WORLD WHALE DAY

Humpback Whale off the coast of Maui, Hawaii. Source: Pixabay

World Whale Day is a Save Coastal Wildlife Event. It is held on the third Sunday in February each year.

Whales are noble sea mammals and are some of the most fascinating creatures living in our big blue oceans.

What is World Whale Day?

We celebrate these giants of the ocean on World Whale Day to raise awareness of these magnificent creatures. Founded in Maui, Hawaii in 1980, specifically to honor the humpback whales which swim off the Hawaiian coast, World Whale Day has now become an annual event. It is the main showcase of the Maui Whale Festival held each year on the 3rd Sunday of February on Maui.

Maui Whale Festival

Organized by the Pacific Whale Foundation, the All-Day Maui Whale Festival includes a parade with floats, costumed characters, and music from both Hawaiian and International stars. There are also events for children, so it becomes a whole family event.

If you are not able to attend in person in Hawaii, you can celebrate the day taking part in a fundraising event wherever you live. Have a 'whale of a time' and aid in the cause designed to meet conservation threats to whales, such as loss of habitat and pollution.

Crafty Whales

As a crafting artist, I admire the crafty whales created by fellow crafters. Giving cute handcrafted whales to children would also be a way to raise awareness of these magnificent sea creatures.

Whale Plush Toys

Crochet Plush Whales

Two plush whales, handmade in crochet, are available on Etsy.

*LAVENDER WHALE PILLOW PAL

Whale pillow pal in lavender and purple. This is a plump toy whale hand-crocheted in two pieces and sewn together to make a cute playful pillow-style toy.

Whale pillow pal measures 11 inches long, 9 inches high at his head, including the spout, and 6 inches high at the tail. He is about 2 inches wide, making him easy to cuddle and carry around and fun to rest a little head upon at naptime.

Whale pillow pal is handmade in lavender acrylic yarn. His spout is made in purple and white and his features are hand-embroidered in yarn. He is filled with new soft polyfil and is soft and safe all over for any age child.

*BLUE WHALE PLUSHIE

Toy Whale in Handmade Crochet. Soft Seashore Stuffie. Tubby the Toy Whale. Amigurumi Animal. Kawaii Cutie. Ocean Animal

Tubby the toy whale is handmade in crochet using blue and white acrylic yarn. His eyes are craft safety eyes. His body is blue and his belly is white. Whale is filled with a soft new polyester fiberfill.

Plush whale measures 7 x 7 x 4 inches, a perfect size for little hands to hold. He is ready to join other friendly stuffed animals in a child's toybox.

Available in the Etsy Shop of Coastal Crochet Crafts.

Summary

Orca Whales - Pixabay

So mark your calendars for World Whale Day on the 3rd Sunday of February.

(c) World Whale Day written by Wednesday Elf

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

National Fish & Chips Day

"Fish & Chips" Day is celebrated each year on the first Friday in June. 

The history of this holiday comes from Great Britain.  In the late 1800s, trawl fishing became a major part of the industry in the North Sea, making fresh fish available all over, including inland and within the cities. It became known as a meal of the working class, because being 'easily available' meant 'cheaper'.  And being a high caloric meal meant it was filling for the  workers who held physically demanding jobs.

Today fish & chips is popular all over, including in Canada where it is frequently sold from ‘Chip Wagons’, and throughout the USA.

Fish & Chips …. without Chips?

 

Source: Pixabay

I recently went out to lunch with a friend. I ordered fish & chips and the waitress rattled off a long list of 'sides' of which I heard almost none (she talked too fast and not understandably so). Therefore, I just said 'coleslaw', which was the only word I actually heard and a dish I enjoy with fish.

When my order came, the plate had fish and coleslaw and NO French fries (chips). I said 'where's the 'chips' and she said, well that was included in your choice of a 'side' and you said 'coleslaw'.  What?! Wouldn't you assume that if you ordered a menu item that stated 'fish & chips', you'd get the French fries with it and the coleslaw or other choice would be the side?

