National Crayon Day is a day dedicated to celebrating the colors of creativity. Crayons are a staple of childhood, providing endless hours of fun and imagination. Whether you’re a seasoned artist or simply enjoy doodling, National Crayon Day is a great time to celebrate one of the most versatile and beloved art supplies.
About National Crayon Day
During the National Crayon Day, both children and adults open up their box of crayons to color. There are different brands of crayons but the most popular one perhaps is Crayola. There are hundreds of colors of crayons. You can buy crayons in small boxes or even in large boxes, containing a wide array of colors. During this day, people use crayons to color their drawings done in bond paper or Oslo papers. There are a lot of activities related to crayons that are held in order to make sure that the essence of this day is celebrated well.
Crayola Crayon Day History
The history of the National Crayon Day can be traced back to the origin of crayons.
Origin of Crayons
Unfortunately, the origin of crayons is somewhat blurry when looking at pertinent historical accounts. However, the word itself came from the combination of two Latin words which are “crale” (chalk) and creta (earth). Crayons are made by combining different pigments with oil. This practice has been done for thousands of years. It has been done by different cultures including Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians. However, such crayons were used only by artists and not by children at home and at school. The reason is that such crayons made before contain compounds that may be harmful to children, especially when ingested.
How did crayons develop?
The advent of modern crayons can be traced back to the Middle Ages. These crayons were cylinder in shape. They were primarily composed of oil and charcoal just like a pastel. The modern crayons we see know arose from the 18th century. The charcoal in crayons were eventually replaced with different kinds of pigments. The breakthrough in crayons came with the crayon produced by Joseph Lemercier back in 1828. Instead of using oil, he used wax for producing crayons.
During the 20th century, more and more crayons were produced in the USA. In 1902, Edwin Binney and Harold Smith invented the Crayola brand of crayons. The company initially offered 19 different boxes of crayons containing 30 different colors. The brand eventually became very powerful that a lot of people resorted to Crayola when it comes to crayons.
Origin of the National Crayon Day
We can make a good guess as to why this holiday started – perhaps a person or a group of people thought that crayons have been widely used by people from all over the world that they deserve a special day of dedication.
Crayola Crayon Day Dates
National Crayon Day is always celebrated on March 31 every year. This means that the upcoming National Crayon Day will be observed on March 31.
Why Celebrate Crayola Crayon Day
The following are the main reasons why you should celebrate the National Crayon Day:
To Encourage Children to Draw
First main reason why you should participate in the celebration of the National Crayon Day is that you can take this celebration as your opportunity to encourage children to draw. Perhaps you can encourage your children to hold onto crayons and draw whatever they like. Children especially have fun when it comes to drawing using crayons.
To Explore Your Creative Side
Or you yourself may want to explore your creative side. If so, then you can use crayons to make drawing or paintings that you like.
To Promote Creativity
You should celebrate this day also to promote creativity. In our world today, most are very much preoccupied with work that we don’t have much time exploring our creative sides. Hence, you should celebrate this day if you want to advocate for drawing, painting, and coloring using crayons.
Crayola Crayon Day Celebration Ideas & Activities
The following are the best things to do to make your celebration of the National Crayon Day as best as it can be:
Donate Crayons
One good way to celebrate this day is to donate crayons to other people. Perhaps you may want to visit an orphanage where you can donate crayons for the children there to have the materials they need to draw, paint, and color.
Encourage Creativity
Another good way to celebrate this day is to encourage creativity. You should grab onto your batch of crayons and draw whatever you like in a paper using them.
Make Your Own Crayons
You can be a bit more creative by making your own crayons instead. You can look online for the proper ways to make crayons – including the materials needed as well as the process of making them.
Crayola Crayon Day Celebration on Social Media
You can also take your celebration of this day on social media. You can, for instance, use the hashtag #NationalCrayonDay to let your friends and followers know that you are also participating in the celebration of this day.
Interesting Facts
The following are some good facts about the National Crayon Day that are worth sharing:
- The most recognizable scent for adults in the USA was the smell of crayons in the 18th century.
- The Crayola brand of crayons produces about 3 billion pieces of crayons each year.
- According to most Americans, their favorite color of crayon is the color blue.
- The 100 billionth crayon was produced by Fred Rogers of the Mister Roger’s Neighborhood back in 1996. The color of such crayon he made was blue ribbon.
- In 1962, Crayola changes the name of the color flesh to peach.