Happy Labor Day!

It is hard to believe that school has started and 

Labor Day is Monday!

For more information on Labor Day check out these links:

History of Labor Day | United State Department of Labor

Labor Day - Holidays - HISTORY.com

Labor Day in the United States - Time and Date

Labor Day - Wikipedia

And just something a little different, in case you are going to hit the stores:

6 things to avoid buying over Labor Day - CBS News

Happy Labor Day!  Unfortunately for most this is the holiday that signals the unofficial end to summer!  Many schools are already back in session and the rest will go back this first week in September. 

Now some Labor Day facts and general information:

Labor Day:
Labor Day is celebrated on the  first Monday in September and is a celebration created by the labor movement in America.  The day is a day to pay tribute to working men and women in America. Thank you to those men and women who will be working on this celebration day!

For more information visit these sites:
United State Department of Labor
Labor Day Wikipedia
Labor Day - History
Labor Day - USA.gov
Why do we celebrate Labor Day? - howstuffworks

St. Patrick's Day!

Well it almost that time of year when we become Irish-at-Heart - Erin Go Bragh!  Seems like March 17th has come upon us quickly!

Check out the History's Channel's page on St. Patrick's Day, there are facts, pictures, meaning & video.

Check out Spoonful's pages on St. Patrick's Day:  History of St. Patrick's Day and Crafts & Recipes your leprechauns will love! 

Check out English-Zone.com holiday pages for some information on St. Patrick's Day symbols.

Check out Wikipedia's St. Patrick's Day page.

 Check out apples4theteacher.com pages for St. Patrick's Day Activities all kinds of activities and information for students!

Check out Enchanted Learning's page for St. Patrick's Day Crafts and Activities for students!

A few good sayings:
"May the road rise up to meet you."
"May the wind be always at your back."
"May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain."

Remember ---- in Ireland ALL the stew is Irish!!!!!

Happy FOURTH OF JULY!

 

Happy Fourth of July -----   Happy Independence Day!   Yes, this is the day we told Great Britain and its King ----- we declare independence!

Fireworks in Boston

Here are some interesting facts about the Fourth and some links to more facts and activities:

The Fourth of July was not declared a NATIONAL holiday until 1941.

The stars on the original American flag were in a circle so all those rebellious Colonies would appear equal.

The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 men from 13 colonies.

The only one to sign the Declaration of Independence on July 4th was the first signature, John Hancock, it took another month to get the other signatures.

The American Pyrotechnics Association (APA) estimates that more than 14,000 fireworks displays light up U.S. skies each Fourth of July.

Events that have occurred on the Fourth of July:
     Henry David Thoreau moved into his shack on Walden Pond (1845)
     Beach Boys' "I Get Around" reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts (1964)
     Lyndon Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act (1966)
     Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe all died on the Fourth.   
        Adams and Jefferson died on the same day within hours of each other in 1826.

The first official Fourth of July was held at the White House in 1801.

Approximately 150 million hot dogs are consumed on this day.

The number of Americans who will spend the holiday at other people's homes is approximately 45 million (this figure varies depending on which site you are looking at).

There are more than 30 towns nationwide that have the word "Liberty" in their names.

Check out these sites:

http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Independence-Day.shtml

http://www.military.com/independence-day/fun-facts-about-the-fourth.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/07/100704-fourth-of-july-google-doodle-facts-nation-july-4-fourth/

Facts about Memorial Day

Did you know --- I know I did not --- that in 2000 Congress established a National Moment of Remembrance which asks Americans to pause for one minute at 3 p.m. in an act of national unity.  The time was chosen because 3 p.m. "is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday."

Please help spread the word about this little known fact about Memorial Day and remember to remember those who defended our country and are no longer with us and those who are currently defending our country.


Now some additional facts courtesy of CNN.com:

It started with the Civil War.
General Logan made it official.
It was first known as Decoration Day.
The holiday is a franchise.
It was James Garfield's finest hour - or maybe hour-and-a-half.
Not even the Unknown Solider can avoid media scrutiny these days.
Vietnam vets go whole hog.
Memorial Day has its customs.
There is still a grey Memorial Day.
Each Memorial Day is a little different.

For more information and explanation about these facts, see Ten facts about Memorial Day on CNN.com., History Channel's Memorial Day page, and TIME NewsFeed's 7 things you didn't know about Memorial Day.

Just some Holiday facts!

Okay --- A little holiday fun facts ---

HANUKKAH

~ Latkes, or potato pancakes are a popular Hanukkah dish, usually served with applesauce and sour cream

~Jewish holidays are based on a lunisolar calendar, which is based on the movement of the sun and moon – the Hebrew calendar ranges from 353 to 385 days - therefore - Hanukkah does not fall on the same date each year

~A Hanukkah menorah as nine candles – one for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah and an extra one to light the others – the world’s largest Hanukkah menorah – at 32 feet high – can be found during the festival of lights in New York’s City’s Central Park

~A dreidel is a popular Hanukkah toy – to play the game, players start out with the same amount of money (or candy) and they gain and lose depending on which letter turns up when they spin the top – the four letters on the dreidel’s sides form the initials of the message, “A great miracle happened there”

~ One Hanukkah tradition is the giving of the gelt, or gold coins – in the past children would give gelt to teachers and charities – now a reward for winning dreidel games – chocolate candies wrapped in gold tinfoil are sold to mimic real gelt.

CHRISTMAS

~ The word Christmas is Old English, a contraction of Christ’s Mass

~ The abbreviation Xmas is not irreligious – the letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ

~ Electric lights for trees were first used in 1895

~ 7.6 million Christmas trees are sold each year

~ Christmas became a national holiday in America on June 26, 1870

KWANZAA 

~ In December 1966 Kwanzaa was first celebrated – the holiday was started by Dr. Maulana Karenga – the name comes from a Swahili phrase meaning first fruits

~ The three green candles symbolize the future

~ The single black candle symbolizes unity

~ The three red candles symbolize the struggle out of slavery

~ The Kwanzaa holiday is celebrated for seven days and on each of the seven days you are suppose to work on a certain trait – unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, faith

New Year’s Day 

~ New Year is the oldest of all holidays, it was first observed in ancient Babylon as many long as 4000 years ago

~ New Year is celebrated like a festival throughout the world and everyone around is in a festive mood, partying, singing and dancing to ring out the old year and ring in the new

~The tradition of making New Year resolutions dates back to the early Babylonians

~ Noise making and fireworks on New Year’s Eve is believed to have originated in ancient times, when noise and fire were thought to dispel evil spirits and bring good luck

~ The Tournament of Rose Parade dates back to 1886 – that year members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers to celebrate the ripening of the oranges in California

Three Kings Day 

~ On this day Los Tres Reyes gave three gifts to Baby Jesus – gold, frankincense and myrrh

~ Children write letters to their favorite Wise Man or Rey Mago asking for presents

~Children leave a bucket of water and hay for the animals

~ Milk and cookies are left for the Three Wise Men to eat

~Children place their old shoes under their beds before going to sleep – the Wise Men will leave them the presents they wished for in their letters in these shoes