The first Sunday in July is observed as Build a Scarecrow Day all around the world. Although we’re fairly certain that most people know what a scarecrow is, we’ll go ahead and describe it for those who aren’t familiar with this rural method of keeping birds away from crops.

A scarecrow is usually a decoy or mannequin that’s formed in the shape of a human and is placed in open fields to discourage birds from feeding on newly sown seeds or on growing crops. They have been used on farms for centuries and have played an important role on farms. So important, in fact, that they have worked their way into stories about the countryside and into country folklore.

The History of Build a Scarecrow Day

Ancient civilizations all used scarecrows to keep their crops safe from birds. It was common in Egypt, Rome, and Greece, and in most places in Asia. For centuries, the Japanese made Kakashi that were dressed in traditional clothing and were used to protect rice paddies from birds.

Scarecrows were used throughout Medieval Europe, as well as in North America. Although modern farmers don’t rely on scarecrows anymore to keep birds off their fields, they still represent a piece of the past that many people have fond memories of. Although the origins of this holiday are unclear, we believe that it originated in the United States.

Perhaps as a way to encourage people to build scarecrows for their farms or home gardens. Although scarecrows are no longer needed for their bird-scaring ability, many community centers, schools, and gardening groups have embraced the build-a-scarecrow movement. After all, making these scarecrows requires ingenuity and imagination. They’re also a lot of fun to build as well.

Some Fun Facts About Scarecrows

We’re not the ones to shy away from some good trivia when we’re doing a holiday article, and we don’t think this holiday should be treated any differently. That’s why we’ve decided to find out all we could about scarecrows so we could leave some fun scarecrow facts for our faithful fans to enjoy.

• The first recorded use of a scarecrow in North America was in what is now known as Virginia near the end of the 16th century.
• The word “scarecrow” is derived from the Old English word “scer-crowe,” which means “crow shooer.”
• The tallest scarecrow in The Guinness Book of World Records is 108 feet tall. It was made in Japan in 2009.

Observing Build a Scarecrow Day

We know that a lot of people are fascinated with the concept of making their own scarecrows, and we think this is the perfect opportunity for people to live out that dream. It doesn’t take much to make one either.

All a person really needs is a shirt, maybe an old pair of jeans, a hat, and something to stuff all of it with. Once they’ve done that, they can then use the hashtag #BuildAScarecrowDay on social media. We’d all love to see these scarecrow creations.