What to Celebrate October 1 to 7, 2018
Celebration Ideas for October 1 – 7, 2018
Autumn is officially here and, after one final stand, the summer heat has given way to cooler temperatures. Are you excited to put away the sandals & shorts and welcome sweaters & boots?
Well, in the Midwestern US anyway. Your weather may be different!
But no matter where you are you can celebrate yummy food (Tacos! Brown Betty!) and drink (orange wine!). You can advocate for humane treatment for animals. You can learn more about bats, midwives, and Halloween safety.
These celebrations & more await your pleasure. So please do take a peek and plan your week.
And as always …
Enjoy!
Celebrate All October Long
October is all about the animals! Especially the misunderstood animals. Many people have negative opinions of shelter dogs, pit bulls, and bats. But when you know more about them, you know they don’t deserve the negativity. And then you can help spread the word!
We also invite you to plan ahead for a safe Halloween night. Because the frights should be all make-believe, and your only Halloween memories should be good ones.
Adopt a Shelter Dog Month: If you’ve been considering adding a dog to your family, this is the perfect time to do it! But don’t head out to the pet store. Go to a local shelter instead. You’ll get to watch a sad, confused dog transform into a happy pup. If you can’t adopt, shelters always need donations (money or supplies), volunteers, and fosters.
National Pit Bull Awareness Month: Help correct the negative reputation pit bulls have gotten. The only thing fierce about them is their loyalty to their humans. And if you can, consider celebrating 2 dog months at the same time … by adopting a pittie from a shelter! These dogs tend to get overlooked at shelters because of their reputation.
Bat Appreciation Month: Bats are also misunderstood and feared. Learn more about the good things they do … like eating mosquitoes (lots & lots of mosquitoes!) and pollinating plants. And see how cute some of them are … like flying puppies!
Halloween Safety Month: Halloween is about spooky fun & creative costumes & trick-or-treating. But it’s also important to remember safety. Not to put a damper on fun, but to make sure the fun doesn’t turn tragic … which it does in too many cases each year. Get some safety tips & reminders here.
Weekly Celebrations for October’s 1st Week
If you love mystery novels, this is the week for you! But don’t let the condition of your chimney be a mystery … make sure it’s safe before turning on your furnace or using your fireplace. And midwives are a mystery to many people, but this is a good week to learn more about them.
Mystery Series Week (October 1 – 7, 2018): This week is dedicated to the mystery solvers who show up in book after book. Those fictional detectives who get the job done. And the Nosy-Nellies who just seem to attract mysterious happenings … which they of course then solve. So read one of your favorites this week, or try a new (to you) series. Get some ideas here.
National Chimney Safety Week (Sept. 30 – Oct. 6, 2018): It’s almost fireplace & furnace season, so it’s also time to make sure your chimney is free of obstructions or other damage. Chimney fires are all to common and mostly preventable.
National Midwifery Week (Sept. 30 p Oct. 6, 2018): Did you know midwives still exist? They do, and they do more than deliver babies. They also provide general health care for women of all ages.
Celebration Days coming up for Oct. 1 thru Oct. 7
It may be pumpkin spice season, but don’t worry … there’s not a single pumpkin spiced holiday on this list. Unless you want them to be … You can certainly choose to make your homemade cookies or a frappe with this autumn-scented spice blend.
In other deliciousness you’ll find tacos, pumpkin seeds and vodka. Also vegetarian meals (which can be quite delicious and rarely need pumpkin spice), orange wine, and noodles.
We also honor animals (fire pups) and advocate for better treatment of animals … animals in general and farmed animals specifically.
We also spread smiles, let people know they matter to us, and more.
All in all it looks like another fun-tastic week!
October 1:
National Homemade Cookie Day: No store-bought cookies allowed for this day! Homemade only. Although not necessarily by you. If you can convince someone else (Not the baker at your grocery!) to make them for you, they’ll taste that much sweeter. ;)
World Vegetarian Day: Kick off Vegetarian Awareness Month by eating vegetarian for at least this one day. If you’re already a vegetarian, spread the word to your non-vegetarian friends.
National Fire Pup Day: This day honors the canine firefighters who once kept horses & humans safe on fire calls. Back when fire trucks were horse-drawn the dogs would run alongside and in front of the horses to keep the way clear. They also calmed the horses. Today they’re firehouse mascots.
