What to Celebrate November 5 to 11, 2018
Celebration Ideas for November 5 – 11, 2018
Halloween is over and we’re about to dive headlong into the winter holiday season.
But don’t let the “mandatory” festivities overwhelm you! Take some time to savor other fun & delicious days. And weeks. And months.
In fact, if the holiday season often causes stress, take a look at the Stress Awareness Week and Day. You may learn some new coping techniques.
And if you’re in the US and haven’t voted early, get out there on Tuesday and do that.
So yes, please take a peek and plan your week. But most of all …
Enjoy! (And VOTE!)
Celebrate All November Long
We have an eclectic mix of monthly celebrations to share this week. Which one strikes your fancy?
Manatee Awareness Month: Manatees may look kinda’ odd, but they’re really quite interesting. And smarter than you might expect. State & federal protections have let their population increase enough to change them from endangered to threatened. But they still need our help! Learn more about them for this month. And consider taking action to help them.
National Healthy Skin Month: Just because you’re covering up most of your skin during the winter doesn’t mean you can stop taking care of it. You still need to protect it from the sun’s rays. And from the cold, dry winter air. If you don’t it may remind you by getting dry, itchy, and irritated.
World Sponge Month: Despite all the sites listing November as World Sponge Month we have our doubts it’s a real celebration. We’re pretty sure it’s related to a World Sponge Conference held in November a few years ago. But anyone who finds sponges fascinating animals (yes, animals!) will no doubt welcome any excuse to celebrate them. So here you go! An unofficially official excuse to celebrate sponges. You’re welcome. :D
Sweet Potato Awareness Month: We’re unsure how anyone could be unaware of this delicious, nutritious, and versatile vegetable. But in case you are (unaware that is), you’re missing out! Use ‘em like you’d use regular potatoes (baked, mashed, boiled, fries, twice-baked…) for a completely different but somehow familiar side dish. Or skip the pumpkin pie this holiday season and try a sweet potato pie instead! (Yes, it’s a dessert. Yes, it’s yummy).
Weekly Celebrations for November’s 1st Full Week
This week focuses on stress awareness. And 2 other celebrations offer stress busters! What’s more soothing than paper folding & shelter animals?
(Ok, the week is actually about appreciating the shelters. But since the shelters are all about the animals …)
International Stress Awareness Week (November 5 – 9): The International Stress Management Association has expanded its Stress Awareness Day to a whole week for 2018. If you’re in London, there will be a Stress Fair on Monday and a Stress Conference on Friday. For the rest of us, there’s a free Global on-line summit on Wednesday.
World Origami Days (Oct. 24 – Nov. 11) : Yikes! We should have brought you this last week, but never fear, you still have a week to celebrate folding paper. But not any folds! Folds that magically transform a plain piece of paper into something beautiful. The final day of this celebration is Origami Day in Japan.
National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week (November 4 – 10): This week recognizes the good work animal shelters do to to help abandoned and stray animals. It also recognizes the hardworking staff and volunteers, without whom the shelters could not operate. (And yes, we recognize all shelters are not equal. So let’s celebrate the good & work toward helping the rest to do better).
Celebration Days coming up for Nov. 5 thru Nov. 11
Tuesday November 6 is election day here in the U.S., so if you’re a citizen get out there and vote!
But of course there are plenty of other delicious and creative things to celebrate on that day and the others. Also some awareness days for rare and/or misunderstood medical conditions.
Also several military related days (not just Veteran’s Day!).
So let’s make it another fun-tastic week.
(And remember … VOTE!)
November 5:
Color the World Orange Day: On the 1st Monday in November we raise awareness of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)/Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD). So wear orange to show your support, and check out the day’s official website for more ideas for getting involved.
National Doughnut Day: Indulge in a doughnut (or donut!) to celebrate this day. And in case you’re wondering, yes there was a Doughnut Day in June too. That one seems more official, but we’re not going to argue about another chance to enjoy a guilt-free doughnut!
Fill Our Staplers Day: On this day we … what else? … fill our staplers! It happens 2x per year, on the Monday after time-change Sunday. And it is an honest-to-goodness day, created by the Dull Men’s Club and included in Chase’s Calendar of Events.
November 6:
National Nachos Day: Get creative with your nacho creations & eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Plus snacks!
