Are you afraid of heights?  If not let’s fly up and away into the bright, clear sky. Today is Hot Air Balloon Day, a June 5 holiday. Let’s celebrate these bright and colorful, lighter-than aircraft. They were invented in France in the 1700s. Albuquerque, N.M. hosts the world’s largest hot air balloon festival each year. Over 750 balloons are at the annual festival.

The first manned lighter-than-air balloon flight was on November 11, 1783. The balloons are used, tethered and untethered for a wide variety of purposes. Beginning in the Civil War, armies them used for reconnaissance. Hot air balloons are still used for military and scientific purposes. And, people used them for travel, going from point A to point B. Nowadays, they are mostly limited to air shows and festivals, and hot air balloon rides from a hobby and entertainment perspective.

Did You Know? It is a tradition to break out a bottle of champagne when a balloon lands. It origin of this tradition is unknown.

Song of the Day: Up, Up and Away by the Fifth Dimension.

Record Height: The record is 68,986 feet. Of course, the pilot and co-pilot needed oxygen masks.

Most Famous Hot Air Balloon Movie Scene:  In the Wizard of Oz, the wizard heads back to Kansas in a balloon, without Dorothy. 

Yell and scream today’s news at the top of your lungs. Whoop it up. It’s National Hollerin’ Contest Day. Today, your vice is going to be heard. Spivey’s Corner, North Carolina has a population of about 50 people. But, on National Hollerin’ Contest Day, an estimated 5,000-10,000 people come to enjoy the annual National Hollerin’ Contest. Can you imagine the honor of winning this contest!? It’s definitely something to bellow out to family and friends. 

Perhaps the hardest part about participating in this activity is finding a good place to practice. You can’t just practice in your living room. The neighbors will think you’re yelling at the wife or kids. When you practice in the backyard the dog will begin to howl. It’s best to build a soundproof room in your basement. We recommend going to a canyon to get a little hollerin’ done. The echo will tell you just how good you are.

Did you know? There are different types of “hollers”.  Make sure to learn them all.

Now, rev up the decibels on your vocal cords, and spend today hollerin’ as loud as you can.

Today is a spicy holiday if there ever was one. It’s Herbs and Spices Day, a June 10 holiday. Countless varieties of seasonings are used for culinary purposes. Without them, our food would be very bland and tasteless.  In addition to culinary applications, they have a wide variety of medical uses, too.

Do you enjoy eating? We all do. The basic ingredients in many recipes can be pretty bland. It’s the herbs and spices in those recipes, that enhances and brings out the flavor. Herbs and spices are so important to the enjoyment of food, that it is only fitting that one day of the year is designated as Herb and Spices Day.

From salt and pepper, to basil, oregano, and cinnamon, we use herbs and spices to create culinary wonders. On a low salt diet!? No problem. There are dozens upon dozens of herbs and spices that you can substitute, to thoroughly enjoy your meal without a lot of salt.

We heard the fish are biting. Grab your tackle and gear. Today is Go Fishing Day. Now, this June 18 holiday is my kind of day! It’s a day to go out and bring home a healthy, tasty, meal for the family. It’s hard work sitting in a boat all day under a hot sun just waiting to get a nibble so you can set the hook. But, we’re doing it to feed the family. So, no sacrifice is too great.

Who said fishing is a fun and relaxing sport? Fishing is hard work. The pressure to bring home a “mess of fish” to feed the family is almost unbearable. After all, as the “Hunter-gatherer” of the family, you need to bring home the meal or the family might starve.  My wife doesn’t appreciate the difficult task of fishing for long hours under all sorts of weather conditions. The wife thinks we’re just out having fun. Yeah, right, pass me another beer.

What a beautiful June day. The weather is perfect. It’s time to have some fun. Grab your board and hit the sidewalk (or road).  Today is Go Skateboarding Day, a  fun June 21 holiday. Skateboarding is a popular sport, that just about anyone can enjoy. It’s best enjoyed with a friend or two. And, you never know, someday you might find yourself on your skateboard going for Olympic gold!

It should come as no surprise that skateboarding originated on the west coast of the U.S. Skateboards first appeared in the 1940s. It quickly gained popularity across the U.S. It has gained popularity worldwide. A skateboard is a popular gift for Christmas and birthdays.

June 21 was selected as the date to celebrate this special event, as it is the longest day of the year…. more time to spend on your skateboard!

