Every Day Is Special: Maize Day

Showing posts with label Maize Day. Show all posts

November 23 - Day After Thanksgiving

Posted on November 23, 2018

(Friday after Thanksgiving)

In the United States, Thanksgiving Day is often celebrated by family get-togethers and feasting.

So...the NEXT day...this day-off-of-school / work should be a day of rest, right? A time to eat left-overs and recover from all the cooking and eating and cleaning the day before.

But there are a TON of "holidays" that fall on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Here are some choices:

You're Welcoming Day: a day to remind us to say "you're welcome" or similar words to any and all who thank us. Here are some variants:

No problem.

Any time.

That's okay!

Don't mention it.

No worries.

It's nothing.

With pleasure.

It's my pleasure.

Anything for you!

Happy to help.

Black Friday: a day when many brave crowded stores and

long lines in order to score great deals on Christmas gifts.

Buy Nothing Day: a day of protest against the consumer orientation of Christmas and, really, society in general. So no grocery store, no Christmas shopping, no buying anything at all. (In some countries, Buy Nothing Day is celebrated on the last Saturday in November.)

Sinkie Day (or The Sink Day): some people - apparently - eat Thanksgiving leftovers over the sink. Ummm...I don't recommend this!

Flossing Day: flossing is of course important EVERY day, but this is a day to learn the hows and whys of flossing.

Fur-Free Friday

National Day of Listening: launched by StoryCorps, a non-profit organization. The goal of StoryCorps is to have Americans of all beliefs and backgrounds record, preserve, and share the stories of their lives. Here is a DIY guide to participating.

National Native American Heritage Day

Maize Day

Also on this date:

National Eat a Cranberry Day

Dr. Who Day

Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan

Anniversary of the discovery of

fossils in Antarctica

Fibonacci Day

Anniversary of the introduction of the jukebox

U.S. President Pierce's Birthday

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

November holidays
November birthdays
Historical anniversaries in November

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

December holidays
December birthdays
Historical anniversaries in December

November 28 – Maize Day

Posted on November 28, 2014

(Friday after Thanksgiving)

Maize is so amazing, it definitely deserves a day to celebrate its importance.

It could be argued that it is THE most important crop in the world!

It is used as an important food source both for domestic animals and for people, and some cultures depend on it as a staple food.

You probably know maize by its most common American name, corn. There are many varieties of corn / maize grown for different purposes, such as flour corn, popcorn, sweet corn, ornamental maize, and so forth. Corn can be eaten off the cob or removed from the cob to be cooked and served as a vegetable. It can be popped and eaten as a snack or pressed and made into the sweetener called corn syrup. Kernels can be bleached with lye (hominy), coarsely ground (grits), or finely ground and made into masa (cornbread, corn tortillas, tamales) or into porridge (polenta, mush). Corn can even be baked or fried into crispy corn flakes or corn chips!

I love me some ornamental maize!

Did you know...?

Apparently this sight is common in the U.S.
but almost unknown in many parts of the world.
Corn-based foods are common;
eating corn straight off the cob is not.

Corn or maize was originally domesticated in Mesoamerica (in and around Mexico) and spread to the rest of the Americas and Native Americans. After Europeans discovered the Americans, the rest of the world got to try this sweet and tasty food.