History of Mother’s Day [video]

May 10th, 2020 or the 2nd Sunday of May is Mother’s Day, an annual celebrating honoring all mothers around the world.

History of Mother’s Day | History by HISTORY, on YouTube

National Nurses Day: Celebrating Covid-19 responders

May 6th is National Nurses Day, a yearly celebration since New Jersey Governor Brendon Byrne declared it in 1978. Red Bank resident, Edward Scanlan, recognized and promoted this event by adding it to Chase’s calendar of annual events.

In 1982, the American Nurses Association (ANA) Board of Directors and United States Congress formally acknowledged May 6th as National Recognition Day for Nurses. President Ronald Reagan signed its proclamation.

The ANA Board of Directors also recognized National Nurses Day as the beginning of National Nurses Week ending in May 12th – this end-day being International Nurses Day and birthday of Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing.

On a Wednesday, within the nurse-day week, National Student Nurses Day is also celebrated annually.

Here’s to Nurses by Elsevier Journals, on YouTube

Reference:
National Nurses Week History. Retrieved April 12, 2020 from https://www.nursingworld.org/education-events/national-nurses-week/history/.

Wearing red on the first February Friday

February 1st, 2019 is National Wear Red Day, a non-official holiday annually celebrated on the first Friday of the American Heart Month.

Go red day

National Wear-Red Friday, sometimes called Go Red Day, was created to raise awareness of the no. 1 killer of American women – heart disease. This is to remind and motivate everyone, not just ladies but also gentlemen, to take action in protecting themselves from such cardiovascular disease, as well as stroke.

The red dress

In 2002, the Red Dress® was created and became the trademark of The Heart Truth®, a national campaign on women’s risk to heart disease sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), in partnership with many national and community organizations. It is the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness.

Nothing attracts attention like a red dress.

Laura Bush

Come join the NHLBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), HHS Office on Women’s Health and many other groups in the U.S. flash their reds on February’s very first Friday.

References:
About The Heart Truth. (2016, March 17). Retrieved from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/hearttruth/about/index.htm.
National Wear Red Day. (2016, March). Retrieved from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/hearttruth/events/wear-red.htm.
Wear Red And Give. (2019, February 1). Retrieved from https://www.goredforwomen.org/en/get-involved/give/wear-red-and-give.

World brain day

July 22nd is World Brain Day, an annual celebration suggested by the Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee to be July 22, 2014. This was based on the date when the World Federation of Neurology was established in 1957. Its main objective “is to increase public awareness and promote advocacy related to brain health.”

Reference:
World Brain Day – Background. Retrieved July 6, 2019 from https://www.wfneurology.org/world-brain-day-background.

History of world poetry day

March 21st is World Poetry Day, an annual celebration of poems and poets adopted by UNESCO.

In 1999, during its 30th General Conference in Paris, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared March 21st as World Poetry Day. The aims are to support “linguistic diversity through poetic expression” as well as increase “the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.”

World Poetry Day is the occasion to honour poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and raise the visibility of poetry in the media.

UNESCO, World Poetry Day

Reference:
World Poetry Day. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2019 from https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/worldpoetryday.

World wildlife day history

March 3rd is World Wildlife Day, an annual observance for flora and fauna.

History of World Wildlife Day

On March 3, 1973, the Thailand government, in consultation with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), submitted their proposal to promote “the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity” and “to ensure that no species entering into international trade is threatened with extinction.”

…We recognize the economic, social and environmental impacts of illicit trafficking in wildlife, where firm and strengthened action needs to be taken on both the supply and demand sides…

Thailand government and CITES, World Wildlife Day

With World Wildlife Day established, its importance are not only recognized, but also issues are internationally communicated; thus, enabling worldwide action to conserve it.

Reference:
Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species of Wild Fauna And Flora, Strategic Matters: World Wildlife Day. Retrieved March 2, 2019 from https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/16/doc/E-CoP16-24.pdf.

