Today's Holidays: Hug-a-Bear Day, Little League Girls Day, National Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day, Diwali, National Eating Healthy Day, Stress Awareness Day
Website of the Day: https://www.buildabear.com
Fact of the Day: Chocolate manufacturer's use 40% of the almonds in the world!
When I was first born, my grandma bought me a stuffed animal named Ginger. I’m not exactly sure if she came with the name Ginger, if I named her Ginger, or if my parents did for me, but regardless, Ginger became a part of my life. I took her with me everywhere: to Shoprite, Chilis, Kumon, and even just from room to room in our house. The one time that I left Ginger in the shopping cart at Shoprite, and I thought that I had lost her forever, my tears flooded down uncontrollably as I could not imagine a future without Ginger. I was losing a part of myself, a part of who I am. I was losing my best friend, my protector. Lifeless, and yet she added so much life to my world. We found Ginger that day after returning to Shoprite to retrieve her, but over the years she has become worn and her stuffing has seeped out of the holes in her fur. Though I can no longer carry her around places, leaving her on my bed at home rather than bringing her to college, I cannot reminisce on my childhood without Ginger coming to mind. And today, on National Hug-a-Bear Day, we celebrate the joy that all stuffed animals have given us, their protection, the way in which they taught us to love, to be selfless, to care for another, and ultimately, the beauty that they brought upon childhood.
We might not realize it in the moment, but stuffed animals have this unique ability to emotionally connect with us as children, even though they are not living. Build-a-Bear, for example, hones in on this connection by augmenting the experience of creating your own stuffed animal. I used to go to Build-a-Bear when I was younger, but my friend, Ellie, and I went just a few months ago on a sudden impulse as we walked by the shop in the mall. As we chose our bear, gave him his heart, pumped the stuffing into him, and then picked out his outfit, it was as if I was a child again, with a present-focused mindset, able to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. I recently wrote an essay in my freshman seminar class about how through reminding ourselves of the principles childhood, we can live a more meaningful life because of childhood’s concentration on the present and recognition of life’s simplicity, which leads to more easily attained happiness. Stuffed animals not only teach us about adulthood as children, as we learn what it means to love, care, and be responsible, but they remind us of childhood as adults, reteaching us the value of simplicity, the present moment, and happiness.
I also will celebrate today by hugging my actual cat. Her name is Lily, but I call her Bear. Whenever people ask why I call her this, I always say that she is cute and cuddly like a teddy bear, but also feisty like a real bear. Bear might only come to me when she wants food and she may only let me pet her when she wants to be pet, but I can’t imagine walking inside our house and not seeing her right near the door (or sometimes laying on her favorite blanket, because she’s pretty lazy and doesn’t always have the energy to get up). My friends make fun of her for being fat, and occasionally my mom does too, but I always say to them that my Bear is skinny and beautiful (even though the vet clearly said that she should go on a diet so that she does not get diabetes). I love my cat with my whole heart, as seen by the 8 by 10 picture I have of her on my dorm room wall, while all of my friends and family only get a 4 by 6. So today I will hug my Bear.
We might not all call our cat Bear, but we all can relate in some way to Hug-a-Bear Day, whether it’s hugging your stuffed animal from childhood, reminding yourself of childhood and incorporating aspects of your childhood into your present life, or maybe you do have a cat named Bear to hug, there are infinite ways to show your love for your “bear”. Happy Hug-a-Bear Day! How did you celebrate? Comment below or send in a picture to nationalholidaymovement@gmail.com! #BeHappy #Bear #Hugs