March 31, 2016 – NATIONAL PROM DAY – NATIONAL TATER DAY – NATIONAL CLAMS ON THE HALF SHELL DAY – NATIONAL BUNSEN BURNER DAY

                                                       NATIONAL PROM DAY
March 31st is recognized as National Prom Day. It is a day to honor friendship, cherish memories, celebrate history, and enjoy the fun and excitement this milestone event brings.

National Prom Day celebrates this special time in every teen’s life, a time that’s not only filled with fashion, friendship and fun but where safety, peer pressure and insecurity can sometimes go along with it. That’s why building a community that encourages confidence, empowerment, individuality and inner beauty is so important as we celebrate young adults all around the world.
National Prom Day proudly supports Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), an organization that shares common values and a long-standing champion in educating young people.  While SADD’s core focus remains on traffic safety, it has expanded its mission to include substance abuse, suicide, depression, bullying, violence, body image and more.
HOW TO OBSERVENational Prom Day 2016 celebrates the efforts of SADD with a donation for every promgirl.com dress purchase on March 31st.  Additionally, parents and other adults can look back to the time when they were in high school and their proms, how styles and traditions have changed and how many of them have remained the same. To celebrate National Prom Day we encourage everyone to post a Prom “throwback” photo of themselves, parents, grandparent, guardian etc.. Use #NationalPromDay to post on social media.
HISTORY
National Prom Day was submitted by PromGirl and was approved by the registrar at National Day Calendar in 2016. For more information visit nationalpromday.org.
 

NATIONAL TATER DAY         

National Tater Day is observed annually on March 31.  This day is set aside to celebrate the potato that is loved by almost everyone and provides us with essential vitamins, minerals and fiber.
There are numerous ways to fix and enjoy the potato:  
Baked – Boiled – Steamed – Roasted – Mashed – Fried – Grilled – Scalloped – French Fries – Cottage Fries – Hash Browns – In Stew – In Soup – Potato Salad – Potato Dumplings – Potato Pancakes – Anyway You Like Them!!
This day may have originally had a different meaning.  At the beginning of April, there is a celebration of the sweet potato (Tater Day) in parts of Kentucky.  Sweet potatoes are one of the main cash crops in that area.  Tater Day started way back in the early 1840s with the trading and selling of sweet potatoes.  It is the oldest continuous trade day in the United States.

Worldwide, there are more than four thousand potato varieties. 

Since the time potatoes were shipped from Europe to the colonies in the early 17th century, their consumption has been a major part of the North American diet. In the United States, there are over 100 varieties of potatoes.  
HOW TO OBSERVE
Have your potato, tater or spud the way you like it. Use #NationalTaterDay to post on social media.
HISTORY
The origin of this day may be the Kentucky celebrated Tater Day.  However, our research was unable to find the creator of National Tater Day, an unofficial national holiday.
 
NATIONAL CLAMS ON THE HALF SHELL DAY
National Clams on the Half Shell Day is observed each year on March 31.  This food holiday is a day for the clam lovers to enjoy a special dish.
The best variety of hardshell clams (also called Quahogs) for serving on the half-shell is the topneck, but you will find recipes using littlenecks and cherrystone as well. The topnecks run about two inches across, and the meaty clam is enough for a bite-sized morsel of Atlantic saltwater goodness.
Clams on the half shell can be raw, steamed, grilled or even smoked.
One popular “on the half shell” recipe originated in Rhode Island.  Often served as an appetizer, Clams Casino is a dish with toasted breadcrumbs and bacon.  Legend has it the recipe for Clam Casino dates back to 1917 and the Little Casino in Narragansett, Rhode Island.  According to Good Housekeeping Great American Classics, maître d’hôtel Julius Keller and Mrs. Paran Stevens developed clams casino for her guests, as she wanted to serve up something special.  Naming the dish after the hotel, word soon spread of its popularity and began appearing on menus across the nation.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Use #ClamsOnTheHalfShellDay to post on social media.
HISTORY
Our research was unable to find the creator and the origin of Clams On The Half Shell Day, an unofficial national holiday.
 

NATIONAL BUNSEN BURNER DAY

National Bunsen Burner Day is observed every March 31st.  This day honors the birthday of German chemist Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen.
Named after Robert Bunsen, a Bunsen burner is a common piece of laboratory equipment that produces a single open gas flame which is used for heating, sterilization and combustion.  The gas can be either natural gas (mainly methane) or a liquefied petroleum gas, such as propane, butane or a mixture of the two.  
The invention of the Bunsen burner opened up new opportunities for the use of natural gas. Remembering your high school days and chemistry class, chances are you learned about and even used a Bunsen burner.  They are used in high schools and laboratories around the world.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Use #NationalBunsenBurnerDay to post on social media.
HISTORY      
We were able to find the reason for National Bunsen Burner Day however our research was unable to find the creator of National Bunsen Burner Day, an unofficial national holiday.