Contents
National Build a Scarecrow Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of every July. This year National Build a Scarecrow Day falls on July 7. A scarecrow is a mannequin with an appearance like a human, dressed in old clothes, and situated in an open field to scare away the crows from eating the seeds and growing crops in the area. These are used widely by farmers all around the world. Machinery like windmills, reflective aluminized PET film ribbons, and automatic noise guns powered by propane gas are other techniques that have evolved from scarecrows and are used by farmers to scare the birds from the fields. Birds get scared of scarecrows because they often assume the figure to be a real human. But not all the time. Birds can be fooled by scarecrows. If you feel birds often raid your garden, then without a second thought, go for a scarecrow. Scarecrows are easy to build, so you need some hay, old clothes, sticks, and a hat. On National Build a Scarecrow Day, people gather together to make a scarecrow.
“Though it has no thought of keeping watch, it’s not for naught that the scarecrow stands in the grain field.” – Dogen
History of National Build a Scarecrow Day
Origination of National Build a Scarecrow Day is not found yet. The oldest record of the scarecrow is in Kojiki, a Japanese book wrote in the year 712, the book mentions about a scarecrow known as Kuebiko which is narrated as a deity who cannot walk but knows everything about the world. Scarecrow festivals happen all around the world differently in different dates. In the UK, the Urchfont Scarecrow Festival was first celebrated in the 1990s and grew steadily now attracting around 10000 people annually. The village of Blackrod, near Bolton, celebrates the scarecrow festival every year mostly during the early weekend of July. In the USA, St. Charles holds a scarecrow festival each year. In Canada, people with pumpkin heads act as a scarecrow and do things like playing the fiddle or riding a wooden horse. They also present pumpkins with cats and pigs carved in them. This day is celebrated during summer because the crops grow in those months. So if you have to build a scarecrow then make it during July.
Other Celebrations on July 7
July 7 is also celebrated as
- National Macaroni Day
- Tell The Truth Day
- International Chocolate Day
- Global Forgiveness Day
- National Strawberry Sundae Day
How to celebrate the day
National Build a Scarecrow Day itself gives you a clue what to do on this day, build a scarecrow. If you have a garden and haven’t made a scarecrow so far then today is the time to give a try and keep your garden free from annoying birds. You can personalise your scarecrow by dressing them in your favourite sports team, band, etc. You can also attend one of those scarecrow festivals that takes place in the countryside. Make a unique scarecrow with your kids and family and chase those intruders away from your garden. Post pictures and share your National Build a Scarecrow Day celebrations on social media by using the hashtag #BuildAScarecrowDay.
Thank you for reading the post. You can celebrate every day with Happydays365.org and Happy National Build a Scarecrow Day 2024.