When I was in the planning stages of my weekly topics for 2017, I decided to write about Donut Day thinking it would be such a delightful little topic. After further investigation, thanks again to nationaldaycalendar.com, I learned that this day is really a thoughtful pinch type of day! On the first Friday in June, we celebrate National Donut (Doughnut) Day. We remember the women of the Salvation Army called the Lassies. With oil inside the metal helmets worn by American soldiers, the Lassies would cook doughnuts. These soldiers of World War I were nicknamed “doughboys”. The Salvation Army Lassies would deliver doughnuts along with cooked foods to the front lines in Europe. Years later, during The Great Depression in 1938, as a fundraiser to help those in need, National Donut Day was created by The Salvation Army. The day was to honor these women who served the doughnuts to our soldiers.
Here I was thinking “Yay, Donut Day is another reason to indulge in a sugary, decadent breakfast treat.” Now I give pause to these selfless women who creatively came up with a treat to give to our soldiers as they fought for our freedom. Doughnuts were thoughtful pinches of nourishment. It melts my heart and now I am truly motivated to get some donuts on Friday, June 2nd in honor of National Donut Day!
Oh so you’re on a sugar cleanse and can’t enjoy a donut? Well here are some super cute ideas that are donut-themed and will get you into the spirit of the day without actually consuming a donut.
Donut forget Krispy Kreme candles! Dollar Tree usually has some but surprise…you can get them on Amazon too!
On Pinterest I found many t-shirts available that have fun messages for the donut lovers in your life: 1. Donut Care, 2. Donut Judge Me, 3. Road Trips and Donuts, 4. Donut Panic, 5. Oh (picture of donut) Even, 6. Donut Worry, Be Happy and my personal favorite - 7. Somewhere Between a Donut and a Juice Cleanse. You'll also find many designs for donut leggings, socks, floats for pools and burp cloths for babies. It’s a donut world out there!
If you ever want to peruse the Pinterest boards for donut ideas, you will see that donuts have come a long way from the ones made with oil in a metal helmet. There are flavors that will satisfy every palate and every fantasy - EVER.
Weddings and other events have replaced the traditional cake or the overly trendy cupcakes with donuts. In fact, at a Farewell party we attended this weekend, they had a nice big display of donuts to commemorate a donut ritual. Every Friday morning during the NFL season, the players and trainers enjoyed donuts together. Aw, so sweet!
My hub is NOT a donut fan. In the twenty plus years I’ve been with him, I’ve never seen him eat a donut. When he tells my son stories of his early morning newspaper delivery days and going to get an apple fritter with his dad afterward, I sense the nostalgia of the bonding moments and enjoying the reward of donuts. I think long before he became so strict with his diet, he was once a carefree kid who used to enjoy calorie-loaded donuts. As a testimony to his strong will NOT to eat donuts, my hub would take our toddler kids to “Dads and Donuts”, a themed event dedicated for dads to enjoy a donut and a morning of playtime with the kids. My hub always skipped the donuts. He's just that guy.
I donut think it would be tough to honor these Lassies on Donut Day by bringing a thoughtful pinch to someone who’s in need of a donut. So stock up on the bacon maples and the Fruity Pebble covered glazes and get out there spreading thoughtfulness!
Pinches,
Barb