Days Of The Year tells us today is International Picnic Day!!
The word “picnic” probably gets its origins from the French language, specifically from the word “pique-nique”.
It is believed that this type of informal outdoor meal became a popular pastime in France after the French Revolution in the mid-1800s when it was possible again to get out into the country’s royal parks. However, even if it began in France, it has become a lovely activity that has spread all over the world.
As fans of Jane Austen novels will know, 19th-century picnics in England became elaborate social occasions, with menus featuring a wide range of cold meats and pies that took days to prepare. Over the years, picnics have sometimes come to represent the gathering of the common people in political protest.
One of the more famous of these was the Pan-European Picnic that took place in the summer of 1989 at the border of Austria and Hungary. It was part of many protests against communism that year that led to the fall of the Iron Curtain.
More recently, in 2009, the Guinness Book of World Records made note of the record for the largest picnic in the world. It took place with more than 20,000 people in Lisbon, Portugal.
Today’s picnics might be a bit more casual, sometimes just a few pieces of bread and cheese thrown into a paper bag and eaten on a park bench will suffice. A picnic can be centered around just about anything the participants want it to be, including games and other outdoor activities.
International Picnic Day is celebrated in many countries–a simple opportunity to enjoy the beauty of eating outside!
