Nowadays
there is an observance or celebration for just about everything. These
observances could be an inspiration for different party themes and a
reminder to celebrate people. Here is a partial list of dates I found
on www.FamilyCrafts.about.com and www.HolidayInsights.com
The month of September is:
Better Breakfast Month (see below for a party idea!)
Classical Music Month (see below for a party idea!)
National Chicken Month
International Square Dancing
Month
National Courtesy Month
Hispanic Heritage Month (see below for a party idea!)
National Piano Month
Read A New Book Month
Chicken Month
Baby Safety Month
Honey Month
Self-Improvement Month
Library Card Sign-Up Month
National Rice Month
National School Success
Month
National Sewing Month
Women Of Achievement Month
Week Long Observances
1st Week – Child Injury Prevention
Week
2nd Week – National
Housekeepers Week
3rd Week – National Farm Animals Awareness Week
National Flower Week
4th Week – National Dog Week
National Roller
Skating Week
Days
SPECIAL
DAYS IN SEPTEMBER
SEPTEMBER IS:
CLASSICAL MUSIC MONTH
HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
INTERNATIONAL SQUARE DANCING MONTH
NATIONAL COURTESY MONTH
NATIONAL PIANO MONTH
CHICKEN MONTH
BABY SAFETY MONTH
HONEY MONTH
SELF-IMPROVEMENT MONTH
BETTER BREAKFAST MONTH
LIBRARY CARD SIGN-UP MONTH
NATIONAL RICE MONTH
NATIONAL SCHOOL SUCCESS MONTH
NATIONAL SEWING MONTH
READ A NEW BOOK MONTH
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMNET MONTH
WEEK LONG OBSERVANCES –
1ST WEEK – CHILD INJURY PREVENTION WEEK
2ND WEEK – NATIONAL HOUSEKEEPERS WEEK
3RD WEEK - NATIONAL FARM ANIMALS AWARENESS WEEK
NATIONAL FLOWER WEEK
4TH WEEK – NATIONAL DOG WEEK
NATIONAL ROLLER SKATING WEEK
DAYS -
September 2 – VJ Day – Surrender ceremony aboard the USS
Missouri formally ends
WWII
Skyscraper
Day
September 3 – Uncle Sam’s Birthday
Skyscraper
Day
September 5 – Father’s Day in Australia
Cheese Pizza
Day
September 6 – Fight Procrastination Day
Read-a-Book
Day
Labor Day
September 8 – Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown
September 9 – Teddy Bear Day
September 10 – Swap Ideas Day
TV Dinner Day
September 11 – Make Your Bed Day
Patriot Day – World Trade Center
Remembrance Day
September 12 – Chocolate Milk Shake Day
Grandparent’s Day
September 13 – Positive Thinking Day
Uncle Sam Day
National Peanut Day
Fortune Cookie Day
September 14 – National Cream-Filled Donut Day
September 15 – Hispanic Heritage Month Begins September
15 – October 15
Make A Hat Day
September 16 – Mexican Independence Day
Mayflower Day
National Working Parents Day
Step Family Day
September 17 – Yom Kippur begins at sunset
National Apple Dumpling Day
Citizenship Day
Constitution Day
POW/MIA Recognition Day
September 18 – National Play Doh Day
National Cheeseburger Day
September 19 – Oktoberfest begins
Talk Like a Pirate Day
National Woman’s Friendship Day
September 20 – First Railroad Station Opens
September 21 – Miniature Golf Day
World Gratitude Day
September 22 – First Day of Autumn
Ice Cream Cone invented in 1903
U.S. Post Office opened in 1789
Business Women’s Day
September 23 – Checkers Day
Great American Pot Pie Day
September 24 – National Punctuation Day
Native American Day
September 25 -
Mary Poppins debuted in 1964
September 26 – Good Neighbor Day
Johnny Appleseed Day
September 28 – Chinese Mid Autumn Festival (Moon
Festival)
First Airport opened
September 29 – Scotland Yard formed 1829
September 30 – Safety Pin invented
THINGS TO DO WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS
*
Visit a skyscraper.
*
Purpose to be as courteous as possible to others and go out of your way doing
so.
*
Listen to classical music &/or go to a classical concert.
*
Listen to piano music.
