December 10 is Dewey Decimal System Day. The day commemorates the birth of Melville Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal System of library classification.

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The system, first published in 1876, organizes library materials by fields. There are 10 main fields that are further divided into smaller, more specialized area. Libraries around to the world use the system to organize and classify their books.

In addition to creating this ingenious system of organization, Melville Dewey was also a big proponent of the metric system. He was the founder of the American Metric Bureau.

How to Celebrate?

• Learn more about the Dewey Decimal System.
• Visit a library and talk to a librarian about how they keep track of all the books in the building.

Did You Know…

…that only 3 countries in the world do not use the metric system today? These are the United States, Myanmar, and Liberia.

Christmas is just a few weeks away, and if you haven’t sent out your greeting cards, make sure you do it on December 9 because it is Christmas Card Day.

How to Celebrate?

• Send out your holiday and Christmas cards.
• Make your own cards – your recipients will appreciate a handmade card.
• If you don’t have time to send in physical cards, what about sending e-cards?
• Don’t celebrate Christmas or the holidays? Why not send out New Year cards instead?

Did You Know…

…that the first Christmas cards were sent in 1843 and were commissioned in London, United Kingdom by Sir Henry Cole. John Callcott Horsley illustrated the card, which featured the members of a family.

December 8 is Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day.

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While the origins of this Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day are unknown, we are certain that the creators of this unofficial holiday wanted people to pretend to be time travelers.

Future or Past

In a general sense, most of us do that every day without pretending – we travel from one second to another. But time travelers are special – they have the ability to move from one point in time to another faster or slower than what us normal humans can do. They can travel in the past or travel in the future.

While most physicists and scientists agree that time traveling can be theoretically achieved, our present day technology and scientific knowledge aren’t advanced enough to make it a reality.

How to Celebrate?

All you need to do is to pretend that you can travel through time. Act like you just arrived from another century or even another planet. Here are some more ways you can celebrate this fun holiday:

• Watch all your favorite time traveling movies and shows.
• What about hosting a blast from the past party? Choose an era and base the party around the clothing, food and language of that period.
• Walk around dressed like someone from the past or future. Speak old English or Latin or any other ancient language when asked why you are dressed the way you are.

Did You Know…

…that one of the most popular paradox associated with time travel is the Grandfather Paradox? According to this paradox, if a person goes back into time to kill her/her grandfather before he has biological children and succeeds, then one of the person’s parents would never be born, and therefore, the person in question would not exist. This means that the person could not go back in time to kill his or her grandfather, which would mean that the person’s grandfather would have biological children and the person would exist today.

On December 7 bring out your finest stationery and your writing equipment and pen a letter to someone special because it is Letter Writing Day!

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While it is unclear who created Letter Writing Day, it is apparent that the creators of this unofficial holiday wanted to revive the art and tradition of letter writing and for people to show off their penmanship.

As Old As Written Language

Letter writing is as old as written language – people in ancient civilizations communicated with each other through letters written on a variety of different surfaces. Archaeologists have discovered letters written on wood, metal and ceramic plaques, leather, and fabric. Preserved letters are great historical resources – they are treated by historians as first hand accounts of the social, economic and political conditions prevailing at the time.

The mass production of paper and innovations in transportation made letter writing into an effective way to communicate with family and friends as well as elevated it into an art form. It also became a way for children and young adults to learn how to write and to present their thoughts and ideas cogently.

Decline in Letter Writing

The advent of the telegraph and other modern means of communications in recent years, especially the e-mail, has made letter writing a less popular activity. Today, fewer and fewer people take the time to sit down and write letters to their loved ones. Letter Writing Day aims to change this. The holiday encourages people to hand write letters and send them to their loved ones the old fashioned way – through the post or mail!

How to Celebrate?

• Write letters to your loved ones and friends. They will appreciate the effort you put in it and will love getting a handwritten note.
• If you send out newsletters or cards for the holidays, maybe today is the day to add little handwritten letters or notes to them.

Did You Know…

…that until the mid-19th century, envelopes were all handmade? Because of this, envelopes were extremely expensive and most people just folded up their letters and sealed them with a wax seal.

December 6 is Put On Your Own Shoes Day. It is a day to, well, put on your own shoes or if you are in the Southern Hemisphere, strap on your own sandals.

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Other than encouraging people to make sure they put on their own shoes while they step out of their homes, it is unclear what the unknown creator wanted to achieve with this obviously made-up holiday. Perhaps it was created by someone with young children as a way to prompt them to start learning how to wear and lace up their shoes.

Worn Since Antiquity

Shoes have been part of the human wardrobe since antiquity – the oldest preserved shoe in the world was found in Armenia and is believed to be at least 5000 years old. For most of history, shoes were basic and were used to protect the feet from the elements rather than for comfort and fashion. In fact, shoes made specifically for the left and the right feet were not invented until the 1800s. Today, shoes are a billion dollar industry around the world, with footwear being a major fashion item.

How to Celebrate

• Put on your own shoes, of course.
• If you have kids who are learning to put on their shoes, maybe today is the day to let them do it all by themselves.

Did You Know…

…that both men and women wore shoes with heels until the 18th century?

December 5 is the Day of the Ninja, a day to honor and celebrate the sneaky and stealthy masked warriors in black garb from ancient Japan.

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Legend has it that this unofficial holiday was created in 2003 to commemorate the release of Tom Cruise’s movie, The Last Samurai.

Professional Spies

Ninjas were professional spies in Japan. Active between the 13th and the 19th century, a ninja’s job included infiltration, sabotage, espionage, and even assassination.

