Tag: George Washington

Celebrating 365 Days of Legends, Folklore & Spirituality for November 24th – Thanksgiving (approximately)

autumn witch

November 24th

Thanksgiving (approximately)

 

The American Thanksgiving Day began in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, in 1621, and celebrated the Pilgrims’ first year’s harvest. Originally set by president Abraham Lincoln as the last Thursday of November, the holiday was changed by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 to the fourth Thursday of November.

Actually, days of thanksgiving are far older than our American can celebration, which is an adaption of Lammas (Loaf Mass Day). In Britain, it was celebrated on August 1, when the wheat crop was good. In fact, most agricultural peoples have special days set aside to celebrate a good crop and the end of the harvest-usually referred to as the Harvest Home. Our modern Thanksgiving is a combination of two very different customs: toms: the harvest home feast and a formal day of thanksgiving proclaimed by community leaders to celebrate a victory.

It was during the Revolutionary War that the need for national holidays, rather than local holidays, developed. It was George Washington that first declared November 1, as a national day of thanksgiving. But regional traditions were too strong and the day never caught on. With the Industrial Revolution and hundreds of immigrants pouring into America, the need for a national day of thanksgiving was once more addressed. It was finally during the Civil War that President Lincoln, in an effort to unite the country, declared the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. The holiday began with the usual morning ing church service, followed by a feast and then games.

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving with parades, the largest being Macy’s New York display, which began in 1927 with the appearance of Macy’s huge balloons designed by puppeteer Tony Sarg. The construction of the balloons is carefully executed by the Goodyear Aerospace Corporation, in Akron, Ohio. Preparations for the parade are year round, reaching a peak the day before Thanksgiving when the balloons arrive at 77th Street and Central Park West. They are removed from their crates and anchored with sand bags and giant nets. On Thanksgiving Day, more than 2000 of Macy’s employees arrive at 6 a.m. to march in the parade, which, 75 years later, is still the highlight of Thanksgiving Day.

 

Observances Throughout History for Saturday, July 4th


4th of July Comments

Observances Throughout History for Saturday, July 4th

 

 

In 1777, thirteen gunshots were fired in salute, once at morning and once again as evening fell, on July 4 in Bristol, Rhode Island. Philadelphia celebrated the first anniversary in a manner a modern American would find quite familiar: an official dinner for the Continental Congress, toasts, 13-gun salutes, speeches, prayers, music, parades, troop reviews, and fireworks. Ships were decked with red, white, and blue bunting.

In 1778, from his headquarters at Ross Hall, near New Brunswick, New Jersey, General George Washington marked July 4 with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute (feu de joie). Across the Atlantic Ocean, ambassadors John Adams and Benjamin Franklin held a dinner for their fellow Americans in Paris, France.

In 1779, July 4 fell on a Sunday. The holiday was celebrated on Monday, July 5.

In 1781 the Massachusetts General Court became the first state legislature to recognize July 4 as a state celebration.

In 1783, Moravians in Salem, North Carolina, held a celebration of July 4 with a challenging music program assembled by Johann Friedrich Peter. This work was titled “The Psalm of Joy.” This is recognized as the first recorded celebration and is still celebrated there today.

In 1791 the first recorded use of the name “Independence Day” occurred.

In 1870, the U.S. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees.

In 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.

 

Source:
Wikipedia

 

 

Happy Presidents’ Day, All My Dear Friends!

Presidents Day Pictures, Images, Comments, Graphics
Good Morning to ya’! I hope the majority of my readers have the day off. I know not everyone can have the day off. We still need our gas stations, grocery stores and of course, our Dollar General Stores, lol! We call our Dollar Store, the West Paducah Wal-Mart, lol! I know it has definitely saved the trips to Wally world and town since it has been built. The poor country grocery store is about to go out of business. I told the friend at the Dollar Store if they would put in a meat counter, the grocery store would go under. But I would hate to see it go. It has been out here for over 50 years and has become a local landmark.

The Dollar Store and our local grocery was not what I was planning on writing about today. It just sort of happened, lol! I know I am getting older and now I take time to reflect on things that I use to not do. One of those things happens to be President’s Day. I know there has been oodles of Presidents but the one I think about in particular is Abraham Lincoln. Why I don’t know. Perhaps I was Mary Lincoln in a previous life, lol! He was a great man in a very turmoil time in our country’s history. The war was horrible o say the least. Can you imagine going out on a battlefield and across from you is your brother, father, neighbor or another acquaintance? I can’t. Then to think you were the President that had the sad duty of ordering the troops into war. President Lincoln must have had a lot on his mind and a very heavy heart. But he had a very noble cause and I believe if he had lived, he would have treated the South appropriately. I also believe he would have made us a better country. Unfortunately, we will never know, his life cut way to short. To think John Wilkes Booth thought he was going to be hailed as a hero. What on earth was wrong with that man’s thinking? It has been recorded that Booth killed Lincoln because he loved the South. He might have loved the South but I don’t believe the South loved him. The South had just signed a Peace Treaty calling for the end of the war. Then Booth kills Lincoln. I know papers were found that linked Booth to the Southern capital at the time. But I believe one of the Generals destroyed those papers. But I guess in history, John Wilkes Booths is a person I can say I truly loathe. In my opinion, he killed one of the greatest men that ever lived.

On this Presidents’ Day, there are numerous Presidents we can honor and admire. I am sure each of us has their own. But today, I am taking time out to honor President Abraham Lincoln. Take a moment to honor your favorite and say a little prayer for them.

Happy Presidents’ Day!