Category: May 15

  • BRING FLOWERS TO SOMEONE DAY | May 15

    BRING FLOWERS TO SOMEONE DAY

    April showers means May 15 is Bring Flowers to Someone Day to celebrate why giving flowers plays a significant roll in kindness.

    #BRINGFLOWERSTOSOMEONEDAY

    Flowers are one of nature’s most beautiful gifts. Bring Flowers to Someone Day is the perfect way to give the gift of love and kindness to those around you. Whether you gift flowers to show sympathy or give them just because, the simple act of giving flowers brings joy to the recipient.

    The act of giving flowers has been a custom dating back ancient times. History documents flowers as an important part of the social customs of Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman cultures. In fact, Greek mythology contains references of giving flowers relating to gods and goddesses. During the Middle Ages, the English and French said there was meaning behind flowers that determined when a flower given.

    In the 1950s, American archaeologist Ralph Solecki and and his team found evidence of giving flowers. During a excavation in Iraqi Kurdistan, the team found remains of Neanderthals 200,000 years old. One of the sites showed evidence of flowers embedded in the burial sites. Though the expedition remains under question today, the dig does in fact prove flowers have been a part of the burial process for ages.

    The Victorian era seems to be the beginning of giving flowers as a demonstration of feelings. During this time, it was not customary for people to “show” their emotions or feelings. In fact, portraying emotions was bad manners. However, giving flowers was a way to express feelings about a person or situation. In addition, there were rules attached to flower giving. For instance, if someone gave a bouquet of roses to another and presented them upside down, the receiver would assume the flowers were given out of anger.

    What is Floriography? In technical terms, Floriography is the language of flowers. For centuries, cultures have said flowers tell a story based on the meaning of the flower. Each flower carries a special meaning with certain symbolism behind the flower. Today, florists use Floriography when designing flowers for any occasion to ensure the flowers chosen have significant meaning in the arrangement.

    10 FLOWER MEANINGS

    1. Baby’s breath – Everlasting love
    2. White Carnations – Incense and purity
    3. Yellow Carnations – Sadness or gloom
    4. Calla Lilies – Beauty
    5. Daisies – Loyalty
    6. Gardenias – Secret love
    7. Magnolias – Lover of nature
    8. Peonies – Happy
    9. Sunflowers – Adoring
    10. Yellow Tulips – Bright smile

    Why do people give flowers? People give flowers for different reasons because giving flowers is a universal way to express love, support, and sympathy. Many give them on special occasions, such as a birthday or for Mother’s Day. Other people present them as an arrangement for a funeral showing sympathy. Whether you give flowers for love, sympathy, an apology, or as sympathy, flowers lift spirits and spread happiness.

    5 Rare Flowers

    1. Roses are considered to be the most beautiful flower in the world.
    2. The agave americana takes 100 years to bloom.
    3. Middlemist Red flowers are the rarest flowers in the world and only found in London and New Zealand.
    4. Kadupul Flowers are the most expensive flower in the world not only because they are rare, but because they only live a few hours then die.
    5. A giant nolina is found in the Kingston Mountains of the Mojave Desert and no where else in the world.
    The Language of Flowers
There is a language, little known,
Lovers claim it as their own.
Its symbols smile upon the land,
Wrought by nature’s wondrous hand;
And in their silent beauty speak,
Of life and joy, to those who seek
For Love Divine and sunny hours
In the language of the flowers.
(London, 1875)

    BRING FLOWERS TO SOMEONE DAY

    1. Bring flowers to a family member or friend for no special reason.
    2. Attend a flower arrangement class.
    3. Plant a colorful flower garden.
    4. Share all of your flower on social media using #BringFlowersToSomeoneDay.

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  • INTERNATIONAL KANGAROO CARE AWARENESS DAY – May 15

    Every year on May 15, advocates educate and raise awareness for skin-to-skin contact on International Kangaroo Care Awareness Day. Also known as kangaroo care, skin-to-skin contact encourages everyone to embrace this important practice between newborns and mothers immediately after birth, especially those in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

    #KangarooCareDay

    The term “kangaroo care” got its name from the type of care a kangaroo mother provides their infant. A kangaroo mother has a little pouch on the front if its body. This little pouch acts as a second womb. When a joey, or baby kangaroo, is inside the pouch, it stays warm and protected. In addition, the pouch also offers a cozy environment in which to grow. Just like a mother kangaroo, a human mother can offer the same security.

