​Forgotten Holidays | Best Senior Living Community Wichita

We can barely turn around without seeing advertising for the next "big holiday" in stores, magazines, cooking shows, and local celebrations. Halloween becomes Christmas with hardly a pause for Thanksgiving in between, and then, before we know it, it's Valentine's Day!
 
But whatever happened to some of those holidays we enjoyed in the past, the ones that don't have special desserts or sales or gifts?  Do you recall these?
 
Arbor Day.  Can you remember planting trees as a Bluebird or Cub Scout at the end of April each year? This holiday still shows up on the calendar, but it rarely makes the news. Established in the United States in 1872, President Theodore Roosevelt issued an Arbor Day Proclamation specifically to children in 1907, which is why tree planting was a focus for children's organizations and school groups for years. 
 
Flag Day. The official flag of the United States was adopted in 1777, but there was no Flag Day until 1949. A few communities still host parades on Flag Day in June, and many people fly their flags at home on this day. This year, President Joseph Biden issued a proclamation declaring a "Flag Week," following Flag Day.
 
Birthdays. Of course people still celebrate birthdays, and children's parties have grown from a little cake and ice cream to a celebration for dozens at a theme park. But what did you do on your birthday as a child? Did someone bake you a special cake? Was there an extra candle on top, called "one to grow on?" Some families gave playful, non-painful "spankings," one for each year of the child's age. (Maybe it's best that some holiday traditions pass away.)
 
Prairie Homestead
yvonne@prairiehomestead.org
prairiehomestead.org
1605 W. May Street
Wichita KS 67213
(316) 263-8264