Did you know that hammock day is celebrated every year on 22 July? We can’t say for sure why this exact date has been selected to honor hammock history, but since we do love our hammocks, we’re celebrating in full color.
One hypothesis for hammock day is that it has been set in mid-July to be the hump day of the North American summer. It’s a reminder to put your feet up and enjoy the long summer evenings of fireflies and cookouts, because the end of summer is near. Another hypothesis is that hammocks are so amazing, they deserve their own day. Sure, you may not get the day off, and there may not be e-cards for the occasion, but why not take a moment to slip into your cloud and celebrate?
Since historical holidays are always a good excuse to make us smarter, here’s some hammock holiday trivia that you can tweet to your friends or tuck away to impress others when “hammocking” is the double Jeopardy category:
- Legend has it that the earliest hammocks were made by natives of the Amazon jungle several hundred years before the Spanish Conquest. (Although we’d go out on a limb and say there were probably hammocks in the garden of Eden. I mean, was it really paradise without a hammock?)
- The first hammocks in Europe were brought by Christopher Columbus as souvenirs from his adventures of 1492.
- The hammock found its familiar fame when the British Royal Navy made the hammock the official bedding on its ships.
- The US Army issued waterproof hammocks to soldiers in Vietnam (only you don’t want a waterproof hammock if you’ll be sleeping in the rain – unless you want to swim.)
- The word “Hammock” comes from the Spanish word which means “fish net.”
And here’s some things you might not know about Color Cloud Hammocks:
- The very first Color Cloud Hammock was pink and blue Parrot Fish and was made
in July 2010. - Color Cloud Hammocks found its name in September 2010. (Here’s the story…)
- The first 37 Color Cloud Hammocks were sold on our first day of business in October 2010. Since Hammock Day last year, we’ve shipped hammocks to six continents.
- Three Cambodian seamstresses craft each Color Cloud. Their names are Chamnane, Witmean and Heing. They are all mothers, and have ten children between the three of them.
We know all our Color Cloud Hammock facts are true since we were there for each of these historical moments. Unfortunately, we can only believe that Columbus outfitted the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa María with hammocks based on what Wikipedia says.
Wishing you a Happy Hammock Day today and every day!