NATIONAL SEA SERPENT DAY
Have you ever looked out over the water and thought you saw a fantastic creature break the surface? Well, in August 1848, several men aboard the HMS Daedalus couldn’t believe their eyes when they looked out upon the South Atlantic. Several passengers and officers on a voyage to Saint Helena spied a 60-foot-long creature bearing a peculiar maned head above the ocean water. National Sea Serpent Day commemorates this siting and the many other stories that continue to be told.
Serpent sightings are something of myth and legend. We may call them sirens of the sea. Greek mythology named its sea creature Cetus. The Vikings spoke of the Kraken. Even we land-locked creatures in the New World have names for the serpents that live in the watery depths of our greatest lakes and waterways. One sea serpent was adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a time. A resident of the Chesapeake Bay, the horse-like sea creature name Chessie reminds us of another legendary serpent nicknamed Nessie of Loch Ness in Scotland. Chessie isn’t the only monster to remind us of Loch Ness. Two Great Lake monsters take on the names Pressie and Bessie.
Many sightings are attributed to large water creatures such as whales, sharks, and sea lions. However, cryptozoologists, suggest that sea serpents are relict plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, or other Mesozoic marine reptiles.
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalSeaSerpentDay
- Read sea serpent legends.
- Share your personal sea serpent sighting.
- Look for sea serpents while sailing the ocean or a large body of water.
- Use #NationalSeaSerpentDay to share on social media.
NATIONAL SEA SERPENT DAY HISTORY
National Day Calendar continues researching the origins of this murky national day.
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