On This Day: September 26th … Strange Holidays
Johnny Appleseed Day
Love Note Day
National Shamu The Whale Day
National Pancake Day
Now this is an interesting mix. Okay, let me go to it.
Love Note Day
Love Note Day is a day to tell someone you love them, by writing a message of love in the form of a note. Though the traditional way of doing this is in handwritten form, E-cards are another way of sending out a love message on this particular day.
This day can be at its most effective when the recipient of the message isn’t aware that Love Note Day even exists! Consequently, the message will come as a pleasant surprise.
For couples that plan exchanging Love Notes, then doing so in unpredictable ways can make the whole day a fun experience. Leaving a note in a fridge, or on the inside of the bathroom door are just two examples.
Love Note Day can be for any family members or for longtime friends, too. It’s the perfect day to make someone feel appreciated through just a few heartfelt words.
“True love stories never have endings.”—Richard Bach
National Shamu The Whale Day
On September 26th, National Shamu the Whale Day honors a famous whale, while also raising awareness about orcas.
Shamu is the name used in several of the SeaWorld orca whale shows. It is the stage name given to the “star” of those shows, beginning with the original Shamu in the late 1960s. Shamu died in 1971. However, SeaWorld trademarked the name Shamu. They gave the name to different orcas throughout the years when performing in Shamu shows in several SeaWorld parks.
Wild Orca (killer whales) Facts:
These warm-blooded mammals live in oceans all over the world. However, they’re mostly found in the colder waters of the Arctic and Antarctic. Female orcas can live up to 90 years, while male orcas live only up to about 60 years. These powerful predators are the largest member of the dolphin family.
Like dolphins, whales live in social groups and make sounds to communicate. They travel in pods. Both the sounds they make and their distinctive markings help them to identify each other. They also imitate others and seem to deliberately teach skills to their kin.
Orca pods consist of up to 40 members and together they make a powerful hunting party. Orcas eat a wide variety of fish, birds, and ocean-dwelling mammals. On average, an orca eats 500 pounds per day.
Johnny Appleseed Day
He was born John Chapman on September 26, 1774, in Leominster, Massachusetts, to Nathaniel and Elizabeth Simons Chapman. Nobody knows much about his early life other than his mother died when he was two. His father packed up Johnny and his sister (an infant brother had died the previous year) and moved to Springfield, Massachusetts. His father served as a Minuteman and fought at Bunker Hill. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, in Johnny Appleseed Park, a grave marks the spot where the legendary sower of apple seeds rests.
Then in 1797, Chapman shows up in northwestern Pennsylvania propagating his apple seeds and working his way steadily into the frontier of West Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana. Eventually, he travels as far west as Illinois and Iowa and as far north as Michigan and Wisconsin.
In his wake, Appleseed left orchards and the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Swedenborg was a Swedish spiritual leader whose books Appleseed would buy with whatever payment he might receive for his endeavors. In turn, the traveling nurseryman would give the books away as he traveled and planted.
Mostly, though, he planted his seeds and seedlings for free along with his wisdom. His broad-brimmed pasteboard hat kept the sun from his eyes wherever he went. Often shoeless, he traveled mostly by foot and sometimes by horseback or canoe. His appearance was nearly as noteworthy as his accomplishments, but so was his kindness. If Johnny Appleseed came calling, people made a place at the table.
Many stories tell how the man would travel many miles to nurse an ailing orchard when word would reach him of its poor condition. While bringing the trees back to health (his chief endeavor), the orchard man dispersed his wisdom, care, and kindness.
So, that mom’s apple pie you love so much? Give a shout out to Johnny.
More Strange Holidays Coming!