What to Celebrate April 6 thru 12, 2020
Celebration Ideas for April 6 – 12, 2020
Well it’s official. April is cancelled in many states. And many countries too for that matter. At least one state has already cancelled May too. 😕
But we can’t crawl into bed & curl up under the covers for a month. Or two. Keeping to some sort of routine and finding ways, however small, to enjoy each day are important to our mental health.
So we continue to bring you ideas for bringing some brightness into each day.
You might cook some new foods. Or an old favorite. Maybe discover an “excuse” to be creative. Or lazy.
And there’s always an opportunity to learn about a topic of the day.
So keep seizing each day in whatever way you can. Start by taking time now to take a peek and plan your week.
And yes, remember to …
Enjoy!
Celebrate All April Long
April is all about the animals! Adopting them, keeping them safe, and just overall loving them. Sounds like a great month.
Adopt a Ferret Month: There’s more than dogs & cats at your local shelters. You’ll find ferrets there too! They’re fun (& funny!) little critters, so if you’ve been thinking about getting one (or more), this is the perfect time to adopt. Not that there’s a wrong time … (Just remember, your shelter’s adoption procedures may have changed & you may not be able to just walk in).
Adopt a Greyhound Month: Don’t want to adopt a sleek little ferret? How about a sleek, not-so-little, and very fast Greyhound? There are always Greyhounds, many of them retired racing dogs, looking for good homes. If you can’t adopt one yourself, consider donating to a rescue that specializes in them.
Pet First Aid Awareness Month: Do you know what to do if your pet is choking or bleeding? How about doing CPR on a dog or cat? While most of us never need to do this, we never know for sure. And isn’t it better to be prepared & not need it than to need it but not be prepared?
Frog Month: Frogs are fascinating! And useful. Yes, really. They eat nasty insects you’d rather not have around. So they certainly deserve a month of recognition. If you have a pet frog, get it something new for its habitat. Or some extra-yummy food. If not, take some time to learn more about frogs.
National Heartworm Awareness Month: Learn about how heartworm affects dogs and cats. And why prevention is so important, especially in cats. You didn’t know cats could get heartworm? Sadly they can. And there’s no good treatment for them. 😥
Prevent Lyme in Dogs Month: Dogs can get Lyme Disease the same way people do: by being bitten by a tick carrying a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi. If you live in or visit tick-infested areas, check both yourself and your dog thoroughly for ticks after coming back inside. You can also get your dog vaccinated against Lyme if it’s common where you live.
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month: Learn how to recognize the signs of animal cruelty and what you can do to help. Get some ideas here.
Weekly Celebrations for April 6 to 12
Bats did not cause this pandemic, so let’s give them some love this week. Also learn about all the different things that make up this thing we call “public health.” And as long as you’re spending so much time at home, take some time to think about safety. Specifically window safety.
Bat Appreciation Week (April 5 – 11, 2020): On April 17 we have Bat Appreciation Day. But bats deserve more than one day of appreciation for all they do for us! They eat icky insects, pollinate yummy foods, and more. Luckily others agree. So we give them a whole week of appreciation in early April. And again in October! Plus there’s Bat Appreciation Month in October! Does that sound like a lot of batty holidays? It’s not, because too many people still think of bats as scary, disease-ridden pests to be eradicated. Spend this week learning why they’re actually important & help spread a positive message about these misunderstood cuties.
National Public Health Week (April 6 – 12, 2020): These days we’re all quite aware of public health! But public health is more than managing a pandemic. It’s health education, mental health, environmental health, and even economics. Learn more about how public health affects us all for this week. And consider joining the Billion Steps Challenge, because we can all still get out & move (properly distanced, of course!).
National Window Safety Week (April 5 – 11, 2020): How much do you think about your windows? Probably not much. But it’s a good idea to consider which windows you can escape from in an emergency. And also how to ensure nobody (especially children) can fall out of an open window. Get a safety brochure & checklist to help you ensure your home’s window safety.
Celebration Days coming up for April 6 thru April 12
This week we toast the end of Prohibition 87 years ago. Then we skip the housework for a day, take a virtual visit to the zoo, and spend a day reading.
There’s plenty more ways for you to create a fun-tastic week for yourself, too. Just get creative about it.
April 6:
New Beer’s Eve: Celebrate the day people lined up outside taverns and breweries to await midnight and the end of Prohibition back in 1933. Sadly crowds of that size are just a bad idea this year. But you can still hoist a beer in thanks. Because without New Beer’s Eve you wouldn’t have that beer! Not legally, anyway.
National Tartan Day: Celebrate your Scottish heritage! Or all things Scottish in general. Because the Scotts have contributed more than you might realize to American society. For example, we modeled our Declaration of Independence on the Scottish Declaration of Independence, which was signed on April 6, 1320.
National Teflon Day: Did you know teflon was discovered by accident? It’s true! Roy Plunkett was trying to create a new version of Freon, a refrigerant. But he stored one of his ingredients on dry ice & on April 6, 1938 he discovered it had turned into the non-stick material that came to be known as Teflon!
National Carmel Popcorn Day: It’s time to satisfy your sweet tooth with some caramel popcorn! No, you can’t eat regular popcorn for the day. Nor caramel candies (unless you melt them & pour them over popcorn!). Buy your favorite caramel corn or make your own caramel corn. It’s simple!
April 7:
No Housework Day: This one’s simple! Do not, under any circumstances, do any housework on April 7. Besides, depending on how long you’ve been under stay-at-home orders you’ve probably done all the housework already!
