February 28, 2022 - National Floral Design Day | National Tooth Fairy Day

Welcome to February 28, 2022 on the National Day Calendar. Today we celebrate towers of flowers and tales about teeth. The small Dutch town of Zundert is home to the largest floral parade in the world. It began in 1936 to celebrate the birthday of the Queen and has grown into a huge annual festival. Like the Parade of Roses in Pasadena, California, it showcases the beauty of its local blooms. But the floats are designed using dahlias rather than roses. And Zundert floats don’t depict sweet scenes of butterflies and teddy bears. In 2016, the winning design was a giant orange dragon that breathed actual fire from its mouth. These floats are made with hundreds of thousands of flowers and can tower over 3 stories tall and 6 stories long, nearly twice the size of their American cousins. On National Floral Design Day, we celebrate the artistry of flower arrangement in all shapes and sizes. There are many customs around the world that revolve around children losing teeth. In parts of Asia, children make a wish on each tooth that falls out. In France, young children are told that a mouse sneaks into homes, then collects baby teeth from children in exchange for money. The tradition originated from a 17th century fairy tale about a mouse who hid under an evil king’s pillow, then took all of his teeth while he slept. And of course here in the United States, kids who lose their baby teeth get a visit from the Tooth Fairy. We’re not sure what the going rate is for teeth, but on National Tooth Fairy Day, kids are hoping for the most, so nudge your fairy to the ATM machine. I’m Anna Devere and I’m Marlo Anderson. Thanks for joining us as we Celebrate Every Day! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices