Do we need another National Day on our calendar?

Being a stay-at-home wife, mom, “Meema” and great-grandma, we always eat at home, not out, so tomorrow’s meal menu becomes the night before musings, as to what to cook.

On this particular night, March 26, after taking a quick survey of labeled leftovers in my freezer, a unanimous and quick decision was made; the meal would be leftovers.

I wrote another article concerning labeled leftovers for this same paper back in December 2016 titled, “Did wedding vows include ‘I take this kitchen’?”

However, the photo of labeled leftovers used in this article is one just taken in 2020 — different leftovers. As anyone can tell, I am a very conservative cook and a firm believer of “waste not, want not.”

Leftovers served the first time around with a smile on your face makes them passable, but the second time around requires a little ingenuity to be a charm, like combining different original dishes into one singular invention of your own.

So, that’s what I did on March 27 for lunch. In the pot went leftover chicken pilaf, pork pilaf (the other white meat), butter beans, white acre peas, whole kernel corn, cut okra, diced cooked potatoes and leftover stewed “Dempsey-you-pick” tomatoes. Voila! I just created a tasty stew.

Stew, defined by Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, is “a heterogeneous mixture, consisting of dissimilar ingredients,” which was exactly what I ended up with, with all of my leftovers combined in the same pot.

Also, another definition of stew is, “a state of excitement, worry or confusion,” which is what our world is in now, with coronavirus everywhere.

Hmm, I think I’ll call March 27 “National Stew Day.”

But, it’s a little bit more involved than just a thought to get a National Day on a calendar. To be designated a National Day it has to be approved, the applicant must pay $2,300-$4,500, depending on whether a company wants “National Day” calendar help in promoting the holiday to be written on the calendar.

The notion of using a self-designated holiday as a marketing opportunity goes back a long way with the Salvation Army National Donut Day, started in 1938 as a way to raise money for social services during the Great Depression, and honoring their members, the “Doughnut Lassies” who served doughnuts to soldiers in the trenches during World War I.

These special days have to be registered at the National Day Calendar site, an authoritative source now tracking nearly 1,500 national days, weeks and months. If you want to make your own holiday, to make it official, you will need to talk to your local representative, because only an official act of legislature or government can make a holiday a national day.

To name some of these days:

National Bird Day, celebrated on Jan. 5. People love birds and this day is the oldest of days set aside to recognize and reflect upon conditions of birds held in captivity.

National Anthem Day is March 3 because on March 3, 1931 President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional resolution officially making “The Star Spangled Banner” the national anthem of the United States of America, although the song was actually written by Francis Scott Key on Sept. 14, 1814 during the Battle of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812.

National Nurse’s Day is May 6, dating back to 1953 with International Nurse Day celebrated on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale.

National Oyster Day is Aug. 5, a “pearl” of a day celebrating five varieties of oysters and over 100 species, tasting better coming from cold water in winter months. People either love oysters, or they hate them.

National Newspaper Carrier Day is celebrated Sept. 4, dating back to the early 1800s when 10-year-old Barney Flaherty became the first newspaper carrier for The New York Sun. His only job requirement was that he had to show he could throw a newspaper into the bushes!

National Golf Day, Oct. 4, is a major charitable event sponsored annually since 1952 by the PGA..

National Farmers Day, Oct. 12, celebrates the profession of farming, which they say began 12,000 years ago, making farming the oldest job around.

I don’t suppose I’ll pursue making my March 27 stew as National Stew Day because as luck would have it, March 27 is already claimed as National Joe Day — a day to treat friends and co-workers with a cup of coffee, especially if their names are Jo, Joe, Joey, Joseph or Josephine; an unofficial fun day.

Hmm, I smell a fresh pot of coffee brewing!

Jean Tanner may be reached at jstmeema@hargray.com.