National Build A Scarecrow

A scarecrow is a device - traditionally a human figure or mannequin dressed in old clothes - placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.

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When is National Build A Scarecrow Day Celebrated?

This holiday is celebrated in the United States every July 1.

How is this Holiday Celebrated?

This holiday is celebrated by hosting a scarecrow building party!

Scarecrow Festivals:

In the UK, the festival at Wray, Lancashire was established in the early 1990s and continues to the present day. In the village of Orton, Eden, scarecrows are displayed each year, often using topical themes such as a Dalek exterminating a Wind turbine to represent local opposition to a wind farm. Norland, West Yorkshire has a festival. Tetford and Salmonby jointly host one. In Teesdale, the villages of Cotherstone, Staindrop and Middleton-in-Teesdale have annual scarecrow festivals. The village of Meerbrook in Staffordshire holds an annual Scarecrow Festival during the month of May. In Dymchurch on Romney Marsh a man dressed as a scarecrow rode down the street annually since 1964 in celebration of local author Russel Thorndike's Dr Syn books, however in 2008 he was required to walk due to health and safety regulations. Tonbridge in Kent also host an annual "Scarecrow Trail". organised by the local Rotary Club to raise money for local charities. In the USA, St. Charles, Illinois hosts an annual "Scarecrow Festival". The 'pumpkin people' come in the fall months in the valley region of Nova Scotia, Canada. They are scarecrows with pumpkin heads doing various things such as playing the fiddle or riding a wooden horse. Cats and pigs made from pumpkins are also present. Hick;ing, in the south of Nottinghamshire, is another village that celebrates an annual scarecrow event. It is very popular and has successfully raised a great deal of money for charity. Photographs of some of the hundreds of scarecrows built at Hickling can be found here...

Alternative names for scarecrows also include these localized versions:

Tao-tao (Philippines), Bogle, Flay-crow, Mawpin, Mawkin, Bird-scarer, Moggy, Shay, Guy, Bogeyman

Shuft, Rook-scarer, Kelson, Nuffara (Maltese), Espantalho (Portuguese)

(Trudgill, Peter. Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society. London: Penguin Books, 2000)

Origin of this Holiday

Our research did not find the creator, or the origin of this day. We did however find that this holiday has been celebrated for years. There is plenty of documentation to support that this holiday does indeed exist. This is referred to as a "National" day. However, we did not find any congressional records or presidential proclamations for this day. Even though we didn't, this is still a holiday to celebrate.

We found recognition about this holiday from:

Calendar sites and personal Internet sites that blog and share information about this holiday. We especially found discussion on many garden sites who also celebrate this holidays.

How-To Articles:

• How to build A Scarecrow

• How to have a Scavenger Hunt

Further reading

• Scarecrow Fact and Fable, Peter Haining, 1986

External links

• British history of the scarecrow

• Photo of a crow trap in Australia

• A typical English scarecrow made of discarded clothing

Resources: This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses some material from Wikipedia/article scarecrow/and other related pages. Top Photo by: homestead stock