On This Day: December 7th … Strange Holidays

Pearl Harbor Day

Letter Writing Day

National Cotton Candy Day

National Aviation Day

Well, I probably could make something up for one or two of these but I’m going to pass on it this time and just go for the meat and taters.

National Aviation Day

The National Aviation Day is a United States national observation that celebrates the development of aviation. The holiday was established in 1939 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who issued a presidential proclamation which designated the anniversary of Orville Wright's birthday to be National Aviation Day.

Okay, I get it but, what about his brother, Wilbur? He had just as much to do with aviation as Orville (and when I hear that name, I think of popcorn).

National Cotton Candy Day

National Cotton Candy Day celebrates the spun sugar treat that delights candy fans of all ages. On December 7th get your favorite flavor of this sweet delight that dates back to the 1400’s.

Originally called spun sugar, cotton candy is still a staple at carnivals, fairs, and the circus. While it may be reminiscent of childhood days, fairy floss also reminds us of fluffy clouds. Since the heated sugar gets spun into thin strands of fine sugar and blown into fat puffs twirled onto paper sticks, it’s a bit like magic.

We associate it with other magical occasions, too. Carnivals and fairs, the zoo, and the circus delight us. We associate a bit of joy and magic with cotton candy. Nostalgic memories of bustling crowds and the music of the calliope bring a smile to our faces.

Cotton candy is also called candy floss or fairy floss.

During the 18th century, cotton candy (spun sugar) was first recorded in Europe. At that time, it was very expensive and labor-intensive. Generally, the average person could not afford to purchase cotton candy.

Then in 1897, Dentist William Morrison and confectioner John C. Wharton invented machine-spun cotton candy. Their invention introduced cotton candy to a wider audience at the 1904 World’s Fair as Fairy Floss. Fairgoers loved it and bought over 68,000 boxes for a quarter a box.

Letter Writing Day

Ah, those golden days of yesterday, when pen touched paper and the mind commanded the hand to write words. Will that ever happen again?

World Letter Writing Day was established by Richard Simpkin, as a tribute to the joy and excitement he felt when a hand-written letter would arrive in his mailbox. His appreciation of the hand-written word came about as a result of a project he was working on called “Australian Legends”, he would send out letters to everyone he considered to be an Australian Legend with the interest of arranging a personal interview and photography session. There was just something amazing about receiving a letter with the legends own personal touch to it, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that while hand-written letters are collectible, digital communication certainly is not.

Letter Writing Day is all about paying tribute to the age-old form of communication; letter writing. Letter Writing Day presents you with a great opportunity to reconnect with people that you may not have spoken to for quite some time now. It also helps you to think before you write. With modern connection forms, we don’t tend to reflect and think before we communicate with someone. However, a letter gives you the perfect opportunity to do this.

When was the last time you sat down and wrote a letter to a friend, a grandparent, or to someone super special? That means handwritten, paper folded, put in an envelope, attach a stamp, and put it in a thing called a mail box.

Pearl Harbor Day

This is a day, according to then president, FDR, on December 8th, before Congress, “December 7th, is a day that will live in infamy.”

Most of us, myself included, weren’t born when this day in 1941 happened, but history has recounted the story each year. In Hawaii, there is a memorial there, which, if you haven’t, you should pay a visit. It will leave you with a sobering moment.

During the attack on Pearl, 2,400 servicemen and 68 civilians lost their lives, and five of the eight battleships were sunk or sinking, and each ship was damaged where it crippled our Navy fleet.

If you not seen my posting, regarding this, here is the link:

https://theprose.com/post/398797/a-day-that-will-live-in-infamy

More strange holidays are coming!