May 22: Holidays and Celebrations Today

May 22nd is a special holiday. In fact, every day's a holiday for someone and for some reason.

Although we may not know the origins of many of these holidays, avid celebrants will participate eagerly in marking May 22nd as a most special day for so many different reasons.

Here are several of the most popular May 22nd holidays (arranged alphabetically):

Buy-A-Musical-Instrument Day

Do you have a hankering for a harp? Are you pining for a piano? Craving a clarinet? Dying for a drumset?

May 22^nd is annual Buy-a-Musical-Instrument Day. What a wonderful opportunity to bring music into your home. Better yet, why not make your own percussion instruments with the kids? (Click here for step-by-step instructions to making your own musical instruments with simple household objects.)

National Maritime Day

Proclaimed in 2003 by U.S. President George W. Bush, National Maritime Day celebrates and honors the American Merchant Marine. The Presidential proclamation urges American citizens to display the nation's flag each year on May 22^nd.

Swamp Monster Day

John Mackay and his wife claimed the first sighting of "Nessie," the Loch Ness Monster, on May 22, 1933. Loch Ness is a freshwater lake, located near Inverness, Scotland.

Why not mark the day with a special celebration? Cook up a slimy pudding, make your own silly putty or even clean out those deep, dark corners of your basement? You never know what you might find in there!

Vanilla Pudding Day

May 22^nd is Vanilla Pudding Day. Whether you whip it up from scratch, mix up a box of instant pudding or merely open a snack-sized package, May 22^nd is the day to indulge in this tasty comfort-food treat.

On May 22, 1986, Cher called late-night television host David Letterman a nasty word on live TV, perhaps referring to a donkey's posterior. Maybe a nice dish of vanilla pudding would have cheered her up and prevented the outburst.

Special Saints Days (Various)

The Calendar of the Saints lists the following for May 22nd: Aigulf of Bourges, Amandus of Boixe, Atto of Pistoia, Aurelian of Pavia, Ausonius of Angoulême, Baoithin, Basiliscus of Comana, Bobo of Provence, Boethian of Pierrepont, Castus, Conall of Inniscoel, Corpus Christi, Emilius, Faustinus, Fulk of Castrofurli, Helen of Auxerre, Helen of Carnarvon, Hemming of Finland, Humility of Faenza, James Duckett, John Baptist Machado, John Forest

John of Cetina, John of Parma, Julia of Corsica, Marcian of Ravenna, Margaret of Hulme, Maria Dominica Brun Barbantini, Matthias of Arima, Michael Ho-Dinh-Hy, Peter de Dueñas, Peter of the Assumption, Peter Pareuzi, Quiteria, Rita of Cascia (La Abogada de Impossibles), Romanus of Subiaco, Timothy and Venustus.

Notable Anniversaries on May 22nd

Robert Zimmerman (Bob Dylan) celebrated his Bar Mitzvah on May 22, 1954.

The first episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, starring Fred Rogers, debuted on public television on May 22, 1967.

American President Richard Millhouse Nixon officially confessed his role in Watergate cover-up on May 22, 1973.

Comedian Johnny Carson made his final appearance as host of The Tonight Show on May 22, 1992. Earlier that evening, on May 22, 1992, the final episode of Newhart was aired, starring Bob Newhart.

Various Other May 22nd Holidays

May 22nd is also Corpus Christi Day, Lag B'Omer (a Jewish holiday), National Heroes Day (Sri Lanka), , the Night of the Tree of Extremity (Islam), Sovereignty and Thanksgiving Day (Haiti), Toad-Pinching Day for Pixies, Toothpaste Tube Day, the UN International Day for Biological Diversity, Viking Ragnar Lodbrok Day and the Yemen National Holiday.

Happy May 22nd to one and all!

Did you know . . . ?

This is Work-at-Home Moms Week. Let's celebrate all of those multi-tasking mothers, who juggle their families, home-based businesses and other responsibilities.