Category: National Observance Days

World Peace Day is Tomorrow!

Debbie Roney Smith on

Heads up people – tomorrow is World Peace Day!

The International Day of Peace (also known as World Peace Day) is celebrated annually on September 21st. It is a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace between all nations and all people. In this modern era (and an election year no less!), violence, war, and other negative themes often monopolize the news cycles. The International Day of Peace is an inspiring opportunity to not only remember the good people are capable of but also put peace and goodwill into the world through your own actions. 

The evolution of World Peace Day to the International Day of Peace is an interesting one. In 1981, the United Nations unanimously voted to sponsor a day in honor of peace. However, there was never an actual plea for people/countries to stop fighting and it had no specific date. Jeremy Gilley, an impassioned British citizen, began a campaign to create a more impactful annual celebration of peace. On September 7th, 2001, the UN officially created the International Day of Peace and dedicated September 21st to the new day, a day that asked all people and leaders of the world to agree to ceasefire in active conflicts and vow to pursue the path of nonviolence. As the official Peace Day website states, it is a day that “provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace” (source).

2020 is particularly significant for this established event because it is the 20th Anniversary of the UN Resolution on the Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace. This specific program was a new concept that linked eight action areas for maximum impact and took ten months of negotiation to hammer out. The eight action areas are as follows: culture of peace through education; sustainable economic and social development; respect for all human rights; equality between women and men; democratic participation; understanding, tolerance and solidarity; participatory communication and the free flow of information and knowledge; and international peace and security.

Additionally, this year’s celebration is marked by the ongoing world pandemic. The UN declared the 2020 Peace Day Theme to be “Shaping Peace Together,” a theme that specifies “spreading compassion, kindness, and hope in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

How you and yours can celebrate/promote World Peace Day:

  • Observe the global “Minute of Silence;” the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Pathways to Peace inaugurated the Minute of Silence in 1984. At noon in each time zone, the Minute of Peace creates a moment of silent reflection, amplifying what NGO calls a “Peace Wave” around the world.
  • Light a candle in honor of peace
  • Read/write/share peace poems, stories, et cetera
  • Read about different peacemakers or watch a film (List of Peacemakers in History)
  • Make/write down peace promises in your own life (ex. smile more, let go of road rage, et cetera)
  • Plant a peace garden (more on peace gardens)
  • Give someone a peace lily
  • Share messages of peace on social networking sites (ex. share your creative peace projects, repost quotes on peace, et cetera)
  • Check out the Mosaic Children’s Project; listen to their music, donate, and share (Mosaic Project website)
  • Resolve to create more peace in your life with yourself and those around you (ex. reach out to a family member you recently had a disagreement with, practice pausing for three breathes before reacting/replying in trying situations, send a letter to a friend you haven’t talked with in awhile, et cetera)
  • Write to lawmakers to adopt more peaceful approaches to domestic issues and international relations
  • Organize or join a Peace March (event map for International Day of Peace)

Talk Like a Pirate about Florida’s Booty

Debbie Roney Smith on

A’hoy matey, today is Talk Like a Pirate Day! It has its origins in Oregon; in 1995, two friends from Oregon jokingly created the holiday while playing racquetball. It was celebrated amongst their friend group and community for years until columnist Dave Barry became the spokesperson for National Talk Like a Pirate Day in 2002. Since then, it has blossomed into a beloved faux-holiday that encourages the use of the vocabulary popularized by movies like Pirates of the Caribbean as “pirate lingo” to offer a fun opportunity to break out of your daily routine, learn some history, and celebrate a bygone era. So join me, maties on a brief adventure exploring the pirates that skulked about the Florida waters!

The earliest recorded pirate attacks began after China’s Han Dynasty fell in the 2nd century but piracy in Florida was prevalent in the early 1800s. This wave of piracy occurred after The Golden Age of Piracy, a period spanning the late 1600s to the early 1700s, the era that most people think of when the word ‘pirate’ is mentioned: think Black Beard, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tortuga, Anne Bonny, rum, and Calico Jack Rackham. Florida’s age of pirates came around a century after this Golden Age.

This secondary explosion of piracy occurred primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea as a result of increasing American sea trade. In fact, American ships, as well as Spanish and British vessels, were the targets of all manner of pirates, racketeers, and privateers. Pensacola’s first brush with piracy reportedly occurred in 1811 when a U.S. gunboat chased the French pirate ship La Franchise along the northern Gulf. The pirates, unable to outmaneuver the military, ran their ship onto the Pensacola coast, set it on fire, and fled into the woods. Then, in 1817, four years before Florida was relinquished to the US by Spain, notorious New Orleans pirate Jean Lafitte encouraged a group of privateers to raid Pensacola. Nothing came of the plan except a brief panic among Spanish settlers that led them to create a citizen militia.

