MAY 15: INTERNATIONAL DINOSAUR DAY
The third Tuesday in May is International Dinosaur Day, falling on May 16th this year. Dinosaur Day seeks to celebrate — need we say? — Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were a group of reptiles belonging to the ancestral family Dinosauria. These creatures lived millions of years ago during the Mesozoic era, which began around 252 million years ago. It is estimated that they went extinct 66 million years ago. So, they were the ancestors of today's common lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodiles—and even birds. IDD is the occasion to learn all about the different types of dinosaurs! This day aims to educate and inform people about dinosaurs and their descendants. It encourages everyone to learn more about dinosaurs.
MAY 16: LOVE A TREE DAY
On this holiday, go out and give a tree a great big hug. Or, climb up into your favorite tree, and share some quality time with it. Wait. Second thought: don’t climb, sit under a tree and commune any way you like.
National Love a Tree Day celebrates the joys of life provided by trees. Trees are a good thing. They give us shade, comfort, and warmth. They give off oxygen, too. Some provide fruit.
Most species of trees tend to be long-lived. Some trees live to be several thousand years old. The tallest known tree is 379 ft. tall. Between 1630 and 1910, there was a steady decline from 1,023 million acres to 754 million acres. That’s a decline from 46 percent to 34 percent of the total land area of the United States. According to the U.S. Forest Service, about 766 million acres of forest land exists in the US today. This number has held steady since 2012.
MAY 17: NATIONAL WALNUT DAY
We have an idea that the squirrels might enjoy this one.
In 1958, May 17 officially recognized National Walnut Day by a Senate resolution signed into law by President Eisenhower. Today we celebrate with delicious recipes of salads, desserts, and snack foods. Rounded, single-seeded stone fruits of the walnut tree, walnuts are a high-density source of nutrients, particularly proteins and essential fatty acids. Grown for their seeds, the Persian or English Walnut and the Black Walnut are the two most common major species of walnuts.
The United States exports more walnuts than any other country. Ninety-nine percent of the nation’s commercial English walnuts are produced in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys of California.
MAY 18: INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY
Since 1977, the International Council of Museums (I.C.O.M.) has celebrated May 18 to pay tribute to the international museum community. Museums are vital venues for cultural exchange and enrichment, as well as for the development of peaceful coexistence and cooperation among nations and communities. This day encourages people to visit museums dedicated to many fields of human endeavor such as agriculture, fashion, astronomy, archaeology, art, and natural history.
Each year, International Museum Day has on a particular theme. This year’s theme, “Museum, Sustainability and Well-being,” focuses on the importance of the environment, health and well-being in everyday life, and how museums can contribute to these aspects as cultural institutions. Museums can play a key role in promoting sustainability and wellbeing, by implementing initiatives that encourage environmental responsibility, health and wellbeing for visitors and staff.
MAY 19: NATIONAL PIZZA PARTY DAY
Each year on the third Friday in May, millions of pizza lovers across the nation join in extolling the qualities of pizza on National Pizza Party Day.
Since pizza is one of America’s favorite foods — and Friday Pizza at Kendal is a sacred event — it comes as no surprise we would celebrate a day that features a pizza party. Pizza parties bring friends together. Birthdays and some minor achievements are also celebrated with pizza parties, too. Although, just about any excuse can be used for a good pizza party. Like a Friday.
In ancient Greece, the Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs, and cheese, which some attribute to the beginning of the pizza. In Byzantine Greek, the word was spelled “πίτα,” pita, meaning pie. The Romans developed a pastry with a sheet of dough topped with cheese and honey, then flavored with bay leaves. Our modern pizza had its beginning in Italy as the Neapolitan flatbread.
The original pizza used only mozzarella cheese, mainly the highest quality buffalo mozzarella variant. The first United States pizza establishment opened in New York’s Little Italy in 1905. An estimated 2 billion pounds of pizza cheese was produced in the United States in 1997.
The largest pizza ever made, according to Guinness World Records, weighed 26,883 pounds. It was made in Norwood, South Africa, on December 8, 1990. As far as pizza eating contests go, the winner goes to Kelvin Medina, who ate a 12-inch pizza in 23.62 seconds on April 12, 2015.
MAY 20: WORLD FIDDLE DAY
World Fiddle Day, celebrated every third Saturday in May, is an annual celebration of fiddle music. This year, it falls on May 20. All across the world, particularly in regions where the fiddle is popular, several events are organized and put together for World Fiddle Day. The holiday was founded by Caoimhin Mac Aoidh in 2012. The date was deliberately chosen to be the same as the anniversary of the death of legendary Italian violin craftsman Antonio Stradivari.
The medieval fiddle began to show up in 10th-century Europe, deriving from an earlier instrument of similar build and purpose from the Byzantine era known as the ‘lira.’ The lira was a bowed string instrument of the Byzantine Empire and it is regarded as the ancestor of most European bowed instruments.
MAY 21: NATIONAL MEMO DAY
National Memo Day on May 21 has us getting our pens, notes, and typing skills sharp and ready. A memo is any piece of important information that is penned or typed down to be sent to a group of people. The National Memo Day was first celebrated in 1989 by KMJI Majic Radio, located in Denver, Colorado. The purpose of the day was to raise awareness about the memos that are being used by people in businesses.
Tracing the word’s origin, it comes from the Latin word ‘memorandum,’ meaning ‘it must be remembered.’ People have been using memos to convey messages and plans of action for centuries. There are several different forms of a memo (i.e. formal, informal, policy making, etc.), and the usage of each depends on the context of the situation and the people involved. At some point, memos were used to tell people about the changes in laws of a kingdom. In other times, they were used to inform military personnel about the next move. Memos have also had the reputation of falling into the wrong hands, resulting in disastrous outcomes. Major Andre’s capture in the Sleepy Hollow/Tarrytown vicinity comes to mind. Disastrous for Andre, not the American rebels.
In modern times, the main content of a memo could range from a few lines to a few pages. Today, the mighty Post-It is key to memos.