Mother's Day!

The Mother's Day has its origin in the beginning of the twentieth century, when a young American, Annie Jarvis, lost her mother and entered into complete depression. Preocupadas with that suffering, some friends had the idea to perpetuate the memory of the mother of Annie with a party. Annie wanted to be extended to honor all mothers, living or dead. Soon, the celebration and consequently the Mother's Day is spread throughout the United States and in 1914, its date has been formalised by President Woodrow Wilson: day May 9. But the mother's day is celebrated on differents dates in various regions.

Mother's Day In Various Regions

Second Sunday in February - Norway

Shevat 30 (falls anywhere between January 30 and March 1) - Israel


March 3 - Georgia


March 8 - Afghanistan, Albania*, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,Laos, Macedonia*, Moldova*, Montenegro, Romania*, Russia*, Serbia, Ukraine South Korea. *In Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Guyana, Italy, Macedonia, Mongolia, and Russia it is observed as International Women's Day, not specifically Mothers' day.


Fourth Sunday in Lent (Mothering Sunday - March 2 in 2008) - Ireland, Nigeria, United Kingdom


March 21 (vernal equinox) - Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen (All Arab countries in general)


March 25 - Slovenia


April 7 - Armenia


Baisakh Amavasya (Mata Tirtha Aunsi) - Nepal


First Sunday in May - Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain


May 8 - Albania (Parents' Day), South Korea(Parents' Day).


May 10 - El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico
Second Sunday in May - Anguilla, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Malta, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zimbabwe


May 15 - Paraguay


May 26 - Poland


May 27 - Bolivia


Last Sunday in May - Algeria, Dominican Republic, France (except if it coincides with Pentecost day, in which case Mother's Day will be shifted to the first Sunday of June), Haiti, Mauritius,

Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia.


May 30 - Nicaragua


June 1 - Mongolia (The Mothers and Children's Day. Mongolia is the only country that celebrates Mother's day twice a year.)


2nd Sunday of June - Luxembourg


Last Sunday of June - Kenya


August 12 - Thailand (the birthday of Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara)


August 15 (Assumption Day) - Antwerp (Belgium), Costa Rica


Second Monday in October - Malawi


October 14 - Belarus


Third Sunday in October - Argentina (Día de la Madre)


Last Sunday of November - Russia


December 8 - Panama


16 December, Iranian calendar: 25 Azar (Mother And Child Foundation) - Iran (This date is almost deprecated inside Iran and is replaced by birthdate of Fatimah daughter of Islam prophet.)


December 22 - Indonesia

April 25 |Carnation Revolution|

The Carnation Revolution (Portuguese: Revolução dos Cravos) was an almost bloodless, leftist, military-led coup d'état, started on April 25, 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC (Processo Revolucionário Em Curso), characterized by social turmoil and power dispute between left and right wing political forces.
Although government forces killed four people before surrendering, the revolution was unusual in that the revolutionaries did not use direct violence to achieve their goals. The population, holding red carnations (cravos in Portuguese), convinced the regime soldiers not to resist. The soldiers readily swapped their bullets for flowers. It was the end of the Estado Novo, the longest authoritarian regime in Western Europe.

April Fool's Day

What is April Fool's Day?

April Fools' Day, sometimes called All Fools' Day, is one of the most light hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. Some see it as a celebration related to the turn of the seasons, while others believe it stems from the adoption of a new calendar.

What is its origin?

Ancient cultures, including those as varied as the Romans and the Hindus, celebrated New Year's Day on or around April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar called for New Year's Day to be celebrated Jan. 1. That year, France adopted the reformed calendar and shifted New Year's day to Jan. 1. According to a popular explanation, many people either refused to accept the new date, or did not learn about it, and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1. Other people began to make fun of these traditionalists, sending them on "fool's errands" or trying to trick them into believing something false. Eventually, the practice spread throughout Europe.

I wish a Happy Easter to everyone!

:D

Quotes about "father"

"A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again." -- Enid Bagnold

"It is a wise father that knows his own child." -- William Shakespeare

"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was." -- Anne Sexton

"One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters." -- English Proverb

Father's Day History

The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909.
Having been raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.
In 1926, a National Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City. Father's Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956. In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. So Father's Day was born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with a special day just like we honor our mothers on Mother's Day.

Easter Bunny

What is the origin of the Easter bunny?

Like the origin of Easter, the origin of the Easter Bunny has roots that go back to pre-Christian, Anglo-Saxon history. The holiday was originally a pagan celebration that worshipped the goddess Eastre. She was the goddess of fertility and springtime and her earthly symbol was the rabbit.

Thus the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons worshipped the rabbit believing it to be Eastre's earthly incarnation.

When the Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity, the pagan holiday, which occurred around the same time as the Christian memorial of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, was combined with the Christian celebration and given the name Easter.

Originally, there were some very pagan practices that went along with the Easter celebration. Today, Easter is often commercialized, with all the focus on eggs, the Easter bunny, etc.

Because of this, many churches are starting to refer to it as Resurrection Day.

Easter's History

Easter's History
The Christian festival of Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The spring festival has its roots in the Jewish Passover, which commemorates Israel's deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, and in the Christian reinterpretation of its meaning after the crucifixion of Jesus during the Passover of AD c.30 and the proclamation of his resurrection three days later.

Early Christians observed Easter on the same day as Passover (14-15 Nisan, a date governed by a lunar calendar). In the 2d century, the Christian celebration was transferred to the Sunday following the 14-15 Nisan, if that day fell on a weekday. Originally, the Christian Easter was a unitive celebration, but in the 4th century Good Friday became a separate commemoration of the death of Christ, and Easter was thereafter devoted exclusively to the resurrection. According to the Venerable Bede, the name Easter is derived from the pagan spring festival of the Anglo- Saxon goddess Eostre, and many folk customs associated with Easter (for example, Easter eggs) are of pagan origin.

Easter Day is currently determined as the first Sunday after the full moon on or after March 21. The Eastern Orthodox churches, however, follow the Julian rather than the Gregorian calendar, so their celebration usually falls several weeks later than the Western Easter. Easter is preceded by the period of preparation called Lent.

Reginald H. Fuller Bibliography: Torvend, Samuel, ed., Passage to the Paschal Feast (1993); Williams, Rowan, Resurrection: Interpreting the Easter Gospel (1994).

Linkin Park - Valentine's day