#VirtualBGCWC - May 11-16, 2020

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Observed annually on May 11th, National Eat What You Want Day sets diets aside for a day of indulgence. It’s about having one day a year of eating with no regrets. Whether you love donuts or fast food, today is your day to gratify without feeling guilty.  

Chili cheese dogs, greasy hamburgers, french fries, potato chips, cake, cookies, candy, and ice cream are just a few of the things you can enjoy today without remorse. Decadent food is definitely on the menu today. The saying, “Everything in moderation” applies to this holiday quite aptly. Though, we’re not quite sure they meant EVERYTHING at the same time. 

However, a sample of this and a sample of that sure has a way satisfying a sweet tooth or a greasy yearning. Need a salt fix? This holiday offers it. How about a crunch craving? Yep, we’re sure you can find what you’re looking for. Whether it’s a rich, fried or fast, frozen, baked, or spicy eat what you want.

Some of us have that one irresistible food that we avoid at all costs because we know if it’s in the house we’ll eat it all. It’s our weakness, our kryptonite. This holiday suggests that we bend to our kryptonite just this one time each year.

HOW TO OBSERVE #EatWhatYouWantDay

What’s your kryptonite? Will you be celebrating with a bite of your favorite dessert or snackfood? Celebrate this fantastic food day by eating your favorite foods. Call a friend and go out for some fun and indulgence. Post a picture of you eating your favorite food on social media.

NATIONAL EAT WHAT YOU WANT DAY HISTORY

Created by Thomas and Ruth Roy of wellcat.com, Eat What You Want Day is just a way to enjoy life with friends and family. Many nutritionists even agree that “taking a short break” from your diet regimen is actually good for you.

• Tuesday - NATIONAL LIMERICK DAY

Observed annually on May 12, National Limerick Day celebrates the birthday of English artist, illustrator, author and poet Edward Lear (May 12, 1812 – Jan. 29, 1888). Lear is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry, prose and limericks.

National Limerick Day also celebrates the limerick poem. Limerick poems were popularized by Edward Lear’s book “Book of Nonsense” in 1846.

A limerick is a very short, humorous, nonsense poem. Within a limerick, there are five lines. The first two lines rhyme with the fifth line and the third and fourth line rhyme together. The Limerick also has a particular rhythm which is officially described as anapestic trimeter. 

THERE WAS A YOUNG LADY By Edward Lear

There was a Young Lady whose chin

Resembled the point of a pin;

So she had it made sharp, and purchased a harp,

And played several tunes with her chin.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Sit down and write a few limericks of your own. Share your limerick by posting on social media.

Observed each year on May 13, National Frog Jumping Day is a favorite of young and old alike.

In 1865, Mark Twain published his first short story, Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog. Later, he changed the name and published it as The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. This same story also had a third title, The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

The current frog jumping record was set in 1986 by Rosie the Ribeter, who jumped 21 feet, 5-3/4 inches.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Show us how far you can frog jump and post a video on social media.

HISTORY

Mark Twain’s story about a pet frog named Dan’l Webster and a casual competition between two men betting on whose frog jumps higher, is the origin of National Frog Jumping Day. The annual Frog Jumping Contest, which began in 1849 in Calaveras County, California is also an origin of this holiday. The international counterpart of this celebration is February 19.

Dance Like a Chicken Day is observed each year on May 14th! This day entertains from start to finish! Everyone has probably danced the “Chicken Dance” at least once in their lifetime. This silly fun song is popular at wedding dances, Oktoberfest, and other celebrations. The song gets people of all ages up and moving on the dance floor.

Written in the 1950s by Werner Thomas, a Swiss accordionist, the Chicken Dance didn’t even make it to the United States until sometime in the 1970s. The Chicken Dance is associated with polkas or oom-pah-pah music. Originally written with the name Der Ententanz (The Duck Dance), it was rumored to have been written as a drinking song for Oktoberfest. The song’s name was later changed to Vogeltanz (The Bird Dance).

Upon arriving in America in the 1970s, the song had acquired choreography with repetitive beak, wing, and tail motions as well as the new name, The Chicken Dance.

• Cincinnati, Ohio — September 20, 2004 — At the Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, rock musician Vince Neil served as Grand Marshall at the World’s Largest Chicken Dance.
• Judson Laipply’s Evolution of Dance featured “The Chicken Dance.”
• November 13, 2009 — In support of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, CIHT-FM played “The Chicken Dance” continuously until 389 tickets for the CHEO Dream of a Lifetime were purchased for $100 each. They played for over 3 hours straight.
• April 23, 2010 — An attempt at the World’s Largest Chicken Dance record was held at Byron Center, Michigan at Jake’s Restaurant in a fundraiser for Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. Jake’s Restaurant is the site of a giant plastic chicken sculpture.
• July 4, 2010 — Mandan, North Dakota established a new World Record for the Longest Chicken Dance at their annual Independence Day Parade and Street Festival. The Mandan, ND “Chicken Dance” line covered twenty-four city blocks and was 1.627 miles long.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Share you chicken dancing on social media.

How to Chicken Dance Video - https://youtu.be/e1DSqeU62Hs

Each year on the third Friday in May, National Endangered Species Day is an opportunity for everyone to learn about the importance of protecting endangered species, their habitats and the actions necessary to do so. Every year you can participate along with thousands of others at events to celebrate National Endangered Species Day at wildlife refuges, zoos, parks, community centers, aquariums, botanical gardens, libraries and schools.

The 40th anniversary of the Federal Endangered Species Act was observed in 2013. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a “consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation.” The act was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973.

The Act is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

HOW TO OBSERVE

Look up some endangered animals in your area and share post on social media.

HISTORY

Our research found the National Endangered Species Day was enacted in 2006 by the United States Senate.

Armed Forces Day is a day to pay tribute to the men and women who serve the United States Armed Forces. The day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May and is part of Armed Forces Week.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Share with us your favorite US Armed Forces person and post on social media.

HISTORY

It was with the idea for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country that President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish this single holiday. The one-day celebration then stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense. It was on August 31, 1949, that Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard and Air Force Days.

Parades, open houses, receptions and air shows were held to celebrate the first Armed Forces Day held on May 20, 1950.

• 1962 – President John F. Kennedy established Armed Forces Day as an official holiday.
• The United States longest running city-sponsored Armed Forces Day Parade is held in Bremerton, Washington.
• 2012 – Bremerton celebrated the 64th year of the Armed Forces Day Parade.

For more information and an Armed Forces Day Poster see: http://www.defense.gov/afd/