Go Skateboarding Day was created to make this sport more accessible to everyone, and to make it popular worldwide. On this date, the IASC annually holds skateboarding events in major cities around the world.

It’s a cinch to celebrate this holiday…. simply go skateboarding. Participating with a friend will make the day even more pleasurable.

This is a wonderful day to be a vegetarian. Today is Fresh Veggies Day. On this June 16 holiday, take a vow to eat healthy today (and every day), with fresh veggies for every meal, and for snacks, too. If you are not a vegetarian think about becoming one, at least for today. Your body will like it.

Fresh vegetables are tasty, and far better tasting than canned or frozen vegetables. They are also healthy and highly nutritious. This makes it easy to add fresh vegetables to the menu at every meal, and for snacking. This time of year, there are plenty of fresh vegetables at your local grocery store, or in your backyard vegetable garden.

So relish Fresh Veggies Day with a bountiful supply of fresh-picked veggies.

Find fresh garden veggie recipes

A Case for more Chocolate? Chocolate is made from cocoa beans witch is vegetable matter. So if we eat more chocolate we’re eating more vegetables, right!?

The world is a better place for the existence of this day. Forgiveness Day is today. On this June 26 holiday, we seek to forgive and to be forgiven. Absolution or atonement is deeply rooted in most religions. While humans strive to be good and do good, we find it difficult to do all of the time. But try as we might, humans are far from perfect. Without forgiveness people hold a grudge, relationships fail, and the world sees war and strife. Through giving and receiving forgiveness, the world and our lives are a better place.

Religions Stress Forgiveness

** The Jewish celebration of Yom Kippur is a day of atonement or forgiveness.

** In Christian religions, the first Sunday before Lent is called Forgiveness Sunday.

** Ashura is the Islamic day of atonement or forgiveness.

Need to make a decision, but you don’t know how to decide? Flip a Coin and the answer becomes clear. Today is Flip a Coin Day. Don’t be flippant about this June 1 holiday. It’s the real deal. It’s a day when making decisions is as easy as flipping a coin. We can make both big and small decisions this way. Go ahead, give it a try. The coin toss will always give you the right answer.

This tradition dates back to Julius Caesar. Caesar would take a coin and flip it to make decisions where the right choice was unclear. The correct answer was “heads”, which of course carried his image on the coin.

You can flip a coin to decide on practically any “either-or” question in your life. Mathematically, when you flip a coin, 50% of the time it will land on “heads”. And, 50% of the time, it will come out “tails”.  It’s simple statistics. If you don’t like the decision, will you try for the best two out of three?

Do you have any idea how to celebrate this day? You guessed it…Flip a coin.  Use this method of decision-making for all decisions, and for everything you do today.

National Doughnut Day honors the Salvation Army “Lassies” of WWI. It is also used as a fundraiser for needy causes of the Salvation Army. 

The original Salvation Army Doughnut was first served by Salvation Army in 1917. During WWI, Salvation Army “lassies” were sent to the front lines of Europe. These brave volunteers made home-cooked foods and provided a morale boost to the troops. Soldiers cooked doughnuts in oil inside the metal helmet of an American soldier. The American infantrymen were commonly called doughboys. Salvation Army lassies were the only women outside of military personnel allowed to visit the front lines. The Salvation Army’s “first doughnut girl” was Lt. Colonel Helen Purviance.

On National Doughnut Day, look to see if your local doughnut shop, or other organizations, are offering free donuts to solicit donations for the Salvation Army or another needy cause. If you find them, please be generous.

Did You Know? The official dictionary spelling of the term is “Doughnut” and is most often seen in print. The words “Doughnut” and “Donuts” are synonyms. Both spellings have been around for a long time. While “Doughnut” arrived first, “donut” has been around since the 1800s. If you see the term National Donut Day, it’s the same day.

Happy Birthday, Donald. We hope that Daisy Duck bakes you your favorite cake! Donald Duck Day, a June 9 holiday, is in honor of the Walt Disney Donald Duck cartoon debut. This ducky day is certainly all that it’s quacked up to be. Nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie approve.

Donald first appeared in “The Wise Hen” on June 9, 1934.  While Donald is over 70 years old, he doesn’t act a day over 20. Donald is one of Disney’s most famous and popular characters. His cartoons have been enjoyed by generations of children.

Did you Know? Donald has a middle name. Donald F. Duck’s middle name is “Fauntleroy”.