Holiday Madness

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About the Groundhog
All I Need to Know About Life I Learned from the Easter Bunny
Born On the Fourth of July
Creole Recipes-Appetizer
Creole Recipes-Desserts
Creole Recipes-Entrees
Creole Recipes-Salads
Creole Recipes-Side Dishes
Declaration of Independence Signers
Did You Know-July 4 th
Easter
Easter Jokes
Easter Jokes 2
Easter Recipes: Brunch
Easter Recipes: Cakes
Easter Recipes: Desserts
Easter Recipes: Entrees
Easter Recipes: Pies
Easter Recipes: Salads
Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Corporate America
Excuses why men forget Valentines Day
Facts about four leaf clovers
Funny Work History
History of the Flag
Interesting Presidential Facts
Kids On Love and Marriage
Leprechaun Jokes
Mardi Gras Recipes: Desserts
Mardi Gras Recipes: Entrees
Mardi Gras Recipes: Side Dishes
New Year's Resolutions
Patriotic Quotes
Performance Evaluations
Ponderings for the New Year
Rabbit Jokes
Reasons Why I Love You !
Recipes: Fourth of July/Memorial Day Appetizers
Recipes: Fourth of July/Memorial Day Cakes
Recipes: Fourth of July/Memorial Day Cookies
Recipes: Fourth of July/Memorial Day Desserts
Recipes: Fourth of July/Memorial Day Entrees
Recipes: Fourth of July/Memorial Day Pies
Recipes: Fourth of July/Memorial Day Salads
Recipes: Fourth of July/Memorial Day Sides
Resolution Funnies
Saint Patrick's Day Humor
St. Patrick's Day Recipes: Breakfast
St. Patrick's Day Recipes: Cookies
St. Patrick's Day Recipes: Entrees
St. Patrick's Day Recipes: Pie
St. Patrick's Day Recipes: Side Dishes
St. Patrick's Day Recipes: Soups/Stews
Strange Valentine Record Holders
Super Bowl Recipes-Appetizer
Super Bowl Recipes-Salads
The History of Cupid
The History of Groundhog Day
The History of Presidents' Day
The History of Veterans Day
The Language of Corporate America
The Night Before Easter
The origin & the beliefs-Goundhog Day
Twas The Day Before Easter
Valentine's Day Fun Fact
Valentine's Day Jokes
Valentine's Day Recipes: Appetizers
Valentine's Day Recipes: Cakes
Valentine's Day Recipes: Candy/Cookies
Valentine's Day Recipes: Desserts
Valentine's Day Recipes: Entrees
Valentines Day Riddles
Valentine's Day Superstitions
What I Learned From The Easter Bunny
What is a Leprechaun?

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Although the new year has been celebrated since prehistoric times, it was celebrated on the vernal equinox rather than what we now consider the first of the year.  The Romans were the first to recognize New Years Day on January first.  Rather than tie the day to some significant astronomical or agricultural event, in 153 BC the Romans selected it for civil reasons.  It was the day after elections in which the newly elected assumed their positions. 

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HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

No one is quite sure exactly who Valentine was.  There are at least three and possible eight different Valentines claimed to be the real romantic.  The three most likely Valentines were all church martyrs.  One was killed with a group of believers and the other two, a priest of Rome and a Bishop of Interamna, beheaded by Emperor Claudius II in 269 A.D.  The remains of one of the Valentines is said to be in the church of St. Praxedes in Rome.

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HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Much of the life of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, has been lost or confused in history.  His birthplace, birthdate, and death date are components of much conjecture.  Suffice to say, he was not born in Ireland and he lived from any number of different dates between as early as 373 and as late as 492.  From these dates he could have lived only a little more than 60 years to more than 120 years.  His day of observance is likely neither his birth date nor death date, but rather a date selected for convenience.

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HOPPY EASTER

The word Easter is believed to have originated either after the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring, Eostre or the rising of the sun in the east.  Even today, many churches have early morning sunrise services on Easter (Luke 24:1).  There are other peculiar traditions associated with Easter including the Easter Lily, new clothing, the Easter Rabbit, and the Easter Egg. 

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Memorial Day was organized shortly following the Civil War with the purpose of honoring deceased soldiers.  Later, the holiday took on greater meaning as it began to include the dead from other conflicts and ultimately deceased family members.  Today Memorial Day commemorates military dead, familial dead, and ancestral dead through parades, grave side decorations, and even 21 gun salutes in Federal cemeteries.

While several different stories circulate about the origin of Memorial Day, the central New York village of Waterloo has legally established its claim regarding the founding of the holiday.  In 1865, Henry Welles, a local pharmacist, proposed a celebration honoring those who fought and died in the Civil War.  A Union General, John Murray liked the idea and helped establish a committee.  On May 5, 1866, the flags in Waterloo were flown at half mast, a parade was organized, and ceremonies where held in all three Waterloo cemeteries.  One hundred years later, Waterloo gained the official designation as the birthplace of Memorial Day.

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Independence Day, in the US, an annual holiday commemorating

the formal adoption by the Continental Congress of the Declaration

of Independence on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia. Although the signing

of the Declaration was not completed until August, the Fourth of July

holiday has been accepted as the official anniversary of United States

independence and is celebrated in all states and territories of the US

At the time of the signing the United States consisted of 13 colonies

under the rule of England's King George III.

 

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HAPPY LABOR DAY

Peter McGuire, the President for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Union and a leader for the Knights of Labor, suggested a holiday celebrating and honoring labor to the Central Labor Union of New York City.  On September 2, 1882, the Central Labor Union staged a parade and celebration in New York City.  It was such a success, it was repeated the following year and has continued to be popular in modern day.

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