1.
Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza
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The Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza is an urban park and gathering place, located in front of the Arizona state capitol complex in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It serves as a home to a number of memorials honoring prominent figures in Arizona history as well as memorializing significant wars and it is designated as one of the Phoenix Points of Pride. The plaza was established on March 9,1978, by the Arizona Legislature in honor of Governor Wesley Bolin, prior to the resolution creating the plaza, it had simply been a part of the Legislative Governmental Mall. While the plaza exists only as a part of the Mall, in common usage the terms are interchangeable, much like the National Mall on which it is loosely based, the Legislative Governmental Mall is intended as an open-air public space featuring monuments, memorials and gardens. Some of these monuments were erected prior to the inception of the Plaza, the Plaza, when dedicated, included these existing memorials and all subsequent memorials have been located within the boundaries of the plaza. Also located in the Plaza is the dedicated to the 158th Infantry Regiment. The monument, based off a captured Japanese monument in the Philippines, over 100,000 participants took part in the display. The plaza is home to 30 memorials dedicated to topics including important individuals, organizations, also of note are some memorials that have caused considerable controversy, as mentioned below. The following is a full list of memorials found at the plaza, the Ten Commandments memorial, one of those placed in the Mall prior to the creation of the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, became the target of an attempt to remove it in 2003. The American Civil Liberties Union argued that the memorial violated the concept of separation of church, the monument had originally been erected in 1964 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in connection to Cecil B. DeMille, director of the famous 1956 film adaptation of The Ten Commandments, while the effort to remove the monument did not succeed, the controversy surrounding its inclusion on a government operated location continues. The memorial to commemorate the September 11,2001, attacks was unveiled on the anniversary of the attacks. Almost immediately, criticism that the memorial contained anti-American sentiment began to surface, some of the descriptions have also been described as meaningless. In response to the critics, the commission in charge of the design and construction has promised to review it. List of historic properties in Phoenix, Arizona USS Arizona salvaged artifacts Media related to Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza at Wikimedia Commons Virtual tour
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Fraternal Order of Police
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The Fraternal Order of Police is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 325,000 members organized in 2100 local chapters, organized into local lodges, state lodges, and the national Grand Lodge. It lobbies Congress and regulatory agencies on behalf of law enforcement officers, provides labor representation, promotes legal defense for officers and it also sponsors charities such as Easter Seals, Special Olympics, memorials for fallen officers, and support programs for spouses and family members of police officers. The Fraternal Order of Police was founded in 1915 by two Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania patrol officers, Martin Toole and Delbert Nagle. They and 21 other members of the Pittsburgh Police met on May 14,1915, establishing the Fraternal Order of Police its first local, in 1918, it was decided that the Order should become a national organization. The Orders constitution stated that race, Creed or Color shall be no bar, the constitution also had a no strike pledge, but this has not been enforced since 1967 when FOP police in Youngstown, Ohio refused to work during a salary dispute. In 1974 and 1975 the FOP stated that it would take no action against members who violated the anti-strike clause until all efforts were exhausted on the local and state level. During the 1960s the FOP opposed the creation of police review boards, spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy, the FOP also clashed with the ACLU on the issue of police brutality, seeing it as a liberal attempt to discredit law enforcement. The Order was heartened by Richard Nixons emphasis on law and order, the Fraternal Order of Police emblem is a five-pointed star. According to the FOP, The five-cornered star tends to remind us of the allegiance we owe to our Flag and is a symbol of the authority with which we are entrusted and it is an honor the people we serve bestow upon us. They place their confidence and trust in us, serve them proudly, midway between the points and center of the star is a blue field representative of the thin blue line protecting those we serve. The points are of gold, which indicates the position under which we are now serving, the background is white, the unstained color representing the purity with which we should serve. We shall not let anything corrupt be injected into our order, therefore, our colors are blue, gold and white. The open eye is the eye of vigilance ever looking for danger, the hand of friendship is always extended to those in need of our comfort. The circle surrounding the star midway indicates our never ending efforts to promote the welfare, within the half circle over the centerpiece is our motto, Jus, Fidus, Libertatum which translated means Law is a Safeguard of Freedom. When adopted, the motto was believed to be Latin and assumed to mean Fairness, Justice, Equality or Justice, Friendship, Equality. Actually, the motto is an impossible and hardly translatable sequence of Latin words. In the center of the star is the coat of arms of the city of Pittsburgh, Local lodges often have provisions for retired law enforcement officers
4.
