International Falafel Day- June 12

What is falafel?

Falafel is a street food that came from the Middle East.

Falafel is a deep-fried balls made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both.

The falafel is commonly served in a pita with salads, pickled vegetables, and tahini, or wrapped in a flatbread known as taboon. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a meze tray (assortment of appetizers). 

falafel in a pita

Falafel is a good replacement for meat because it contains legume, so if you're a vegetarian, you must try Falafel, you may love it. It's also healthy because it's eaten with vegetables salad and tahini.

Where the falafel come from?

The common theory about the origin of falafel is that it originated in Egypt, and possibly eaten by Copts as a replacement for meat during Lent. Later the dish migrated to northern countries of the Levant. Some researchers believe that falafel is even older, from the Pharaonic Egypt era.

Where can you eat a falafel? 

In the Middle East you will find it everywhere, in every street corner. In Europe and North America you can also find it in Middle Eastern and Jewish neighborhoods and restaurants.

Nutritional value of falafel - per 100 g (3.5 oz) 

Energy 1,393 kJ (333 kcal)
Carbohydrates 31.84 g
Fat 17.80 g
Protein 13.31 g
Vitamins:
Vitamin A 13 IU
Thiamine (B1) (13%) 0.146 mg
Riboflavin (B2) (14%) 0.166 mg
Niacin (B3) (7%) 1.044 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5) (6%) 0.292 mg
Vitamin B6 (10%) 0.125 mg
Folate (B9) (20%) 78 μg
Vitamin B12 (0%) 0.00 μg
Minerals:
Calcium (5%) 54 mg
Iron (26%) 3.42 mg
Magnesium (23%) 82 mg
Manganese (33%) 0.691 mg
Phosphorus (27%) 192 mg
Potassium (12%) 585 mg
Sodium (20%) 294 mg Zinc (16%) 1.50 mg
Other constituents:
Water 34.62 g 

 June 12 is also Dia dos Namorados

Brazil's Valentine's Day -Dia dos Namorados- 12 June

Dia dos Namorados (from Portuguese, which means: "Friends Day"), celebrated on June 12 in Brazil, near the day of St. Anthony's death on June 13. 



Like Valentine's Day, this day too is celebrated with gifts, romantic activities, decorations and celebrations. The term "Dia dos Namorados" is also used in other Portuguese-speaking countries.  
Antonius of Padua, also known as Saint Anthony, died on 13 June 1231 in Padua, Italy. Dia dos Namorados is celebrated on 12 June, on the eve of Saint Anthony's Day.
It is believed that Saint Anthony brings blessing to young couples for a happy and prosperous marriage.
Brazilian Valentine Day is celebrated with the exchange of gifts such as chocolate and flowers, nocturnal dates, home decoration and streets, and marches and carnivals of samba dancing and folk music.

Single women do a ritual called sympathy, which aims to help them find a husband or a good partner.
In Brazil, Valentine's Day is not celebrated because February 14 usually falls on the Brazilian carnival. Because Brazil does not celebrate Valentine's Day in February, many singles from the West love to be in Brazil on February 14 and stay away from the sticky romance that surrounds the rest of the world. American news sites have already announced that Brazil is the number one country to visit to celebrate the Valentine's Day.  

In other Portuguese-speaking countries, especially in Africa, Valentine's Day called "Dia dos Namorados" was celebrated on Valentine's Day in February.  
By coincidence, but right, the Dia dos Namorados are celebrating in the anniversary of the US Supreme Court's decision in 1967 to repeal the ban on interracial marriage across the United States.

Feliz Dia Dos Namorados greeting cards

June 12 is also Falafel Day

International Yarn Bombing Day- 11 June

Yarn Bombing Day is a day dedicated to the art of knitting clothes to inanimate objects on the street. This art is also called yarnbombing, yarn storming, guerrilla knitting, kniffiti, urban knitting and graffiti knitting, and really it is a kind of graffiti.

Knitting objects on the streets are public works that are not permanent (although there are those who have remained on the object for years). Unlike regular graffiti, they can be easily removed if needed. There are bars that dress the objects legally and are authorized to do so. Some, like many graffiti artists, do it secretly and dress up in the middle of the night without getting permission. Dressing public objects is illegal, but most communities do not seem to want to prosecute armed fighters with needles.

