What to Celebrate February 15 thru 21, 2021
Celebration Ideas for February 1 – 7, 2021
We’re heading into the 2nd half of February, which means we’re also heading into the home stretch in the race toward spring.
Yep, by the end of the week there’ll only be a month left until the spring equinox. No matter what those huge piles of white stuff outside our windows are telling us. (Lies. They’re telling us lies!).
Of course, we don’t want to live only for the promise of future warmth & sunshine. We want to live each day with joy.
So go ahead, take a peek and plan your week. And as always, remember to …
Enjoy!
Celebrate for the rest of February
For February we feed the birds. And ourselves, too.
Starting our days with hot breakfasts and grazing on nutritious snacks will give us the energy to go out in the cold with that bird food. And enjoy some embroidery when we get back into our cozy homes.
National Bird Feeding Month: February is rough on the birds, so help your backyard friends find the food they need to survive the season by hanging some out for them. While the birds will be happy for any food you can give them, consider suet cakes, which provide fat the birds need in the cold weather. You can hang the cakes in a mesh bag, but you might also like a suet feeder.
National Hot Breakfast Month: The birds aren’t the only ones who deserve nutritious foods this month. You do too! So start every day right with a hot breakfast. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Oatmeal or cream of wheat counts. And you can dress those up with everything from fruit to cinnamon. If you do have extra time then breakfast sandwiches or burritos are always good. And portable! What’s your favorite hot breakfast?
National Snack Food Month: Your hot breakfast may be a great start to the day, but it won’t keep you going all day. For that you need snacks! And while things like cookies & chips are ok snacks once in a while, try to make most of your snacks just as nutritious as your meals. Get some ideas here.
National Embroidery Month: Do you embroider? This is the perfect month to start a new project! Or finish that project you haven’t been making time for. If it’s been a while, this is a great month to get back into it. And if you’ve never tried but have considered it in the past, stop considering and take the plunge! And of course, everyone from beginner to pro can always learn something new.
Weekly Celebrations for February’s 3rd Week
This week we spread kindness to humans and birds alike. And we do it while enjoying Jell-O.
Random Acts of Kindness Week (February 14 – 20, 2021): Spend the week being kind, especially where it’s least expected. You’ll brighten others’ days. And your own too. That’s a win-win!
National Nestbox Week (February 14 – 21, 2021): This is actually a British celebration for helping the country’s birds have enough homes for nesting. But we see no reason everyone shouldn’t help their own country’s birds by putting up nestboxes (birdhouses). If you’re in the US, check out this guide to what types of houses our birds like. Then shop for birdhouses, and see what you can attract to your yard.
Jell-O Week (February 14 -20, 2021): It’s a whole week for eating Jell-O! All your favorite flavors in all your favorite ways. Apparently this week started in Utah as part of the state’s proclamation of the jiggly dessert as the state snack. But there’s no reason we can’t all enjoy a Jell-O filled week.
National Justice for Animals Week starts on Sunday the 21st. It’s a week for raising awareness of the problem of animal abuse and efforts to stop it. It also honors people who have made a difference in this fight and the animal victims.
Celebration Days coming up for Feb. 15 thru Feb. 21
What to do after Valentine’s Day is over? Focus on yourself! And the grouches in your life. 😉
Then be kind—except to Florida—and drink wine. Love your pets, and pangolins too.
Fuel all this love & kindness with gumdrops, paczkis, cabbage, & cherry pie.
All in all, it sounds like a promising start to another fun-tastic week!
February 15:
National Gumdrop Day: You’d best get your fill of chocolate for Valentine’s Day. Because the next day is all about gumdrops! Whether you prefer spiced gumdrops or fruity flavors, you’ll want to snack on them all day long.
Singles Awareness Day: This is the day to recognize the singles among us. To let these uncoupled people know they matter. And yes, even to shower them with gifts & chocolates or other treats. So, if you’re part of a happy couple with big plans for the 14th, remember your single friends for the 15th. And if you’re one of those singles, make your own plans for this day with your other single friends.
Love Reset Day: And in another counter-point to V-Day, this day reminds us that a romantic partner can’t meet all our needs. We need to love ourselves and take care of ourselves, too. So do that. And if a lackluster 14th led you to realize your current relationship isn’t working, well this is the perfect day to make some changes.
International Angelman Day: This day raises awareness of a rare and often misdiagnosed genetic condition that causes developmental delays.
February 16:
National Almond Day: After all those sugary gumdrops on the 15th you need something healthier. Enter almonds! So snack on them. Cook with them. Bake with them. Add them to salads. However you like them, just make sure you eat them!
National Do a Grouch a Favor Day: It’s time to help your favorite grouch! Wait, didn’t we just celebrate grouches? Not exactly! We celebrated curmudgeons on Jan. 29. National Grouch Day was back in October. And anyway, this day is a bit different because we’re not just celebrating the grouchy among us. We’re doing them favors! Because even grouches need help sometimes. Even if admitting that makes them even grouchier.
Paczki Day: Maybe you could bring your favorite grouch a plate of paczkis to brighten their day. After all, who can be grouchy with a mouth full of sweet, airy, filled pastry? Nobody, that’s who! Make sure you keep some for yourself, too. Because if you miss out on this delicious celebration you’ll be the grouchy one.
Fastnacht Day: Not a fan of paczkis? Maybe you’d prefer the German version of the Fat Tuesday doughnut-type pastry: the fastnacht, made with potatoes. If any local bakeries sell them you can certainly buy them. But you might also like to make your fastnachts yourself.
February 17:
Random Acts of Kindness Day: For this day we perform random acts of kindness, whenever the opportunity arises. Of course, we can also plan for some acts of kindness, because while they may not be random to us they’ll feel random to the recipient, who will also then feel special. And yes, this entire week is also Random Acts of Kindness Week. So be kind all week, but be extra kind for this day.
