International Darwin
Day – Born on this day in 1809, Charles
Darwin was, and still is, famous for his theories of evolution
through natural selection. Whether you subscribe to these theories
or not, you can still explain them to your children and also explain
why you do or do not believe them. http://darwinday.org/
Lincoln's Birthday
– President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President and one
of the greatest, in my opinion, was born on this day in 1809.
Interesting, I didn't know he shared a birthday with Charles Darwin.
I like to learn something new every day, so mission accomplished for
today. This is a legal holiday in many states but not all of them.
Not too surprisingly, I don't see any of the southern states on the
list of states that celebrate today.
NAACP Day –
Founded on this day in 1909, The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, the oldest and largest civil rights
organization in America, has a mission “to ensure the political,
educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons
and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.” While
all all of those things have come one heck of a long way since 1909,
I don't think anyone believes that its' mission is finished.
Oglethorpe Day –
This day honors British General James Edward Oglethorpe (December 22,
1696 – June 30, 1785) who founded Georgia on this day in 1733(which
he named after King George II). He was something of a social
reformer and humanitarian who hoped that he could move Britain's poor
people from debtor's prison to Georgia.
Paul Bunyan Day –
This day is also celebrated in June, but I think different states
celebrate on different days. According to people who live in Bangor,
Maine, on this day in 1834, Paul Bunyan was born in their area.
However, people in Minnesota are under the impression that he was
born in Bemidji, Minnesota and died in Kelliher, Minnesota. Still
others say Paul Bunyan was based on a real man, a French-Canadian
named Fabian “Joe” Fournier (or Saginaw Joe) who was born in
Quebec, Canada in 1845. I'm sure you can find other possibilities if
you look hard enough.
Safety Pup Day –
Developed in 1985 by the National Child Safety Council and designed
to address different safety issues with children such as stranger
safety, Halloween safety, internet safety, etc. This day is
frequently promoted by local police departments.
National Lost Penny Day
– Begun in 1995, this is a day to find all of the lost pennies
you can and cash them in because combined, pennies are more useful
than they are individually. The first penny was minted in 1787. It
was designed by Benjamin Franklin and was made of copper. On this
day in 1909, the first Lincoln penny was issued on the 100th
birthday of Abraham Lincoln.
National Plum Pudding
Day – This dish has a rich heritage. It came from England in
the 1600's and actually doesn't have any plums in it because back
then, most dried fruits, like raisins, were called plums. This dish
has nutmeg, raisins, cinnamon, apples, and whatever else you might
like to add.
To celebrate today, make some plum
pudding and decorate it with a picture of Lincoln just like you find
on a penny, and a picture of Darwin. Then gather the neighborhood
kids, making sure you have a good amount of racial diversity
represented and have a contest to see who is the biggest and
strongest and would make a better Paul Bunyan. Then bring out Safety
Pup to tell the kids how to keep themselves safe in all situations.
Share the plum pudding with them while you tell them who James
Oglethorpe was.
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