The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, is traditionally a time for sweet foods, especially honey, apples, and egg bread — challah. The idea is that eating sweet foods may sweeten the coming year for you. Whether this works or not, it’s enjoyable.

Many people feel that the honey and apples are the easy part, but the challah is best bought from a bakery. However, it can be easy to make at home, especially if you have a bread machine and don’t insist on the traditional braided shape.

With the help of The Joy of Cooking and Michael Ruhlman’s useful book Ratio,…

It’s time to pay tribute to our grandparents on September 12 for Grandparent’s Day! What are some ideas we can do or give them to celebrate this day?

1. Cook

Cook their favorite dishes for them. You don’t have to cook all of their favorite dishes, just pick one or two to make. You can also practice beforehand so you don’t fail on the day itself. Talk to your parents and ask for their help, if you can’t do it alone.

2. Daily Activities

Help them perform their usual daily activities. From placing their slippers by their feet to accompanying them on their…

Where in the world can you go to a parade, dog show, demolition derby, concert, and amusement park all in one day, in one place? Try your local fair.

Ours, the Pacific National Exhibition, has all this and more. It’s been held every year in late summer for a hundred years now. While I haven’t been to every one of those fairs (not quite), I’ve been to enough to learn how a family can get the most out of a fair.

• Keep an eye out for discounted or free tickets — not just the ones that may have come with the…
  

As we saw last time, the lack of an established holiday in August doesn’t have to make it a no-fun month. Here are some more ways to celebrate at this end of the summer.

Craving Mexican food? Chiles nogadas are traditional on the feast of San Agustin (St. Augustine), August 28th.

It’s not too late to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption (August 15th). In some countries, this was traditionally the day to bless fruits and herbs — and it’s never a bad time to send someone a basket of fruit. Just make sure they’re not away on vacation.

For birthdays this…

There may not be a stat holiday in August where you live — or if there is, it may not inspire any party ideas. Still, summer is a good time to celebrate, so here are some little-known occasions in August and some ways you may want to observe them. These come from  social media marketer Lorenzo Dickerson.

The month starts off with some self-explanatory days to celebrate: National Raspberry Cream Pie Day (the 1st), National Ice Cream Sandwich Day (the 2nd), National Watermelon Day (the 3rd), National Mustard Day (the first Saturday in August — the 7th this…