It’s July, a time for fireworks, vacations…and getting free bacon for not cheating on your spouse.
July 4: Sidewalk Egg Frying Day
Sure, the fourth of July is also Independence Day in the U.S., but it’s hot almost everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere in early July. So hot that one could, theoretically, as the saying goes, “fry an egg on the sidewalk.” Well, this is a holiday in which celebrants are encouraged to do just that. Get an egg, and during the hottest part of the day, crack it on the sidewalk and see what happens!
July 8: International Town Criers Day
Hear ye, hear ye! Today is the day set aside to honor the noble but dead job of town crier, in which an individual with impressive pipes would announce major news items of the day, and maybe the time and weather. In the centuries before widespread print media—or even widespread literacy—they provided a vital service. (Uncle John plans to appoint himself “town crier,” and stand in front of BRI headquarters shouting out fun facts.)
July 10: National Piña Colada Day
There’s no real connection between the cocktail and this date in particular, other than the fact that it’s summer, and it’s a chilled beverage widely consumed during the hotter months. It’s a mixture of rum, pineapple juice, and coconut cream, and it’s loved by people who also like getting caught in the rain (but who are not into health food, and who have half a brain).
July 19: Flitch Day
What today we call a side or slab of bacon was once called a flitch of bacon—roughly half of a single pig’s bacon. Going back at least as far as the 12th century, July 19th was a holiday in England in which the government honored married couples that stayed faithful to one another with the gift of a flitch of bacon. Some towns in England and the U.S. still have “Flitch Trials,” in which couples go before a jury of 12 unmarried people (six men, six women) and prove their love for one another in order to get that free bacon.
July 24: Cousin’s Day
There’s a holiday to celebrate almost every possible familial relationship. Some are more obscure than others; there’s Mother’s Day (May) and Father’s Day (June), of course, as well as National Grandparents Day (September), and even Aunts and Uncles Day. There’s also one for your Aunts and Uncles offspring: Cousin’s Day. Cousins: they’re like siblings, only more distantly related, but friends, as well. On this day, write an email or make a phone call to all those cousins your age who made big family gatherings fun for you when you were a kid.
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