Pink, blue and white illustration of Papa Smurf and Smurfette on ice skates on blue ice with a white background and white text outlined in black

In the early 1980s, the Smurfs were featured as part of the the Ice Capades, a popular traveling ice show. The Smurfs began as a Belgian comic created by the artist Peyo and expanded over time into advertising, toys, television, and film. The cartoon debuted on American television in 1981 and quickly gained popularity around the country.

The Ice Capades originated in Pennsylvania in 1940. Characters were played by a number of professional figure skaters and former Olympians. As professional skating became more popular, athletes began to gravitate toward careers as professional skaters instead of performers. This led to the ice show’s eventual decline in popularity in the late 1980s, and the last show was performed in the mid 1990s.

Sources:
Planetary Success. (n.d.) History. Smurfs. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20111013103939/http://www.smurf.com/en/history/

What's on the Smurf tonight? (n.d.) History. Smurfs. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20111013103939/http://www.smurf.com/en/history/

Curtis, B. (2005 March). Ice Capades: Requiem for the ice carnival. Slate. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_middlebrow/2005/03/the_ice_capades.html

Illustration of a brown animal wearing a yellow top with green and white trim on a white background with green and white text

The first Muskoka Winter Carnival was held in 1971 and was designed to grow tourism during the winter months in Ontario, Canada. It was a week-long festival with beer-related events and winter recreational activities within the towns of Gravenhurst and Huntsville. The mascot is an otter named Skokie and his name was chosen based on an elementary school contest. The carnival ran every year until the 1990s and then was revived again in 2008. 

Illustration of Santa's head on a green background on a white background with black text

Saint Nicholas was a monk who was born in the 3rd century in modern-day Turkey. He was said to have given away all his inherited wealth to the poor and sick as he traveled. Over the years he became the patron saint of children, and was celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. The name Santa Claus evolved out of the Dutch nickname for Saint Nicholas, “Sinter Klass.” Short stories and poems in the 1800s began to popularize his magical image of how we picture him today.

The first known usage of the greeting “Merry Christmas” dates back to a letter written in the 1500s from a bishop to England’s Chief Minister. However, the phrase gained popularity in 1843 with the publication of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in which Ebenezer Scrooge’s nephew wishes him  “A Merry Christmas, uncle!” Also, it was around this same time that Christmas cards began to be sold in London with the now popular greeting, “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.”

Green text over an illustration of a child in pink with yellow hair on a green background looking at a yellow star

For centuries, stars have been used as symbols and have different meanings in different cultures. They appear in and are related to the ways of art, religion, science, spirituality, and other aspects of human existence and experience. In Christianity, the five-pointed star can serve as a reminder of the Five Holy Wounds Jesus received while on the cross. It can also be associated with the birth of Jesus Christ. Because this button features a star beside the text of “Merry Christmas,” this is likely a reference to the Christmas star, which represents the star of Bethlehem. According to the Book of Matthew, the star appeared in the eastern night sky when Jesus was born and guided the Magi to his location, where they presented him with gifts. It is now Christian tradition to commemorate that biblical telling during the Christmas season through an exhibition known as the nativity scene.

Illustration of Yogi Bear coming out of a grey and white cake on a blue background with purple and yellow text

Photograph of the Space Shuttle taking off at the Kennedy Space Center

The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is one of the ten National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) field centers of the United States Federal Government. It is located on Merritt Island, Florida, just north-northwest of Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic Ocean. Formed in 1962, KSC managed the first Apollo and Gemini missions and is now NASA’s primary launch center of human spaceflight. It is also home to NASA's Launch Services Program which launches satellites and robotic missions on journeys to learn more about earth and the universe. The Kennedy Space Center also has a visitor complex which features exhibitions, historic spacecraft and memorabilia, and variety of bus tours of the KSC facilities.

Black text on a red background with an outer black edge

June is the sixth month of the Gregorian calendar, a system of timekeeping that originates from 1500s Italy and is used worldwide. June is one of four months of the calendar that are 30 days long, with the summer solstice, the longest day of the calendar year, falling on the 21st day of June.

Sparkle backed illustration of an indy car with red stripes and number on a blue and red background with yellow text

The Indianapolis 500 (commonly referred to as the Indy 500) is an annual race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.  The race is held every Memorial Day weekend and is part of the IndyCar Series of racing featuring drivers in open-cockpit cars. There are 33 cars competing in each race to finish 200 laps in the fastest time possible. The first race was held in 1911 and was won by Ray Harroun, and the winningest drivers of the race  are A. J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr., and Rick Mears with four wins each. Winners of the Indy 500 receive a multi-million dollar purse and are presented with a bottle of milk that is traditionally sipped in victory lane.

Black and yellow text next to an illustration of a red and pink devil, with a black and orange flame background.   

Halloween's celebrated holiday is the evening before the Christian All Hallows Day/ All Saints Day. Halloween, also known as Hallows Eve, celebrations in America include dressing up as scary or devilish characters and going from house to house peddling candy under the phrase, "Trick or Treat."

Hallmark began in 1910, when Joyce Clyde Hall started selling postcards. He had little money – not even enough to take a horse-drawn cab to his lodgings at the YMCA – but he had an entrepreneurial spirit and the determination of a pioneer. Hall quickly made a name for himself with the picture postcards he sold.  Rollie Hall joined his brother in business, and the company was named Hall Brothers. On Jan. 11, 1915, a fire destroyed their office and inventory. They took the only salvageable item – their safe – and set up shop again. With $17,000 in debt, they decided to press onward. As postcard sales declined, they recognized the public’s desire for more privacy in their communication, so they started offering high-quality valentines and Christmas cards mailed in envelopes. The fateful fire resulted in the decision to buy printing presses and Hallmark begin producing their own greeting cards in 1915. Hallmark now employs in-house designers and writers to create exclusive content, however, the average person may still get their design seen by the corporation through ongoing monthly contests.

Red text and black hearts on a white heart background on top of a light red background

Saint Valentine's Day, also known as Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is a holiday observed on February 14 each year. It is celebrated in many countries around the world, although it is not an official holiday in most of them. The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In eighteenth-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending hand-written cards.