Today is a great food holiday. It is Italian Cannoli Day. A Cannolo is a true culinary delight. These wonderful cookies are filled with calories, and they are carb-rich. But, put aside your diet on this June 16 holiday. You don’t want to pass it by without enjoying a few cookies. A thousand or so years ago, this cannoli cookie was first created in Italy. A cookie this good cannot be kept secret for very long. It is popular around the world. Now you find them in Italian bakeries, Italian restaurants, delis, as well as the bakery department of your local grocery store.

Cannoli is not hard to make. They are tubular-shaped pastries. First, the dough is shaped and fried. Then, it is stuffed with a filling consisting of ricotta cheese and sugar. Depending upon what recipe you choose to use, you can include a wide variety of other ingredients to the filling, including chocolate chips, nuts, lemon or orange zest, and even bits of fruit. Finally, you can be creative when decorating the outside of the cannoli. Here are some ideas: dust them with powdered sugar, drizzle chocolate over them, or place pieces of fruit or a sprig of mint aside of the cannoli.

People enjoy cannoli any time of the year. Along with other Italian cookies, they are a “must-have” at weddings, funeral receptions, banquets, and any type of party or celebration. If you’re organizing the event, buy plenty of extras, as they go very fast.

One Big Cannolo: The largest cannolo ever was made on November 9, 2014, by the Lactalis American Group, Inc., at the Feast of Little Italy Italian Festival in Jupiter, Florida. It weighed 262.5 pounds.

Milk, it does a body good. Except if you’re lactose intolerant, that is. Because this healthy and nutritious drink is so good for you, it is only fitting that World Milk Day exists to celebrate its benefits and the entire dairy industry. This June 1 holiday was created by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to promote the industry and the goodness of milk. 

Since its inception in 2001, this holiday has continued to grow in participation. Over 100 countries now celebrate World Milk Day. Led by diary companies and organizations, this holiday features campaigns to promote various aspects of the dairy industry and dairy products. Each year a theme is established. Organizations then create campaigns centered around the theme for the year. Educational programs, seminars, efforts to improve the dairy industry, and other activities are held on this holiday.

Have it your way today. You can select from whole milk, 2%, 1%, or skim milk. If you’d prefer, add some chocolate syrup to it. New dairy products come on the market constantly for you to sample. And, certainly enjoy the many products made from milk. This includes butter, cheese, and ice cream. On this holiday, you should enjoy dairy products at all meals and snacks.

Without a doubt, many of you who read about this holiday initially think “What a dirty bird. Why do we have Pigeon Appreciation Day?” After you finish reading this article, you will likely become a fan of pigeons and celebrate this June 13 holiday. For example, we will describe to you how a single pigeon is credited with saving the lives of 194 American servicemen during World War I. That alone is a reason to celebrate pigeons in my book.

Pigeons get a bad rap, largely because there are so many of them on city streets scrounging for a free meal. But they are not dirty birds and do not spread disease as some believe. Pigeons are entertaining to watch. Just sit on a park bench and watch them in action. And while you are watching, feed them. Chances are they will remember you the next time you sit on a park bench. They remember the hand that feeds them.

Perhaps the best example of how people love pigeons is in the movie Mary Poppins (1964). In the movie, she is the nanny for two children who go on to feed the birds as Mary Poppins sings “Feed the Birds, Tuppence a Bag”. Do you know what those birds were? You guessed it, pigeons. 

Did You Know? “Tuppence” is another word for two pence. It’s 3-4 U.S. cents.

The original World War II D-Day occurred on June 6, 1944, On this historic day Allied troops invaded the beaches of Normandy, France. It is the largest amphibious assault in world history. This massive, bloody battle was the turning point of the war in the European theater.  

On this day, 156,000 troops from the United States, Great Britain, and Canada stormed five beaches. American troops landed on Omaha and Utah beaches. At the same time, British troops landed on Gold and Sword Beach. And, Canadian forces landed on Juno Beach. 4,000 Allied troops died on these beaches on D-Day, and 2,000 of them were American.

Please take a moment of silence today, and thank the many soldiers who fought and died for our country on D-Day.

The 1970s was a world a crazy time. A lot was wrong with the world and the country. But, something good came out of these tumultuous times. People became aware of the harm being done by humans to our environment. And so, the United Nations created World Environment Day. This June 5 holiday seeks government and political action to change our environment for the good. One could argue not a lot of progress has been made. On the contrary, positive steps are being made. It’s just not as much or as quickly as we desire.

World Environment Day focuses attention on important environmental issues. It is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.”

The United Nations selects a different theme every year. Each year, a different city is selected to host World Environment Day celebrations.

