What to Celebrate February 3 thru 9, 2020
Celebration Ideas for February 3 – 9, 2020
Are you ready for February? You better be, because it’s here!
And with it comes a whole new set of celebrations to enjoy. As usual we have a mix of the delicious, the fun & silly, and the serious. In other words, something for everyone.
So keep reading to take a peek and plan your week. And as always …
Enjoy!
Celebrate All February Long
February is all about animals! Mostly us helping them, but also goats helping us … sort of.
National Prevent a Litter Month: Baby animals are incredibly adorable. But sadly shelters regularly overflow with this kind of adorableness. And as much as people love to adopt kittens & puppies, it’s hard to find homes for them all. Don’t add to the problem. Get your pets spayed & neutered. Many rescues/shelters/vets offer low-cost spay & neuter services all February to celebrate this month.
Pet Dental Health Month: Dental health is just as important for your pets as it is for you. Take some time this month to learn more about caring for your pets’ teeth, even how to brush them.
National Bird Feeding Month: The poor birds can have trouble finding food during the cold winter months. Give them a little help with some seeds or suet cakes. They’ll reward you with a colorful, chirp-filled yard that’ll provide hours of entertainment & enjoyment for you and any kitties you may live with. And Feed the Birds Day on Feb. 3 is the perfect time to start!
National Goat Yoga Month: Can you believe goat yoga only began in 2015? And it quickly spread around the world, even getting its own month! If you’ve never tried it, February is the month to do that. And if you already love it, well don’t stop!
Weekly Celebrations for February’s 1st Week
For the first full week in February we focus on safety. For ourselves, our identities, and dogs left to fend for themselves on a chain.
Burn Awareness Week (February 2 – 8, 2020): Are you doing everything you can to prevent burns? What about other family members? Are you sure? Take some time this week to learn about burn risks and how to lower your chances of getting burned.
Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week (February 3 – 7, 2020): Tax season is prime ID theft season, because the scammers want to get your tax refund. Don’t let it happen! Learn more about the different forms of ID theft and how you can avoid becoming a victim. The ID Theft Resource Center is offering webinars and a twitter chat for the week. You can also sign up for newsletters.
Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week (February 7 – 14, 2020): Chained dogs lead sad lives. But we all have the power to try to change their lives. Get some tips for helping a chained dog here. (Note: By “chained dog” we mean one that lives all day and night on a chain. Not a dog that lives inside but gets chained for short trips outside).
Celebration Days coming up for Feb. 3 thru Feb. 9
This week we feed the birds and ourselves … if you can ever eat again after the big spread you enjoyed during that Big Game on the 2nd! Then again, carrot cake, pizza, & fettuccine Alfredo sure do sound tempting.
We also honor & thank female doctors, mail carriers, and weatherpeople. Then help protect Western Monarchs, wear sweaters instead of turning up the heat, and remind women heart disease affects them too.
And anyone feeling truly adventurous might consider working naked! Yes, really.
However you choose to celebrate the week, make sure it’s a fun-tastic one!
February 3:
The Day The Music Died: Commemorate the day in 1959 when a small plan crashed, ending the lives of 3 musicians and their pilot much too soon.
National Women Physicians Day: Celebrate the women who have decided their purpose in this world is to be doctors. Why celebrate just the women? Because at one time (and sometimes still) being a doctor was seen as a male-only profession. We celebrate on the birthday of the first American woman to become an MD, Elizabeth Blackwell. She achieved this feat in 1849, and women have proven themselves just as capable doctors as men ever since. Sadly, there are still those who don’t agree.
Feed the Birds Day: Do you feed your backyard birds? If not, consider starting to celebrate this day! It’s fun to watch the birds flock around the feeder. Just be sure you’re ready for the long-term commitment, because once the birds get used to your feedings they’ll come to rely on you.
National Football Hangover Day: If you watched that big football game on Sunday you probably have some sort of hangover on Monday. Whether you indulged in too much alcohol or too much food—or you just stayed up too late celebrating your team’s win—give yourself some TLC to help recover.
National Carrot Cake Day: Make yourself a deliciously moist & perfectly spice carrot cake and enjoy. It may not help with the hangover, but it sure will taste great!
February 4:
USO Day: Celebrate the creation of the USO in 1941. This collection of service organizations, united under the USO name, support our troops around the world.
National Thank a Mail Carrier Day: Your mail carrier works hard, walking miles every day no matter the weather to deliver your mail. In some areas there’s lots of step to climb. Other mail carriers deal with dogs, cats, and even geese who just don’t want them delivering that mail. So if you see your mail carrier, give him or her a warm “thank you” on this day. In fact, thank any mail carriers you see, because they all deserve thanks.
National Medjool Date Day: Dates are delicious and good for you. So don’t they deserve their own day? Yes! They do, and they have one. So snack on some medjool dates and use them in recipes all day. Learn more about this sweet fruit and find some recipes (both savory and sweet) here.
National Homemade Soup Day: Make yourself a big pot of soup to enjoy for this day and for the rest of the week! Try one of these soup recipes to warm up on a cold day. Or celebrate both soup and medjool dates by making Vegan Harira Soup with Medjool Dates.
February 5:
Western Monarch Day: Celebrate the beautiful Western Monarch butterfly as it spends the winter around California. And learn how we can help it survive. Because while you may have seen headlines last year that Monarch populations have increased, those were the Eastern Monarch. The Western Monarch population actually dropped dramatically between 2018 and 2019.
