October 27 - Good Bear Day

 Posted on October 27, 2021

This is an update of my post published on October 27, 2010:

Good Bear Day was created on the birthday of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26^th U.S. president, because teddy bears are named for him! Apparently a toy manufacturer heard about an incident in which Roosevelt treated a bear humanely (kindly, with consideration of suffering), and the manufacturer asked permission to name its new stuffed bear after the president's nickname, Teddy.

Since that time in the early 1900s, teddy bear has been synonymous with toy bear or stuffed bear.

So, Good Bear Day was celebrated on Teddy Roosevelt's birthday—but what was Good Bear Day?

It was a holiday created by a group who collected teddy bears and other stuffed animals to be distributed to sick, needy, or traumatized children and others in need of bear hugs - to make life just a little bit more bearable.

The organization accepted donations of new teddies or of previously loved bears, which were restored before being distributed to kids in need.

Celebrate teddies!

• Read or sing “The Teddy Bear Picnic.”  If the weather is nice, you could treat your teddies to a picnic!
  
  
  

• Refurbish and donate stuffed animals that are mouldering in the corners of your house!
  
  
  

• Or spiff up your teddy bears and proudly display them as a collection. Another way to decorate with teddy bears is to dress them according to season. Right now your teddies need some quickie Halloween costumes!
  

• Draw or color some cuddly teddy bears. Instead of using real bear colors such as black or brown, try coloring a bear in colorful plaids or prints. You can make a bear drawing look like a teddy bear by showing some stitching or drawing buttons for eyes, too. Cute!

  

  This looks like a teddy bear because of the seam lines
  and especially the satiny-looking bow!

Here are some simple coloring pages. 

Here is a much more complicated picture to color in. It's by Jan Brett, so you know it's great! 

Here is a step-by-step lesson on drawing a bear. 

And here is a more complicated step-by-step on drawing teddy bears.

 

Also on this date:

Independence Day in Turkmenistan 

Independence Day in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Anniversary of the first U.S. expedition to observe a solar eclipse

President Teddy Roosevelt's birthday

Three-Z Day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

Comic book illustrator Jan Duursema's birthday

Flag Day in Greece

Anniversary of a 

rare meteor strike

Birthday of urban renewal specialist Majora Carter

Black Cat Day

International Print Day

(Fourth Wednesday in October)

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

• October holidays
• October birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in October
  
  

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• November holidays
• November birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in November

 

 

July 10 – Teddy Bears' Picnic Day

Posted on July 10, 2014

 I have no clue about why today, of all days, is “Teddy Bears' Picnic” Day. This is not the date that the song was written, nor the date it was first recorded or released, and it isn't the birthday of the songwriters.

Still, who can quibble with the delightful idea of having a picnic with your teddy bears? If it's hot where you live right now, how about a picnic at a nearby lake, seashore, forest, mountaintop, or even swimming pool?

(Warning: most teddy bears DO NOT like to swim! You should definitely consider keeping your bear buddies out of the lake, ocean, and pool.)

• Here are some nice ideas to make the most of Teddy Bears' Picnic Day. 

• Enjoy the song with this music video. 

• Make your own illustrated book of the song lyrics.

• Or check out this story version of the song.

Did you know...?

• For about thirty years, BBC engineers used the 1932 Henry Hall recording of “Teddy Bears' Picnic” to test and calibrate (set up) their audio equipment!

• The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band made their own version of the song. It's a bit more...um...unexpected than the Bing Crosby version I linked to above! 

Also on this date:

Independence Day and Junkanoo Parade in the Bahamas 

Philanthropist Ima Hogg's birthday

Inventor Nikola Tesla's birthday

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

• July holidays
• July birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in July

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• August holidays 
• August birthdays 
• Historical anniversaries in August
  

October 10, 2012 - National Bring Your Teddy Bear to School/Work Day

Today we are urged to bring our favorite furry (stuffed) friends to school or work with us. I don't know how well that will go along with the other, more serious meaning of the day:

Unity Day, aka Stop Bullying Day

Some bullies love to pick on people who look or dress different or who, say, have a teddy bear in their arms (see above)! But everyone, of every age, can do something today to send a loud-and-clear message that bullying is not okay:

Wear orange.

We are urged to go out in the community, to school or to work, wearing the color orange, to write the word “unity” on our T-shirts, or hands, or a sign, and possibly even to hand out “unity ribbons.” (To make unity ribbons, cut 12-inch pieces of wide ribbon. Write “UNITY” and “The end of bullying begins with me” on each ribbon in Sharpie pen.)

Check out Stop Bullying-dot-gov and Kids Against Bullying. 

Also on this date:

Global Work Party 

Double Ten Day in Taiwan 

October 27, 2010

Good Bear Day 

and Teddy Roosevelt's Birthday

Good Bear Day was created especially on the birthday of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26^th U.S. president, because teddy bears are named for him! Apparently a toy manufacturer heard about an incident in which Roosevelt treated a bear humanely (kindly, with consideration of suffering), and the manufacturer asked permission to name its new stuffed bear after the president.

Since that time in the early 1900s, teddy bear has been synonymous with toy bear or stuffed bear.

So, Good Bear Day was on Teddy R's birthday—but what was Good Bear Day?

It was a holiday created by a group who collected teddy bears and other stuffed animals to be distributed to sick, needy, or traumatized children and others “in need of bear hugs to make life a little more bearable.”

The organization accepted donations of new teddies or of previously loved bears, which were restored before being distributed to kids in need.

Celebrate teddies!

• Read or sing “The Teddy Bear Picnic.”  If the weather is nice, you could treat your teddies to a picnic!

• Refurbish and donate stuffed animals that are mouldering in the corners of your house!

• Or spiff up your teddy bears and proudly display them as a collection. Another way to decorate with teddy bears is to dress them according to season. Right now your teddies need some quickie Halloween costumes!

• Draw or color some cuddly teddy bears. Instead of using real bear colors such as black or brown, try coloring a bear in colorful plaids or prints. You can make a bear drawing look like a teddy bear by showing some stitching or drawing buttons for eyes, too. Cute!

Here are some simple coloring pages. 

Here is a much more complicated picture to color in. It's by Jan Brett, so you know it's great! 

Here is a step-by-step lesson on drawing a bear. 

And here is a more complicated step-by-step on drawing teddy bears.