National Umbrella Day

National Umbrella Day celebrates this useful device that has been with us for quite a long time and has served every purpose from practical to fanciful since its creation.

Just how long has the umbrella been with us? Long enough that it's permeated every culture across the globe, and originated from more than one.

The oldest recorded umbrella appeared in 21 AD, in Ancient China. Though to be fair, this really was just the first recorded collapsible umbrella, Qin Shihuang's tomb revealed a terracotta army carriage that had a permanently open umbrella attached to it dating from 210 BC.

They were also found in Nineveh, Persepolis, Ancient Egypt, and Greece, just to name a few. Needless to say, the umbrella has a long and noble history.