When is National Pumpkin Day you ask!? Why it is today, an October 26 holiday. That makes today a very special day. Why do pumpkins deserve a holiday in their honor? It’s because pumpkins are such an important part of our lives from early September and all the way to Thanksgiving. We grow them, decorate with them, and carve them. And, we creatively play with them for pumpkin games and in many other ways. Why, some folks make pumpkins into a boat and race them at festivals.

Finally, we eat them in countless recipes. It has a great taste and blends well with many other fruits and vegetables. No other fruit or vegetable claims anywhere near the amount of attention we give to these bright orange orbs. Interest in pumpkins begins with the fall harvest in September. It peaks on Halloween. But, their presence continues all the way to the Thanksgiving dessert tray.

There’s no better time to celebrate National Pumpkin Day. This holiday is perfectly placed just before Halloween.  As a result, it is not overshadowed by the Halloween hoopla. Indeed, the beloved and versatile pumpkin gets its day of well-deserved honor, and I might add a generous amount of glory.

Early humans in Central America have cultivated pumpkins dating back to 5,000 – 7,000 B.C. We’ve had a long time to grow our relationship and develop ways to use this fruit. For several thousand years, it was primarily used as a source of food. Then, Man discovered medicinal uses, too. Among the early medicinal applications include treatment for snake bites and as a cure for freckles. In more recent centuries, medical researchers discovered the seeds help fight prostate cancer. It wasn’t until more recent centuries that we began to use pumpkins for decorating, carving, and most recently for play.

Today is World Food Day. The United Nations Food & Agricultural Organization (FAO) created this October 16 holiday to create campaigns to improve the supply and health of the world’s food supply. It’s not just about ending starvation. While that’s an important part of it, the goals for this holiday also include ensuring the sustainability of food supplies, increasing the quality of foods, and creating more eco-friendly methods of food production, infrastructure, and distribution. They are lofty goals. But, the participating companies and organizations in over 150 countries strive to make steady and consistent improvements. And, no effort is too small.

Each year, the FAO issues a theme for the year. Participating groups then create food awareness campaigns using the theme for the year. These campaigns promote improvements, sustainability, educational awareness, and more. All organizations, companies, and groups are encouraged to participate. Schools are a great place to provide education about food-related issues and what we can do as individuals to help to make improvements.

Did You Know? The United Nations estimates over 793 million people around the world are starving. And, about 842 million people are under-nourished.

Important Question? What will you do this year to improve the quantity, quality, or sustainability of the world’s food supply?

Today is Tender Loving Care Day. With a special emphasis on seniors among us, this special holiday calls our attention to those in need. The definition needs is broad ranging and unlimited in scope. As we go through our busy daily lives, it’s all too easy to forget about our seniors. Today’s special holiday also draws our attention to the needs of other people as well. This can include children, people with disabilities, and virtually anyone. Use Tender Loving Care Day to identify how you can make a positive difference in someone’s life. Without a doubt, you will find your actions rewarding.

What can you do to assist a senior or to improve their quality of life? Is there a child in need? Is there a person with a disability that you can help? These are the types of questions to ask yourself today. Then, do something for those in need.

While this holiday is but one day of the year, we challenge you to give tender loving care to those in need on a regular basis.

World Vegetarian Day is an October 1 holiday. It encourages us all to eat our vegetables and fruits. Countless studies have proven that a diet filled with fruits and vegetables is good for our health. Vegetarians have taken this path either for their health, or from a conviction that they should not eat, and therefore, kill animals.

A vegetarian, by definition, eats no meat. That includes fish and other forms of seafood. Bottom line is, that a vegetarian eats no animal. Their diet consists of plants….fruits and vegetables. They are ethically and morally opposed to killing animals for food.  They are also against the poor treatment of animals at farms ad slaughterhouses.

There are plenty of groups and organizations that support this effort. If you are considering becoming a vegetarian, a quick web search or a lookup in your local phone directory should produce a group near you. While you are online, check out the wide range of sites offering vegetarian recipes.  

This day is used to promote awareness of the issues and encourages others to become vegetarians. Seeing as fruits and vegetables are very healthy for you, World Vegetarian Day is a good day to try a vegetarian diet. You might just be surprised at how good it tastes, too.

Tip: If you’re not quite ready to become a full-fledged vegetarian, alter your diet in this direction. It might be easier to become one over a period of time, versus all at once. 