    During the first moments and days after a birth, a mother places their infant onto her chest and covers the baby with a blanket. This skin-to skin contact between baby and mother helps babies thrive. Though kangaroo care is primarily done in the NICU where premature babies need a lot of extra care, many hospitals have implemented this practice as part of the birthing process. In some instances, a caregiver provides the contact just as well as a birth mother can.

    There are many evidence-based health benefits for skin-to-skin contact between baby and mother. For example, kangaroo care helps premature babies gain weight more quickly. Some other benefits for the baby include:

    • Stabilizing heart rate and body temperature.
    • Improving breathing pattern and oxygen saturation levels.
    • Improving sleep patterns.
    • Decreases crying and reduces stress.
    • Increases the success rate of breastfeeding.
    • Increases chances of an earlier discharge from the NICU.

    Kangaroo care is not just beneficial for babies, however. Parents also benefit from doing this type of care in the hospital. Parents can increase their bond with their baby as well as increase their confidence in their ability to care for their baby. Additionally, mothers who practice kangaroo care might also have an increased supply of breastmilk.

    SUPPORTING INTERNATIONAL KANGAROO CARE DAY

    • Attend an event to raise awareness for kangaroo care, such as walks, seminars and workshops.
    • Learn about the benefits kangaroo care provides to premature babies and parents.
    • Talk to a new parent about kangaroo care.
    • Share your journey using kangaroo care with your infant.
    • Fundraise on behalf of parents of premature babies, hospitals and healthcare workers.
    • Provide stuffed kangaroo animals to your local NICU.
    • Raise awareness for this day on social media using #InternationalKangarooAwarenessDay and #KangarooCareDay.

    INTERNATIONAL KANGAROO CARE AWARENESS DAY HISTORY

    In 1979, Dr. Edgar Ray and Dr. Hector Martinez began working together to find a way to help the survival rates of premature babies. While working in a large maternity unit in Bogota, Columbia, they started to change how care was provided to low birth weight infants using skin-to-skin contact. At the time, underdeveloped countries had limited resources to increase the survival rate of infants born with low birth weight.

    After performing revolutionary experiments on how to improve the overall health of premature infants, Dr. Ray and Dr. Martinez concluded skin-to-skin contact was just as effective as more expensive treatments. Within a few years, over 500 babies thrived, significantly reducing the death rate of infants in Columbia. The movement became known as the Kangaroo Mother Care Program. Kangaroo Mother Care has three main components:

    • Early and continuous skin-to-skin contact between the mother and her infant.
    • Exclusive breastfeeding.
    • Early discharge.

    Today, Kangaroo Mother Care is practiced in hospitals around the world. New studies are consistently being done, including the importance of the father of the newborn participating in

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  • INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILIES – May 15

    INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILIES

    The International Day of Families is observed on the 15th of May every year. The International Day of Families provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting them. It has inspired a series of awareness-raising events, including national family days. In many countries, this day is an opportunity to highlight different areas of interest and importance to families.

    #DayOfFamilies

    “A happy family is but an earlier heaven.” —George Bernard Shaw

    “Family is a life jacket in the stormy sea of life.” – J.K. Rowling

    CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILIES

    Invite your family to work together on a project. Decide together what should be that project, the timeline, and details.

    Celebrate your family with your family trivia
    1. How many generations are in our family, alive and well today?
    2. Who is the longest living family member with us today? (If female, give her a rose, if male, give him a family reunion hat or koozie.)
    3. Who is the newest family member here today? (Could be a baby or a new marriage.)
    4. Who are the newest newlyweds?
    5. How many states does our family live in?
    6. Who recently retired?
    7. How many military members are in the family? (Give them each a little flag to recognize.)
    8. In what year did our family make it over to the United States?
    9. What is our family’s native language?
    10. How many people are in our family total?
    11. Who plays what musical instruments?
    12. Who has traveled to the most countries? The most states?

    INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILIES HISTORY

    Beginning in the 1980s, the United Nations started to focus attention on the issues related to the family.
    1983 – Secretary-General moved to enhance awareness among decision-makers and the public of the problems and needs of the family.
    1989 – The General Assembly proclaimed The International Year of the Family.
    1993 – The U.N. General Assembly declared May 15 of every year should be observed as the International Day of Families

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  • NATIONAL NYLON STOCKING DAY – May 15

    NATIONAL NYLON STOCKING DAY

    Each year on May 15th, we recognize the stylish variety and color available on National Nylon Stocking Day.

    #NylonStockingDay

    Many may not remember ever hearing the term “nylon stockings.” Varying in color, design, and transparency, a nylon stocking (also known as hose) is a close-fitting, variously elastic garment worn the same as socks or tights.

    Stockings worn before the 1890s were made of woven cloth such as cotton, linen, wool, or silk. Before the 1920s, women’s stockings were worn for warmth.  As hemlines of women’s dresses rose in the 1920s, women began to wear stockings over their exposed legs. These 1920s stockings were sheer, made first of silk or rayon, followed by nylon after 1940.

    Chemical company DuPont’s introduction of nylon in 1939 began a high demand for stockings in the United States.  As nylon stockings were inexpensive, durable, and shear, up to 4 million pairs would be purchased each day.

    World War II and Beyond

    On February 11, 1942, as America entered World War II, DuPont ceased production of nylon stockings and switching its focus to the manufacture of parachutes, airplane cords, and rope.  This created a mass shortage followed by a black market for stockings.  At the end of World War II, DuPont resumed production of the stockings but could not meet the demand leading to nylon riots in American stores. In time, DuPont was able to increase its output.

    In the 1940s and 1950s, the first pantyhose made its appearance.  Film and theater productions had stockings sewn to the briefs of actresses and dancers, as seen in popular films such as Daddy Long Legs. Unlike stockings, pantyhose did not require a garter belt to hold the stockings up.

    Pantyhose were introduced in 1959, providing a convenient alternative to stockings which led to a decline in their sales. In 1970, for the first time, United States sales of pantyhose exceeded stocking sales and have remained the same ever since. In 1987, there was a slight decline in sales in pantyhose due to the newly invented hold-ups. However, they remain the most purchased kind of hosiery.

    HOW TO OBSERVE NYLON STOCKING DAY

    Today nylons come in every color and a variety of styles. Show off your fashion sense with the latest styles. Share using #NylonStockingDay to post on social media.

    NATIONAL NYLON STOCKING DAY HISTORY

    Within our research, we were unable to find the origin of National Stocking Day.

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  • NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CHIP DAY – May 15

    NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CHIP DAY

    On May 15th, we recognize a morsel of a thing on National Chocolate Chip Day!  

    #ChocolateChipDay

    Have you ever wondered how a single ingredient would change a recipe? If it weren’t for one curious baker, it would be hard to imagine where we would be without the invention of chocolate chips.

    In 1937, Ruth Graves Wakefield of Whitman Massachusetts must have been curious about what a little bit of chocolate would add to her cookies. While working at the Toll House Inn, she added cut-up chunks of a semi-sweet Nestle chocolate bar to a cookie recipe. The cookies were a huge success and in 1939 Wakefield signed an agreement with Nestle to add her recipe to the chocolate bar’s packaging. In exchange for the recipe, Wakefield received a lifetime supply of chocolate. The Nestle brand Toll House cookies were named for the Inn.

    Nestle initially included a small chopping tool with the chocolate bars, too. Starting in 1941, Nestle and other competitors started selling the chocolate in chip or morsel form. For the first time, bakers began making chocolate chip cookies without chopping up the chocolate bar first. 

    Chocolate chips originally came in semi-sweet. Later, chocolate producers began offering bittersweet, semi-sweet, mint, white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white and dark swirled. Today, chips also come in a variety of other flavors that bakers and candy makers use creatively in their kitchens.

