Seems like I am a day late and its actually December 1st, 2022. Can you look at the Holidays being celebrated today. Let me know which holiday you most want to celebrate and why you choose that holiday by leaving me a comment.
National Mason Jar Day– always observed on November 30th
Today is National Mason Jar Day and this holiday exists to give recognition to celebrate, the invention of mason jars. While everyone can celebrate the mason jar, home gardeners find mason jars invaluable for canning Fruits and Vegetables of their labor. A second use for mason jars is in making gifts for giving during the holiday Season. National Mason Jar Day is to recognize and promote using mason jars as gifts.
While National Mason Jar Day are generically called “canning jars”, most people refer to them containers as “Mason jars”.
The History of Mason Jars for Canning Food
Food storage and food safety have always been a vitally essential issue. In ancient history, Man hunted and foraged for food. Whatever was available, had to be consumed either right away, or shortly after. Only a few Vegetables and Fruits could be saved for longer than a few days. Even then, those Fruits and Vegetables had a very short storage life of a few weeks to maybe a few months. Eventually, Man discovered ways to preserve foods. This includes drying and salting Meats and drying Fruits and Vegetables. This significantly extended the shelf life of many foods, but the taste and texture weren’t perfect.
On November 30th, 1858, John Landis Mason received a U.S. Patent # 22186 for the Mason jar and revolutionized the world of food safety and storage. The mason jar patent was for a square-shouldered glass jar with a matching lid, rubber ring, and screw top. In addition, the Mason jar is reusable. Needless to say, the mason jar became widely popular with home gardeners. Over the years, the mason jar became available in pint, quart, and half-gallon sizes. The quart size has always been the most popular. The Ball Corporation became the leading manufacturer of canning jars.
Did you know the popularity of Mason jars peaked during World War II. At the time, the federal government encouraged people to grow some of their own Food as a way to preserve valuable resources. It allowed additional labor and resources to be directed to the war effort. After the war, the invention of the refrigerator allowed for easy storage of Foods, avoiding the time-consuming canning process. However, canning continues to be popular with home gardeners.
Evolving Uses for Mason Jars
John Landis Mason’s original invention was intended for use in canning Fruits and Vegetables. Mason Jar safely extend the storage life for these foods. For over a hundred and fifty years, that’s exactly how Mason jars were used. Mason jars served this purpose exceedingly well. With the arrival of refrigerators, and people moving into Cities, home canning slowly declined. As people stopped using mason jars as canning jars, they accumulated in people’s storage areas or were donated. These donated jars found little demand.
Over the past ten or twenty years, and perhaps longer, people began to find alternative uses for Mason jars. Alternatives uses now include:
- Using mason jars as drinking glasses.
- Fill a mason jar with the dry recipe ingredients for Cakes and adorn them with seasonal decorations and give them away as gifts.
- Schools and youth groups use mason jars in seasonal art projects.
- Crafters are extremely creative and find countless ways to create works of art using mason jars.
Most canning jars are made of clear glass. For a while, blue mason jars were manufactured. Check your attic and basement for the blue jars, as the old ones are valuable. Zinc lids were also made for a while.
How to Celebrate National Mason Jar Day
Make a holiday gift using mason jars and remember you are only limited by your imagination.
Here are some ideas of what you can make:
- Use both quart and pint-size jars to make decorations. Decorate the outside. Add winter scenes on the inside.
- Mugs and wine glasses just add decorations.
- Fill a mason jar with the dry ingredients for making Cookies. Type the instructions on a small card and include it inside. Decorate the outside. Attach kitchen tools like a spatula on the outside, too.
History and Origin of National Mason Jar Day
National mason jar day was created in 2017 by Misty Campbell-Olbert. Misty is also the founder of “Unbox the Bizarre”, a maker of gift boxes for a wide variety of holidays and events. As you can imagine, Misty promotes the alternative uses of Mason jars, for uses other than canning foods.
Mason jars revolutionized and vastly improved the world of food storage. As a result, it certainly makes sense to have a holiday to recognize the importance of canning jars.
Did you know the canning Season is over by mid to late Autumn. One would think the canning season is a better time to celebrate mason jars. However, Cambell-Olbert chose this date because she is promoting mason jars use as holiday gifts.
This relatively new holiday is called a “National” day. However, we did not find a congressional or presidential proclamation making National Mason Day a true national holiday.
Stay At Home Because You Are Well Day– always observed on November 30th
Stay at Home Because You Are Well Day is today.. Do you feel okay? If so, then is a good day to take off from work.
According to Wellcat.com, the creators of Stay at Home Because You Are Well Day, is to call in “well” to your work. It’s as simple as that.
Caution: We recommend you use extreme caution and good judgment. Following the concept of Stay at Home Because You Are Well Day could get you a reprimand or cost you your job. Participating in this Stay at Home Because You Are Well Day might not be the right thing for you to do.
You may be hesitant to call in “well”. Certainly, the boss could become perturbed. And, you don’t want to lie. We suggest you tell the boss you are “under the weather”. This isn’t a lie, as we all are constantly under some kind of weather. Hopefully, you are under sunny weather.
How to Celebrate Stay Home Because You’re Well Day
- Are you feeling good today? Take the day off of work.
- Because you are well, you may want to spend the day relaxing at home, so no one sees how good your feel.
History and Origin of Stay Home Because You’re Well Day
Stay at Home Because You Are Well Day is a copyrighted holiday. Stay Home Because You’re Well Day was created and is provided, courtesy of the great folks at Wellcat.com
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