Homemade Garden recipes – Make your own vegetarian treats today.

World Teachers Day is today, an October 5 holiday. Teachers deserve a little recognition, and some thanks and appreciation. Aside from parents and direct family, who else has as much influence on the hearts and minds of a child… your child? Teachers not only educate, but they help to shape and frame your child’s beliefs, values, and behaviors.

Parents and students are encouraged to offer thanks and recognition today. A simple “thanks”, or an ecard is sufficient.  

BTW: An apple a day may keep the doctor away. But, teachers do in fact love to get apples.

Be an apple expert. See Apple Trivia

If you are a teacher, Happy World Teacher Day!

Let the sunshine in! Today is World Smile Day. This October holiday celebrates the ever-popular yellow smiley. It also offers us an opportunity to do an act of kindness. According to the World Smile Day website, a proclamation of this day was made by the U.S. Congress. Now that certainly should put a smile on your face.

The smiley face became so popular that the U.S. Post Office issued a stamp with the smiley face. The yellow smiley stands brightly smiling upon this day, offering its stamp of approval.

The intent of World Smile Day is to do an act of kindness or help one person to smile. To that end, why not do both!?

Today’s Theme Song: Aquarius – Let the Sunshine In (1969) sung by the West End Orchestra & Singers. 

World Pasta Day is today, an October 25 holiday. The world loves pasta. So, it should come as no surprise to discover that this special day promotes the consumption of it around the world. It seeks to increase awareness of the benefits of eating it. Pasta meals are real budget stretchers. When money is tight, people eat more and more inexpensive pasta. Spaghetti is the most popular variety, followed by macaroni in second place.

Each year on World Pasta Day, events are held to help spread the word about it’s nutritional value. The National Pasta Association and manufacturers sponsor these events and activities.

World Opera Day, a musical October 25 holiday, celebrates an important musical art form. The Opera was born over 400 years ago in Italy. It has been entertaining millions of people around ever since. Surprisingly, World Opera Day was not created until 2019. Operas are musical performances, combining theater and singing. Divas who perform arias in the opera can reach a pitch so high, that it breaks glass. Operas are typically performed in an Opera House, complete with an orchestra. The main character actors are singers, who perform their lines in song. Costumes and scenes are very important components of the opera performance.  

The objective of this special holiday is to gain an appreciation and promote the art of the opera. This day is intended to encourage you to participate, by either performing in an opera or going to an opera to watch and hear it. IF you have high hopes of becoming a diva and singing an aria in front of a huge crowd, then today is your day to take action Go try out. Perhaps you will become a star of the theater. You never know until you try.

What’s all the egg-citement about? Why that’s because today is World Egg Day! This October holiday celebrates and promotes their benefits to your health.. It is truly a world, or international celebration, from China and New Zealand to Great Britain and Mexico.

This is no yolk. Eggs certainly are what they are cracked up to be. Aside from high cholesterol, they are healthy food. High in nutrition, and low in fat, people all over the world enjoy them. And, we all get to celebrate them on this day.

1,000-Year-old Eggs! Now here’s a yummy treat. Buried in the ground for some time, they are a real treat in China.

If you forget to celebrate this day, you will have egg on your face as everyone else will indeed remember it. We can think of a dozen reasons to enjoy this holiday to the fullest. We know eggs-actly how people begin this special day. Have a couple of scrambled eggs for breakfast. At lunch, an egg and olive sandwich sounds perfect. Then, for dinner, you can enjoy an omelet., lunch, or dinner. And, there’s oh so much more you can do with them.

World Farm Animals Day, an October 2 holiday, is mainly about animal rights. This day was created in memory of Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu spiritual leader in the country of India. Among the many things, Gandhi taught was non-violence and treating all living beings with respect. This teaching is all-inclusive. This means fair and humane treatment of farm animals, too. This event was created to draw attention to the poor treatment and plight of animals on some farms in many parts of the world.

To many of us, there is surely a certain happiness and joy when we see or think of farm animals. We don’t usually think about the fact, that they are a source of food, too. This day is designed to be an annual protest, against factory farms and slaughterhouses, especially those that treat the animals cruelly. This also extends to abandoned and abused animals anywhere in the world.   

Did You Know? A cow is sacred in India. As a result, you cannot harm them or eat them. 

Today’s Theme Song: Old McDonald Had a Farm.