Bean Day

Every once in a while, you come across a special day that just doesn't seem to have any rhyme or reason. Bean Day appears to be one of those days. Bean Day is day of unknown origin, and unknown cause. But, this day gets plenty of recognition from Ecard companies and calendar oriented sites.  

We suggest that you celebrate this day by eating beans. After all... Beans, beans, they're good for the heart.... the more you eat them, the more......""

There are several ways to celebrate Bean Day:

• Newlyweds can add a few beans to their bean jar today.
• Gardeners can enjoy this day surfing through seed catalogs to select beans to grow in the spring. Find a seed catalog
• Read the story ""Jack and the Beanstalk"" to your pre-schooler.
• Teachers can use bean seeds for learning exercises in course material.
• Others, can bone up on the history of beans....doesn't that sound like fun!?

Paula Bowen is the originator of Bean Day. She started it because January is so bleak, and there weren't many holidays in January to celebrate. She said we needed a holiday to celebrate Mr. Bean. Also, her dad was a Pinto bean farmer, so she grew up eating a lot of beans.

There are many ""Bean Days"" referenced on the internet. They are primarily from local farming communities celebrating the harvest of the bean crop. There is no one date for these numerous local events. Local declarations do not seem to concentrate in any one month. Nor, are they often referred to as an annual event.

Shortbread Day

On Shortbread Day, one needs to keep things short and sweet! Shortbread (not to be confused with shortcake) is an absolutely delicious kind of cookie (sweet biscuit). It is usually made with one part sugar, two parts butter, and three parts white flour. Slightly less traditional recipes can also see such ingredients as chocolate chips added to the mixture.

After being baked, it is cut while still warm into squares/rectangles or slices like a pizza pie, and then allowed to cool. It can then be enjoyed with a coffee, cup of tea, or just on its own. Warning: it will be almost impossible to stop at just one piece, for it oozes delicious, buttery, crumbly goodness with every bite!

Shortbread is one of life’s luxuries that many people associate with feel-good holidays and special events – good times that are remembered with fondness. Why not, therefore, sit back with a large piece of shortbread and think for a moment about this lovely treat? Happy Shortbread Day!