October 2:
International Day of Non-Violence: We celebrate this day on Gandhi’s birthday, which is not a coincidence. The non-violence advocate said “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.”
World Farmed Animals Day: Also called World Day for Farmed Animals, this day seems like an appropriate complement to the Day of Non-Violence. . This day highlights the abuses billions of farmed animals endure so we can have our meat. Much of the website seems to promote veganism, but you don’t have to go quite that far. Meat eaters can still advocate for humane treatment of farmed animals. That seems like the least we can do for the animals that literally give their lives for our eating pleasure.
National Name Your Car Day: Have you named your car? If not, this is the day to fix that oversight!
October 3:
Virus Appreciation Day: Why the heck would we appreciate viruses? They just make us feel miserable (when they infect us) or irritated (when they’re computer viruses). But someone, somewhere, decided they needed appreciation, so here we are …
National Pumpkin Seed Day: Once fall hits it’s all about pumpkins. And apparently pumpkin seeds, too! Because what else would you do with all the seeds from all those pumpkins? ;) Roasted pumpkin seeds are delicious and good for you, so enjoy a handful for this day! And then keep using them wherever you’d use other seeds & nuts.
National Coffee with a Cop Day: Bringing police officers and the communities they serve together for conversations. And giving them a chance to understand each other’s concerns. Find out if there’s an event near you here.
October 4:
World Animal Day: Be a voice for the animals that can’t speak for themselves. Advocate for giving wild animals the space they need to live. Volunteer at a shelter. Donate to an animal-centered charity. Every little bit helps.
National Taco Day: Break out the taco shells (hard or soft, it’s up to you!) and your favorite fillings & toppings. Then have a feast!
National Vodka Day: End your day with your favorite vodka … neat, on the rocks, or in your favorite cocktail. It’s all up to you! (Just do it at home or make sure you have a designated driver). Salud!
October 5:
World Smile Day: Be the reason someone smiles today! It’s not hard. Smiles are infectious, so just smiling at someone can do the trick. Or, if you want to get a bit more involved, do something kind for at least one person. And remember, since smiles are infectious the person you made smile will probably go on to make more people smile. :)
National Apple Betty Day: Speaking of smiling, a dish of Apple Betty will do the trick! Need a recipe? Try Grandma’s Apple Brown Betty.
World Teachers’ Day: This day commemorates the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation for the Status of Teachers, adopted in 1966. It set standards, rights, and responsibilities for teachers. The day’s theme for 2018 is “The right to education means the right to a qualified teacher.”
Manufacturing Day: This day honors the people and companies who keep American manufacturing strong. Many manufacturers across the country will open their doors to let the public (students especially) learn more about what they do. See if there’s an event near you here.
October 6:
National Orange Wine Day: It’s the very first year for this celebration of an obscure wine. Orange wine has no actual oranges in it. The color apparently comes from treating white grapes like red grapes during fermentation. And even if you’ve never heard of this wine, it’s starting to pop up more often. So here’s your chance to jump into a new (and delicious) trend early!
National Noodle Day: Does orange wine go with noodles? No clue! But here’s your chance to find out! Actually it probably depends on how you prepare the noodles. So celebrate 2 days in one with a plate of your favorite noodles and a glass of orange wine.
National German-American Day: This day commemorate the arrival of 13 German families in America on October 6, 1683. They landed in Philadelphia and founded the first German settlement in the Colonies, naming it Germantown. German-American Day was celebrated on & off since the 19th century, but it became a true national day in 1987 when Congress passed Resolution 108 and President Reagan signed Public Law 100-104.
October 7:
You Matter to Me Day: Let those who matter to you know it on this day. In person is great if you can. But emails, texts, and calls work too. Just let them know. According to the website “Because everyone matters to someone, and someone matters to you.”
National Frappe Day: Whether you have a daily frappe or have never had one, this is the day to enjoy one. Even better enjoy one with a friend … like this Caramel Frappe for 2.
National LED Light Day: Celebrate LED lights on this new day, created in 2016. Did you know LEDs have actually been around since the late 1950s? But those early bulbs shone reddish. It wasn’t until the ‘90s that blue LEDs were finally invented, paving the way for every-day use LEDs that produced white light. The Nobel Prize in Physics went to the inventors of that blue LED on October 7, 2014.