Things were rather quiet onshore in FL until 1822 when the pirate ship Carmen was brought to court in the recently established U.S. District Court of West Florida in Pensacola. The Carmen was charged with firing on the Louisiana off the coast of Cuba. It’s likely that the pirates on Carmen mistook Louisiana for a merchant ship when it was actually a federal Revenue Cutter Service vessel. The U.S.S. Peacock was present and pursued Carmen. Mike Thomin, a staff member at the Florida Public Archaeology Network, reports that “The Carmen did what most pirate ships did when they saw a naval ship; they tried to run away as fast as possible…pirates did not try to engage a Navy ship. If they did, it was because they mistook it for a merchant ship. As soon as they found out they were dealing with a heavily armed Naval ship; they usually ran away.” (source) The crew was caught, tried, and found not guilty by January of 1823 because of U.S. sympathy for ongoing political struggles across the sea.

Sadly, most of the dramatic, booty creating piracy in Florida occurred farther down the coast near the Keys. Luckily, you can still spend today having pirate-themed fun regardless of the intensity of Florida’s pirate history. Watch your favorite pirate-themed movie or TV show, read up on interesting figures of pirate culture, make a toast to pirates long-gone with your favorite rum, or make pirate hates with your kids and have a wooden-stick sword fight!

Responsibly Choose Your Chocolate for This National Holiday

Debbie Roney Smith on

National Choose Your Chocolate Day is a brand new celebration of chocolate sponsored by See’s Candies. The company hopes the event will be held annually on September 16th. It’s a celebration that corresponds with the birthday of Mary See, the woman behind the foundational creative chocolate recipes the company has been using for over 100 years! Alongside introducing their new holiday honoring chocolate and Mary See, See’s Candy Shops Inc. is releasing two new candies for the upcoming October season. The new candies are individually wrapped, a design impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Sour Jelly Beans Trick-or-Treat pack contains a mix of Sour Tangerine, Sour Grape, and Sour Apple flavors. Milk Molasses Chip Trick-or-Treat Minis are molasses honeycomb wafers covered in smooth milk chocolate. 

Additionally, the company launched a quiz that can help you decide which chocolate candy matches your personality. “In these difficult times, chocolate can brighten someone’s day, which is why See’s will make a donation to worthy organizations for every quiz taken,” the company says. Interested in doing good and having fun? Click the following link and scroll down to ‘National Choose Your Chocolate Day Activities’ to take the quiz for yourself:

https://nationaltoday.com/national-choose-chocolate-day/

International Dot Day isn’t for the Dot You Think

Debbie Roney Smith on

How do you feel about polka dots? Polka dots, as a pattern, gained traction in Europe in the mid-1900s after the Czech dance and Bohemian folk music genre were introduced in Paris and spread rapidly across North America. In fact, Europeans were so taken with the invention that they named the phenomena “Polkamania,” and proceeded to capitalize on the trend by throwing dots on clothes until they – literally – stuck. Supposedly, the dots represented the short bursts of energy that were required by the polka dance. Never seen a traditional Czech polka dance? Follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dONXZBrje2w

The polka dot exploded in the USA in 1926 when a Miss America was spotted (haha!) wearing the pattern on a swimsuit, likely the result of a nod to vintage Victorian dresses which often included some sort of dotted material. Then Walt Disney decided to capitalize on the growing trend by supplying fuel to the fire Miss America ignited.  Just two years later in 1928, Minnie Mouse debuted wearing her signature red polka dot dress. Since the 1930s bloom in polka dot goods, it has remained a consistent, popular pattern in fashion. The trend is so influential that it’s ever inspired songs: remember Frank Sinatra’s Polka Dots and Moonbeams” or Brian Hyland’s “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini?”

But today’s International Dot Day isn’t a day to celebrate polka dots…

…it’s a day of global celebration honoring creativity, courage, and collaboration!

International Dot Day started on September 15, 2009, when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot. It is the story of a student named Vashti and her caring teacher. Vashti felt like she couldn’t draw but her teacher encouraged her, saying “Just make a mark, and see where it takes you.” Vashti made a small dot on her paper, and it was only the beginning of her journey of self-discovery through art. It was a breakthrough of confidence and courage inspired by the encouragement of a kind adult. Terry Shay introduced a movement that would go on to inspire the countless children and adults that celebrate it: nearly 16 million people in 181 countries!

    How to Observe #InternationalDotDay:
    • Read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
    • Donate art supplies to worthy organizations like schools, community centers, Boys & Girls Clubs, local transitional housing, et cetera
    • Foster creativity by participating in a fun form of self-expression including but not limited to: writing, drawing, painting, photography, videography, dancing, and singing
    • Share your/your kid’s creativity by sending the art to friends/family or post on social media
    • Encourage others to re-discover the power and potential of creativity in all they do 

     

    Check out http://www.thedotclub.org/dotday/ for more info and free resources!