World Nutella Day: Enjoy the sweet, nutty, chocolaty spread called Nutella. Have it on toast, on fruits, in baked goods, or even licked straight off a spoon. However you love it, indulge for this day.
National Shower With a Friend Day: Save water, shower with a friend for this day. Or learn about the benefits of filtered water for showering, which is what the day is really about.
National Weatherperson’s Day: Speaking of showers, your local weatherperson can tell you if you’ll be encountering any showers when you leave the house on Feb. 5 … or any other day. The day actually celebrates everyone in the weather field, from those who give you the weather forecast to volunteer storm spotters. So why not thank any meteorologists, storm spotters, or other weather people you may know.
February 6:
National Sweater Day: This Canadian day is all about raising awareness of climate change & how we can help our environment. If the earth keeps warming like it is most places on earth may become too warm to need sweaters. But in the meantime we can help our planet by putting on a sweater and turning down the thermostat to use less energy. No, doing this one little thing for one day won’t make a bit of difference. But lots of people doing lots of little things every day can add up to a big difference.
Lame Duck Day: On this day we celebrate all those members of Congress whose terms are ending, making them completely useless “lame ducks.” Well, not really. The day actually celebrates the date on which the US Secretary of State proclaimed the 20th Amendment to the Constitution (Feb. 6, 1933). This Amendment shortened the time between election day and and swearing in day from 13 months to 2 months. Since people who have been fired or quit don’t really do their best work after that, shortening the time they have to do poor work is something to celebrate!
International Frozen Yogurt Day: Enjoy your favorite frozen yogurt treat for this day. See if your favorite froyo shop is offering any specials for the day … maybe even a free froyo!
February 7:
National Wear Red Day: Help raise awareness of women’s heart disease risks. Because heart disease is not just a male disease! In fact, every minute a woman dies from heart disease. But you can take steps to help prevent it.
Working Naked Day: Yep, here’s more proof there really is a day for everything. Although we’d suggest only celebrating this one from home. And since as far as we can tell you don’t have to be doing paid work naked, you could celebrate by doing housework naked. Or yardwork, although most of the US may be a bit chilly for that … and that has it’s own day anyway: World Naked Gardening Day.
National Bubble Gum Day: On this day kids can pay to chew gum in school. All money collected goes to charity. And while it’s technically a way to get kids involved in fundraising, why couldn’t adults do this as work too? Most workplaces may not actually ban gum chewing, but many do seem to frown on it as unprofessional. So employees could pay for the privilege of chewing without getting dirty looks.
Send a Card to a Friend Day: Try as we might, sometimes life gets in the way of keeping in touch with friends. Especially those far away. These days social media & texting (things that probably didn’t exist when this day started) make it easier. But a card (even just an ecard) can make the recipient feel special. And don’t we want our friends to feel special? You can even have physical cards personalized & sent straight to your friends.
Periodic Table Day: Chemistry fans, celebrate the date John Newlands published his first table of elements on Feb. 7, 1863.
e Day: And on to the math fans, this day is for you! For the rest of us, this page explains e as well as any we’ve seen. It’s still beyond us. But apparently we celebrate on 2/7 because e = 2.7xxx. Of course that only works if you write dates like we do in the US. Many (many!) people in other countries (where they write the day before the month) no doubt prefer to celebrate on July 2.
Wave All Your Fingers At Your Neighbors Day: Forget the petty differences & the fighting for at least this one day. Instead be friendly and wave at everybody. The day’s creators, Tom & Ruth Roy, would prefer that you mean it too.
National Fettuccine Alfredo Day: All that chemistry & math & working naked makes a person hungry! And fettuccine Alfredo is just the ticket to satisfy that hunger. Make fettuccine Alfredo at home or head to your favorite restaurant to order it.
February 8:
Laugh and Get Rich Day: Laughter is good for you! It can brighten your mood & make you happier. And in that way it enriches your life. Can it also make you richer financially? Not directly, but happier people tend to be more motivated and productive. And that can lead to more opportunities at work and thus more money. So whether your motivation is spiritual richness or financial richness, there’s no reason you can’t benefit from this day.
Boy Scout Day: February 8 marks the anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America’s incorporation in 1910. Since then Scouts have earned more than 117,600,000 merit badges.
February 9:
Autism Sunday: Help spread the word that autism is not the end of the world. Sure, people with the condition face challenges. And for some those challenges are severe. But in the end people with autism are still just people. And they deserve the same love and respect as anyone else.
Read in the Bathtub Day: The name of this day tells you exactly how to spend it! In the bathtub. Reading. So draw yourself a nice bath (with bubbles if you want!), lock the bathroom door if necessary, and settle in for a nice long soak with a good book.
National Toothache Day: Celebrate toothaches? We’re not sure why anyone would want to do that! Unless possibly to remind us to do all we can to take care of our teeth and avoid getting a toothache.
Man Day: On the Sunday before Valentine’s Day, the men get all the attention. So celebrate all the men in your life. This day is different from the traditional Icelandic Man’s Day which apparently happens in January.
National Pizza Day: Eat pizza! All day if you’d like. And unlike say Cheese Pizza Day or Pepperoni Pizza Day, you’re allowed any toppings you prefer on your pizza.
National Bagel and Lox Day: Take a break from pizza to enjoy a bagel with lox (brined salmon) and cream cheese. What a delicious day!
