National Unicorn Day
National Unicorn Day on April 9 is a day to celebrate the most popular mythical creature ever. Why? Because if we don’t take time out to celebrate a beautiful, horned, rainbow–printed mythical creature then we’re most definitely missing a trick. The unicorn is a symbol of happiness, fantasy, and wonder. It’s an icon of color, of childlike splendor and magic. They often make appearances on birthday cakes and children’s clothing, and let’s be honest quite a lot of us adults still dig them too. National Unicorn Day is your chance to express some unicorn love, so show some color and delve into the magnificence of unicorns with us!
HISTORY OF NATIONAL UNICORN DAY
The unicorn is known as a creature of legend, one with a single large, spiraled, and pointy horn that projects from its forehead. They were spotted in early Mesopotamian artwork and were often noted in myths and stories deriving from China, Greece, and India. In Greek mythology writers strongly believed that unicorns were running wild in a faraway distant realm. That distant realm was India and Greek physician Ctesias quoted in his book ‘‘On the Nature of Animals’’ that he believed India produced a one-horned horse. Some argued that he wasn’t seeing a unicorn, but instead was citing the Indian Rhinoceros. In Iran, unicorns were said to be found in Persepolis and the Hebrew Bible describes an animal called the ‘‘re’em’’ which some belief to be the unicorn.
The unicorn has always been depicted as a symbol of grace and purity, with its horn said to hold the power to cleanse poisonous water and teal sickness. In medieval times, they would sell the tusks of the Narwhal whale and advertise them as a Unicorn horn.
The Celts, Romans, and Persians also described a white magical horse with a single horn. The creature was said to represent strength, grace, and freedom. The unicorn has been a symbol on the Scottish coat of arms since the 12th century. As you can see, unicorns have been present in our culture for a long time, and so the recent introduction of National Unicorn Day in 2015 is a welcome one.
NATIONAL UNICORN DAY ACTIVITIES
1.Dress up as a unicorn
Unicorn outfits are a fabulous fashion statement and also make for super awesome costumes for kids. Make a cutesy outfit or add a unicorn print with iron-on paper and don a unicorn t-shirt.
2.Eat unicorn-themed food
Why not try making multicolored pancakes for breakfast, or check out ‘‘lovealbanybread’s’’ Instagram for a rainbow unicorn toast recipe? How about trying a rainbow-layered cake and a bowl of unicorn noodles? Experiment and go wild!
3.Visit Scotland
Scotland is the homeland of unicorns as they don the unicorn proudly on their coat of arms. Visit the historic Edinburgh Castle near the National War Monument, or St Margaret’s Chapel and look for carvings and sculptures of unicorns on these historic buildings. If you can’t, read up on the history of unicorns in Scotland online.
WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL UNICORN DAY
A. According to legend
The mythical element of unicorns is why we love them so much. As Dr. Seuss said ‘‘sleep resembles the unicorn – it is reputed to exist, yet I doubt I will see any.’’ Unicorns remain special imaginary figures who are powerfully skilled, so we celebrate them to fuel their wonder of them in our imaginations.
B. They’re everywhere
The sheer way that Unicorns are embedded in our lives shows how important they are to everyone. We watch them on tv, read about them in books and they’re on merchandise everywhere. They’re mythical, yet they have an important place in society, and we love them for them.
C. We can’t stop looking
The rainbow beauty of unicorns is in fact why we celebrate this day. It’s why we love printing them on our clothes, our bags, and our lunch bags, and why we are so fascinated by these creatures. So, dress up and use color on this special day, you can look as great as a unicorn.
References:
“National Unicorn Day” │ https://nationaltoday.com/national-unicorn-day/