Author: Lisa Mungovan

The birthday of Rosa Parks, is the Day Of Courage. Rosa Parks became a hero in the civil rights movement, after being arrested in 1955, for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus. A statue in Montgomery Alabama, honors Rosa’s act of courage, and the fight for equality.

I think it’s a day for feeling warm and cozy. It’s Sweater Day! Turn down the heat and dress in your favorite sweater. Be careful not to spill soup on it, because it’s also Homemade Soup Day. Try making vegetable soup with all the leftover vegetables in the fridge, and save some for me!

The Welsh Ambulance Service has compiled some of the most inappropriate calls, made to the 9 9 9 emergency number last year. They included people with a wobbly tooth or a sore throat, and others who had swallowed mouthwash, or gotten a fishhook stuck in their finger. None of those are real emergencies!

Today is Cordova Ice Worm Day. Ice worms live in glaciers, and function best at temperatures below freezing. They eat snow algae and bacteria. Only a few centimeters long, they move between the ice crystals. Cordova Alaska celebrates the glacial nematodes with an annual 8-day festival, featuring a squirmy mascot that’s 150 feet long!

Today is Carrot Cake Day. The natural sweetness of carrots, makes it one of the few vegetables, that sounds good in a dessert! You can even make a version for dogs, to celebrate Golden Retriever Day. The gentle dog is one of the most popular breeds for families in the United States. Good doggie!

Winter can be hard on birds, especially when snow covers everything. Give them a little help, on Feed The Birds Day. Set up a bird feeder, and fill it with bird seed. Woodpeckers enjoy blocks of suet, cardinals love sunflower seeds, and many birds enjoy fruit. Your old wrinkly apples will make them happy.

50 years ago, 16 years after the first sit-ins demanding an end to segregation, President Gerald Ford officially recognized February 1 as the first day of Black History Month. He challenged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

It’s Groundhog Day! The official weather-predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, emerged from his burrow and saw his shadow. That means there will be 6 more weeks of winter. But Martinsburg Maxwell, a groundhog with a degree in meteorology, said, “Phil’s only right 20% of the time. It’s impossible to accurately predict weather that way!”

You might know about Groundhog Day, but what about Marmot Day? Marmots are large ground squirrels. There are 15 species of marmot, and groundhogs are one of them! It’s also Hedgehog Day! They look like spiky balls, with quills that feel like toothpicks. Don’t forget Sled Dog Day! Take your dog sledding, and yell “Mush!”

Happy World Wetlands Day! This year’s theme is, “Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage”. Wetlands are swamps and marshes that act like a sponge, absorbing water to reduce flooding during wet seasons, and releasing it during dry spells. Wetlands are also home, to 40% of the world’s plant and animal species.