This food holiday began in 2012 as a way for bakers all over the world to share their love for baking and favorite recipes with like-minded people. World Baking Day encourages professional and amateur bakers alike to step outside of their baking comfort zone and try something new. In other words, World Baking Day urges you to push your baking skills to the limit!

16 countries across the globe are actively participating in World Baking Day, including: USA, UK, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Slovakia, Greece, Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland, Sweden, Turkey, Poland, South Africa, Germany, and Belgium.

Join the international conversation on Twitter by following @WorldBakingDay and using hashtag #bakebrave.

Sources: World Baking Day, Food Network UK

Armed Forces Day was established in 1949 as a way to unify all sectors of the United States Armed Forces. It is a holiday for American citizens to come together and show appreciation for all members of our military and pay tribute to soldiers in the Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy.

If you know or happen to come across a member of our military – remember to thank them for their service and support today.

Sources: Defense.gov, Wikipedia

Learn more about Memorial Day.

The first ever Kentucky Derby was held on May 17, 1875 with a field of 15 Thoroughbreds and an audience of 10,000 people. In its inaugural year, the Kentucky Derby track was 1.5 miles long, but was reduced to the current length in 1876. Aristides was the winning horse that first year, ridden by jockey Oliver Lewis.

The Kentucky Derby has been run every single year since its introduction in 1875, and has come to be known as “The Most Exciting 2 Minutes in Sports” or “The Run for the Roses”, as the winning horse is adorned with a blanket of roses.  Today, the Kentucky Derby draws a crowd of around 150,000 spectators each year.

Sources: Wikipedia, About.com

Born on September 24, 1936, James  Maury “Jim” Henson began practicing his skills as a puppeteer in college. Soon after, he found a job as a producer on the popular children’s show Sesame Street. He is best known as the creator of The Muppet Show, a television program that began in 1976 and ran through 1981. The original show has since inspired many spin-off Muppet movies and television shows, most recently The Muppets which was released in theaters in 2011.

Although Jim Henson is best known as the creator of The Muppets, a ragtag group of puppet characters, he was also an Oscar nominated director, Emmy Award winning producer, and founder of the Jim Henson Company and the Jim Henson Foundation which promotes puppetry in the United States.

Sources: Wikipedia, Biography

Although there is some discrepancy as to the actual date of Straw Hat Day and some think it should fall on the second Saturday in May, most believe that it should be celebrated on May 15 each year.  Regardless of the date, Straw Hat Day is considered a sign of the beginning of summertime, as it was the day when men would replace their winter hats with their summer hats, which were made of straw.

One popular version of a straw hat for men is the Panama hat, which was worn by Clark Gable in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.  Celebrate Straw Hat Day by sporting a straw hat of your own – Panama or otherwise!

Sources: Yahoo, Wikipedia

Elizabeth has been with Calendars.com for nearly six years and runs the Facebook page and blog for DogBreedStore.com, our sister site. She also manages the Calendars Ebay store and comparison shopping engines.

I love Calendars, canines, caffeine and my Mac – not necessarily in that order.  I balance work with volunteering, training dogs, gardening and cooking. My favorite travel destination is home, where I am surrounded by ten beautiful acres of wildflowers and two adorable and adoring (mainly at dinner time) Bulldogs who think I am an absurdly good cook.

Here are a few of her staff picks, but see Elizabeth’s complete selection on our Staff Picks Page!

Someecards 2014 Desk Calendar

Extraordinary Chickens 2014 Wall Calendar

Yoga Dogs 2014 Wall Calendar

Cowboy Boots 2014 Wall Calendar

George Lucas attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and was a member of the “Dirty Dozen” clique of film school students that would go on to make it big in Hollywood.  In 1973, Lucas found success with the release of his low-budget film, American Graffiti, which cost under $800,000 to make but garnered over $50 million at the box office.

Star Wars came next in 1977, and with the release of The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and The Return of the Jedi in 1983, the saga began to attract quite the cult following.  Indiana Jones was also the brainchild of George Lucas, but he enlisted Steven Spielberg to direct the films while he wrote the screenplays.  After Indiana Jones, Lucas returned his attention back to Star Wars and created three more “episodes” which were hugely popular.  Both Hollywood franchises achieved momentous success, and in 2012, Lucas announced he would be retiring from major blockbuster films to focus on smaller, independent features.

Happy 69^th Birthday George Lucas!

Sources: Wikipedia, Biography

Top Gun Day has been celebrated every year on May 13 since its introduction in 2009.  It is a day to commemorate and honor the 1986 Tom Cruise flick Top Gun.

There are many different ways to celebrate Top Gun Day, depending on how far your love for the classic movie extends.  You can walk around in Aviators and a bomber jacket, spend the day quoting your favorite lines to unsuspecting strangers, or play volleyball in jeans – the possibilities are endless!

In honor of Top Gun Day, a few of our employees channeled their inner Maverick and shared their favorite lines from this iconic 1986 film.

Sources: Top Gun Day, WikiHow

Shavuot is the second of three major Jewish holidays that occurs 50 days after Passover, another major Jewish holiday. Originally a historical and agricultural festival that marked the end of the seven weeks of the Passover barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest, Shavuot is also a religious observance of God’s presenting Moses with the Torah, or the Ten Commandments, at Mount Sinai 50 days after the Israelites left Egypt.

Shavuot is similar to the Christian holy day Pentecost, which falls 49 days after Easter  Sunday and celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ’s followers.

When is Shavuot?

Shavuot is celebrated 50 days after Passover each year. Like Passover, Shavuot falls on a different day each year. This year, Shavuot falls on May 15.

How do people celebrate Shavuot?

Jewish people celebrate Shavuot by studying the Torah, reading the Akdamot and the Book of Ruth, decorating their homes with plants, flowers and leafy branches, and eating dairy products. In the U.S., synagogues often hold Jewish confirmation ceremonies on Shavuot. Although Shavuot is not a federal holiday in the U.S., many Jewish businesses and organizations close or limit their hours on Shavuot while Jewish people may choose to take their annual vacation around this time of year so that they have the day off.

Read more about Shavuot and its symbols and traditions.

Sources: timeanddate.com