The waitress ended up bringing me a plate of 'free' French fries for the misunderstanding, but I think she entirely missed the point. One doesn't order 'fish & chips' and get only 'fish'. Huh! :-)

Celebrate Fish and Chip Day

So, as you can see, a good way to celebrate this day is naturally by having a platter of fish & chips - order some up from your favorite restaurant (or 'Chipper' in England) or make it yourself at home. Serve with some tarter sauce (popular in America) or with a bit of mayonnaise (in Canada). 


Fish N Chips-MovieCheck Price
After enjoying your dinner, finish up your evening with your children by viewing  this cute animated movie called (what else) Fish & Chips!  An adventure of a young fish named "fish" and his nemesis "Chips" a cat. The two tear across land and sea and face off for the love of the same catfish and bones of fish's ancestor.  Their hilarious adventures are sure to have both children and adults laughing. 

 (c) Wednesday Elf

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

June is National Candy Month

A Collection of Candies and 'Candy Days'

 

Sweet-tasting treats we call Candy have been around for thousands of years. Early man first discovered how great sweets tasted when he began digging honey out of bee hives.

Various types of actual 'candy' were found in the recorded history of the Egyptians 3500 years ago. In the 17th century, boiled candies became popular. 

Homemade hard candies, like peppermints and lemon drops became a favorite in America in the 1800s, as sugar-beet juice and the advancement of mechanical appliances made sweet-making into an industry! And we haven't even started on how much chocolate and gum makes us candy-lovers happy. :)

Origin of National Candy Month

After doing a long search through many types and sources of Candy, all we know for sure is that JUNE is National Candy Month. No one appears to have given a reason for either the national celebration or why June was chosen as 'candy' month, so we will simply 'enjoy' and 'indulge our sweet tooth' throughout June. :)

Candies Associated with Holidays

 

1960s Holiday Retro Candy Gift Box

These 'sweet snacks' called Candy are especially popular around certain special events throughout the year and have become integrated in celebrations and holidays.

Halloween, Christmas, Easter and Valentine's Day are the biggest candy selling days . . in that order.

We Love Candy!

We all know certain candies are associated with particular holidays, but, did you know that there are many, many other days throughout the year that celebrate the sweetness we call candy in one form or another, with ‘chocolate’ being the #1 term used? Let’s check out a few of those chocolate ones.

 

 Chocolate Candy Holiday Celebrations

Chocolate Poster by CarriesCamera
 

• January 3rd - National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
• February 19 - Chocolate Mint Day
• The 3rd Week of March is 'American Chocolate Week'.
• March 19 - National Chocolate Caramel Day
• March 24 - National Chocolate-Covered Raisin Day
• April 21 - National Chocolate-Covered Cashews Day
• May 12 - National Nutty Fudge Day
• June 16 - FUDGE Day!
• July 7 - CHOCOLATE DAY!
• July 28 - National Milk Chocolate Day
• September 13 - International Chocolate Day
• September 22 - National White Chocolate Day

For 'whatever' reason, there appears to be several 'Days' devoted to the celebration of CHOCOLATE (and, why not... :). National Chocolate Day is on a Candy Holidays list for October 28th, December 28th and December 29th. Perhaps these days are set aside to finish up those chocolate treats from Halloween and Christmas! :-)

• November 7 - National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
• And (Finally... and rightly so).... December 16 - National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day!

Candy Man

 

Listen to 'The Candyman... While you Check out these Candy Holidays

A Collection of Candies and 'Candy Days'

The various types of candy are too numerous to list in one article. They include everything from Candy Bars to Lollipops to candies associated with particular holidays. I've included just a few here, but they all taste delicious! And...as you can see... your 'candy' days don't have to be limited just to June!

• February 14 - Valentine's Day
• April 22 - Jelly Bean Day
• May 23 - National Taffy Day
• July 20 - National Lollipop Day

• October is National Caramel Month

• October 30 - Candy Corn Day
• October 31 - Candy Apple Day
• December 26 - Candy Cane Day

A Bit of Trivia for National Candy Month

  

Candy is easily made by melting sugar in water. The candy type depends on the temperature at which it is heated. Hot temperatures result in hard candy; medium temperatures make soft candy and low temperature result in chewy candy.  Fun to remember this when making (or eating) your next batch of fudge or peanut brittle or chocolate bon-bons. 

© 2012 Wednesday-Elf  (originally written on another site). Updated on 7/7/2023

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”