National Penguins Day or Penguin Awareness Day is a non-official holiday celebrated on January 20th that spreads awareness of the penguins’ conservation. There are 20 species of penguins, the largest is the emperor penguins, the lead stars of the documentary, and the smallest known penguin species are the little penguin found in the coastal areas of Australia and New Zealand. The penguins’ black and white coloring is a camouflage that helps them hide from underwater predators. While penguins are excellent at swimming, they are flightless even though they are part of the bird family. On this day, learn more about these flightless birds and their habitat, understand how human activity may be affecting them, or watch a movie with penguin characters like Happy Feet or Penguins of Madagascar and see how these movies view penguins.
National Cheese Lover’s Day is also celebrated on the 20th, and it recognizes the start of cheese in the Roman Empire in 100 BC. On this day, buy your favorite kinds of cheese or learn about a new type of cheese. There are several options: Cheddar, Casu Marzu, which is from Italy, Llama cheese from Andean communities in South America, Mozzarella, and several more! Another thing to do on this day is to try and make your own! For example, ricotta is easy to make at home and needs little more than whole milk, lemon or vinegar, a big pot, and cheesecloth for straining.
You and your community can take part in these two fun activities. Find a live webcam on penguins! There are great zoo webcams like san diego zoo, georgia zoo, pittsburgh zoo, detroit zoo. Or you can support the penguins by donating or even just reading ways you can help them for example look at the seafood that we eat is caught or raised sustainably. If you also choose to celebrate cheese then deliver a cheese platter to your neighbor or if you are in a bubble with someone give it to them! Or simply read about all the wonderful types of cheese and traditional cheeses from around the world.