On This Day: January 12th … Strange Holidays
Feast Of Fabulous Wild Men Day
National Hot Tea Day
National Pharmacist Day
Marzipan Day
Kiss A Ginger Day
Okay, this kissing Ginger thing has me worried. What if I kiss her and find out her name is Mabel, or Flossie, or Nadine? I mean, it sounds to me like you just walk up and kiss “Ginger”?? Because I know I’m not about to stick my face in a pile of ginger (spice) and start kissing. That would be way weird. I may look into this one.
So onward I go.
Feast Of Fabulous Wild Men Day
What can a day called Feast of Fabulous Wild Men be about? As far as I can tell, it is a day for feasting one's eyes on hunky, good-looking men—men who are both fabulous, being classy and refined; and wild, being unrestrained, rugged, and free. There should be no shame in staring today because it's a holiday.
Celebrate the day by feasting your eyes on fabulous and wild looking men. There is no need to have any shame, and you could even tell the men how good you think they look. Besides feasting your eyes on men you see every day and you could also celebrate the day by going to a Chippendales show. If you aren't able to get to one, you could always look at pictures of some of the hottest men of all time. If you are a man and you wish someone was feasting their eyes on you, maybe today is a good day to put down the beer and cheese puffs and start a real exercise routine.
Marzipan Day
For anyone who does not know, Marzipan is a confection made primarily of sugar or honey and ground almonds, sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. Although it is often made into sweets such as marzipan-filled chocolate and small imitations of fruits and vegetables, it is also commonly rolled into thin sheets and used as a glaze for icing cakes. Some people specialize in creating small, marzipan animal figures. In some countries, they incorporate this tradition into their New Year’s Day celebrations.
Confectioners make marzipan by cleaning raw almonds (by sieving, air elutriation and other electronic or mechanical devices) and then immersing them in water with a temperature just below the boiling point for about five minutes. This process loosens the skin of the almonds, which is removed by passing them through rubber-covered rotating cylinders. They then cook the almonds and coarsely chopped and ground (with up to 35% sugar) into almond flour.
After roasting and cooling the almond flour mixture, the confectioner adds sugar and possibly a binding agent such as corn syrup or sorbitol. It is then ready to be molded into any shape.
And now you know about Marzipan Day.
Kiss A Ginger Day
This is going exactly where I thought it would—to a degree or two.
Fiery red hair, pale skin, and eyes of blue or green. These are the defining characteristics of some of the most amazingly attractive human beings in existence. They were once held as being holy as they were believed to have stolen the very fire of the Gods and imbued their crimson locks with it. Kiss A Ginger Day is the chance to steal a kiss from one of these attractive genetic beauties.
Red hair has also been striking and unique on women for years. Unfortunately, those with ginger hair have often experienced jokes and taunts over the years. People just love to put down anything that is a bit different, don’t they? Red is a powerful and energetic color, with so much character. A Ginger Day gives us all the opportunity to show our love for redheads!
Did you know that only around two percent of the population has naturally red hair? This is a very small percentage, showing just how beautiful and unique this style of hair is. A lot of people associate red hair with Ireland. However, there are archaeological discoveries and ancient accounts that have indicated that red hair existed in Asia and Greece. So, the roots of this hair color (pardon the pun) are more varied than a lot of people realize.
Did you also know that redheads don’t go gray? Are your jealous now? This is because red hair holds its pigment for longer than other color shades. When it does fade, it does not go dull or gray. Instead, it will become an incredible silvery-white color.
Kiss A Ginger Day was established in 2009 by Derek Forgie as part of a Facebook group, intended to offset the far less fun Kick A Ginger Day (which I think I missed) that takes place in November. After the events of this aggressive event, gingers everywhere were tormented and assaulted in schools all over the world.
Redheads are some of the rarest expressions of genetics in the world, true red only being present in 1-2% of the population. The range of colors that can be seen range from Burgundy to bright copper, with a few instances of an unfortunate bright orange in between. While in some parts of the world this color hair is disparaged, and the origin of such phrases as “like a red-headed stepchild”, the rest of the world has an undying love affair with them. Red hair dye is one of the most popular hair care products, and it comes in a wide array of colors, including some never found in nature.
As an interesting fact, while Ireland is heavily associated with red hair, those with red hair actually have an older origin. Red hair is a layover from the days of the Viking invasions, bring brought in from immigration and acts of heinous violence against the Vikings’ victims.
Either way you look at this, I am still not walking up to any girl I don’t know, and kissing her. Besides that “Ginger” could actually be “Fred” in drag.
More strange holidays are coming!