This week celebrate running, donuts, love, moonshine, cats, and those that fought on D-Day

UNDATED – Get pumped and get those legs moving because today is Global Running Day. Whether you’re a regular runner or a bit of a novice, it doesn’t matter, this holiday is about inspiring each other to lead a more active lifestyle, no matter the distance covered.

Global Running Day started in the United States in 2009, although at the time it was referred to as National Running Day. The inaugural Global Running Day was held on June 1, 2016. On that day over 2.5 million runners from 177 different countries took part, running an estimated 9.2 million miles between them. We get out of breath just thinking about all that running.

Today is also National Leave the Office Early Day. The annual holiday was founded by employee productivity expert Laura Stack in 2004 to raise awareness of the benefits of increased workplace productivity.

When the unofficial holiday falls on a weekend, the day is celebrated on either Friday, June 1, or Monday, June 3. The purpose of National Leave the Office Early Day is to demonstrate how making small adjustments in the way we approach our work can greatly improve the results of our work, allowing workers to become more productive while in the office and spending fewer hours working in the office.

Thursday is Love Conquers All Day a day to cherish our loved ones. No matter how tough life gets, the sailing becomes smoother with our loved ones at our side. It is a day to express gratitude and love to those who matter and recognize love as an emotion that makes the world go around. A day of joy and warmth, you can celebrate it with your friend, family, partners, pets, or anyone whom you love and cherish.

Love is an emotion that is probably as old as humans themselves. It is described as a sublime feeling that positively affects our mental and emotional well-being. The Greek philosophers identified six different forms of love: familial love, friendly love, romantic love, self-love, guest love, and divine love. Today, love also exists as unrequited love, empty love, companionate love, consummate love, infatuated love, self-love, and courtly love. 

Moonshine, once a fiery (and illegal) homemade liquor, has now gone legit. Still, the drink conjures up colorful early 20th century memories of Prohibition, fast cars, and makeshift stills in the Appalachian woods. So, when it’s time to celebrate National Moonshine Day on Thursday, you can indulge guilt-free.

The drink achieved legendary status upon the passage of the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) in 1919. At that point, Americans who wanted to drink alcohol had to turn to the black market of the day, which belonged to the moonshiners and bootleggers. They distilled the moonshine and then delivered it, making criminals of everyone involved.

Today large distilleries sell moonshine, looking to rekindle nostalgic memories of the illicit drink. But the days of cheap, questionable brews with deadly contaminants are thankfully over.

National Donut Day falls each year on the first Friday of June and we are getting geared up to savor our best-loved fried dough confections. Have you ever resisted eating one? It’s certainly an uphill battle. Fortunately, National Donut Day falls this year on June 4. Be sure to visit your favorite donut shop, choose a variety of chewy deep-fried goodness, and enjoy.

The origins of National Donut Day are traced to The Salvation Army’s involvement in World War I. During this time, a group of volunteers was dispatched to the frontlines with the mission of providing comforting meals for the troops. They soon found out that donuts were an effective way to provide food while navigating the difficulties of cooking in very dire circumstances. These brave volunteers would later be known as “donut lassies”. They would even use war helmets as a utensil to fry up seven donuts at a time. In 1938 “Donut Day” was established as a way to honor the members of the Salvation Army that came to the aid of soldiers during World War I. 

Ancient Egyptians worshipped, revered, and spoiled their cats (sound familiar?). They were seen as symbols of grace and poise — traits cats are still associated with today. There’s a lot of cat hugging going on all the time, but make an extra special attempt during National Hug Your Cat Day on Friday.

The best way to celebrate? Scoop your regal cat right off the ground and snuggle the heck out of it until it feels the love. Sounds like a pleasant activity we can all get behind, no? So grab your kitty BFF and celebrate with us!

World Environment Day urges all of us to protect our natural surroundings. Here is a stunning fact – an estimated 7 million people die each year from causes related to air pollution, with a majority occurring in the Asia-Pacific region. This day, which falls on June 5, encourages worldwide activism.

That means everything from littering to climate change. World Environment Day is both a global celebration and a platform for public outreach.

D-Day, observed annually on Sunday, June 6, brings overwhelming memories of the brave men and women who fought a strategically planned and well-executed battle that ultimately led to the end of the Second World War.

More than 75 years after the end of World War II, these memories remain fresh to the more than 300,000 living U.S. veterans of the war. The rest of us look to their legacy and the rich history of events told through museums and memorials. There is not a more important time for us to remember and honor them as we reflect on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

The morning of June 6, 1944, American troops and their allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, France in an invasion, code-named Operation Overlord, during World War II, which began the liberation of France, and ultimately other areas of Europe, from Hitler’s Nazi regime. This day, known as D-Day, and the strategically planned landing of 156,000 British, Canadian and American troops at 6:30 A.M. on the five beaches of Normandy was code-named Operation Neptune.

Earlier in the morning of June 6, 24,000 airborne troops were dropped into battle by parachute in order to close exits and overtake bridges slowing the advancement of Nazi reinforcements. Troops entering the beaches by land and sea were met with Hitler’s ‘Atlantic Wall,’ 2,400 miles of bunkers, landmines, and beach obstacles (metal tripods, barbed wire, and wooden stakes) established in anticipation of a French coast invasion. Nazis planted 4 million landmines along Normandy beaches.

Planning for our invasion of German-occupied France began in 1942. In an attempt to mislead the Germans and maintain the secrecy of the details of the D-Day invasion, the Allies conducted a military deception, code-named Operation Bodyguard. It included fake radio transmissions, double agents, and a ‘phantom army’ commanded by American General George Patton.

June 5 was originally chosen as D-Day due to predictions of weather and high tide, based on the phase of the moon. Bad weather conditions ultimately interfered with the established plans and D-Day moved to June 6.

Ultimately, more than 4,400 identified soldiers, sailors, airmen, and coastguardsmen died on D-Day with an estimated 5,000 or more were lost at sea, in an air battle, or otherwise were not identified. Their sacrifice and the valiant efforts of all troops turned the tide of the entire war that day.

Information, nationaltoday.com