Date When Celebrated: This holiday is always held on May 23

It’s Lucky Penny Day. Perhaps a Lucky Penny will be lucky for you today.

Taken at face value, a penny doesn’t buy you much, if anything. It used to. During your parents and grandparents days, a penny bought a lot of things. Most notably, “Penny Candy” got its name because a piece of candy cost a penny. Inflation year after year after year, eroded the penny’s value. There has even been some discussion as to whether to discontinue the penny….Heaven forbid!

The penny still serves a very useful purpose…  at least some of them are lucky pennies.  Lucky pennies are found on the ground. Not all of the pennies you find will be lucky. But, it will only take one lucky penny used to scratch off the mega winner on a scratch-off ticket.

Are you superstitious? Superstition has it that you should only pick up a penny that is lying face up.

Here are some other uses for pennies:

• A penny for your thoughts.
• To put your “two cents” in.
• A necessity for penny pinchers
• A handy screwdriver when nothing else is available.

Deep Thought for Today: Money isn’t everything. But, it sure keeps the kids in touch.

Date When Celebrated: This holiday is always held on May 22

From its very beginning the United States of America has been a maritime nation. Since those early days, the Merchant Marine has been there to support the maritime needs of both the civilian maritime industry and the U.S. navy. In recognition of the Merchant Marine, the U.S. Congress created National Maritime Day in 1933. Congress chose this date, to also commemorate the anniversary of the first trans-Atlantic voyage of a steamship. On May 22, 1819, the U.S. steamship Savannah, left from Savannah, Georgia, bound for Liverpool, England.

The Merchant Martine supports maritime interests, charged with overseeing the movement of people and goods over the seas, in times of both peace and war. In times of peace, it supports commercial U.S. maritime interests. During peacetime, the Merchant Marine is a civilian organization, managed by both the public and the U.S. government. In times of war, it is part of the U.S. military.

Did You Know? The Merchant Marine played a major role in World War II. moving soldiers, military arms, equipment and supplies. During the war, over 250,000 people served in the Merchant Marine. Over 6,700 lost their lives. Over 800 merchant ships were sunk or damaged.

 National  Maritime Day is celebrated in a number of ways:

• American citizens fly the U.S. flag at their homes and where they work.   
• Many seaports hold open houses and events.
• Seaside towns and ports hold memorial services in remembrance of merchant marines who lost their lives.
• You can use today to learn more about the Merchant Marines.

Thought for Today: Only the guy that isn’t rowing has time to rock the boat.” – – Jean-Paul Sartre

Date When Celebrated: This holiday is always held on May 21

National Waiters and Waitresses Day recognizes the value and importance of a good waiter or waitress. When you go out to eat, the waitstaff is the face of the restaurant. They are all the difference, between a good or a bad experience.

You already recognize your waiters and waitresses every time you go to a restaurant. That recognition comes in the form of a tip. The tip should be commensurate with the quality of the service.

The original National Waiters and Waitresses Day was started to bring attention to and improve pay for the waitstaff. The total pay consists of the tips you give them, and a minimum wage. The minimum wage is lower than the general minimum wage, as it is intended to recognize tips as a portion of the overall compensation..

You can recognize your favorite waiter and waitress on National Waiters and Waitresses Day by giving them a little something extra. In addition to a generous tip, a card or simple verbal recognition is will be well received.

Waiters and waitresses should recognize this day by making sure by providing exemplary service (as always).

Date When Celebrated: This holiday is always held on May 20

Be a Millionaire Day is a day everyone wants to enjoy. Everyone wants to enjoy today as a member of the millionaire club.

Okay, so a million bucks ain’t what it used to be. But, it is still a lot of money. I have no doubt everyone reading this would like to join the Millionaire’s Club. Then, after reaching it, you can work on your qualifications for the Billionaire’s Club.

If you are a millionaire, savor and enjoy the day. If not, we offer a number of ways to participate in Be a Millionaire Day:

• Review your investments. Look for ways to improve them.
• Review your investment portfolio with a trusted investment or financial planner.
• Increase your deposits to your savings accounts.  
• Start or add to your 401K. This is always a good starting point.
• Review your spending. Many Millionaires get there by a combination hard work, sound investment, and frugal spending.
• Go to a casino.
• When all else fails ,buy a lottery ticket….just one.

Theme Song for Today: “I Wanna be Rich” by Calloway

Thought for today: ” All I ask is for a chance to prove that money doesn’t buy happiness”. Author unknown.

Date When celebrated: This holiday is always held on  May 19

As the old saying goes….. “Give a man some vegetables, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to grow a vegetable garden, and you feed his whole family for life!”

It’s a hungry world. Famine affects millions upon millions of people. If everyone had even a small garden, there would be far fewer people suffering from starvation. For the average person, having a vegetable garden, helps to ease the family food budget, too. In addition, people who grow some or all of their own vegetables often do so organically, or at least with less of those harmful chemical insecticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Hmmm? Healthier food for my children? Now this alone is a great reason to start a vegetable garden today!

Looking for ideas on where to plant your first garden? Millions upon millions of people are already gardening in some amazing places. Backyard gardens are what normally comes to mind. Urban community gardens also abound. In urban environments, vacant lots are often used (seek permission from the owner first). People grow gardens in containers and pots on balconies, decks, and patios. Apartment rooftops can be a great place for your new garden. For those of us who are space constrained, vertical gardens can be the solution.

Participation in this day is fun and easy. Join in the fun hobby of gardening. Simply start a vegetable (or flower or herb) garden. If you are already a gardener, encourage and help someone to start their very first garden. Start small, making it easy to handle and less like a chore. Chances are, you will make your garden larger in future years, as you grow your gardening expertise.

Date When Celebrated: This holiday is always held on May 18

Visit Your Relatives Day encourages us to visit our relatives and loved ones. This day is intended to give us the opportunity to get closer to our relatives, and to build (or re-build) family ties and relationships.

It’s easy to get out of touch with loved ones. We lead busy lives. A visit with the relative, is sometimes relegated to Christmas and a few other choice major holidays.  

If you can not visit your relatives today, we suggest you call them and/or send them a card. Both snail mail and online cards will do.

Important Note: If you don’t get to visit your mother-in-law today, you will have another chance on Mother-In-Law Day.

Today’s Quote: God gave us relatives. Thank God we can choose our friends. – –  Author Unknown

Bonus Quote: “One loyal friend is worth 10,000 relatives.” – – Euripedes

Date When Celebrated: This holiday is always held on May 17

Calling all hoarders. This day was created expressly for you. Come out from hiding under your piles of precious belongings, and take a minute to celebrate and be recognized.

Today is Pack Rat Day. C’mon, admit it… .. you’re a Pack Rat. a hoarder like the rest of us. If you are a Pack Rat, you’re in good company. Many of us are hoarders, and some of us don’t even realize it. We hoard our belongings, well past their useful life, for any one (or two)of a number of reasons. It’s that favorite swearer, that has scene to many winters, or is lost in the back of the closet. It’s that second toaster oven… ‘ya never know when the new one might break. What about the old vinyl record collection? You know, someday have antique value. You can’t get rid of them!  

Its really easy to let things pile up. After all, each item you acquire along the road of life may have value or serve some meaningful purpose. ‘Ya just never know. Making the decision to discard something of even remotely questionable value, is difficult, if not impossible to do. We understand you perfectly. Why? Because most of us are pack rats

In keeping with the intent of Pack Rat Day, here are some Do’s and Don’ts:

• Don’t clean your room, basement, garage or any other area today.
• Don’t discard anything today…It may be valuable.
• Don’t even empty the trash today. You might have accidentally thrown out something useful.
• Do keep an eye out for useful stuff being discarded by others.
• Do go to garage and rummage sales. They can be pack rat gold mines.
• Do look around your belongings and be thankful for what you have.
• Do spend time thinking of uses for your things. Justification for saving is satisfying.

Got some other Do’s and Don’ts? Email us!

Related Holidays : World Rat Day – It’s for rat fanciers.

Thought for the Day: Drink coffee. Do stupid things faster and with more energy.

So many choices to choose from. Today I am sticking with a kids tender meal and sweet tea. What will you have?

Date When Celebrated: This holiday is always held on May 16

It’s Wear Purple for Peace Day. You’d think that this day originated in protest of a particular war or conflict. Or, perhaps it should have been conceived by the UN, or another peacemaking or peace keeping group. Our extensive research found no evidence supporting the origin of this holiday stemming from these sources.

Rather, we found this day to be a stellar event. It seems some of you out there fear that aliens from outer space consider earthlings to be too hostile (you’ve got that right). As a result, they have yet to visit or make contact with us. So, some of you (originators unknown) decided to promote world peace by establishing Wear Purple for Peace Day.

The goal of Wear Purple for Peace Day is to make the world a peaceful place and, of course, encourage alien species to make contact with earth.   

Do you want to meet aliens for another planet? Me, too! So, lets all wear purple for peace today.