While popular culture is full of stories about ninjas, usually featured as cunning, secretive, brave, and skillful fighters, there are very few historical accounts of them. Historians believe that in the Japanese society ninjas were not considered to be part of an elite class of fighters – that place was reserved for the samurais. Because of this, ninjas were often recruited to do unsavory tasks like arson and terrorism.

Did Not Dress in Black

In those days, a ninja, also known as a shinobi, did not wear the all black outfit ninjas are depicted wearing today in films, TV shows, and comic books. After all, one of the main tasks of a ninja as a spy was to infiltrate by blending into his surroundings. They would often dress as the locals to do their job.

The secrecy surrounding ninjas led to the rise of legends about their skills and powers – something that has now become a part of popular culture. Modern day depictions of ninjas show them having superhuman powers such as invisibility, ability to walk on water and shape shift.

How to Celebrate?

• Watch ninja movies or have a Teenage Mutant Ninja marathon.
• Have a ninja themed party. Everyone dresses like a ninja.
• Go to work dressed as a ninja and sneak up on your coworkers and friends.

Did You Know…

…that contrary to popular belief, ninjas were not all men? Women ninjas were known as Kunoichi.

On December 4 take our your best brown shoes and wear them because it is Wear Brown Shoes Day.

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The origins of this sartorial holiday are unknown, but we can safely assume that the holiday aims to encourage people to change up their daily dressing rituals.

How to Celebrate?

• Wear brown shoes.
• If you don’t own a pair, maybe today is the day to go get new brown shoes.
• If you usually wear brown shoes to work, why not wear a different shade of brown – perhaps tan or camel or russet?

Did You Know…

…that the shoes that Neil Armstrong wore when he first stepped on the Moon were left behind? Some say this was to avoid contamination, while others suggest that it was to compensate for the weight of the Moon rocks the astronauts had collected.

Take out the glitter, the yarn and your glue gun because it is Make A Gift Day.

The unofficial holiday is annually celebrated on December 3. It encourages people to lovingly hand craft gifts for all their loved ones.

The holidays are just around the corner. And if you are panicking about all the gifts you still have to buy and worrying about how your wallet is feeling lighter by the day, then Make a Gift Day is the unofficial holiday for you!

Show Your Love

Gifts are a way for people to show love and concern for the recipients. They may also be presented as a token of respect or as a sign of forgiveness. In many cultures, gifts are given out during festivals, weddings and other major life events like birthdays, retirements and housewarmings.

How to Celebrate

• This is an easy one! Make handmade gifts for everyone this holiday season! They will appreciate all the hard work you have put in it. Plus your wallet will thank you come January.
• Host a gift making party. Gather around your arts and crafts supplies and get together with your friends to DIY some gifts.
• Don’t have a DIY skill? This is the day to pick up a hobby so that you can start making handmade gifts for your family and friends in the New Year.

Did You Know…

…that in China, gifts wrapped in red paper are considered to bring luck to the recipient?

December 2 is Fritters Day, an unofficial holiday that is dedicated to the snack made by frying battered vegetables, fruits or meat.

Traditionally thought to be types of cake, fritters are usually deep fried and can be served as snack, main course or even dessert. In many cultures, they are considered to be fast and casual food, commonly prepared by street side vendors. Fritters are also sold at fairs and festivals.

Culinary Controversy

There is some debate within the culinary community as to what kind of fried food can be considered a fritter. Some culinarians believe that anything that is battered and fried is a fritter, while others assert that a fritter must have the main ingredient chopped up and fried with the flour batter or dough. This can lead to some confusion over the nomenclature of fried foods – corn dogs are not considered to be fritters, because they are made by battering and frying a whole corn dog. Fried candy bars on the other hand, while being the sweet version of a fried corn dog – a whole candy bar battered and fried, are often called fritters.

Different Varieties

Every culture around the world has its own version of the fritter. In the United States, fritters are usually made by mixing vegetables or fruits with a batter of flour and eggs. Popular fritters include corn fritters, apple fritters, and crab cakes. In Japan, tempura is a popular type of fritter and is served with sauces or with other dishes. In many parts of India, and Pakistan, fritters are called pakora and are made by mixing vegetables – usually onions or potatoes – with a batter of chick pea flour and deep frying them.

How to Celebrate?

• Have fritters for all your meals. Start the day with donuts, have tempura for lunch, onion pakoras for a snack and corn fritters for dinner. For dessert, have churros – a sweet fritter of Spanish origin – with a cup of hot chocolate.
• Make your own fritters at home. Experiment with the flavors – raid your fridge and fry whatever you can think can be fried with batter.

Did You Know…

…that the word fritter has another definition, unrelated to food, in the English language? It means to waste something, usually unwisely.

December 1 is Eat a Red Apple Day, an unofficial holiday that celebrates one of the healthiest fruits available in nature’s pantry.

One of the oldest fruits to be grown and consumed by humans, apples are thought to be native to the Central Asian region. Today, about 10,000 types of apples are grown all over the world.

Apples can come in a variety of colors, though the most common are red and green or golden apples.

Full of Nutrition

Apples are some of the healthiest fruits known to man. They are very low in calories, have high amounts of fiber and Vitamin C and their skin is full of antioxidants. They are thought to have bad cholesterol reducing properties and can help lower the risk of certain types of cancer.

How to Celebrate?

• With lots of red apples of course! Have caramelized apples with your french toast or pancakes. Have an apple and walnut salad for lunch and pork chops with apples for dinner. And don’t forget the apple pie for dessert!

Did You Know…

…that apples from trees that grow from apple seeds tend to be very sour and bitter? Sweet apple trees are grown by grafting.