Celebrated on June 18th every year, International Picnic Day is the perfect opportunity for people in the Northern Hemisphere to enjoy the waning days of spring before summer begins. Of course, people in the Southern Hemisphere are also more than welcome to celebrate this day with a winter picnic.

Regardless of where you celebrate this holiday or how you celebrate it, it’s a great way to gather with friends and/or family and commune with nature at the same time.

Some Intriguing Facts About Picnics

Everyone has a mental picture of what a picnic is to them. For many, it involves carrying a basket of food to a local park and eating it while lounging on a blanket or at a table covered with a red and white checkered tablecloth.

For others, it might mean eating food on their local beach or even on the peak of a mountain. Regardless of how anyone celebrates this holiday, we’ve come across some amazing facts about picnics that everyone can appreciate.

• The idea of the modern picnic was introduced to the world by the French.
• Picnics started after the French Revolution in 1789 when people were allowed to use France’s royal parks.
• The actual term picnic, however, wasn’t coined until 1794. This is when the word “pique-nique” appeared in the French language. It would later become anglicized to picnic.
• People have been eating outdoors for thousands of years, and it was prevalent among many members of medieval royalty.
• However, it wasn’t until the end of the 18th century that a formal outdoor dinner could be enjoyed by the masses on a widespread scale.
• It was common for members of a royal hunt to dine outdoors during the Middle Ages.
• Technically, in the story of Robin Hood, Robin and his merry men would picnic regularly, enjoying bread, beer, and cheese while taking shelter in the woods. That’s a picnic!
• Although International Picnic Day falls on June 18th, National Picnic Day in the U.S. is celebrated on April 23rd.
• A picnic ham is not really a ham. Hams are taken from the pig’s hindquarters, while picnic hams are taken from the pig’s foreleg.
• The phrase “no picnic” was coined during the 1880s to describe something that was especially difficult to do.

Observing International Picnic Day

Enjoying International Picnic Day is as easy as a summer breeze. All you have to do is gather some people together, find the perfect place to set up a picnic, and then pack some of the best food and drink you can.

Only you can decide what makes the perfect picnic, and more than likely, you have the image of the perfect picnic in your mind. Just go out there and enjoy the season before the heat of summer arrives and makes dining outside an unpleasant experience.

Before you head out to observe this holiday, however, be sure to use the hashtag #InternationalPicnicDay on social media to let everyone know how you’re spending your day.