April 1: April Fools Day
In 16th century France, New Year's was celebrated from March 25 to April 1. King Charles IX adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582 - and suddenly the new year began Jan 1. Many people refused to switch or simply forgot the new date. They were called "April Fish", and their celebrations turned into silly pranks. This "fooling" eventually became a holiday of it's own. It later became a custom in England - and the English brought it to the U.S.
April 3: Betty Boop Day
Betty Boop began her life as a dog. Designed by Fleischer studio and animator Grim Natwick, her first appearance was August 8, 1930, in "Dizzy Dishes." She was a dog, singing to another dog. She was drawn as a person in "Kitty from Kansas City" in 1931. During the 1930s, there were over 100 Betty Boop cartoons made - the last one, "Yip Yip Yippy", in 1939. Betty was in retirement until 1988, where she returned to the big screen in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" - the only "toon" in black and white. Loveable Betty is still highly popular today.
April 5: Bell Bottoms Day
Maybe a big fashion trend, but sailors discovered them first - because they were so practical. Bell-bottom pants were easy to roll up and keep dry when swabbing the deck on the ships. They were also fast and easy to pull off if you fell overboard and needed to swim. Who would have guessed these pants would become such a craze in the 60's and be the hot item for men, women and kids.
April 9: Safety Pin Day
Before buttonholes, the world got dressed with pins. The Romans fastened their robes at the shoulder with a straight pin that had a coil in the middle allowing it to bend. This evolved into a U-shaped pin about 1000 B.C. - and pin makers eventually started to cover the sharp end with wire. During the late Middle Ages, the British decided pins should only be sold on certain days of the year. Women began saving "pin money" to go to the shops to buy their pins.
April 9: Name Yourself Day Her name was Edna Annabella Jean. Back in the 1970's that was a very unusual name to come upon, but I did and she became one of my best friends. "Where did a name like that come from?" I remember asking her on the walk home from school. Her answer was simple... "My mom is Edna, my grandmother is Annabelle, and my mom's sister who passed away when she was young was named Jean."
No one really knows what makes parents come up with the names they choose for their children, but on April 9th if you or your children don't like your name, you will be happy to know it is "Name Yourself Day." Name Yourself Day is your chance to give yourself whatever name you'd like...but only for one day. Participating in Name Yourself Day is simple and easy, go ahead and give it a try. Change your first, middle or last name, or change them all. Give yourself a cool and catchy nickname. Once you've selected your name, you've got to communicate it to all of your family and friends. This could prove to be the hard part because it will likely take time for your new name to catch on. Have fun with it!
April 12: Hot Dog Day
Hot dogs are really "frankfurters" and were first made in Frankfurt, Germany. But, people called them "dachshund sausage," because they looked like the dog. In the U.S., the German sausages were popular with New York baseball fans - vendors sold them in sandwiches by yelling, "Get your dachshund sausages while they're red hot." In a newspaper cartoon, the vendors were shown selling real dogs inside a roll, yelling "Get your hot dogs!" The name stuck.
April 13: Rubber Eraser Day
Yes, we all make mistakes, so erasers are good. But, they weren't always called erasers. They were originally called "rubbers" because the tree resin used to make them "rubbed out" marks made by pencils - and they are still called "rubbers" in Great Britain today. The first patent for attaching an eraser to a pencil was issued in 1858, but many pencils are still sold without erasers.
None of them are at my house.
April 13: Scrabble Day My morning starts out pretty much the same everyday. Turn on the computer, check my email, answer my email and go directly to pogo.com and start my game of scrabble! I love to play with the computer robots because they are a lot faster at coming up with words and I don't like to extend extra time to real people who come into my game room so they leave and I am right back to robots.
When I first started playing Scrabble on the Internet and needed to walk away for a second, I would ask my son to make words for me. Now, he loves it as much as I do and has become a very good speller. We both still love to play the board version and every holiday after our tournament of the game TROUBLE we still do play the game.
Scrabble Day celebrates the popular board game. Scrabble was created in 1938 by Alfred Mosher Butts, and has been popular around the world ever since. People young and old enjoy this game, which is sold by Hasbro, Inc. It is very easy to celebrate Scrabble Day. Just get out the old board game, dust it off, and play a few rounds with family or friends.
April 14: Fortune Cookie Day
Fortune cookies, like chop suey, are a U.S. invention. They come from Los Angeles where a baker named David Jung started making cookies with thin slips of paper inside sometime around 1920. Jung founded the Hong Kong Noodle Company, which produced more than 3,000 cookies an hour during the 1920s.
April 17: Cheese Ball Day
Yes, they are usually only seen on special occasions, but... why? Easy to make, a cheese ball can be a treat for your next night of cards or just a fun snack when renting a movie. Plan ahead so it has time to chill - then get your favorite crackers out and dig in!
April 21: Jelly Bean Day
Jelly candies (sugar and flavored water) have been putting smiles on the faces of kids for centuries - starting with the Romans. When penny candy was popular during the 1800's, gumdrops and jellybeans were the biggest sellers - and nothing replaced them in popularity until people fell in love with the chocolate bar. Blueberry jellybeans were invented so President Reagan could serve red, white and blue jellybeans at his inaugural ball.
April 23: Garlic Breath Day
Garlic was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, chewed by Greek Olympian athletes and thought to drive vampires away. It's also good for keeping your heart healthy and warding off colds. With all of these benefits, who's going to worry about a little bad breath!
April 25: Tuna Sandwich Day
Is tuna fish about to replace peanut butter and jelly as everyone's favorite sandwich filling? It looks like the answer is "yes"! Canned tuna has been around for 100 years and is a staple in 85% of American kitchens. A rich source of protein, it's also low fat and has lots of other nutrients. But, for sandwich lovers, versatility is the key. Starting with a base of tuna and mayonnaise, you can go on a sandwich adventure. Almost anything can be blended with tuna. Experiment!
