Hurray for Buttons Day

Hurray for Buttons Day is also known as Hooray for Buttons Day is committed to the Education, Preservation, and Exhibition of buttons.

History of Hurray for Buttons Day

The first buttons were used for decoration and stamping, and have been found in the Indus River Valley (circa 2800-2600 BC), China (circa 2000-1500 BC) and ancient Rome. The oldest known button - dating from 5000 BC - was made from a curved shell and was found in the Indus River Valley. Buttons that functioned as fasteners, along with buttons, did not appear until the 13th century, where they first appeared in Germany and spread throughout Europe. They are made from almost any material, their composition often reflecting the popular materials of the era in which they were made. Today they are usually made of hard plastic, metal, seashell or wood. They are created by artisans, artists, and craftsmen, from raw materials or found objects such as fossils, or from a combination of the two. They were made in small quantities, or in large quantities at factories.

Collect buttons, most popular in the US, vary from those with buttons in the carrying case for future use, regular collect, competitive collect. National Button Society was established since 1938. Hobbies Magazine held a show of the hobby in Chicago in 1938, and button collectors participated in the show. Later that year, they formed the Association and held their own show the following year. Many state and local button clubs were founded in the following decade, and they also held button shows. Today, the National Button Society has more than 3,000 members on four continents. The association focuses on educational research and exhibitions, publishes button literature, and preserves the importance of buttons.

How to celebrate Hurray for Buttons Day

The simplest way to celebrate Hurray for Buttons Day is to wear something with buttons. If you have a carrying case to hold spare buttons, you can compare the different types of buttons you have in there, or you can compare variations of the buttons you have on different models of clothing. If you are a button collector enthusiast, you can take your collection out to see and possibly show others. If you are interested in button collecting, you can become a member of the National Button Society and see if your state has its own button organization. You can plan ahead to attend an upcoming button show and learn more about the hobby by purchasing something informative from the National Button Society store.

Going to a museum that displays buttons is a great way to spend the day, and some museums even display some of their collections online. The Victoria & Albert Museum has buttons for online viewing. Many Smithsonian museums have buttons, such as the Smithsonian National Museum of American Indians. Hammond Turner & Sons in the UK has an online museum. There are several button museums in the United States, including the Waterbury Button Museum in Waterbury, Connecticut, and the Keep Homestead Museum in Monson, Massachusetts. If you can't make it to the museum, you can also check out the Button Gallery.

Another idea of ​​the day was to make crafts with buttons. Other resources that may be of interest are at the Node Country website.