World Rainforest Day is a recently new holiday. This June 22 holiday was created in 2017 to raise awareness of the importance of rainforests around the world for the health of the Earth, and ultimately for your health, too.  Rainforests are just 6% of the land mass of our planet. And they are decreasing at an alarming rate. It is time to pay attention to this vital asset and reverse the trend of shrinking rainforest areas.

Tropical rainforests do many good things for the Earth and its inhabitants. 20% of the oxygen we breathe, comes from rainforests. They offer many other benefits, including the absorption of harmful carbon dioxide, and stabilizing climates. About half the plant and animal species on the planet call rainforests their home. The diversity, and potential of these areas is nothing short of astonishing.

Tropical rainforests exist all over the world. We all know the biggest, the Amazon located in South America. Most of us know of the tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia, too. However, there are many rainforests around the world. Some of them are in places you would never think of. There are rainforests in the United States, including Hawaii, the Appalachians, and even Alaska. There is a rainforest on Vancouver Island in Canada, too.  

Did you know? While we think of rainforests in tropical areas, not all rainforests are in the tropics. 

Oceans are immensely important and vital to humans. It feeds us, producing vast amounts of fish and seafood. We sail it, to bring people and cargo to and from places around the world. There’s recreational boating, too. We swim in it. Oceans are so important to us, that it is only fitting that a day… today… is World Ocean Day.  On this global June 8 holiday, we celebrate our oceans and work towards maintaining and improving their health and cleanliness. As the health of our oceans goes, so goes the health of the entire planet.

Oceans comprise about 71% of the surface of the earth. With their immense size, you would think it is very hard to pollute our oceans. Well, we happen to be doing a pretty good job polluting them.

As if global warming (man-made) was damaging our oceans enough, we humans are exacting a terrible toll on the health of oceans, adding immeasurable amounts of pollutants each and every year.

Use this special day, to become more knowledgeable about how we are polluting the oceans with litter of all kinds, from just about any source you can imagine. Tsunamis devastate coastal areas and drag pollutants into the sea. A Tsunami in Japan resulted in tons of trash washing up on U.S. west coast beaches. Oil is leaked from oil rigs, ships, and boats. Plastics, which take many years to break down, of all kinds, find their way into our seas. Plastics, in particular, can have a devastating effect on marine life.

A clean and healthy ocean translates to healthy marine life. This results in safe and healthy seafood that you and I consume.

What can you do on World Ocean Day, to improve the health of our oceans?

Waffle Iron Day, a Jue 29 holiday, celebrates this great kitchen gadget that makes tasty waffles. Waffles are cooked between two metal plates. A waffle iron is powered by electricity to heat the plates and create light waffles ready for you to top with syrup, and/or your favorite fruits.

Waffles are not just for breakfast. They are good for lunch or dinner, too.  Belgian waffles are popular for dinner. You can load them up with lots of fruits, whipped cream, nuts, and syrups. 

The origin of the waffle:  The waffle dates back to the 1300s in Greece. Greeks cooked flat cakes between two metal pans. At the time, they topped it with cheeses and herbs. Sorry, pancake syrup wasn’t around back then.

You do know how to celebrate this day…….don’t you!? If you don’t have a waffle iron, today is a good day to go out and buy one. There are also waffle and mini-waffle makers to choose from. If you are too busy to make waffles yourself, buy some frozen in your grocery store, or order them out at a restaurant.

Back in the 1980s and 1990’s, video cassette recorders were “the” home recording and playback format. The VCR cassette contained magnetic tape, which you could record on and erase over and over again. Just about everyone had a VCR player. You could tape TV shows and movies for playback later. The marketplace offered VCR cassettes with recent movies. VCR Day, a June 7 holiday, celebrates the VCR tape cassette players.

While VCR usage peaked in the 1980s and 1990s, the very first VCR available for commercial sale was released in 1956, by Ampex Corporation in the United States. It did not come into widespread use until the late 1970s. For a short period, the VCR format competed against the Betamax (Beta) tape format. Near the turn of the century, compact discs and DVDs arrived with better quality and longer storage. They quickly replaced VCRs in the marketplace.

During its heyday, VCR cassettes also were used in recording movies in home video cameras. They largely replaced long popular 8mm and Super 8mm movie films, for the average amateur user.

If you are a younger reader, ask Mom and Dad, or Grandpa and Grandma about VCRs. Chances are they have a VCR recorder, and some cassette tapes buried somewhere in their basement. You may even find that you are on some of those cassettes, recording a childhood birthday, dance recital, or graduation.

Like so many other formats, it became outdated as new, better formats are invented. As time goes by, fewer and fewer people are celebrating Video Cassette Day, as this outdated technology fades from memory. Kids growing up today, have no idea what it is. For at least a few more years, those of us old enough to remember the popular VCR will continue to celebrate this day.