History of National Margarita Day

February 22nd is National Margarita Day and celebrated annually. Per Todd McCalla, this date was chosen just for a simple reason to celebrate it.

Margaritas are great served cold or icy on a hot summer day in the beach. Hmm… Just imagine the thought . . . the feeling . . . cool breeze in your face and that cool lemon-touched tequila drink on one hand… Ahhh!

Then that flashback sound effect killed your moment. It’s February. Not even spring yet (unless you’re presently relaxing in Miami, Hawaii or other hot countries, good for you).

And so the day for margaritas was created…
(although you can just open a chilled bottle anytime sans the sunny beach. Haha.)

The man behind Margarita Day

National Margarita Day was created by Todd McCalla, an Ohio native and commercial real estate agent in Nashville. He loves margarita so much that he decided to create a special day just for it. According to him, February is a “sad, gray time of year for people and it’d be worth brightening it up with a margarita.” (1)

I really like margaritas and kind of got frustrated with all the low quality mixes with high fructose corn syrup.

Todd McCalla, phone interview with Mic online digital news

The 22nd of February was chosen for the day of margaritas to spread McCalla’s love for “this sacred tequila, triple sec and lime drink” across the globe. “Friendship, good times and memories of somewhere warmer are all great reasons to enjoy a margarita.” (2)

References:
(1) Bratskeir, Kate. (2017, February 22). When you learn about the creator of National Margarita Day, you’ll want to celebrate even harder. Retrieved from https://mic.com/articles/169195/when-you-learn-about-the-creator-of-national-margarita-day-youll-want-to-celebrate-even-harder/.
(2) McCalla, Todd. (n.d.). Learn About National Margarita Day – Feb. 22. Retrieved February 10, 2019 from https://nationalmargaritaday.com/about/.

History of Valentines Day [videos]

February 14th is Valentine’s Day, the feast day of St. Valentine. Ironically, happy hearts day history is about Christian persecution of 3 martyr Valentines.

The History of St. Valentine’s Day by breadnbeyond, on YouTube

Valentine and his secret marriages

During the 3rd century, Rome was at war among tribes. Emperor Claudius II thought his army weakened due to Roman men’s devotion to their wives and families.👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Seeing that as a problem, he proclaimed the banning of marriages as well as engagements. (1)

Valentine, at that time, was a bishop who was one of those who opposed the unjust decree. So in defiance, the devout Catholic secretly united loving couples 💑 in holy matrimony until it was discovered. The cruel emperor then ordered his arrest and the priest was beaten with clubs. It was believed he was beheaded on February 14th around 270 A.D. (1)

Legend says…

While Bishop Valentine was waiting for his execution, he healed then became close (or may have fell in love) with his jailer’s blind daughter. Prior to his execution, the future saint wrote a farewell message 💔 to his “girl” or friend with a complimentary close saying: From your Valentine. (2)

The three St. Valentines

According to Catholic faith, there are three different St. Valentines with the very same feast day of February 14th. (3)

1. The Roman priest-physician Valentine who comforted martyrs and was put to death under Emperor Claudius II’s order (above story)
2. The Bishop of Interamna, now Terni in Rome, who also suffered under the same cruel emperor, was arrested and beheaded
3. A less popular martyr in Africa was also called Valentine

The History of Valentine’s Day by WatchMojo.com, on YouTube

Valentine’s Day vs. Lupercalia

In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius made February 14th as St. Valentine’s Day.💝 It is also believed that this date was chosen by Christians to suppress the pagan fertility festival called Feast of Lupercalia, which was celebrated from February 13th to 15th. (4)

My ideal Valentine’s Day is spending it with someone you are in love with and for that someone to make you feel loved and appreciated.

Candice Swanepoel

References:
(1) St. Valentine beheaded. (2018, August 21). In History.com. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/st-valentine-beheaded.
(2) Breadnbeyond. (2013, February 8). The History of St. Valentine’s Day [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGx7q4O6w2w.
(3) Saunders, William. (n.d.). History of St. Valentine: Who was Saint Valentine and how did he come to inspire Valentine’s Day? Retrieved February 9, 2018 from https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/history-of-st-valentine.html.
(4) WatchMojo.com. (2013, February 11). The History of Valentine’s Day [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YguF1pcBWYI.

