Today, September 9th is the Teddy Bear Day.
A Teddy Bear is a soft cuddly toy and special friend to children all over the world. He’s warm and cozy and makes you feel secure. He’s huggable, lovable, and shareable.
The name Teddy Bear originated from an incident on a bear hunting, where Theodore Roosevelt accidentally wounded a bear, unaware that she was a mother to a little cub. The newspapers immediately flooded with the articles and caricatures about the event.
In the meanwhile, a Russian Immigrant Morris Michtom and his wife Rose were running a small retail shop in the neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, where they were selling candies as well as hand-made soft toys “Mishka” (Russian word for “bear”) at their store.
They came with an idea of putting a sign “Teddy’s bear” on the shop’s window to boost the sale. The “Teddy’s bear” saw an immediate success.
Rose Michtom sent one of her toy bears to Roosevelt and asked permission to use his name. Theodore Roosevelt personally responded with a letter, giving permission to the family. The Michtom founded the toy company soon after and their original toy “Mishka” could be found today at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Parents and children alike enjoy the folk song “Teddy Bear”. Can you play it on an instrument?
Click the image on the right to see the sheet music, then print it, and learn to play alone or with your teacher from Music Teacher LA.
Have a happy Teddy Bear Day!