You know that the most notable October holidays are Halloween and Oktoberfest, but did you know that other events, holidays and celebrations this month include: Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, Computer Learning Month, Cookie Month, National Pizza Month, National Vegetarian Month, National Popcorn Month, Yom Kippur, National Dessert Month, Country Music Month and National Book Fair Month!
And brace yourself – it’s time for pumpkin flavored everything!
October also has notable history:
- On October 1, 1896, free rural delivery of mail started in the United States.
- October 4, 1957, the first artificial satellite was launched by the Soviet Union.
- October 5, 1947, the first presidential telecast address from the White House was made by Harry S. Truman.
- October 18, 1867, the U.S. flag was formally raised over Alaska.
- October 31, 1864, Nevada became the 36th state of the United States.
October ends on the same day of the week as February every year.
The last week of October is a great time for sports fans. It is the only time of the entire year when four major American sports (MLB, the NHL, the NFL and the NBA) play games.
Oktoberfest originated on October 12, 1810 when Prince Ludwig of Bavaria wanted to celebrate his marriage to princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen with his people. Ludwig held horse races and invited all of the people of Munich to join him on his special day.
Cincinnati, Ohio, claims to hold the “largest authentic Oktoberfest” in the U.S. and draws about 500,000 people.
October is one of the original Roman calendar months and the name literally translates to “eighth month.” Because the original Roman calendar began with March, October was the eighth month. Today, our calendar begins in January so October is now the 10th month of the year.
The holiday of Halloween began as the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain. The ancient Celtic people used to celebrate the day to mark the end of the harvest season and winter’s beginning.
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