    Today is Grandparents Day

    Debbie Roney Smith on

    Grandparents Day is an annual celebration here in the USA, held the first Sunday after Labor Day. This year, it falls on September 13th, today!

    Grandparents Day became an official holiday in 1979 by proclamation of Jimmy Carter. Research has proven that the bond between grandparents and children not only helps grandparents live longer but also helps children grow more emotionally resilient. The best way to celebrate this national holiday is to spend some quality time together as a family, celebrating and talking about the special relationships shared by the various grandparent(s) and kid(s) in your family.

    Despite any distance between your children and their grandparents, this day is an important opportunity to recognize and celebrate the connection between them. Some activities you can complete to acknowledge the important role of the grandparents in your life are as follows:

    • Check-in with your elders via phone, text, or video-chat 
    • Write a thank-you note on the back of a drawing done by your kid(s) to mail them 
    • Send them an edible arrangement or flowers

     

    So remember to take a few moments to express your love and gratitude for the grandparents in your life today!

    August 31, 2020 – International Overdose Awareness Day

    Debbie Roney Smith on

    First observed in 2001 by Sally J. Finn in St. Kilda, Melbourne (Australian), International Overdose Awareness Day aims to reduce the stigma surrounding drug addiction. Did you know that over 770,000 Americans have died from drug overdose since 1999 (according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 2019)? Many who survive overdoses or have lost loved ones due to overdoses cite the lack of public awareness, mental health support, and public support programs as factors in their struggle. International Overdose Awareness Day is more than just a chance to raise awareness and reduce stigma, it is an opportunity for friends and family to process the grief and remember those they loved. To show support, wear a silver badge or purple wristband – these function as symbols of awareness as well as a tribute to the idea that every person’s life is valuable. Stigmatizing people who suffer from drug addiction needs to stop. For more information, please visit the following CDC website:https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm

    Earth Overshoot Day

    Debbie Roney Smith on

    Have you heard of Earth Overshoot Day? It is the point where scientists say humanity has used all the ecological resources the planet can regenerate in 12 months. It’s like trying to pay a bill before your paycheck has hit your bank account – not only does the bill not get paid but you end up with a fee from the bank, therefore losing out on some of your paycheck. This date changes year to year as humanity’s consumption rate does.

    This year’s Earth Overshoot Day was predicted to be August 22nd by the Global Footprint Network (the group that calculates the annual Overshoot date) – however, the 22nd expected date has been pushed back! Some might think this is good news, but the reality of the situation is much bleaker. The pandemic has created situations that reduced the estimated consumption rate but at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives. Additionally, despite how COVID-19 has pushed back the Overshoot date three weeks, the Global Footprint Network still estimates that humanity has exceeded the Earth’s ability to provide by 56%.

    For more in depth information, check out the following website https://www.overshootday.org/about-earth-overshoot-day/

    August 29th – Individual Rights Day

    Debbie Roney Smith on

    Individual Rights Day is celebrated annually on August 29th in honor of John Locke’s birthday; Locke was the first philosopher who prominently argued that a human being has basic, individual rights as a sovereign human being. This holiday was started by Dr. Tom Stevens of the Objectivist Party in order to encourage contemplation of humanity’s right to life. Given the current social and political events, this day is even more important to recognize and discuss this year. To celebrate Individual Rights Day, consider reading relevant texts about humanitarian work, think about your own individual vs. collective rights, discuss your country’s commitment to the protection of individual rights, and appreciate the value of individual rights and the freedom they grant you.

    August 27th – Just Because Day

    Debbie Roney Smith on

    Just Because Day started out as a movable holiday called Because Day. Because Day was first celebrated on the third Wednesday in May in the late 1950s or 1960s by Joseph J. Goodwin of Los Gatos, California. He wanted to gift his wife a clock…just because! Since its inception, Just Because Day has grown into a wonderful movement that encourages random acts of kindness and happy spontaneity.

    Wake up with the urge to have spaghetti for breakfast? Go for it!

    Noticed your elderly neighbor has had a downed tree branch in their yard for a few weeks? Go ahead and pick it up!

    Did you know Salvador Dali used to walk around Paris with an ant-eater on a leash? How unusual and amazing – just because!

    August 26, 2020 – Women’s Equality Day

    Debbie Roney Smith on

    Women’s Equality Day commemorates the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that gave white women the right to vote. Observed annually after its initiation in 1971, the date was chosen to reflect the passing of the 19th Amendment on August 26, 1920. Women’s Equality Day was created by a Joint Resolution of Congress encouraged by former New York U.S. Representative Bella Abzug. The day is meant to honor the culmination of effort put forth by decades of effort to win women the right to vote. However, the 19th Amendment was not an equal opportunity amendment. Asian Americans women couldn’t vote until 1952. Native American women were kept from voting in certain states until 1962. And Black women were kept from voting until 1965; that was only 55 years ago!