United States Congress
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The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington, D. C, both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are usually affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, Congress has 535 voting members,435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members in addition to its 435 voting members and these members can, however, sit on congressional committees and introduce legislation. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by using the United States Census results. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators, currently, there are 100 senators representing the 50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a term, with terms staggered. The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers, however, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills, the House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before a person can be forcibly removed from office. The term Congress can also refer to a meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years, the current one, the 115th Congress, began on January 3,2017, the Congress starts and ends on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. Members of the Senate are referred to as senators, members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives, congressmen, or congresswomen. One analyst argues that it is not a solely reactive institution but has played a role in shaping government policy and is extraordinarily sensitive to public pressure. Several academics described Congress, Congress reflects us in all our strengths, Congress is the governments most representative body. Congress is essentially charged with reconciling our many points of view on the public policy issues of the day. —Smith, Roberts, and Wielen Congress is constantly changing and is constantly in flux, most incumbents seek re-election, and their historical likelihood of winning subsequent elections exceeds 90 percent
5.
John F. Kennedy
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Kennedy was a member of the Democratic Party, and his New Frontier domestic program was largely enacted as a memorial to him after his death. Kennedy also established the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, Kennedys time in office was marked by high tensions with Communist states. He increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam by a factor of 18 over President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in Cuba, a failed attempt was made at the Bay of Pigs to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro in April 1961. He subsequently rejected plans by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to orchestrate false-flag attacks on American soil in order to gain approval for a war against Cuba. After military service in the United States Naval Reserve in World War II and he was elected subsequently to the U. S. Senate and served as the junior Senator from Massachusetts from 1953 until 1960. Kennedy defeated Vice President, and Republican presidential candidate, Richard Nixon in the 1960 U. S, at age 43, he became the youngest elected president and the second-youngest president. Kennedy was also the first person born in the 20th century to serve as president, to date, Kennedy has been the only Roman Catholic president and the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22,1963, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested that afternoon and determined to have fired the shots that hit the President from a sixth floor window of the Texas School Book Depository. Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald two days later in a jail corridor, then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded Kennedy after he died in the hospital. The FBI and the Warren Commission officially concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin, the majority of Americans alive at the time of the assassination, and continuing through 2013, believed that there was a conspiracy and that Oswald was not the only shooter. Since the 1960s, information concerning Kennedys private life has come to light, including his health problems, Kennedy continues to rank highly in historians polls of U. S. presidents and with the general public. His average approval rating of 70% is the highest of any president in Gallups history of systematically measuring job approval and his grandfathers P. J. Kennedy and Boston Mayor John F. Fitzgerald were both Massachusetts politicians. All four of his grandparents were the children of Irish immigrants, Kennedy had an elder brother, Joseph Jr. and seven younger siblings, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Ted. Kennedy lived in Brookline for ten years and attended the Edward Devotion School, the Noble and Greenough Lower School, and the Dexter School through 4th grade. In 1927, the Kennedy family moved to a stately twenty-room, Georgian-style mansion at 5040 Independence Avenue in the Hudson Hill neighborhood of Riverdale, Bronx and he attended the lower campus of Riverdale Country School, a private school for boys, from 5th to 7th grade. Two years later, the moved to 294 Pondfield Road in the New York City suburb of Bronxville, New York. The Kennedy family spent summers at their home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in September 1930, Kennedy—then 13 years old—attended the Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut. In late April 1931, he required an appendectomy, after which he withdrew from Canterbury, in September 1931, Kennedy attended Choate, a boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, for 9th through 12th grade
6.
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial
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The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D. C. at Judiciary Square, honors 20,267 U. S. law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty throughout history. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund was established by former U. S, representative Mario Biaggi, a 23-year New York City police veteran who was wounded in the line of duty over 10 times before retiring in 1965. Donald J. Guilfoil, a detective with the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, rep. Biaggi then took up the cause and joined forces with U. S. Senator Claiborne Pell to establish the monument to honor all of Americas fallen law enforcement officers. The legislation to authorize the memorial was enacted in October 1984, in 2012, three additions were made to the Board including representatives from DuPont, Motorola and Target. Seven years after passage of the legislation, on October 15,1991. At the time of dedication, the names of over 12,000 fallen officers were engraved on the Memorials walls, currently, there are 20,267 names on the memorial. At the current rate at which names are being added, the walls are expected to be filled by 2050. Designed by architect Davis Buckley, the features a reflecting pool which is surrounded by walkways on a 3-acre park. Along the walkways are walls that are inscribed with names of all U. S. law enforcement officers — federal, state, one entrance of the Judiciary Square Metro station is on the memorial site. The memorial maintains a Visitors Center & Store, where visitors can browse merchandise and learn more about the history of law enforcement, the Visitors Center & Store is located at 400 7th Street, NW. While the memorial sits on land, the monument was constructed and is maintained with private funds. The memorial is adjacent to the upcoming National Law Enforcement Museum, the Memorial and Museum are both projects of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a non-profit,501 organization based in Washington, D. C. The memorial features four bronze lions--two male and two female—each watching over a pair of lion cubs, the adult lions were sculpted by Raymond Kaskey, the cubs by George Carr. Below each lion is carved a different quotation, It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, —Vivian Eney Cross, Survivor In valor there is hope. —Tacitus The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. —Proverbs 28,1 Carved on these walls is the story of America, of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream
7.
Bill Clinton
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William Jefferson Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Prior to the Presidency he was the 40th Governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981, before that, he served as Arkansas Attorney General from 1977 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, Clinton was ideogically a New Democrat, Clinton is married to Hillary Clinton, who served as United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013 and U. S. Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009, and served the Democratic nominee for President in 2016, Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham both earned degrees from Yale Law School, where they met and began dating. As Governor of Arkansas, Clinton overhauled the states education system, Clinton was elected President of the United States in 1992, defeating incumbent George H. W. Bush. At age 46, he was the third-youngest president and the first from the Baby Boomer generation, Clinton presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history and signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement. After failing to pass health care reform, the Democratic House was ousted when the Republican Party won control of the Congress in 1994. Two years later, in 1996, Clinton became the first Democrat since Franklin D. Roosevelt to be elected to a second term, Clinton passed welfare reform and the State Childrens Health Insurance Program, providing health coverage for millions of children. Clinton was acquitted by the U. S. Senate in 1999, the Congressional Budget Office reported a budget surplus between the years 1998 and 2000, the last three years of Clintons presidency. In foreign policy, Clinton ordered U. S. Clinton left office with the highest end-of-office approval rating of any U. S. President since World War II, since then, Clinton has been involved in public speaking and humanitarian work. He created the William J. Clinton Foundation to address international causes, such as the prevention of AIDS, in 2004, Clinton published his autobiography, My Life. In 2009, Clinton was named the United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti, since leaving office, Clinton has been rated highly in public opinion polls of U. S. Presidents. Clinton was born on August 19,1946, at Julia Chester Hospital in Hope, Arkansas and he was the son of William Jefferson Blythe Jr. a traveling salesman who had died in an automobile accident three months before his birth, and Virginia Dell Cassidy. His parents had married on September 4,1943, but this later proved to be bigamous. Soon after their son was born, his mother traveled to New Orleans to study nursing, leaving her son in Hope with her parents Eldridge and Edith Cassidy, who owned and ran a small grocery store. At a time when the Southern United States was segregated racially, in 1950, Bills mother returned from nursing school and married Roger Clinton Sr. who owned an automobile dealership in Hot Springs, Arkansas, with his brother and Earl T. Ricks. The family moved to Hot Springs in 1950, although he immediately assumed use of his stepfathers surname, it was not until Clinton turned fifteen that he formally adopted the surname Clinton as a gesture toward his stepfather. In Hot Springs, Clinton attended St. Johns Catholic Elementary School, Ramble Elementary School, and Hot Springs High School—where he was a student leader, avid reader
8.
Flag of the United States
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The flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag, is the national flag of the United States. S. Nicknames for the flag include The Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, the current design of the U. S. flag is its 27th, the design of the flag has been modified officially 26 times since 1777. The 48-star flag was in effect for 47 years until the 49-star version became official on July 4,1959, the 50-star flag was ordered by the then president Eisenhower on August 21,1959, and was adopted in July 1960. It is the version of the U. S. flag and has been in use for over 56 years. At the time of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776, the flag contemporaneously known as the Continental Colors has historically been referred to as the first national flag. The name Grand Union was first applied to the Continental Colors by George Preble in his 1872 history of the American flag, the flag closely resembles the British East India Company flag of the era, and Sir Charles Fawcett argued in 1937 that the company flag inspired the design. Both flags could have been constructed by adding white stripes to a British Red Ensign. However, an East India Company flag could have nine to 13 stripes. In any case, both the stripes and the stars have precedents in classical heraldry, Flag Day is now observed on June 14 of each year. While scholars still argue about this, tradition holds that the new flag was first hoisted in June 1777 by the Continental Army at the Middlebrook encampment. The first official U. S. flag flown during battle was on August 3,1777, Massachusetts reinforcements brought news of the adoption by Congress of the official flag to Fort Schuyler. A voucher is extant that Capt. Swartwout of Dutchess County was paid by Congress for his coat for the flag, the 1777 resolution was most probably meant to define a naval ensign. In the late 18th century, the notion of a flag did not yet exist. The flag resolution appears between other resolutions from the Marine Committee, on May 10,1779, Secretary of the Board of War Richard Peters expressed concern it is not yet settled what is the Standard of the United States. However, the term, Standard, referred to a standard for the Army of the United States. Each regiment was to carry the standard in addition to its regimental standard. The national standard was not a reference to the national or naval flag, the appearance was up to the maker of the flag. Some flag makers arranged the stars into one big star, in a circle or in rows, one arrangement features 13 five-pointed stars arranged in a circle, with the stars arranged pointing outwards from the circle, the so-called Betsy Ross flag
9.
George W. Bush
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George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was also the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 and he is the eldest son of Barbara and George H. W. Bush. After graduating from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975, Bush married Laura Welch in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives shortly thereafter. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann Richards in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election and he is the second president to assume the nations highest office after his father, following the lead of John Quincy Adams. He is also a brother of Jeb Bush, a former Governor of Florida who was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 presidential election, the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred eight months into Bushs first term as president. Bush responded with what became known as the Bush Doctrine, launching a War on Terror, a military campaign that included the war in Afghanistan in 2001. He also promoted policies on the economy, health care, education, Social Security reform and his tenure included national debates on immigration, Social Security, electronic surveillance, and torture. In the 2004 Presidential race, Bush defeated Democratic Senator John Kerry in another close election. After his re-election, Bush received increasingly heated criticism from across the spectrum for his handling of the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina. Amid this criticism, the Democratic Party regained control of Congress in the 2006 elections, Bush left office in 2009, returning to Texas where he purchased a home in Crawford. He wrote a memoir, Decision Points and his presidential library was opened in 2013. His presidency has been ranked among the worst in historians polls published in the late 2000s and 2010s. George Walker Bush was born on July 6,1946, at Grace-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, as the first child of George Herbert Walker Bush and his wife, the former Barbara Pierce. He was raised in Midland and Houston, Texas, with four siblings, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, another younger sister, Robin, died from leukemia at the age of three in 1953. His grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a U. S and his father, George H. W. Bush, was Ronald Reagans Vice President from 1981 to 1989 and the 41st U. S. President from 1989 to 1993. Bush has English and some German ancestry, along with more distant Dutch, Welsh, Irish, French, Bush attended public schools in Midland, Texas, until the family moved to Houston after he had completed seventh grade. He then spent two years at The Kinkaid School, a school in Houston. Bush attended high school at Phillips Academy, a school in Andover, Massachusetts
10.
