November 21, 2015 – NATIONAL ADOPTION DAY – NATIONAL STUFFING DAY

                                      NATIONAL ADOPTION DAY

Every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, across the United States, it is National Adoption Day.  This day raises awareness of the more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting for permanent, loving families.   This day has helped the dreams of many children and families come true.

On November 23, 2014, many courts and communities came together to finalize thousands of adoptions of children from foster care.   There are more than 300 events that are held annually on National Adoption Day as the finalization of the dreams become a reality.  In total, there has been more than 40,000 children that have been adopted from foster care on National Adoption Day.

OBSERVE

Use #NationalAdoptionDay to post on social media.

HISTORY

A Coalition of national partners including The Alliance for Children’s Rights, Children’s Action Network, Freddie Mac Foundation and Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption started National Adoption Day in 2000.   In November of 2000, the sponsors worked with law firms, state foster care agencies, child advocates and courts to complete hundreds of foster care adoptions in nine jurisdictions nationwide.

• 2001 – 17 jurisdictions participated
• 2002 – Casey Family Services and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute jointed the National Adoption Day Coalition, helping 34 cities across the country finalize 1,350 adoptions and celebrate adoption.
• 2003 – Courts and community organizations in more than 120 jurisdictions across the nation finalized the adoptions of 3,100 children.
• 2004 – More than 3,400 children were adopted from foster care in 200 events in 37 states after courts and community organization finalized the adoptions.
• 2011 – More than 300 court and community events were held on National Adoption Day.

For more information on National Adoption Day, see: http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/

DATES
November 21, 2015
November 19, 2016
November 18, 2017
November 17, 2018

National Stuffing Day – November 21

 NATIONAL STUFFING DAY

November 21 is the perfect day to celebrate National Stuffing Day as Thanksgiving day is right around the corner and we are already thinking about the delicious turkey stuffing that is a traditional part of Thanksgiving dinner.
While cooking (specifically for poultry), stuffing (also known as dressing or filling) is a mixture, often a starch, used to fill a cavity in another food item.  However, there are many foods that are prepared stuffed such as different meats, vegetables, eggs and etc.
The typical turkey stuffing consists of bread cubes or crumbs combined with onions, celery, salt and pepper along with spices and herbs such as summer savory, sage or poultry seasoning.  Other varieties include adding sausage, hamburger, tofu, oysters, egg, rice, apple, raisins or other dried fruits.
The first known documented stuffing recipes appeared in the Roman cookbook, Apicius “De Re Coquinaria”.  Most of the stuffing recipes in this cookbook included vegetables, herbs and spices, nuts and spelt (an old cereal) with some of them also including chopped liver and other organ meat.
In addition to stuffing the body cavity of poultry and fish, various cuts of meat are often stuffed once deboned and having a pouch or slit cut in them.  A few examples of other meats that are frequently stuffed include: pork chops, meatloaf, meatballs, chicken breast, lamb chops and beef tenderloin.
Popular vegetables that are prepared stuffed include, but are not limited to, are: tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and cabbage.
OBSERVE
Prepare some stuffing to enjoy and use #NationalStuffingDay to post on social media.
HISTORY
Within our research, we were unable to find the creator and origin of National Stuffing Day, an “unofficial” national holiday.