December Observances
On December 14, we honor this snack roasting on an open fire in Nate King Cole’s tune “The Christmas Song.”
Answer: What are chestnuts? The day is designated Roast Chestnuts Day. Fun fact: Chestnuts are a popular ingredient in turkey dressing.
Two long strings of numbers are found at the bottom of checks; one is the account number and the other is this number.
Answer: What is routing? The first nine numbers are the routing numbers, which is the bank’s identification code.
We love these beneficial ladies in their red and black polka-dotted attire.
Answer: What are ladybugs? A beneficial insect is something you want in the garden. It preys on destructive insects such as aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, and many more.
Kids love to watch this winged insect’s lights at night.
Answer: What are fireflies or lightning bugs? Lightning bugs are beetles, which are the largest family of animals, with 350,000 known species.
In 1960, Lipton introduced this boxed soup that is most often used as a dip.
Answer: What is onion? You just add a package to sour cream, and voila… you have French onion dip. It’s best to refrigerate it for a few hours to plump the onion.
On December 17, we remember these first-in-flight brothers and their amazing day at Kitty Hawk.
Answer: Who are the Wright Brothers? The day is the anniversary date of the Wright Brothers’ first flight.
Checking account statements reflect these two items that have transpired over a designated period, usually one month.
Answer: What are deposits and withdrawals? If you write many checks each month, manually balancing a checking account can be a tedious task. Fortunately, you can get upto- the-minute balances with online banking.
This big black and yellow bee is unlikely to sting you.
Answer: What is bumblebee? The largest bumblebees are found in South American forests. They earned their nickname of flying mice because they are 1.5 inches or more.
This bird is a symbol of the United States.
Answer: What is the bald eagle? It was chosen as the national bird in 1782.
This egg-based pie saw its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s.
Answer: What is quiche? Sales dropped off the charts after the book Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche was published, but quiche is making a comeback.
On December 7, Americans remember this event, which has lived in infamy.
Answer: What is the bombing of Pearl Harbor? President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his “December 7, 1941 A Date Which Will Live in Infamy” speech after the Japanese Empire bombed Pearl Harbor. The day is designated National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
This is the proper term for signing the back of a check.
Answer: What is endorse? If you want to deposit the check, you can include “For deposit only to account number XXXXXXX” under your signature.
You know fall has arrived when you no longer hear the chirping of these insects at night.
Answer: What are crickets? When the end of summer approaches, they start to chirp during the day because it’s too cold for them to be out at night. You can estimate the temperature by counting the chirps in 15 seconds and adding 37 to that number
This tiny, colorful, nectar-loving bird can hover like a helicopter.
Answer: What is a hummingbird? It can fly 500 miles nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico.
Seafood and meat, otherwise known as this, made its debut in restaurants in the 1960s.
Answer: What is surf and turf? The most popular combination is lobster and steak.
December 21, the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, is known as this.
Answer: What is winter solstice? In the southern hemisphere, it’s the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. While solstices mark the longest or shortest days of the year, equinoxes are days with nearly equal periods of light and darkness.
It’s what CD stands for.
Answer: What is certificate of deposit? This investment instrument pays a premium dividend in exchange for the depositor agreeing to leave the money on deposit for a certain amount of time.
Another name for lightning bug.
Answer: What is firefly? The firefly belongs to the beetle family.
This is the eight-foot, yellow bird on Sesame Street.
Answer: Who is Big Bird? A star on Sesame Street since 1969, Big Bird claims to be a canary.
In the 1970s, these thin, filled pancakes became all the rage thanks to restaurants such as the Magic Pan.
Answer: What are crepes? Prior to the 1970s, you could find dessert crepes on the menu, but the Magic Pan added a variety of savory crepes. The Magic Pan restaurants today are using some of the original recipes, but they are not part of the original chain.
On December 17, we commemorate what is probably the most regifted holiday cake of all time.
Answer: What is fruitcake? There’s enough alcohol in fruitcake to keep it “fresh” for what seems like forever. It’s a low-moisture cake, so the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will last for up to three months in the refrigerator and up to a year in the freezer.
It is the full name of the Fed, the central bank of the United States.
Answer: What is Federal Reserve (System)? The Fed is not a retail bank; it sets the country’s monetary policy and lends money to banks.
If you’re a serious gardener, you have probably experienced destruction from this iridescent beetle with the name of a Pacific Rim country.
Answer: What is Japanese beetle? They travel in packs, and they can destroy an entire garden in the blink of an eye.
This is Donald Duck’s girlfriend.
Answer: Who is Daisy Duck? Daisy is Minnie Mouse’s best friend
In 1963, these toaster breakfast pastries in a box made their debut.
Answer: What are Pop-Tarts? They’re still going strong, probably because of convenience and the fact that children love sweet foods.