These two pictures describe the kind of country I am proud to live in. They are from a hospital that is part of the Catholic Healthcare System.
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The holiday is sometimes called Día de los Muertos in English-speaking countries, a back-translation of its original name, Día de Muertos.Credits:
Labor Day in the United States is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a celebration of the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country. -WikipediaWith some of the attacks on organized labor in recent years, it is important to remember the many benefits that the labor movement has given us. While no movement is ever perfect, the lifestyle we have come to expect is as much the work of the unions and labor movement as anything else. Celebrate them today.
Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened on that day in 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. The United States Army also celebrates the Army Birthday on this date; Congress adopted "the American continental army" after reaching a consensus position in the Committee of the Whole on June 14, 1775.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress. Flag Day is not an official federal holiday. On June 14, 1937, Pennsylvania became the first U.S. state to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday, beginning in the town of Rennerdale.
I didn't get a picture of the sign, but it sure made me smile- so I will share it with you in written form. This was the sign in front of a local bread bakery:
Have a Happy Challah Day.But let's be serious.....
From the great people at Playing for Change, a good Mother's Day video:
When Playing For Change Foundation provided resources to the Mother’s Society in Tintale, Nepal, they knew there was a great need. Now, several years later, we all stand in awe of the creativity and courage of this group of women - and the girls who have joined them - who are using music, dance and performances to educate area villages about the risks of human trafficking, drugs and alcohol.
The society travels on a regular basis to perform and teach communities about the tricks human traffickers use to lure young women into the slave trade. The risks they address are real—each year more than 10,000 Nepali girls are stolen or sold to work in brothels in India. As a result of their performances, false promises of work, marriage and a better life made by traffickers are now recognized as a deceitful trap that can strip young girls of their freedom and future. Equally encouraging, the men of Tintale village fully support the project and have joined with their wives and daughters to help protect them and spread the word.
For your holiday enjoyment, here is the Rochester Community Band with the Leroy Anderson classic, Irish Washerwoman.
If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend.And another for a holiday:
~Doug Larson
Thunder is good, thunder is impressive;
but it is lightning that does the work.
~ Mark Twain
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Claude Monet, Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival of June 30, 1878. 1878. Oil on canvas. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France. |
The oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe is held on the morning of 14 July, on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic, French officials and foreign guests.Back in November (yes, all that long ago) we "kicked" off the holiday season around here with Straight No Chaser's Christmas Can-Can. What better way to bring the season to a close with a beautiful acapella version of the New Year's Eve Favorite, Auld Lang Syne.
Be safe out there tonight.
From Wikipedia:
The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City. In the aftermath of the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the US military and US Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with Labor as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike. Cleveland was also concerned that aligning a US labor holiday with existing international May Day celebrations would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair. All 50 U.S. states have made Labor Day a state holiday.Interesting. Now it is simply the end of summer. If someone tried to do a day like that today for the original reasons they would be branded a socialist- or worse. Amazing how times change.
The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday: A street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families.
Randy of Upward Way Press blog tweetered (or twitted or whatever) a good question as I am sure many churches did more exciting things in worship today than they will do for Pentecost:
[Randy] wonders how the evangelical church got off the Christian calendar and on the Hallmark and civil holiday calendar.Not that there aren't times and places for some of the civil holidays, they are not truly holidays in the sense that our celebrations of the great acts of the faith are.
While tomorrow is the "official" United States celebration, today is the traditional date of what we of the USA call Columbus Day. Here from Wikipedia:
Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas.... The day is celebrated as Columbus Day in the United States, as Día de la Raza (Day of the Race) in many countries in Latin America, as Día de las Culturas (Day of the Cultures) in Costa Rica, as Discovery Day in The Bahamas and Colombia, as Día de la Hispanidad (Hispanic Day) and National Day in Spain, and as Día de la Resistencia Indígena (Day of Indigenous Resistance) in Venezuela.Over the past decades it has become quite controversial. "Why should we celebrate what became a "genocidal" event?" many have asked. The cultural chauvinism of Europeans in regard to the "pagans" and "uncultured" indigenous peoples of the Americas has also been rightly decried.
In Mexico, October 12th is a national holiday known as Día de la Raza or Day of the Race. This date is honored in other countries as Columbus Day and under other names; but the event it commemorates and the way in which it is observed have become quite controversial...So, no matter which side of the argument you will be on tomorrow, take a moment to pause and celebrate the understanding of diversity that we have continued to develop. We can't change what happened, but we can use the lessons of history to take a different approach today.
In the words of President Zedillo: "Mexico's cultural strength, which is recognized and admired the world over, is the result of the very rich cultural diversity of our states and regions. Recognizing that diversity, fomenting and disseminating it, is a task of the greatest importance."
Whether one believes that the chance event which took place five hundred and seven years ago was a blessing or a curse, October 12th is an excellent opportunity for us to consider the ramifications it has had on all of our lives.
--Link
Saw this sign the other day. Someone (a certain beer) is sure trying to get the most out of this Holy Day holiday. March 13 - 18. If I were one of the other Saints I think I would protest.
Then this came from the Policy Impact Newsletter of the International Institute for Alcohol Awareness...
Alexandria, VA—Building on the success they’ve had in encouraging young college students to binge drink during spring break and other holidays, beer producers Diageo’s Guinness and Anheuser-Busch have joined forces with a petition drive to encourage Congress to make St. Patrick’s Day a National Holiday under the guise of promoting Irish Heritage.I guess that's what "Real Irish" means in the banner above. Now if I were Irish I would probably protest the stereotype being encouraged by the beer companies.
Controversial.Labor Day: The holiday began in 1882, originating from a desire by the Central Labor Union to create a day off for the "working man". It is still celebrated mainly as a day of rest and marks the symbolic end of summer for many. Labor Day became a federal holiday by Act of Congress in 1894. (Wikipedia)
So- on to some quotes: First from comedian Lily Tomlin-
"Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then--we elected them."Perhaps this reminder from author Victor Hugo helps us keep in mind that this day was originally about promoting the working person:
"There is always more misery among the lower classes than there is humanity in the higher."Edgar Bergen, ventriloquist was willing to let his "friend" Charlie McCarthy speak for many:
"Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?"From the ubiquitous source, Unknown, telling us why we bother with work.
"The human race is faced with a cruel choice: work or daytime television."Elbert Hubbard, American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher, brings us back to the serious and truthful fact that reminds us of who we are:
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man."