* Go
to the library and if you do not have a card, get one.
*
Have everyone in the family decide what they would like to improve about
themselves
& work on that area all
month.
*
Eat a lot of rice and chicken.
*
Read a new book together &/or have each person read a book on their own and
report on it at the end of
the month.
IMPORTANT
BIBLICAL HOLIDAYS IN SEPTEMBER
Rosh Hashanah will be
observed from sunset September 8 – sunset, September 10
Rosh
Hashanah is a Jewish holiday commonly
referred to as the "Jewish
New Year." It is
observed on the first day of Tishrei,
the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar,[1]
as ordained in the Torah,
in Leviticus 23:24.
Rosh Hashanah is the first of the High Holidays or Yamim
Noraim
("Days of Awe"), or Asseret Yemei Teshuva (The Ten Days of Repentance),
the most solemn days of the Jewish year, which conclude with the holiday of Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah
is the start of the civil year in the Hebrew calendar (one of four "new
year" observances that define various legal "years" for
different purposes). It is the new year for people, animals, and legal
contracts. The Mishnah
also sets this day aside as the new year for calculating calendar years and
sabbatical (shmita)
and jubilee
(yovel)
years.
Yom
Kippur will be
observed this year from sundown September 17 – sundown September 18, 2009.
Yom
Kippur (Hebrew:יוֹם כִּפּוּר , IPA: [ˈjɔm kiˈpur]), also known
in English as the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn and important of the Jewish holidays. Its
central themes are atonement
and repentance.
Jews have traditionally observed this holiday with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer.
Sukkot,
Feast of Tabernacles will be observed from sundown September 22- sundown
September 29.
Sukkot (Hebrew: סוכות or סֻכּוֹת, sukkōt ; "booths", also
known as Succoth,
Sukkos, Feast
of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles), is a Biblical pilgrimage festival that occurs in
autumn on the 15th day of the month of Tishri (late September to
late October). The holiday lasts 7 days.
The
word Sukkot
is derived from the Hebrew
word sukkah,
meaning booth or hut. During this holiday, Jews are instructed to build a
temporary structure in which to eat their meals, entertain guests, relax, and
even sleep. The sukkah is reminiscent of the type of huts in which the ancient Israelites dwelt during
their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt, and is
intended to reflect God's
benevolence in providing for all the Jews' needs in the desert.
Taken
from en.wikipedia.org
What is Labor Day? Why do we celebrate it?
Labor
Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in
September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union
(of New York City) sought to create “a day off for the working man”.
Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894. All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday.
Traditionally,
Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the
summer. Forms of celebrations include picnics, barbeques, fireworks
displays, water sports, and public art events.
Decorations
Tomatoes,
corn on the cob, peaches, zucchini and other produce can be placed in
bowls on the tables. Keep it colorful. If you don’t want to use
produce, use Gerber daisies of different colors.
Decorate with
summertime fun things: sand pails, beach balls, baseballs, soccer
balls, volley balls, bats, mitts, flip flops, towels, sand toys,
sprinklers. Be creative and make it fun.
Activities
Set
up areas of the yard for different activities depending on the size of
your yard or go to a nearby park. Perhaps you have room for a croquet
game, bean bag toss, softball or volleyball game. Have some relay
races. Let everyone use their energy since, if you live in a cold
climate, you won’t be able to spend much time outdoors after today.
Enjoy the outdoors.
Wheelbarrel Races:
Do wheelbarrel
races. Divide into equal teams. Each person should partner with
another. Have a starting point, a point where they reach and turn
around and then go back to start, or just a start and finish line. Each
couple starts at the starting line. The larger person should hold the
smaller person’s legs. The smaller person has to walk with their hands
while the other person is holding up their legs. The next couple does
not begin until the one in front of them finishes. Each couple goes
until the entire team is finished. First team to get done first wins.
You don’t have to play this game in teams. You can have one big line and the first couple to cross the finish line wins.
Three-Legged Races:
You
can do this as teams or as individuals. Each person needs a partner.
Tie a piece of cloth, string or rope around each couple’s leg. When
everyone is ready, they have to run to the finish line. First couple or
team to reach the line wins.
