October 1 is annually celebrated as International Coffee Day. The unofficial holiday celebrates one of the most popular beverages in the world – coffee.

The holiday also helps raise awareness about sustainable coffee cultivation and fair trade practices within the coffee industry. Before 2015 the day used to be celebrated on different dates in different countries.

Coffee is a drink made from the seeds or berries of the coffee plant. As a beverage, it has been enjoyed by people around the world for many centuries. Historians believe that coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia but was cultivated on a large scale and traded for the first time by the Arabs.

Religious Ceremonies

Initially used for religious ceremonies and rituals, it became the beverage of choice in most households in the Middle East, Persia and Africa by the 16th century and in Europe and the Americas by the 17th century.

A Crime

Despite its popularity today, coffee had its share of critics in history. Sultan Murad IV of the Ottoman Empire hated coffee so much that he made coffee drinking an offense punishable by death. In England, King Charles II fearing plots hatched over cups of coffee ordered all coffee houses shut.

Many countries celebrate their own version of a Coffee Day on different dates during the year. For example, Germany started Tag Des Kaffees in 2006 and celebrates it every year on the first Saturday of September.

In the United States, National Coffee Day is celebrated on September 29.

The holiday has unknown origins and is also sometimes known as Coffee Day.

What to do

Whether your “cup of coffee” is a refreshing iced coffee or a piping hot Americano, Espresso, Café au Lait (coffee with milk), or plain black with no sugar, International Coffee Day is a day to take some time off from your busy day to enjoy your favorite version of the beverage. Here are some ways to celebrate this day:

• Many coffee shops around the world offer a free cup of coffee on International Coffee Day, so get in line and grab yourself a cup of free coffee.
• Have coffee or coffee flavored food and beverages the whole day long. What about starting your day with coffee, have a coffee flavored yogurt for lunch and end the day with coffee crusted steak and a coffee flavored cake for dessert?
• Coffee bring friends together. Set up coffee dates with your friends and spend quality time with them over a cup of coffee.
• Join a coffee tasting event and learn about the art and science of growing and brewing coffee.
• Try new flavors and types of coffee.

Miniature Golf Day

On September 21 head on over to your local miniature golf course with your family and friends for a day of fun and adventure, because it is Miniature Golf Day!

An offshoot of golf, miniature golf is a leisure sport that focuses on putting and includes artificial turf and obstacles.

It is believed that miniature golf was first invented, sans their characteristic obstacles and windmills, in Scotland in the late 19th century as a way to allow women to golf. Because it was unseemly for women to use a full sized golf club, the Ladies’ Putting Club of St. Andrews decided to miniaturize the sport.

“This’ll Do”

Miniature golf or put put as it is also sometimes called made its commercial debut in the early 20th century in North Carolina under the name of Thistle Dhu. The name was derived from the Scottish pronunciation of the words “this’ll do”.

The holiday is also sometimes celebrated on the second Saturday of May.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

International Talk Like A Pirate Day is a parody holiday annually held on September 19. Celebrated for the first time in 1995, the fun holiday encourages people to talk and dress like the sea plunderers of yesteryears.

John Baur (“Ol’ Chumbucket”) and Mark Summers (“Cap’n Slappy”) created this holiday on June 6, 1995. Out of respect for World War II’s D-Day, Baur and Summers chose to move the date of the holiday to September 19.

International Talk Like A Pirate Day was a low-key event until 2002 when it received media attention via syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry. Today, it is celebrated around the world as a way to raise funds for charity organizations, such as Childhood Cancer Support and Marie Curie Cancer Care.

What to do

• Dress up like a swashbuckling pirate. Bonus points if you are able to carry a parrot or a monkey on your shoulder.
• Talk like a pirate the whole day long. Intersperse your speech with grunts and growls and slur your words. Call your friends “matey” and intentionally use bad grammar.
• Host a pirate themed party and ask your guests to come dressed as pirates.
• Watch movies and read books that feature pirates as central characters. Some examples include the Pirates of the Caribbean film series and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.
• Read more about the history of piracy and famous pirates.

September 18 is Rice Krispie Treat Day, an unofficial holiday dedicated to the no-bake, quick to make yummy gooey sweet treat.

Thought to have been invented at the Kellogg Company in the late 1930s, the treats are made of Rice Krispie cereal and melted marshmallows, though sometimes the marshmallows can be substituted with caramel or syrup as the binding agent.

Today, any sweet treat that uses Rice Krispies and some form of sweet binding agent is called a rice krispie treat. In Australia and New Zealand, where the cereal is marketed as Rice Bubbles, the sweet treat is called rice bubble slices or rice bubble cakes.

What to do

• Make Rice Krispies treats and share them with your friends and co-workers.
• Add gourmet twists to the snack by adding nuts, saffron and cardamom.
• Make your Rice Krispies treats more colorful by crushing some candies or adding some sprinkles to them.
• Make Rice Krispies pops. Mold the treat into a shape of your choice, insert a stick in the treat and when it hardens, serve as is or decorate with melted sugar, icing or sprinkles.
• Staying away from sugar? What about making a savory version of the treat? Just substitute the marshmallows with cheese, flour and butter.