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127 years ago, Auguste and Louis Lumière started the motion picture industry. The brothers showed 10 short films, to an audience of 33 paying customers, in Paris France. The moving pictures showed ordinary events, and each movie was less than 1 minute long, but the audience was amazed. Today, Short Film Day, commemorates that movie history moment.
Get your favorite deck of cards out, because today is Card Playing Day! Do you know how to play Crazy 8’s, War, or Rummy? Or try another card game, like Uno. It’s also Chocolate Candy Day, so you could also learn to play Poker, and bet with chocolate, then eat all your winnings!
The Farallon Islands, off the coast of California, were once home to 150,000 elephant seals and fur seals. The seals were hunted until there were none left in the area. Hunting bans and wilderness protection laws have helped bring the population back, and this year saw the birth of 1,276 seal pups!
What do you do when it’s Visit The Zoo Day, but it’s the middle of a snowstorm? You visit the zoo virtually! Many zoos have livecams, to watch animals from home. See the elephants, on the National Zoo’s Elephant-Cam, view Vancouver Aquarium’s hypnotic Jellyfish-Cam, or watch insects at work, on Houston Zoo’s Leafcutter Ant-Cam.
Today is Make Cut-Out Snowflakes Day. Fold a square of paper in half, then in half again. Cut the corners off your folded square, then unfold it. See? The more cuts and folds you make, the fancier it will be! Look up a pattern online, to make a Mandalorian and Baby Yoda snowflake!
Today is Fruitcake Day! Fruitcake has a bad reputation, but it’s really a delicious cake made with candied fruit and nuts. Ancient Romans used pomegranate seeds and pine nuts. Honey and spices were added in the Middle Ages. One family, keeps a fruitcake as a family heirloom. Their great-great-grandmother, Fidelia Ford, baked it in 1878!
A cat in Wyoming made a Christmas to remember, when he got stuck in a chimney. People heard the cat meowing, but couldn’t reach it. Police officers tried dropping objects down the chimney to scare it out, but they eventually had to squeeze into the fireplace, and grab him. Nobody was injured or clawed.
Today is Candy Cane Day. For centuries, candy canes were peppermint-flavored, red-and-white-striped, sticks of candy. In recent years, the flavors have expanded to include fruit punch, cinnamon, and watermelon, with bright colors to match. Those seem fine, but you can also get mac-and-cheese, ham, pickle, rotisserie chicken, pizza, or clam candy canes! Yuck!
Did you receive any presents over the holidays? Today is Thank You Note Day, so write an old-fashioned letter to say thanks! It’s also Whiners Day. You’re allowed to complain about anything, except for what you didn’t get for Christmas! The day was created to encourage people to be thankful for what you have!
December 26th, St Stephen’s Day, is known as Boxing Day in many countries. It’s named for the Christmas box some employers give to their employees, or the donation box outside churches. In Ireland, it’s also the Day of the Wren. Straw-costumed Wrenboys parade through town, singing and dancing, and collecting money for charity.