Brief history of umbrellas from parasol to Hanway and today [video]

February 10th is National Umbrella Day. It is not known how this came to be, but whether it’s sunny or rainy on that day, open your umbrellas to use or shake the dust off.

🌧

Wow. California is being rained a lot since 2018. Thank goodness, Mother Earth is doing her balancing act – reducing the drought condition that plagued us here. Hopefully, you’re getting (or will get) your fair share of that nature’s magic.✨

So this morning, February 9th, I woke up with yet another drizzle and I’m just glad it’s a Saturday… By the time I’m finishing this write-up though, the sun is coming out beautifully. It’s perfect for a party we’re going to attend this afternoon. Rain or shine 🌦, however, we’re going to bring our brollies . . . well, not just to celebrate a birthday, but also pre-umbrella day!  Haha.

But first, some facts and a little history for ya…

The ancient parasol

The umbrella has been used around 4 B.C., not for the rain, but for the sun. It was originally called parasol – that is, para (protecting against) + sol (sun). ☀️

Mostly women of the ancient worlds – Rome, Greece, Egypt, India and the Middle East – had used sunshades 😎 made of feathers, leaves and even leather. But some royalties, clergies and dignitaries had also been depicted on ancient drawings using parasols. It was as if carrying one was an honor. (1)

From umbra to Hanway

Umbrella came from the Latin word, umbra, which means shade or shadow.  As mentioned, it was primarily used as sun protection but later on, as some history shows, the Chinese 👲🏻 made their yúsăn or săn useful during the rain by reinforcing it with wax and lacquer.

What started as a woman’s accessory was passed on to men when a Persian traveler and writer named Jonas Hanway publicly carried this once-for-a-lady-only contraption in England. He popularized it for men use. Thus, English gentleman often referred to their umbrellas ☂️ as “Hanway”. (2)

Umbrella today

What Makes the Perfect Umbrella? by GeoBeats News, on YouTube

There are many attempts to improve this age-old hand-held device for many reasons. Standard umbrellas can poke someone in the eye, provide inadequate protection only and be wet-messy when folded. 🌂

Umbrella inventors created modern-looking parasols that are even more functional. There are rain-shields ☔️ with extended water-splash-resistant canopy on one side, rain-shaders sans the poking, aero-dynamic versions that resist wind 💨 up to 70 miles per hour and inside-out umbrellas that also will literally prevent the wind from tipping umbrellas inside out…

Still, the development of a better umbrella continues…

A little monk boy walking away as he carries a red umbrella that matches his red robe

References:
(1) What is the history of the rain umbrella? (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2018 from https://cheekyumbrella.com/pages/rain-umbrella-history.
(2) Bellis, Mary. 2018, June 13, 2018. Who Invented the Umbrella? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/who-invented-the-umbrella-1992592.

World Nutella Day history

February 5th is World Nutella Day as founded in 2007 by Sara Rosso, an American blogger and a Nutella fan.

Nutella Stories: Sara Rosso by Nutella, on YouTube

Ferrero’s Original Giandujot

Nutella is a chocolate spread that contains palm oil, sugar, milk powder, cocoa solids and hazelnuts. It was created by Pietro Ferrero, an Italian pastry maker, in response to cocoa shortage after World War Two. He called it Giandujot – named after a famous local carnival character at the time. It was Pietro’s son, Michele, who renamed it to Nutella® after improving his father’s original recipe.

Nutella – I dig my spoon in and eat it straight out of the jar. I can easily go through one a week.

Malin Akerman

Mother and children enjoying pancakes with Nutella for World Nutella Day

Reference:
(1) History About Nutella. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2019 from https://www.nutella.com/en/uk/history#1951.