Unique Holidays: July 22nd, 2022

Holidays

Welcome to our series featuring Unique Holidays: July 22nd, 2022. Today is Hammock Day and if we still had our home instead of the Apartment Charlie and I always wanted a Hammock. Here we do have a small Patio if I don’t get a Bistro Table I might be able to put a Hammock up out there as long as it isn’t connected to a tree. Or I wonder if a hammock would fit upstairs on the balcony.

Hammock Day

Summer is in full swing and it’s time to slow down and to relax. During the Dog Day’s of Summer and all the other Summer days, there is no better place to slow down and relax, than on a hammock under a shady tree.

Hammock Day is appropriately celebrated right in the middle of the Dog Day’s of Summer July 3rd though August 11th.

Hammock Day exists to celebrate Summer as Summer should be enjoyed. People celebrate Hammock Day by spending as much time relaxing on a hammock as possible. There’s a wide variety of hammocks which most notably, are single although there is double hammocks. The doubles exist so you can lounge with someone special. Getting out of your hammock to get a snack, or your beverage is okay. But, Hammock Day is not a day for work. Cutting the lawn is forbidden on this holiday.

History and Origin of Hammock Day:

Hammock Day was created by Bob Matthews, of Holiday Insights in 2008. Bob says that our lives are normally busy and hectic. Summer is a time to lay back, enjoy the Weather and re-charge our batteries. What better way to do this, than from the comfort of a hammock under a shady tree!?

Some websites have erroneously reported this as a “National”  holiday. According to Bob Matthews, the creator of Hammock Day, this IS NOT a “National” day. If you see Hammock Day posted anywhere as a national day, we’d sure  appreciate if you would contact the webmaster to have it corrected.

Ratcatcher’s Day

I don’t know about you but Ratcatcher’s Day isn’t a holiday I want to celebrate and if all the Rats and Mice would disappear from the face of the Earth that would be perfectly fine with me. Because I don’t know about you but just like Bugs and Snakes I hate Rats and Mice and nothing you say will change my mind.

 Although, Ratcatcher’s Day commemorates the Pied Piper of Hamelin, the most infamous of Rat catchers. Today is the anniversary of the legendary event of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. If you haven’t heard of the Pied Piper then you should research the Pied Piper online.

The Pied Piper is one of the most well known German folklores, created about the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The town of Hamelin, Germany was infested by Rats. The Mayor promised to handsomely pay the Pied Piper, if he rid the town of Rats. The Pied Piper played his Flute. Lured by the magical music, all of the Rats left town and followed him.

The Pied Piper played his music all the way down to the Weser River where he waded into the River. The Rats followed The Pied Piper and drowned. The Mayor refused to pay the Pied Piper. So, one night when the townspeople were asleep, the Pied Piper played his music again. This time, the children of the town followed him all the way into a cave. Some versions of the legend vary here. In one version, the Pied Piper kept the children there until he was paid by the town for his services. In most versions, the children were never to be seen again.

Upwards of a million Rats were lured to the River.

The History and Origin of Rat Catcher’s Day:

 The date for Rat Catcher’s Day commemorates the anniversary of the event.

According to one version of this legend, the Pied Piper rid the town of Hamelin, Germany of Rats on or around June 26th, 1284. After the town Mayor refused to make payment as promised, the Pied Piper returned several weeks later on July 22, 1284, to lure the children into a cave. In another version of this legend, the Pied Piper lured the Rats into the River on July 22, 1376.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates