won't you be my neighbor?

As part of my job, I, on a daily basis (along with my fellow communicators), scour through news items, both industry and non, searching for relevant bits that might interest our fellow 1,200 employees. We then post those items to NewsFlash, which is an internal daily news blog of sorts, for all to enjoy. Because the energy industry does not exactly supply the most thrilling news, we strive to include other fun tidbits of information, which includes, on occasion, recognition of bizarre daily, weekly and monthly observations.

This morning through the examination of said observances for the month of March, I came to realize that tomorrow is the vernal equinox (aka -- the first day of spring), which, although not atypical per se, does share the day with some other interesting observances. Perusing the offerings for March 20, I learned that the list was quite long -- and diverse. While some of the observances were basically self-explanatory, others, such as Snowman Burning Day, left me with many questions. Enter research (aka, Googling). And, as if you didn't already know what was coming next, following are my findings, mingled with a bit of commentary, related to the holidays of March 20, 2010.


Warning: Reserve copious amounts of time for the reading of this incredibly lengthy post.

Great American Meatout Day
As a former vegetarian, Great American Meatout Day was not completely foreign to me. Additionally, the concept can easily be deducted from the name of the day itself -- meat, out. March 20, 2010, marks the 25th anniversary of Meatout, which asks Americans to "kick the meat habit, at least for a day, and explore a compassionate, wholesome diet of fruits, vegetables and whole grains."

Kiss Your Fiance Day
The roots for Kiss Your Fiance Day are not as deep as Meatout, but the observance is as equally important, especially if you are in the midst of planning a wedding. The basis of the observance is for brides and grooms around the world to take a day to forget wedding planning and kiss each other. Seriously. Somebody, somewhere actually thought this up and submitted it as a "relevant" observance for March 20.

National Jump Out! Day
Other than Google suggesting I mistyped and in fact meant to search for National Grump Out! Day (celebrated in May), I was unsuccessful in discovering the mystery behind the observance.

Ostara
Turns out Ostara is just another name for the observance of the first day of spring. The word stems from the word Eostre, who was a Germanic Goddess of Spring. Apparently, the holiday was most appealing to early Pagans, who observed the day as a time to celebrate planting and the new crop season.

Proposal Day
Perhaps the creator of proposal day didn't hear the news that wedding planning and the such were supposed to be scarce for the day, but nevertheless, March 20 also provides an opportunity for men who have been procrastinating to take the plunge and propose already. According to one Web site, the timing of the vernal equinox distinguishes March 20 as "the best day to get down on one knee and pop the question." Apparently, there is some truth to the claim as John O'Loughlin, the man behind the day, has evidence that Proposal Day has been a resounding success. No worries though men, if you can't commit to popping the question on March 20, you have another six months to do so as September 22 is supposedly also Proposal Day.

National Agriculture Day
This one is pretty apparent. National Agriculture Day (and the corresponding week, celebrated March 13-20) provides a reminder to thank U.S. ag producers and recognize the contributions of agriculture in our country. Although I couldn't locate information disclosing when the first Ag Day celebration occurred, I did find it ironic that it shares the day with Meatout Day. If I had to guess,  I would say whichever observation came first, choosing the date for the other was not an oversight. 

National Quilting Day
Another celebration that does not deem any further explanation. However, since my mom did not pass on her craft gene to me, I'm out on celebrating in any manner that actually involves me performing any type of actual quilting.

Snowman Burning Day
I must admit, this particular observation piqued my interest more than any other on the list. I envisioned poor Frosty waiting for his demise, but was unsure beyond that how an actual snowman was going to burn. Apparently, Snowman Burning Day doesn't actually involve the sacrifising of any men composed of snow. No, this "holiday," which originated as yet another ceremonial celebration for spring, includes the burning of ritual snowmen, made of wood, paper and other non-snow materials. Add to the disappointment that the only Snowman Burning Day celebration location I could track down was at Lake Superior State University in Michigan. Pass.

Won't You Be My Neighbor Day
Falling on the late Fred Rogers' birthday, the celebration of Won't You Be My Neighbor Day pays homage to a man who can best be described as one of the best neighbor's America ever had. I have many fond memories as a child of watching Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, being serenaded by his soothing voice and watching intently the characters of Make-Believe, while inadvertently learning a lesson or two. With that being said, I plan to pull on my favorite cardigan tomorrow and spend a minute or two thinking about how I can be a better neighbor, in honor of Mister Rogers. And, speaking of neighbors and neighborhoods, I do have to mention that I renewed my lease this week, thus breaking the moving-at-least-every-11-months cycle I had been operating under for the past nine year. A loosely pertinent fact of which I am very happy.

National Corndog Day
And, last but not least, as if March 20 wasn't conflicting enough between Great American Meatout Day and National Agriculture Day, let us now introduce Corndog Day. Surprisingly (or perhaps, not?), National Corndog Day actually has one of the better Web sites I encountered through this project, as well as what seems to be a large number of followers and participants of the celebration. And honestly, what more reason do you need to adopt the "holiday" beyond the fact that PBR is one of the main sponsors. Through the aforementioned Web site, I even managed to locate seven National Corndog Day celebrations that are taking place tomorrow in the Denver area. Maybe I'll check out the celebration in Capital Hill -- they're offering PBR drink specials, corndogs and tater tots. What more could a girl ask for?

Although it will literally be impossible to observe all of the March 20 "holidays," I did enjoy the research and will give my best effort to incorporate a bit of each into my day tomorrow However, if the current weather conditions persist, I may end up observing from the comfort of my warm apartment. It's just like Colorado to welcome the first day of spring with a blizzard. Geesh.