National Ding-A-Ling Day– December 12, 2021

National Ding-A-Ling Day is one of those distinctively American developments. It’s sort of a two-fer holiday where you touch base (ideally by phone– thus the lively recommendation to “ding-a-ling”) with good friends or family you may have lost track of during the year. You likewise get a free pass to be simply a little bit weird for the day. National Ding-A-Ling Day constantly occurs on December 12 but you can think about it as a second Halloween!

NATIONAL DING-A-LING DAY TIMELINE
2000 BC
Chinese bells were first
The first bell ever invented go back to ancient China.

1800s
Bell sounding surpassed ceremonial use
In both England and the U.S., it was a popular practice for groups of people to get together to make music using bells.

1891.
Salvation Army initially utilized bell ringers.
When we think about bells, an image might enter your mind of the Salvation Army– which first used bell ringers in San Francisco to draw in contributions to the red kettles that supplied money for the bad.

1972.
It started with a free ad.
Franky Hyle of Illinois, started a new custom when he positioned a totally free advertisement in “Chase’s Calendar of Occasions”– recruiting people interested in spending one dollar to join a club to phone forgotten loved ones.

NATIONAL DING-A-LING DAY ACTIVITIES.
Channel your inner ding-a-ling with music.
National Ding-A-Ling Day is tailor-made for music. Believe of all the songs you understand with ding-a-ling in the title. Pop feeling Bobby Rydell likewise had actually a song called “Ding-a-Ling,” launched in 1960.

Put some money in a Redemption Army kettle.
Let the noise of bells tempt you over to the Redemption Army’s red kettle for a contribution to assist those less fortunate. After all, this is the holiday and it’s time to open your heart and your handbag for a great cause.

Ditch the text and call your relative or pal today.
Texting is a thing we do now. Why not buck that pattern for just one day and get a real phone to call someone? All jokes aside, National Ding-A-Ling Day was developed not only as a day to remember our liked ones but also to keep individuals from feeling separated. Plus, hearing somebody’s voice on the phone is a warmer, deeper connection than just texting.

FOUR RING-A-DING-DING FACTS ABOUT BELLS.
They were flat in early Egypt.
In Egyptian antiquity, bells were flat and hit with a metal gong throughout worship of the god Osiris.

They were ritualistic.
Hindu and Buddhist faiths used bells to signal worshippers to service.

They pealed during funerals.
Saint Bede started the practice of calling bells for funeral services in England.

They can be substantial.
The Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower (University of Birmingham in England) is the highest stand-alone tower in the world at a height of 360 feet.

They’re big in Russia too.
The Tsar Bell in Moscow ranks as the largest bell on the planet, weighing a tremendous 400,000 pounds.

WHY WE LOVE NATIONAL DING-A-LING DAY.
It began as a club.
Legend has it that the concept for National Ding-A-Ling Day progressed throughout a group conversation about individuals being friendlier and staying connected with enjoyed ones. In some way the term “ding-a-ling” turned up– specified as “one who hears bells in his head.” Quickly, countless people were touching base on December 12 (or “ding-a-linging” due to the fact that iPhones weren’t created yet) with contacts they hadn’t spoken to throughout the year.

It’s a day to let your freak flag fly.
Often people reveal a more strange side of themselves on National Ding-A-Ling Day (as if some folks in fact need a day to be crazy … just sayin’). Ding-A-Lings (never the like “dingbats”) may be using some kind of odd headgear or strolling in reverse. You get the idea: National Ding-A-Ling Day is your time to be “unique” for simply one day.

It makes us consider bells.
National Ding-A-Ling Day is synonymous with the noise of bells. It could be the classic “old phone” sound on your cell, or it could be the sound of an inbound text or, crazier still, a ding-a-ling could be the real noise of a bell. The essence is that bells notify us and remind us to do something important. This year, make that something be an actual telephone call to somebody you haven’t talked to for a long period of time.