It's January 19th, which means it is also National Popcorn Day!!
I know, I know, celebrating these silly national holidays sounds a bit "corny" (yes, that pun was intended!) but participating in them is fun too! And popcorn is a HUGE part of my husband and I's weekly routine. When we were dating, we started making Wednesday nights "date nights" which required an old show, "I Love Lucy" and our current series "The Andy Griffith Show" and a big glass bowl of popcorn, personalized "Jeremy & Martina’s Popcorn Bowl". I'm not exactly sure why or how popcorn became our signature snack, but here we are, over five years later and still making it a point to have our weekly date nights with a warm bowl of buttery popcorn between us! (We even had popcorn at our wedding because why not?!)
You know, popcorn has a lot of similarities to us as humans though. Sound kind of strange? Just bear with me here....
Think about a person's heart - a person may have a soft, loving, “fluffy” heart that is appealing and attractive to many or a person may have a tough, hard heart due to pain and difficult circumstances overtime. When we think about a popcorn kernel, it's hard. (Have you ever bit down on one of those unexpectedly?! Ouch!) Naturally, this could be compared to a person's hard heart. Without warm love or a situation that causes an individual’s heart to change - for the better of course, this heart will continue to stay hard, as no modification is taking place. When warmth, tenderness and care are shown to a person's heart, a change takes place in them and their heart becomes transformed. Sometimes the transformation takes place because of an event that occurs.
Difficulties, trials and challenges can make us grow in faith more than we ever imagined. I’ve experienced this myself and with the right “popcorn” around us, we too can change to become like those who have been altered and changed before us. This change causes a person's heart to turn softer, it takes a different form than what it was before. Just like a popcorn kernel being exposed to heat and under pressure, a transformation occurs - no longer a tough kernel, but now a pillowy soft piece of popcorn. The really neat part? Who doesn't love the aroma of a bowl of buttery, salty popcorn? Oh, and the taste, mmmmm! (My husband likes the butter part quite well too - I won't even begin to tell you the story of the last time we made a trip to the movies! - Let's just say it involved a new grease stain on a good pair of my jeans and a slippery floor til it was all said and done - Moral of the story: Don't sit in the same spot we did after us in the movie theater) We are naturally drawn to things that we enjoy tasting and smelling, but when are hearts are changed, we naturally attract others as well. People want to be around a soft heart and a loving person. Grumpy folks don't seem hold much company around them by any means.
So who would you rather be like: the unpopped, hard kernel left at the bottom of the bowl or the fluffy, soft, buttery piece of popcorn that everyone wants just a few more pieces of?
Some fun facts for your National Popcorn Day discussions:
Popcorn can reach up to 3 feet in distance when popping.
2. Microwavable popcorn was invented by Pillsbury in 1982.
In 1949, popcorn was temporarily banned from movie theaters for being too loud and messy of a snack.
During the World War II sugar shortage, Americans ate 3 times more popcorn.
The unpopped popcorn kernels at the bottom of a popcorn bag are called old maids or spinsters. (This one is my FAVORITE fact!)
In the 1800's, popcorn was often eaten as a cereal with milk and sugar.
Popcorn is the official state snack of Illinois.
Orville Redenbacher's produces the number one selling popcorn globally.
References for Popcorn Facts:
**Fun Mr. & Mrs. Horst Fact:
After trying MANY different kinds of popcorn at the beginning of our relationship, Orville Redenbacher’s Ultimate Butter popcorn sealed the argument for us, by far the best (this poll does not include movie theater popcorn because let’s face it, that’s a whole entire league of its own).
Great comparison between the kernel & some peoples hearts ♡