Archive for 2019
History of Mother’s Day
HISTORY OF MOTHER’S DAY The person most active initially in opposing the celebration of Mother’s Day is the very person who started this holiday in the US. How did that happen? Anna Jarvis’ mother died in 1905 and in her honor, Anna held a memorial in 1908 in Grafton, West Virginia. She continued to campaign…
Read MoreHistory of Cinco de Mayo
HISTORY OF CINCO DE MAYO Cinco de Mayo is frequently regarded as the Mexican equivalent of the United States 4th of July. This is incorrect: it is the equivalent of the “5th of May” in the Spanish language. Another misconception is that this has something to do with Mayonnaise. That too is a bum spread,…
Read MoreHistory of May the Fourth (Be With You): Star Wars Day
HISTORY OF MAY THE FOURTH May 4th or May the Fourth is a geek holiday that has gained popularity in recent years due to a popular film franchise. But where did it begin? History “May the Fourth” is taken from the benediction “May the Force be with you” made famous in the Star Wars film series.…
Read MoreHistory of Hitachi: Founders Day, from 1910
HISTORY OF HITACHI: FOUNDERS DAY, FROM 1910 The multinational conglomerate Hitachi, Ltd., traces its history back to Namihei Odaira, a 19th-century pioneering electrical engineer. In Japan, during the Meiji Era of the late 1800s, with the move from a feudal society to an industrialized nation-state, the country wanted to take their place among the nations…
Read MoreHistory of May Day
MAY DAY May Day is many things to many people. Etymologically, it is a homophone (same sounding word) for the international call for help. It is a corruption of the French imperative “M’aidez” meaning “Help me!” It is a holiday claimed by many. Pagan Holiday It is known in the pagan world as Beltane, a…
Read MoreHistory of World Tai Chi Day
While World Tai Chi Day started back in 1999, the history of Tai Chi goes back centuries. Learn the origins and history of this Chinese Martial Art.
Read MoreHistory of St. Mark the Evangelist: Which Mark?
HISTORY OF ST. MARK Mark the Evangelist is the author of the earliest written gospel, the Gospel of Mark, which appeared within about 30 years of the crucifixion of Jesus in the late ’60s. His feast day is April 25 for Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. He is significant historically both as the writer of…
Read MoreHistory of Earth Day
HISTORY OF EARTH DAY April 22 is called Earth Day because it both commemorates and celebrates the observance of the anniversary of our discovery of planet Earth. At this time by all accounts, there is general agreement that Earth is far superior to the planet from which we came, as we shall recount below. Meanwhile,…
Read MoreHistory of Easter: The Players: Where are they Now?
HISTORY OF EASTER: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PLAYERS AFTERWARD You may be asking yourself, “Self,” you ask, “where are they now?” And well you might ask. What happened to our players AFTER the events in the Easter story? HEROD ANTIPAS You may remember that I had said Antipas‘ taking as his own wife his brother’s…
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