World Human Spirit Day: On this day we are invited to connect with the spirit of peace and freedom that lives within us. Meditate for 2 minutes at 3pm Eastern to feel the connection we have with the rest of humanity. If enough of us experience this connection, perhaps it’ll be another step toward true peace and harmony in the world.
Analog to Digital TV Day: This day celebrates the anniversary (sort of) of the final switch from analog TV signals to digital in the US in 2009. Now, depending on how old you are, and when your family got a digital capable TV, you may not remember ever watching analog TV. But if you ever experienced “snowy” pictures when the signal was bad you know the struggle of analog. Now technically this isn’t the true anniversary of the switch. It was supposed to be, but the actual date got pushed to June 12. Still, we celebrate on the planned date.
National Cabbage Day: If the only way you ever eat cabbage is as cole slow or with corned beef you’re missing out! Not that that those things aren’t delicious. But cabbage is popular in many different cuisines because it’s low-calorie, fat free, and delicious. Also, “cabbage” means more than just your standard head of green cabbage. There’s also red cabbage. And bok choy, brussels sprouts, and broccoli are also part of the cabbage family. So get creative with cabbage for the day.
February 18:
National Drink Wine Day: We’re fairly sure this celebration needs no explanation or instructions. Enjoy!
National Hate Florida Day: This day is for all those people living in the middle of yet another cold, snowy, northern winter. Whatever your true feelings about Florida, for this day you get to hate the smug, sunny warmth of “The Sunshine State.” Because when you haven’t seen sunshine in days or even weeks, well your mood tends to be a bit dark, too. So indulge for the day and hate on Florida.
National Battery Day: Celebrate the convenience of batteries! As much as we may curse them when they run low, and scramble for free outlets in public places to recharge, they deserve our love. Because without batteries we’d still be starting our cars with a crank, and lighting our headlamps with gas. Our computers would not be portable. And phones would still be attached to the wall (although at least we couldn’t lose those). Just think about how many devices you use daily run on batteries! And give thanks for Alessandro Volta, born on this day in 1745, who invented the first crude battery, called voltaic piles.
National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day: All that hating Florida and celebrating batteries is bound to make you hungry. Plus, you need something to go with your wine! Consider making crab stuffed flounder for dinner. What a delicious way to end the day!
February 19:
Chocolate Mint Day: Enjoy your favorite chocolate and mint combo to celebrate this day. Whether that’s those famous minty Girl Scout cookies, an Andies mint, or some other chocolate mint creation, indulge guilt-free for one day.
National Caregivers Day: Healthcare workers in general are rock stars, especially these days. But those caring for people in long-term care or hospice are a special breed. They help shoulder some of the stresses these patients and their families face every day, sometime for years. Give any caregivers you know a special thanks for the day.
National Vet Girls RISE Day: Despite the long history of women serving in America’s military they still don’t always get the recognition they deserve. This day gives them that. And the organization that founded it, Active Veterans With Answers, offers women vets support and camaraderie to help ease the transition from military to civilian life.
Skate Shop Day: On this day skateboarders honor the cornerstone of their culture, the skate shop. And of course, the skate shops return the love, with special products and deals just for the day.
National Tartar Sauce Day: On the 1st Friday after Lent begins we celebrate that versatile fish condiment: tartar sauce! So slather it on your fish sandwich to celebrate. Or use it as a dip for your fries or veggies. Maybe add a zing to a pasta salad? Yes, it adds zest to meats too, but if you’re observing Lent that won’t be an appropriate way to celebrate. Of course, if you don’t observe Lent, feel free to marinate or top your meats with this wondrous sauce.
February 20:
National Love Your Pet Day: We sure do hope you love your pets every day of the year, not just one day! But just the same, give them some extra love to celebrate this worthy day.
World Pangolin Day: On this day we celebrate the weirdness that is the pangolin. And we raise awareness of these animals that many people have never heard of (or only heard of recently) but whose numbers are declining. These animals need our help because traditional medicine practitioners believe eating their scales has health benefits. So the illegal trafficking of pangolins is high.
Northern Hemisphere Hoodie-Hoo Day: Chase away the winter blues, and winter itself, by yelling “Hoodie-Hoo” out your door at noon (your local time). This will create a wave of Hoodie-Hoo-ing across the Northern Hemisphere, clearing the way for Spring to arrive in a month.
National Muffin Day: Start your day with a delicious muffin to go with your coffee (or whatever your morning drink of choice is). Bake a batch of your favorites (oat, blueberry, banana, nut, etc) and share so friends and coworkers can celebrate, too. Or keep them all for yourself! We won’t judge. If you need a muffin recipe, check out this master muffin recipe, which can be your base for just about any muffin variety you want!
National Cherry Pie Day: Just make sure you stop eating muffins in time to have room for cherry pie before the day is done. And much like muffins, there’s lots of different ways to create your perfect cherry pie. If you don’t already have a favorite cherry pie recipe, try this one.
February 21:
International Mother Language Day: This day promotes awareness of the diversity of languages (around 6000 different languages!) and cultures around the world. But also to raise awareness of how many of those languages are in danger of disappearing, which would be a huge loss for that diversity.
National Grain Free Day: For this day we all eat grain free, in support of family and friends who must eat grain free due to allergies or other disorders. But don’t think grain free must be boring or tasteless! Just ask the family behind Siete Family Foods who created a whole line of grain-free Mexican foods—and a company to sell those foods— after one family member needed to go grain free for her health. And then they created this day.
National Sticky Bun Day: Can you celebrate Grain Free Day and still eat sticky buns? Yes! Yes you can. Try this Paleo Pecan Sticky Buns recipe to celebrate both days at once.