Burlap Bag Races:
Divide
into teams. Each team gets a burlap bag (Trash Bags for each person can
also be used). The first person in line gets in the bag, holds onto and
jumps to a designated line, turns around and returns to the next
person. That person gets in the bag and does the same. Each team member
continues until the first team finishes.
Egg and/or water balloon tosses can be fun, too.
If you have a pool, do races in the pool. Whatever you do, have fun. Enjoy the day.
Ask people to wear fatigues, uniforms or clothing from the 40’s. Play 40’s music. Have a WWII war movie playing. Invite some veterans over and honor them. Celebrate the war being over just like they did back then.
FOOD: Serve fish sticks, alphabet soup, Kraft macaroni and cheese, Spam, Oscar Mayer Bologna and Wonder bread. For treats serve Girl Scout cookies, Oreos, Cracker Jack’s, Krispy Kremes, Fritos Corn Chips, Jell-O and Twinkies.
For
example, since September is “Better Breakfast Month”, have a party with
a breakfast theme. Serve all breakfast foods. Ask your guests to come
in robes, flannel pajamas, slippers, or what they might have on if
someone rang their doorbell first thing in the morning.
You could do it first thing in the morning or whatever time of day you like.
Have
a “Come As You Are Party”. Depending on the number of your guests,
designate drivers to pick up people at 8:00 in the morning to bring
them to breakfast at a local restaurant. The only thing is they have to
come with you the way they answered the door. You can invite your
guests by telling them to reserve the entire day and you’ll let them
know where to meet and when. Let them know in advance how much the day
might cost them. The driver will have to coax them out of the house and
into their car. Have a prize for the person who looks the best and who
looks the worst.
Invitations
Have musical notes, instruments and/or sheet music on the invitations. Ask the guests to dress for the symphony.
Decorations
Decorate
with musical instruments, musical notes, sheet music, pictures of Bach,
Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn and other famous classical music composers.
Play classical mucis during the evening. Have servers dressed in black
and white with white gloves. Make things look as formal as possible.
Food
Serve finger food that the servers pass on silver trays, if possible. (You can purchase plastic silver serving trays.)
Activities
Dance the minuet or do some ballroom dancing. Have a prize for the best dancing couple.
Invitations
Make them colorful. Ask the guests to dress in some native Hispanic costumes.
Decorations
Decorate with sombreros, classical guitars, maracas, piñatas, cactus, serapes, flags from Hispanic countries….
Play Hispanic music.
Food
Have
foods from different Spanish cultures. Go to our food section for
Mexican recipes. Here are a few websites from other Hispanic countries.
www.tasteofcuba.com/cubanrecipes.html
www.elboricua.com/recipes.html
www.knowledgehound.com/topics/central_america_recipes.htm
www.spain-recipes.com
www.gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/cuisin1/a/SArecipes.htm-21k
Activities
Break a piñata filled with candy.
Make
up a game with Spanish words on it. See who can translate them the
best. You may want to make it multiple choice for those who have never
taken Spanish.
Give everyone a piece of paper and a pen. Ask
them to write down the names of as many Spanish speaking countries they
can think of in a designated amount of time. The person with the most
right is the winner.
Decorations
Decorate
with German flags. Use the colors of the flag for tablecloths, napkins,
plates and cups (if you are using paper or plastic).
Use beer steins for drinks. Set beer steins, Bavarian hats, kazoos around as decorations.
Food
German
sausages, hot German potato salad, sauerkraut, sweet and sour cabbage,
red cabbage, German-style chicken, soft pretzels, caramel apples, root
beer and black forest cake.
Activities
Do the chicken dance.
Divide
into teams. Have clothing items that would be fitting for a scarecrow.
Each team gets a bag with the items in it. The first person in each
line runs to a designated spot and puts on the items. Then they run
back to the next person in line, take off the items, put them in the
bag and hand the bag to that person. Play continues until each member
of the team gets dressed like a scarecrow. First team to finish wins.
Go
outside for this race. Divide into teams. Each team gets a beer stein
filled with root beer. They run from the beginning of the line to a
designated spot where there is a bucket. The person empties the root
beer into the bucket, runs back to the next person in line and gives
them the stein. Play continues until each member of the team has
emptied root beer into the bucket. The winners are the team with the
most root beer in the bucket.
These are just a few ideas from
the list. I am sure you can come up with many ideas once you let your
creative juices get going.