The purpose of graffiti is usually to express social or political protest, marking territory, decoration, self-expression, publicity or vandalism, while the purpose of yarnbombing is usually the decoration and customization of sterile or cold public places, that is to add to the cold, industrial and monotonous color And life.

The history of the Yarn Bombing

It is believed that the origin of street knit art is in the United States, when Texas bars found a creative way to use the remains of their threads for objects, and since then it has spread throughout the world.

The move is attributed to Magda Saig, 37, of Houston, who says she got the idea for the first time in 2005, when she wrapped her woolen wool in her store handle.

Artist Bill Devonport created and exhibited crochet objects in Houston in the 1990's.

In 2008, Jafagirls, a group of street crochet artists, put a sweater on a tree in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and received international attention. They called their work Knit-Knot.

The movement went on from simple dressing of objects to "tailor-made stories." Lauren O'Farrell of London created her street art under the name Deadly Knitshade and thus founded the city's first knitting graffiti movement.

Although Yarn bombing was popular in urban places, Stephen Duneier, was the first to wear sweaters for trees, rocks and sculptures in the countryside, in Los Feders National Forest starting in 2012.

The Yarnabombers from Craft Club (Emma Curley, Helen Thomas, Gabi Atkins, Claire Whitehead and Rebecca Burton) became the Guinness World Record for the largest display of knitted items, with "Hacking" the children's hospice with 13,388 knitted items to make them happy at Christmas. They also knitted sweaters to their community mailboxes in Essex, England.

How to celebrate the Yarn Bombing day?

Well, if you already know how to knit, then begin to knit trees, benches, post boxes, fences and everything around you to make it colorful and more beautiful. If you do not know how to knit, you can sign up for a knitting course or join a begginers yarn bombing group.

Iced Tea Day- 10 June

Ice tea is not only refreshing on a hot summer day, it also has some great health benefits and can be enjoyed in many different flavors. 

June 10 is the ice tea day and this is an excellent excuse to enjoy this refreshing drink! Do not be afraid to add a little lemon or sugar to taste, or even ginger to help if you suffer from a sore throat. 

The Ice Tee can be bought in a bottle or can, mixed with various syrups such as lemon, raspberry, lime, passion fruit, peach, oranges, strawberries, cherries and more.

The oldest printed recipes of Ice Tee are dated to 1870. Two of the earliest cookbooks with cold tea recipes are the Buckeye Cookbook by Estel Woods Wilcox, first published in 1876, and the book Housekeeping in old Virginia by Marion Cabell Tyree, first published in 1877.

Iced tea receipe from the book "Housekeeping in Old Virginia" by Marion Cabell Tyree

Iced tea began to appear in the United States during the 1860s. In the early 1970s, it began showing up on hotels and stalls at train stations, mainly in the southern US, and his popularity gained momentum after being exhibited at a 1904 world's fair in St. Louis by Richard Blechynden.

The popularity of the ice tea in the United States led to the creation of sets of cutlery adapted to this beverage: Ice tea spoon is a spoon with a long handle, suitable for mixing sugar in the long glasses.

How to celebrate the cold tea day? 

Usually the 10th of June falls on a hot day, so the best way to celebrate the day is to drink cold tea refreshing in different flavors.

Donald Duck's birthday- June 9

Donald Duck made his debut on June 9, 1934, in Walt Disney's cartoon The Wise Little Hen.

In this cartoon, Donald and his friend Peter Pig fake stomach aches as an excuse for avoiding to help Mrs. Hen who is busy sowing seeds of maize. After Mrs. Hen finishes her toils unaided, they hope to get a treat but learn a painful lesson instead.

The Wise Little Hen video on Youtube (7.24 seconds)

Fun facts about Donald Duck:

Donald is a white feathered duck with orange-yellow legs and beak. His attire usually consists of a sailor shirt and cap, and a red tie.

The voice impersonating Donald Duck belonged at first to the voice actor Clarence Nash until his decease in 1985. Since then the voice actor Tony Anselmo has taken on the role.