    While cookies may be the first treat to come to mind, imagination is really the only thing limiting how chocolate chips can be used in baking and candy making. Even savory dishes feature chocolate chips in a variety of ways, too. Had Ruth Graves Wakefield never wondered what a few chopped up chunks of chocolate would be like in her baking, we wouldn’t even have chocolate chip cookies.  

    HOW TO OBSERVE CHOCOLATE CHIP DAY

    Whether you bake up chocolate chip cookies or melt them down and begin dipping, be sure to celebrate! Make sweet treats to share or experiment with a new recipe. Dive into Grandma’s recipe box and try an old favorite, too! Be sure to share the bests ones, of course. It’s the best way to #CelebrateEveryDay! Use #ChocolateChipDay to post on social media.

    NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CHIP DAY HISTORY

    Within our research, National Day Calendar continues seeking the origins of this chocolately holiday. 

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  • PEACE OFFICERS MEMORIAL DAY – May 15

    PEACE OFFICERS MEMORIAL DAY

    Every May 15th Peace Officers Memorial Day pays tribute to local, state, and federal law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice or been injured in the line of duty. The observance takes place during Police Week.

    #PeaceOfficersMemorialDay

    According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, more than 800,000 law enforcement officers serve in the United States today. Each year, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial adds new names to the wall. The average is 163 deaths per year. Fallen law enforcement officers represent all levels of law enforcement, including local, state, federal, tribal, and military law enforcement. They are family members, husbands, wives, parents, sons, and daughters.

    The day honors fallen LEO across the nation and offers support to their surviving family members and officers.

    HOW TO OBSERVE PEACE OFFICERS MEMORIAL DAY

    Many organizations, government agencies, and private citizens fly flags at half-staff in memory of those officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice. These organizations conduct services honoring the fallen across the country, including Washington, D.C. Attend a memorial near you. Support families of fallen and injured law enforcement officers.

    The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial wall in Washington, D.C., features the names of more than 22,000 law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty. Use #PeaceOfficersMemorialDay to post on social media.

    PEACE OFFICERS MEMORIAL DAY HISTORY

    On October 1, 1961, Congress asked President John F. Kennedy to designate May 15th as a day to honor peace officers. In 1962, President Kennedy issued the declaration for Peace Officers Memorial Day to be observed on May 15th and the week of May 15th to be recognized as National Police Week. In 1994, Bill Clinton made an amendment through Public Law 103-322 that directed the United States flag to be flown at half-staff on May 15th in honor of the day.

    There are over 1,500 national days. Don’t miss a single one. Celebrate Every Day® with National Day Calendar®!

    May 15th Celebrated History

    1923

    Dr. Joseph Lawrence and Jordan Lambert register the disinfectant called Listerine. Inspiration for the name came from the English surgeon Joseph Lister who touted the importance of antiseptic protocols including handwashing before surgery.

    1942

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs legislation creating the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps. Oveta Culp Hobby was named as the organization’s first director. The name would later be shortened to Women’s Army Corps. In early 1941, Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts sponsored the original bill creating the WAAC so that women volunteers would have support and benefits for their service. While the bill didn’t initially obtain support, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Congress reconsidered. The organization was created as a joint operation of the Army.

    1963

    Astronaut Gordon Cooper becomes the first American to spend more than a single day in space. During the final mission of Project Mercury, Cooper completed 22 orbits of the Earth and his entire flight spanned 34 hours, 19 minutes, 49 seconds.

    May 15th Celebrated Birthdays

    L. Frank Baum – 1856

    The American writer is the author of a series of children’s books featuring a place called Oz. The 1939 film The Wizard of Oz was based on Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It starred Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton, and Frank Morgan.

    Williamina P. Fleming – 1857

    The American astronomer is best known for discovering the Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Orion.

    Horsehead Nebula

    Pierre Curie – 1859

    In 1903, the French physicist, along with French physicists Marie Curie and Henri Becquerel received the Nobel Prize in Physics “in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity.”

    Hickory Starr – 1915

    A descendent of Sequoyah, Hickory Starr served as the Chief of the Nighthawk Keetoowah Society founded by his grandfather, Redbird Smith.

    Madeleine Albright – 1937

    In 1997, Madeleine Albright became the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State. President Bill Clinton named Albright to the position, and she served until 2001.

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