FEBRUARY 3, 2014 – NATIONAL THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED DAY – NATIONAL CARROT CAKE DAY

            NATIONAL THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED DAY

Each year on February 3rd, National The Day the Music Died Day is acknowledged across the United States.

As a reference to the deaths of rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, on February 3, 1959, The Day the Music Died was dubbed by a lyric in the Don McLean song “American Pie”.    The pilot, Roger Peterson, was also killed in the crash.
January 23, 1959 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin their tour begins.  It was soon discovered that the time and distance between venues along with the poorly equipped tour bus  for winter weather did not make for good travel conditions for the band. Soon the flu broke out and spread among the band members.  On February 2nd, they arrived in Clear Lake, Iowa.  Upon completing their performance at the Surf Ballroom, due to the travel problems they had been experiencing, Holly decided to charter a plane to Fargo, North Dakota, which would connect them with their next venue in Moorhead, Minnesota.
Waylon Jennings had swapped his place on the plane to Richardson (as Richardson was struggling with the flu) and Tommy Allsup lost his place in a coin toss to Ritchie Valens.  The fee to board the plane was $36.00 so Dion DiMucci of Dion and the Belmonts decided not to pay the fee to fly; therefore, DiMucci, along with Jennings and Allsup, was not on the plane at the time of the crash.
Investigation reports determined that. soon after takeoff, poor weather conditions and pilot error made the pilot lose control of the plane. 

Following are lyrics from the song “American Pie”

But February made me shiver,
With every paper I’d deliver,
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn’t take one more step. 
I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside,
The day the music died.

NATIONAL THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED DAY HISTORY

Within our research, we were unable to find the creator of National The Day The Music Died Day, an “unofficial” national holiday.

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          NATIONAL CARROT CAKE DAY

Carrot cake lovers today is your day!  February 3 annually celebrates National Carrot Cake Day.
During it’s method of preparation, carrot cake resembles a quick bread and has a soft, dense texture that is created when the carrots, that have been added to the mix, soften as the cake is baked.
Cream cheese frosting is the most commonly paired with carrot cake however, a glaze, white icing or chopped walnuts are sometimes a preferred choice.

During the medieval period, sweeteners were scarce and very expensive and since carrots contain natural sugar and were easy to come by, they were used in sweet cakes.  It was in the 1960′s that carrot cakes first became commonly available in restaurants and cafeterias in the United States.  The carrot cake started out as a novelty item but due to it’s popularity, it soon became a standard dessert fare.
Enjoy one of the following “tried and true” carrot cake recipes: 
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/carrot-pineapple-cake-i/
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cinnamon-raisin-carrot-cake/
http://southernfood.about.com/od/carrotcakesandcookies/r/bl30610v.htm