International Beaver Day: Celebrate the beaver! Those industrious little critters that build dams in the most inconvenient places … but actually many of those dams help create & protect wetlands! And wetlands are important to biodiversity & even healthy rivers. So thank your local beavers for the day. Or just learn more about beavers & why they’re important. And find some beaver videos to watch too.
SAAM Day of Action: This day is part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The day is specifically about ending sexual violence. Wear teal to show your support for sexual violence survivors & putting an end to the violence. Or use a teal ribbon as your profile picture on your favorite social platforms.
International Snailpapers Day: Most years we’d suggest you get your news from the printed page to celebrate this day. As in buy a physical, paper newspaper (snailpaper!) & read it. Because reading the physical paper is a different experience from reading on your phone/tablet/computer. But this year we’ll just suggest you support your local papers in whatever way to you can so they can keep bringing you valuable news during and after this pandemic.
National Coffee Cake Day: Have a piece of coffee cake! Preferably with a cup of coffee. Maybe even make your coffee cake? Try this cinnamon coffee cake with cream cheese icing recipe.
April 8:
National Dog Fighting Awareness Day: You’d think dog fighting would be a thing of the past by now. Sadly it’s not. Learn more about just how common it still is and help spread the word.
Draw a Bird Day: Draw a bird in honor of the little girl who brought light & joy to a whole hospital ward with a simple request: for her uncle (a wounded soldier in WWII) to draw a bird.
Trading Cards for Grownups Day: Of course grownups deserve to enjoy trading cards. And Tom & Ruth Roy made sure they had a day to do just that!
National Zoo Lovers Day: Most years this would be the perfect day to visit your favorite zoo. But for many of us that’s just not possible. The zoos are closed! But lots of zoos are still keeping up with their fans on social media and their websites. So go follow your favorite zoos on Facebook, Instagram, or wherever they are. And find some zoo cams to get your cute animal fix, too!
National Empanada Day: Make ’em savory or make ’em sweet. Even better, make some of both & have empanadas all day long! Try some of these recipes.
April 9:
National Alcohol Screening Day: Learn more about the dangers of alcohol dependence and where you can get help. There probably won’t be many in-person screenings this year, but there are online resources you can use. This day is for both people who may have a problem with alcohol and those who love them to learn and take action.
Appomattox Day: Celebrate the official end of the Civil War on April 9, 1865. On that day General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
National Unicorn Day: Apparently this started as a Scottish day, but we could all use some unicorn magic these days. So go unicorn spotting, draw unicorns, color unicorns, or whatever else your imagination comes up with!
National Name Yourself Day: Have you ever wished you had a different name? Thought some other name suited you better than the one your parents gave you? Well this is the day to try it out! For one day you can call yourself (almost) anything you wish!
National Chinese Almond Cookie Day: Make some Chinese almond cookies to enjoy. Or order your favorite Chinese food just to get the almond cookies!
April 10:
Safety Pin Day: Pin things safely for this day! No straight pins allowed on April 10 … safety pins only to celebrate their 1849 patent.
National Siblings Day: Celebrate your brothers & sisters! Get together if you can. If not, a phone call—or even better a video conference call—can show them how much you care.
National Cinnamon Crescent Day: Cinnamon crescent rolls! What a perfect way to start the day. Or end the day. Or really enjoy any time of day! So if you have time, make yourself a batch. And you have time, because this cinnamon crescent recipe uses store-bought crescent roll dough & takes all of 15 minutes. If you have more time & would like to make ’em completely from scratch, try this recipe.
April 11:
National Pet Day: Pets of all kinds get lots of extra love & attention … and treats! Enjoy the day with your pets.
National Submarine Day: This is the 2nd of the Submarine Days we celebrate each year. It recognizes the anniversary of the date the US Navy bought its first submarine.
International Louie Louie Day: No, we’re not celebrating people named Louie! We’re celebrating “the best party song of all time,” Louie Louie! And we celebrate it on the birthday of the man who wrote it, Richard Berry. Celebrate by, what else, listening to Louie Louie! Sing along even. Or make your own recording of the song!
National Eight Track Tape Day: Did you ever listen to eight track tapes? Do you even know what they are? If you did, then you do. And if you still have any—and a player that works—listen to one! Otherwise just reminisce about those days long gone (the tapes were mostly gone by the early 1980s & completely gone by the end of that decade).
National Fondue Day: Once upon a time (around the same time as those eight track tapes) it seemed like everyone had a fondue pot & hosted regular fondue parties. Those days are gone (like those tapes), but cheese fondue is still yummy … because most things taste better covered in melty cheese! So for at least one day enjoy some cheese fondue if you can.
April 12:
Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) Day: Do as the name says and spend the day reading. If you’ve been stuck at home the past few weeks you’ve probably already done all the productive stuff anyway. So just enjoy a day of reading. And if you haven’t done all the productive stuff? Leave it for another day and read. The idea is for families to read together, so make it a reading “party”!
National Big Wind Day: On this date in 1934 winds at the Mount Washington Observatory gusted at 231 miles per hour, the highest ever recorded in the US. Why do we celebrate this? No clue! But it is a fun fact.
National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day: Do you have grilled cheese sandwiches regularly? Or have you not had one in ages? Either way, make yourself a crispy, gooey plate of delightfulness to celebrate this day. Use your favorite bread & cheese to make it all your own. And maybe have it with a bowl of tomato soup? It’s a classic pairing!
National Licorice Day: After your grilled cheese sandwich it’s time for dessert! And if you love licorice, a few pieces of this sweet treat is just perfect. Or have a soothing cup of licorice tea. Enjoy!
