Bubble Gum Day and Other Unusual Holidays

The following unusual holidays are celebrated on February 3. I hope you enjoy learning about them as much as I did. Choose your favorite, do some more research on it, and make it part of your next story. Maybe using one of these lesser known, unusual holidays in your story will make it become a well-known holiday.

Four Chaplains Memorial Day - Who are the four chaplains remembered on this day? What is the reason we are supposed to remember them? The four chaplains were Reverend George Fox (Methodist), Jewish Rabbi Alexander Goode, Reverend Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed) and Father John Washington (Roman Catholic). The four men, each of a different faith, were aboard an Army transport, the Dorchester, bound for Greenland. Nine hundred troops were being transported to an American army base located in that country. The transport was struck by a German torpedo. Those who did not die instantly were were scrambling for lifeboats as the Dorchester sank into an unforgiving ocean. These four chaplains gave the surviving soldiers directions to safety while they comforted the wounded and distributed life jackets to those who needed them. When there were no more life jackets to distribute, they took off the ones they were wearing and put them on soldiers who needed them. Arms linked together while praying, these chaplains went down with the ship.

The Day the Music Died - On February 3, 1959, three extremely popular singers died in a plane crash. Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper were at the height of their popularity These guys decided to charter a plan to take them from Clear Lake, Iowa to Fargo , North Dakota. The visibility wasn't very good on this cold and snowy night. The three rising stars never made it to their destination. When the plane hit the ground and corkscrewed, all inside were killed.

Bubble Gum Day - Children's book author, Ruth Spiro, began this holiday in 2006. On this day, a lot of money is raised for charity. What charity? Well, each school picks the charity to which it wants the collected money to be donated. How is this money raised? On this day, any student who donates $0.50 or more is permitted to chew gum at school all day long. Creative teachers even work bubble gum into their lesson plans! Even some libraries, community centers, and businesses hold events for this special day.

Give Kids a Smile Day - On this one day a year, children without dental insurance are able to receive free dental care. Services offered to them on this day include dental exams and cleanings, fillings, x-rays, extractions, and more. Check into this by calling your dentist and seeing if he or she is participating in this wonderful holiday.

Wear Red Day - If you wear red on this day, you show your support in the fight against heart disease for women. You could wear a red hat, a red shirt, a red bracelet. Many cities have Red Day events, so you can search and see if there is one close to where you live.