Winnie the Pooh Day

Did you know January 18th is Winnie the Pooh Day? People around the world have enjoyed the cuteness and the happiness of the yellow bear who wears a red shirt and eats too much “Hunny!”

Winnie was based on a real-life bear raised by Harry Colebourn. Colebourn was a Canadian soldier who bought Winnie before going to England for training in World War I. When Colebourn was sent to France, Winnie went to the London Zoo, where she became very popular. The children especially loved her because she was used to being with humans. Winnie was so nice she even let children ride on her back! One of Winnie's most constant visitors was Christopher Robin, the son of writer A.A. Milne. 

Christopher Robin loved Winnie so much that he named his stuffed animal bear “Winnie the Pooh.” He took “Pooh” from the name of his friend’s pet. The stuffed animal bear and Christopher's stuffed animals inspired A.A. Milne to write some books about Winnie the Pooh. A.A. Milne published his books in 1926, and they soon became very popular. Now we celebrate A.A. Milne's birthday, January 18, as the special day for his beloved creation, Winnie the Pooh!

My sister’s birthday is also on January 18th, and her favorite character has been Winnie the Pooh since she was little. It actually started with my mom, who loved this character since her childhood. When my parents were getting ready for their first baby (me!), they decided having items with Winnie the Pooh was the best choice because all the Winnie the Pooh clothes were yellow. My parents didn’t want pink or blue because they didn’t find out if I was a boy or a girl until I was born. 

When I got a little older, I loved watching the Russian Winnie the Pooh (Винни-Пух). The Russian version of this beloved character is not quite the same as Winnie the Pooh because Винни-Пух is brown instead of the original yellow, has a round face and eyes, does not wear a red shirt, and talks a lot! It is funny to think that I thought the “real” Winnie the Pooh was Винни-Пух, but Винни-Пух was not in the Disney movies.

I think Winnie the Pooh Day is important because I feel like we are saying thank you to A.A. Milne for all of his wonderful stories! I hope that you take some time today to celebrate this beloved bear character!