Boxing Day

Wikipedia

Boxing Day is the day after Christmas, a public holiday in most countries in The Commonwealth. It originated as a day for giving gifts to employees and poor people. It has sporting traditions, especially fox hunting, and is the day when stores launch the most significant sales period in the retail cycle.

It is usually celebrated on 26 December, the day after Christmas Day;[1][2], but can move to 27 December or 28 December if 26 December is a Saturday or Sunday. The movement of Boxing Day varies between countries.

The public holiday is recognised in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, as well as many other members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa (or Kwaanza) is a week-long festival celebrated primarily in the United States, honoring African American heritage.[1] It is observed from December 26 to January 1 each year.

Kwanzaa consists of seven days of celebration, featuring activities such as candle-lighting and pouring of libations, and culminating in a feast and gift giving. It was created by Dr. Ron Karenga, and first celebrated from December 26, 1966, to January 1, 1967, timed to coincide with Christmas so that it would be remembered. Dr. Karenga calls Kwanzaa the African American branch of "first fruits" celebrations of classical African cultures.

source
Wikipedia

Other Links With More Information About Kwanzaa

• The Official Kwanzaa Website
  
  
• Everything About Kwanzaa
  
  
• Kwanzaa Recipies
  
  
• Kwanzaa Crafts
  
  
• The Truth About Kwanzaa

Christmas Day!

Fun Facts!

• Americans send three billion Christmas cards a year. If you have the average number of friends, you should get at least 12 cards a year.

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Christmas Freebies

If you are still looking for some "last minute" Christmas Freebies, then here are a few links that I have found:

• Freebies For Everyone
  
  
• ChristmasFreebies.com
  
  
• Screen Savers, Fonts, Graphics

First Day Of Winter

In the northern hemisphere, the Winter solstice is day of the year (near December 22) when the Sun is farthest south. However, in the southern hemisphere, winter and summer solstices are exchanged so that the winter solstice is the day on which the Sun is farthest north. The winter solstice marks the first day of the season of winter. The declination of the Sun on the (northern) winter solstice is known as the tropic of capricorn (-23° 27').

The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, respectively, in the sense that the length of time elapsed between sunrise and sunset on this day is a minimum for the year. Of course, daylight saving time means that the first Sunday in April has 23 hours and the last Sunday in October has 25 hours, but these human meddlings with the calendar and do not correspond to the actual number of daylight hours. In Chicago, there are 9:20 hours of daylight on the winter solstice of December 22, 1999.

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Holiday Smart.com

A Bit Of History!

On this date:

• In Ireland, the 8th of December has always been the day that busy farmers took off work to do their Christmas shopping. The towns would all be bustling with country people, who stood out by their dress and accents. Whole families descended on Cork City and it was the day that the rest of the townspeople would stay at home, and let the country folk get on with their business. Of course, it never did seem to happen that way because watching everything that was going on came to be a favorite pasttime!
  
  
  
  This whole tradition seemed to have been created because for the many that traveled the long miles into the town on that day, it really was their only chance to get the presents and make sure that Santa would visit their children on the 25th December.

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Hanukkah

Hanukkah is the annual Jewish festival celebrated on eight successive days beginning on the 25th day of Kislev, the third month of the Jewish calendar, corresponding, approximately, to December in the Gregorian calendar. It is also known as the Festival of Lights, Feast of Dedication, and Feast of the Maccabees, Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem by Judas Maccabee in 165 BC after the Temple had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, king of Syria and overlord of Palestine.

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History.com

When Do I Start Putting Up Christmas Decorations?

I like to wait well after Thanksgiving (but before December 1st) before I start putting up Christmas decorations. I like to be able to fully enjoy Thanksgiving and give it all its "props"!

Thanksgiving

Of course this is the day that we all give thanks!

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada.

Thanksgiving-Related Links:

• Wikipedia
  

• When Is Thanksgiving (future Thanksgiving dates)
  

• Thanksgiving Recipies
  

• Government Website With Thanksgiving Holiday Safety Information
  

• The Food Network's Thanksgiving Website
  

• The ButterBall Hotline Website

Veterans Day

Like a lot of other holidays, there are conflicting spellings. According to Wikipedia, the offical spelling is Veterns Day (and not Veteran's Day) - meaning that all Veterans are honored and remembered on this day.

Veterans Day is celebrated on November 11 in honor of those who have served in the armed forces of the United States.

The United States Department of Veterens Affairs also has a official Veterans Day website where there are photo galleries and downloads available.

Veterans Day was also formerly known as Armistice Day

Related Links:

• Interesting Information about Veterans Day
  
  
• Veterans Day Quiz
  
  
• The History Of Veterans Day

Election Day

source
KUMC

Every four years, on Election Day, (Tuesday after the first Monday in November), registered *voters in the United States cast their votes for presidential electors. Collectively, these electors form the Electoral College. The number of electors per state is equal to the number in its Congressional delegation. Thus, each state has at least three electors. Kansas has six electors and Missouri has eleven. These electors meet on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December to elect the President and Vice-President.

In 1845, Congress established Election Day in response to abuses caused by the previous system of electing the President and Vice-President. Under the old system, states could appoint electors at any time within 34 days prior to the convening of electors in December.

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• Wikipedia
  

• Election Day On Tuesday? Why?
  

• Voting On Election Day
  

• Voting As A College Student
  

• Voter Information Guide
  

• Election Day Resources for Voters with Disabilities
  

• U.S. Elections - Frequently Asked Questions

Daylight Saving Time Ends

This is the date when we turn our clocks back one hour (you know "spring forward, fall back" in order to observe Daylight Saving Time. From 1986 to 2006 this was the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, but starting this year, it will be observed from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November (which will be Sunday, November 4, 2007), adding about a month to daylight saving time.

There is still a lot of controversy concerning daylight saving time.

On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. The Secretary of Energy will report the impact of this change to Congress. Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete. You can read more about this federal law by clicking here.

Related Links:

• Webexhibits
  

• Wikipedia

Halloween

The term has many meanings! Halloween originated from the Pagan festival Samhain, celebrated among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. (It is very popular in Ireland!) Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is now celebrated in several parts of the western world, most commonly in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom.

Wikipedia has a lot of information about the Halloween holiday.

There is also a Halloween.com website with links to sites that are Halloween-related. There are even some Halloween chats!

United Nations Day

According to Wikipedia, United Nations Day is observed to recognize the aims and achievements of the United Nations.

It was established in 1945 by Presidential Proclamation

National Boss Day

According to another website, National Boss Day is always celebrated on October 16th, which this year happens to be on a Monday. If the October 16th date falls on a weekend then it is celebrated on the closest business day.

It is a day for employees to celebrate how nice their bosses have been to them. It was originally only celebrated in the United States but has since branched out to other countries as well.

According to Wikipedia this holiday started when Patricia Bays Haroski registered National Boss's Day with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1958. She was working for State Farm Insurance Company at the time and chose October 16 because it was the birthday of her loving boss, her father.

It is customary to give one's boss a card or small gift.

Hallmark has their own special line of National Boss Day cards.

Welcome!

Welcome to my newest blogs about the holidays! There are times when I have missed the holidays because of work and I don't want it to happen too often in the future. I'd like to take more time out and enjoy the holidays more.

I'll see on my calendar or hear on the tv about an upcoming holiday and I'll stick it in the back of my mind and before I know it the holiday has come and gone - without me enjoying it!

I'm talking about both the big and the little holidays.

I love when tv specials come on that talk about the specific holidays. I even like listening to some radio shows about them too.

So here is to enjoying the holidays more!