Donald's family members include: Daisy Duck (Donald's girlfriend), Huey, Dewey, and Louie (Donald's three nephews), Scrooge McDuck and Professor Ludwig Von Drake (uncles).

Up to now 178 Donald Duck cartoons have been filmed, surpassing the number of Mickey Mouse cartoons.

Donald Duck suffers from a lack in anger control. Rage builds up inside him until he blows his top. He is short tempered and tends to run into trouble when fury gets the better of him.

When calm, Donald Duck generally loves leisure and tends to impassivity. His speech consists of shrieking, practically unintelligible utterances.

In 2004 a star in his name was embedded in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, adding him to the company of cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse.

Finland had boycotted Donald Duck for years-because he had no pants.

Donald Duck's coloring pages

BFFs Day- June 8

Best friends day, or BFFs day of the is celebrated every year on June 8. We do not know what the source of this date, but surely this is a good reason to celebrate. Everyone should have at least one good friend in his life, so he can share his troubles and problems, count on to be there for him whenever necessary, to rejoice with him, spend time with him and have fun.

The Best Friends Day can be celebrated with a picnic in the park, a restaurant meal or a cup of coffee, or simply pick up the phone and wish for that special friend in your life happy best friends day.

In honor of best friends, here are some nice quotes about: When it hurts to look back...and you're scared to look ahead...you can always look beside you and I'll be there as your best friend. 

Best friends glitters

~ Author unknown

Things are never quite as scary when you have a best friend.

~ Bill Waterson

Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you do not say.

~ Author unknown

Best friends can make your worst day to one of the best days of your life.

~ Nathaniel Richmond

  National Best friends day greeting cards

Chocolate Ice cream Day- June 7

It is unclear what is the origin of chocolate ice cream day, which is celebrated on June 7 every year, but I'm sure that not many people will oppose to celebrate it.

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The most popular flavor of ice cream is vanilla, but since the Italians made frozen hot chocolate in 1692, Chocolate ice cream is competing very closely. The festive day in honor of chocolate ice cream probably were a manufacturer entrepreneur who wanted to encourage higher sales of the delicious dessert, but the question is whether it was really necessary to encourage people to eat more chocolate ice cream.

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Chocolate ice cream made from a combination of cocoa powder with eggs, cream, vanilla and sugar.

Yo-Yo Day - June 6

 Yo-Yo Day is celebrated every year on June 6th.

The yo-yo is a toy made up of two discs of equal size, made of plastic, metal or wood, and connected to each other in the middle of a hinge around which a wire is wound. To play yo-yo grab the wire at the end, throw it away from the body and yo-yo jumps down and returns up to the hand.

What makes Yo-Yo go back up is the gyroscopic inertia, the force in motion that causes the object to return to the state it was in.

The reason for choosing June 6 as the yo-yo day is unknown, but it may be because it is the birthday of Donald F. Duncan Sr., the American businessman who introduced the yo-yo into business and successfully marketed it as a modern toy in the 1930s. Duncan is sometimes mistaken for the invention of the yo-yo.

Yo-yo has a very long history. As early as 500 BC there is evidence that it was played in ancient Greece.

After the dolls, the yo-yo is the second oldest toy in the world.

Yo-yo became a popular toy in the ancient world through trade. He came to Scotland, England, India and Egypt and became a favorite game there as well.

To the modern world yo-yo came from the Philippines. In Filipino the origin of the name is "Tagalog" which means "to walk around".

In 1866 James L. Haven and Charles Hettrich patented  Yo-Yo's in U.S. But yo-yo became a success story in 1928, when Pedro Flores, an American of Filipino descent, opened a yo-yo factory in Santa Barbara, California.

How to celebrate Yo-Yo Day?

It is best to celebrate this day in a yo-yo competition, where everyone brings their unique yo-yo and together throws them. The winner is the one who managed to make his yo-yo fall down and come back up the longest, without stopping and without getting involved.

You can also learn to do very complicated and impressive tricks with your own yo, as in the video here:

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Want Yo Yo with your name? You can order here

June 6 is also Russian Language Day