celebrate holidays

Such an important and honorable holiday, but it will be forever known to me as the holiday that I never get off work. What is up with that? I will spend monday working and being thankful for the freedom that we have in this country. I can’t believe it was so recent that black and white people were segregated…doesn’t even seem real.

I can’t wait to celebrate the day when all americans can enjoy the same civil rights. It is disgusting to think that our government is run based on christian principles. Not everyone (by a long shot) is christian in this country and laws should not be made to mirror the teachings of the bible. I am referring specifically to gay marriage. It is so sad and embarrassing that our country does not allow equal rights to gays and lesbians. I hope that day comes soon.

The Summer solstice occurs once a year, when the Earth’s axis tilts the most the Sun, causing the Sun to be farthest north at noon. The name is derived from Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstice, the Sun stands still in declination, that is, the movement north or south is minimal.

Father’s Day is a secular holiday inaugurated in the early 20th century to compliment Mother’s Day in celebrating fatherhood and parenting and to honor and commemorate fathers and forefathers. In the US, the first modern Father’s Day celebration was held on July 5th, 1908 in Fairmont, West Virginia. It was first celebrated as a church service at Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South. Grace Golden Clayton, who is believed to have suggested the service to the pastor, is believed to have been inspired to celebrate fathers after the deadly mine explosion in nearby Monongha the prior December. This explosion killed 361 men, most of them fathers and recent immigrants to the United States from Italy.

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day, in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress. The largest Flag Day parade is held annually in Troy, New York. Framingham, Massachusetts also holds a yearly Flag Day parade, as do many other towns and cities, although in recent years a shrinking turnout has prompted the town to consider eliminating the event.

What a boring ass holiday.

World Ocean Day began on June 8, 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, it is not officially recognized by the UN as an official secular holiday. World Ocean Day is an opportunity every year to honor the oceans and products they provide, such as seafood, and living marine life (aquariums, pets). The ocean also provides sea-lanes for international trade. Global pollution and over-consumption of fish has resulted in drastically dwindling population of the majority of species.

For World Ocean Day we are flying to Phoenix where there is no ocean. Ironic. I like this holiday, though. It is a nice time to appreciate the gorgeous ocean and conservation.

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday that is observed on the final Monday of May. It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. It began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. One of the longest standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911.

Following the end of the Civil War, many communities set aside a day to mark the end of the war or as a memorial to those that had died. These observances eventually coalesced around Decoration Day, honoring the Union dead, and the several Confederate Memorial Days.

According to Yale University, the first Memorial Day was celebrated in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic racetrack in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who had died while captive. A parade with thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic.

The official birthplace of Memorial Day was in Waterloo, New York. The village was credited with being the birthplace because it observed the day on May 5, 1866, and each year thereafter, and because it is likely that the friendship of General John Murray, a distinguished citizen of Waterloo, and General John A. Logan, who led the call for the day to be observed each year and helped spread the event nationwide, was a key factor in its growth.

We are going to Chicago for Memorial Day weekend this year to visit my parents and friends!! Can’t wait, although it looks like the weather is going to be pretty crappy. Oh well!

In the United States, Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May. There were previously separate Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Days.

The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated by parades, open houses, receptions, and air shows. Armed Forces Week begins on the second Saturday of May and ends on the third Sunday in May. Because of their unique training schedules, National Guard and Reserve units may celebrate Armed Forces Day/Week over any period in May. The purpose of Armed Forces Day is to honor the Americans serving in the five services.

We will be going to the Castroville artichoke festival and seeing the Bjork concert that night. Not very celebratory of Armed Forces Day. I will say the pledge of allegiance.

Mother’s Day is a holiday honoring mothers, celebrated in many places around the world. Mothers often receive gifts on this day. In the United States, Mother’s Day is copied from England by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War will a call to unite women against war. She wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation. Today, some organizations are working to revive Howe’s original vision of a holiday that celebrates peacemaking by mothers and others. In the UK, the day now simply celebrates motherhood and thanking mothers. According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother’s Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States.

I was actually born on Mother’s Day in 1980! My birthday falls always within a couple days of Mother’s Day. This year we will be in Prague for Mother’s Day (and my birthday!!) so we celebrated with my husband’s mom last weekend and we are celebrating with my mom the following weekend after we get back. FUN!

We had huevos rancheros for breakfast and burritos for lunch. That was our Cinco de Mayo celebration. I also drank a few Modelo Negros and Coronas. That will have to do.

The fifth of May in Spanish is a national holiday in Mexico which is also widely celebrated in the United States. It commemorates the victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin over the French occupational forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. It is a common misconception that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s independence day, which is celebrated on September 16th, but actually it is a celebration of the battle.

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated vigorously in Puebla, Mexico. There are some observations across Mexico in varying degrees, but none that match the celebrations in Puebla. For the most part these observances focus on food and drink mixed with music and dancing.

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated by many Anglo Americans regardless of ethnic origins, particularly along the southern border states where there is a large Hispanic population. Although it is no more an officially recognized holiday than St. Patrick’s Day or May Day in the United States, many cities with large Hispanic populations honor the day as a symbolic representation of Hispanic pride and as a representation of a culture that blends both Mexican and American roots. Celebrations tend to draw both from traditional Mexican symbols, such as the Virgin de Guadalupe, as well as prominent figures of Mexican descent in the United States, such as Cesar Chavez. The National Cinco de Mayo Festival is held every year in Washington DC.

The reference to the Battle of Puebla is seen as a symbolic cultural link to those who had to overcome insurmountable odds while facing adversity. In neighborhoods such as East Los Angeles, the Mission District of San Francisco, East San Jose and elsewhere throughout the Southwest, Cinco de Mayo is most accurately characterized as a day of celebration to honor a culture that fuses Mexican heritage and American life experience. To celebrate, many display Cinco de Mayo banners while school districts hold special events to educate students about its historical significance. Special events and celebrations highlight the Mexican culture, especially in its music and regional dancing.

Commercial interests in the United States have capitalized on the celebration advertising Mexican products and services with an emphasis on food, beverages, and music. While this commercialism has led some Hispanics to regard Cinco de Mayo as essentially a commercial contrivance rather than an authentically Mexican event, the date is perhaps best recognized in North America as a date to celebrate the culture and experiences of Americans with Mexican descent.

Fun. I will definitely have a margarita and some mexican food that night. We are also going to see a latin jazz band on friday, so that is fun too!!