Saxophone Day: Celebrate Adolphe Sax’s birthday by listening to some magnificent saxophone music. Jazz offers lots of quality sax enjoyment. And in case you weren’t sure: Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone.
November 7:
Notary Public Day: Notaries public serve an important function, ensuring people signing documents are who they say they are and are signing voluntarily. We celebrate them on the day the Colony of New Haven appointed Thomas Fugill as America’s first notary.
National Stress Awareness Day: As the holiday season ramps up, so does the stress. Which makes the 1st Wednesday in November the perfect time to evaluate the stressors in your life, both work and personal. For the 20th anniversary of this day the International Stress Management Association is making it a week-long series of events. This year’s theme is Does Hi-Tech Cause Hi-Stress? On the 7th there will be an on-line stress summit and helpline.
National Merlot Day: Every November 7 we celebrate a widely popular grape & wine. So enjoy a glass or two and learn a little about Merlot (the wine and the grape). But don’t overdo it, you have another wine celebration coming up on the 8th.
National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day: Wow, that’s a mouthful of a day! But oh, so delicious too. Does bittersweet chocolate with almonds pair well with Merlot? Quite possibly! So why not spend the evening savoring both? Sure sounds like a little slice of heaven to us … and the perfect way to lower our stress levels, too.
November 8:
International Tempranillo Day: It’s another wine day! This one celebrates a lesser-known grape, but one worth drinking. So do that for this day. But we don’t recommend starting your day with wine, so first there’s …
National Cappuccino Day: Skip your regular coffee on this morning and jump-start your day with a frothy cappuccino instead. Unless your regular is a cappuccino, in which case you’re good to go!
National S.T.E.M./S.T.E.A.M. Day: Started by MGA Entertainment, this day aims to get kids excited about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. It’s especially geared toward girls and closing the gender gap in STEAM careers. The Netflix original series Project Mc2 served as the inspiration for this day, and the series website is the perfect place to find ideas for celebrating this day with your child.
Dunce Day: No, we won’t be spending this day calling people stupid. Or acting stupid. The day actually commemorates the death of John Duns Scotus, a respected scholar. His followers wore pointed caps and were called Duns. A couple of centuries later Duns resisted “new learning” and Duns or dunce came to mean unwilling or incapable of learning something new. So on this day, don’t be a dunce. Learn something new!
November 9:
National Scrapple Day: What the heck is scrapple?! Well, apparently it’s a mush made from pork scraps & trimmings (commonly called “offal”) plus spices & cornmeal. Sources tell us it tastes better than it sounds. If you’re feeling brave, try some for this day. And if you already love it, well this day’s perfect for you!
National Microtia Awareness Day: Apparently November 9 is the day to learn about things we never knew about. Microtia is a congenital birth defect in which the ears do not fully develop. It’s quite rare, which makes raising awareness and advancing acceptance challenging. That’s why a mother whose child has microtia created the day in 2016.
World Freedom Day: This US federal observance commemorates the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of Communist rule in in Europe. President George W. Bush first declared the day in 2001.
November 10:
Forget-Me-Not Day: This day began back in 1921 to help raise funds to provide services to soldiers who had returned from World War I and needed continuing care. At the time few services existed, and there were more wounded veterans than there was help available. Now the day continues to remind us of the sacrifices returning soldiers made for us all.
U.S. Marine Corps Birthday: Celebrate the date in 1775 when the Continental Congress formally established the Continental Marines. The Marines’ originally mission was to help the Revolutionary War naval forces. And the force was disbanded when the war ended. A few years later the permanent USMC came to be.
National Vanilla Cupcake Day: For this day you must eat vanilla cupcakes. And only vanilla cupcakes. No other flavors allowed! And for the best, freshest cupcakes, make them yourself! Here’s a simple recipe.
November 11:
Veteran’s Day: This day honors all our military veterans. It began as Armistice Day in 1919, on the first anniversary of World War I’s end.
National Sundae Day: What’s better than a sundae on Sunday? Not much! Except possibly extra toppings on that sundae. Of course, Sundae Day doesn’t always happen on Sunday, but when it does, you must make it extra special! Not sure what kind of sundae to enjoy? Try one (or more!) of these creative recipes.
Origami Day: Celebrate the art of folded paper for this day. Create a paper crane, which symbolizes peace in Japan. Or maybe a sailboat? Or a frog, elephant, or star? Find these and other templates here.
