Picnics are always a fun event to have with family and friends, eating while enjoying each other’s company and nature. Even if ants and wasps occasionally join the fun, picnics are a carefree delight.

June 18 celebrates International Picnic Day. Outdoor picnics started gaining popularity around France in the 1800s, but because of the romantic idealization of nature, they were not seen as innocent and wholesome, as they were in Britain and the US, but as decadent and wicked (History Today.com).

This year, International Picnic Day provides a good compromise during the pandemic. It is possible to social distance while eating outside, so those who are unvaccinated or uncomfortable with close contact can still celebrate. We can eat sandwiches, pies, fruit, pastries, and other finger foods in peace.

It doesn’t really matter the food you bring as long as you are having fun with the ones you care about. On June 18, gather a few blankets, some food, and some friends and celebrate this chill international day.