August 30: Holidays and Celebrations Today

August 30th is a holiday for mind games, fries, Slinky toys, marshmallows, pow wows and more. Frankenstein, rowers and other celebrants mark August 30th as a special day.

Catch a glimpse of several popular August 30th holidays (arranged alphabetically).

Frankenstein Day

Fi - fi - fo - fums! Look out for Frankenstein. Here he comes!

Frankenstein Day is August 30^th, honoring the birthday of British novelist Mary Godwin Wollstonecraft Shelley (Falkner, The Last Man, Lodore, Perkin Warbeck, Rambles in Germany and Italy and Valperga), who created the fictional man-monster in the early 19^th Century. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born on August 30, 1797.

Although August 30^th is known as Frankenstein Day, the final Friday in October is called Frankenstein Friday. However, the autumn celebration is more related to Halloween festivities, whereas the August event is more literary in nature.

Have you ever read Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's classic novel, Frankenstein? Perhaps August 30^th is a prime opportunity for you to pick it up. (You won't put it down until you finish the last page of the monstrous work.)

Mind Day

August 30^th is known to certain cerebrally advanced folks as Mind Day. This over-the-top day of enlightenment offers an opportunity for ponderous ruminations and sage speculations. Brilliant brooders may pursue perspicacious and profound perceptions on August 30^th, seeking rational reflections and astute analyses of clever cogitations.

The rest of us are simply scratching our heads and racking our brains, wondering what this all means.

Happy Mind Day on August 30^th - if you haven't lost your already, merely considering this inestimably intellectual occasion.

Rowboat Day

Row, row, row your boat on August 30^th. It's Rowboat Day.

This waterborne holiday recalls a 16^th Century Irish Catholic saint. According to Catholic history, John Roche (aka John Neale) rescued the saintly Father William Watson from Bridewell Prison by posing as the boatman who had refused to take on the dangerous expedition. John Roche swapped attire with the Catholic priest, facing arrest in his place. Although British Queen Elizabeth I offered to pardon John Roche, if we would recant his Catholic faith and join the Protestant Church, he refused and was hanged in 1588.

St. John Roche is the Catholic patron saint of boatmen, mariners and sailors. Many boating enthusiasts plan cruises, rowing races and other boating events on August 30^th in his honor.

Slinky Day

Spring into action on August 30^th. It's Slinky Day, named for the coiled spring toy that can descend (end over end) down a flight of stairs on its own.

The Slinky was invented on August 30, 1956, by American naval engineer Richard James. Three months later, Richard James and his wife demonstrated the metal spring toy at Philadelphia's Gimbel's Department Store. Within 90 minutes, the Jameses had sold 400 Slinky units.

Have you ever played with a Slinky? Try one out on August 30^th - Slinky Day.

Toasted Marshmallow Day

Let's have a campfire. Who will bring the marshmallows?

It's Toasted Marshmallow Day on August 30^th, a tasty and toasty way to wrap up summer festivities. Celebrants may gather around campfires and barbecue grills to melt marshmallows over warm coals, glowing embers or open flames.

Here's a sticky question: Do you prefer your toasted marshmallows lightly warmed or set afire? Either way, August 30^th is the day to pull out those long skewers or grill forks and toast some marshmallows. Many folks will even assemble s'mores on August 30^th.

And that surely beats a sharp stick in the eye, at least, proverbially speaking.

Special Saints Days (Various)

The Calendar of the Saints lists the following for August 30th: Adauctus, Agilus, Alexander Newski, Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, Arsenius, Bononius, Bronislava of Poland, Diego Ventaja Milán, Edward Shelley, Eustáquio van Lieshout, Felix, Fiacre and Gaudentia.

Additional August 30^th saints include John Roche, Loaran, Margaret Ward, Maria Ragols, Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran, Pammachius, Pelagius, Peter of Trevi, Richard Leigh, Richard Martin, Rumon of Ravistock and Sylvanus.

Notable Anniversaries on August 30th:

The legendary Queen Cleopatra of Egypt is said to have committed suicide on August 30^th, in 30 B.C. According to most historical accounts, Cleopatra allowed herself to be bitten by an Egyptian cobra, or an asp (or perhaps two asps). However, some sources have contended that Augustus ordered her death - presumably by poisoning.

1682 William Penn left England to sail to New World. In 1682, James Duke of York, the future James II of England,^[1] handed over a large piece of his American holdings to William Penn. This land included present-day Pennsylvania and Delaware. Penn immediately sailed to America and his first step on American soil took place in New Castle in 1682

Various Other August 30th Holidays

August 30th is also Alexandrian New Year (Greece), Caristeria - Old Roman Thanksgiving, Celebration of St. Rose of Lima (Peru), Children's Day (Afghanistan), Constitution Day (East Timor, Kazakhstan, Turks & Caicos Islands), Cyprus Victory Day, Fairies' Chatter Champion Announcement Holiday and Family Day (Tennessee).

Additional August 30^th holidays include Feast Day of St. Aile of Rebais, Feast of Saints Felix and Adauctus, Hong Kong Liberation Day (1945), Huey P. Long Day (Louisiana), Chatter Champion announced (Fairy), International Pow Wow Ceremony (Gallup, New Mexico), Julienne Fries Day (varies), National Holistic Pet Day, Rose Festival Holiday (St. Lucia), Santa Rosa de Lima (Peru), St. Fefre the Anchoret Day, St. Fiacre's Day , St. Pammachius the Confessor Feast Day, Victory Day (Turkey) and Voudon Agou (Haiti).

Happy August 30^th to one and all!

Other Notable Holidays:

Click here to check other calendar dates for notable holidays and additional holiday content from this author.

(Note: Annually, some dates may fluctuate to accommodate weekends and local calendars.)

Sources:
http://halife.com/daily/trivia.html
http://halife.com/religion/ch04.html
http://holidayinsights.com
http://saints.sqpn.com/month00.htm
http://www.brainyhistory.com/events.html
http://www.brookston.org/almanac
http://www.earthcalendar.net
http://www.everythingpreschool.com/holidays
http://www.holidays.net/dailys.htm
http://www.holidaysforeveryday.com
http://www.kidsturncentral.com/holidays
http://www.partyguideonline.com/months