Dates and Holidays
dates and holidays
Memorial Day (May)
Memorial Day, established in 1868 as Decoration Day, honors over 1 million men and women who have died in military service since the Civil War began in 1861. Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who died in service to their country. The holiday was officially proclaimed in 1868
Earth Day | April 22
April 22, 2019, marks the 49th anniversary and 50th observance of Earth Day ― a day intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the earth’s natural environment. In 1969, organizers started Earth Day in response to a massive oil spill in waters near Santa Barbara, California. Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April
Fourth of July
On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. This most American of holidays will be marked with typical festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues across the country. As we celebrate
The History of Christmas
Although most Christians celebrate December 25 as the birthday of Jesus Christ, few in the first two Christian centuries claimed any knowledge of the exact day or year in which he was born. The oldest existing record of a Christmas celebration is found in a Roman almanac that tells of a Christ’s Nativity festival led
The Gift of the Magi
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, published on December 10, 1905 One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation
Valentine’s Day (February)
Valentine’s Day Valentine’s Day, also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. Originating as a Western Christian feast day honoring one or two early saints named Valentinus, Valentine’s Day is recognized as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance in many regions around the
The Velveteen Rabbit
There was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen. On Christmas morning, when he sat wedged in the top of the Boy’s
Veterans Day (November)
Veterans Day is an official United States public holiday, observed annually on November 11, that honors military veterans; that is, persons who served in the United States Armed Forces. Veterans Day originated as “Armistice Day” on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary marking the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph, the red-nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose And if you ever saw him, you would even say it glows. All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. They never let poor Rudolph play in any reindeer games. Then one foggy Christmas eve Santa came to
LGBT Pride Month (June)
“Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month) is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall uprising in Greenwich Village. The Stonewall uprising was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. In the United States, the last Sunday in June was
Christmas Bells by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” is a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem “Christmas Bells” by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The song tells of the narrator’s despair, upon hearing Christmas bells, that “hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men”. The carol concludes with
The Night Before Christmas
A Visit From St. Nicholas ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that ST. NICHOLAS soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums
Depression: Surviving the Holiday Blues
Expert advice on coping with depression, anxiety this time of year Christmas and other winter holidays are supposed to be a happy time of year, which makes it all the more stressful when they are anything but joyous. This is the time of the year when people are especially vulnerable to depression, Dr. Angelos Halaris,
The Nutcracker – The Book and The Ballet
The Book: The Nutcracker and the Mouse King The Nutcracker and the Mouse King is a story written in 1816 by E. T. A. Hoffmann in which young Marie Stahlbaum’s favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by
Frosty the Snowman
Frosty the Snowman Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul, With a corncob pipe and a button nose and two eyes made out of coal, Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale they say, He was made of snow but the children know how he came to life one day. There must have
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
Jolly old St. Nicholas, Lean your ear this way! Don’t you tell a single soul, What I’m going to say; Christmas Eve is coming soon, Now, you dear old man, Whisper what you’ll bring to me: Tell me if you can. What it’s gonna be, Santa. Underneath the tree, Santa. What it’s
