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.

World Card Making Day is a special October day. You do not have to be a kid to participate in this holiday. Rather, people of all ages can enjoy this holiday. It encourages everyone in the whole wide world, to make a homemade greeting card. Certainly, the card companies won’t like that! Besides, a homemade greeting card is far less expensive than a store bought one.

How many people are on your list? Make a greeting card for each of them. Then, mail them or give them out in person… that’s more fun. You can make a card for literally every occasion. There are plenty of Ecard greeting card sites where you can prepare and send a card, too. But, nothing says “I care” more than a handmade card that you make right at home.

Homemade greeting cards are usually made of construction paper. Also, you can make a card from a greeting card software package right on your computer. Use your own words to get a message across to the recipient. Decorate it with pictures and images. Finally, print it out using construction paper or cardstock.  I bet you will find making cards so much fun, that you will create more than one card.

When you make a homemade card today, don’t feel bad for the big card companies. They make plenty of money off the cards you send the other 364 days of the year.

White Cane Safety Day, an October 15 holiday, celebrates and recognizes the achievements of the blind and visually impaired, and their independence. That independence is represented by the white cane that they use to travel from place to place. This day is not about helping them across the street. Rather, it is about helping blind people to live and function independently.

The white cane is an invaluable tool for the blind. It affords blind people freedom of movement they otherwise may not have. Accordingly, the white cane is a well-recognized symbol of independence.

Of course, if you know someone who is blind or visually impaired, celebrate this day with him or her. Also, we suggest you let them take you for a walk.

Virus Appreciation Day is today, an October 3 holiday.  It allows us to show a little respect for nasty viruses. Only a few years ago, we wouldn’t have given viruses or this holiday much thought.  With the arrival of COVID, Monkeypox, and a resurgence of polio, we all are giving viruses a whole lot more attention, if not respect. As for appreciation, let’s show our appreciation for the progress that the medical and scientific world is making for both prevention and treatment. As those communities work towards eradicating these diseases, let’s practice personal protection methods as we deem appropriate fo ourselves and our families.

Unfortunately, the creators of this day did not identify themselves. Nor, did they leave a record of what kind of viruses we are supposed to appreciate on this day. Human, animal, and computer viruses readily come to mind. We sure can appreciate the seriousness and significance of both human and computer viruses. 

So, let’s dedicate today to appreciating that viruses can be very serious, if not deadly. If Covid has taught us anything it’s that viruses can be persistent and evolving. So, let’s take measures to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and even our computers. to minimize the risk of serious viruses.

Perhaps Virus Appreciation Day would be better if titled Virus Awareness and Protection Day. That would make much more sense. When we find the creators of this special day, we will recommend the name change to them.