Barack Obama
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Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He is the first African American to have served as president and he previously served in the U. S. Senate representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008, and in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 2004. Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, two years after the territory was admitted to the Union as the 50th state and he grew up mostly in Hawaii, but also spent one year of his childhood in Washington State and four years in Indonesia. After graduating from Columbia University in 1983, he worked as a community organizer in Chicago, in 1988 Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduation, he became a civil rights attorney and professor, Obama represented the 13th District for three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, when he ran for the U. S. Senate. In 2008, Obama was nominated for president, a year after his campaign began and he was elected over Republican John McCain, and was inaugurated on January 20,2009. Nine months later, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, during his first two years in office, Obama signed more landmark legislation than any Democratic president since LBJs Great Society. Main reforms were the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, after a lengthy debate over the national debt limit, Obama signed the Budget Control and the American Taxpayer Relief Acts. In foreign policy, Obama increased U. S. troop levels in Afghanistan, reduced nuclear weapons with the U. S. -Russian New START treaty, and ended military involvement in the Iraq War. He ordered military involvement in Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafi, after winning re-election over Mitt Romney, Obama was sworn in for a second term in 2013. Obama also advocated gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning climate change and immigration. In foreign policy, Obama ordered military intervention in Iraq in response to gains made by ISIL after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, Obama left office in January 2017 with a 60% approval rating. He currently resides in Washington, D. C and his presidential library will be built in Chicago. Obama was born on August 4,1961, at Kapiʻolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu and he is the only President to have been born in Hawaii. He was born to a mother and a black father. His mother, Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita, Kansas, of mostly English descent, with some German, Irish, Scottish, Swiss and his father, Barack Obama Sr. was a married Luo Kenyan man from Nyangoma Kogelo. Obamas parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the couple married in Wailuku, Hawaii on February 2,1961, six months before Obama was born. In late August 1961, Obamas mother moved him to the University of Washington in Seattle for a year
11.
Police
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A police force is a constituted body of persons empowered by the state to enforce the law, protect property, and limit civil disorder. Their powers include the use of force. Law enforcement, however, constitutes part of policing activity. Policing has included an array of activities in different situations, in some societies, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, these developed within the context of maintaining the class system and the protection of private property. Many police forces suffer from police corruption to a greater or lesser degree, the police force is usually a public sector service, meaning they are paid through taxes. Alternative names for police force include constabulary, gendarmerie, police department, police service, crime prevention, protective services, law enforcement agency, members may be referred to as police officers, troopers, sheriffs, constables, rangers, peace officers or civic/civil guards. As police are often interacting with individuals, slang terms are numerous, many slang terms for police officers are decades or centuries old with lost etymology. One of the oldest, cop, has largely lost its slang connotations and this is derived from πόλις, city. Law enforcement in ancient China was carried out by prefects for thousands of years since it developed in both the Chu and Jin kingdoms of the Spring and Autumn period, in Jin, dozens of prefects were spread across the state, each having limited authority and employment period. Under each prefect were subprefects who helped collectively with law enforcement in the area, some prefects were responsible for handling investigations, much like modern police detectives. The concept of the system spread to other cultures such as Korea. In ancient Greece, publicly owned slaves were used by magistrates as police, in Athens, a group of 300 Scythian slaves was used to guard public meetings to keep order and for crowd control, and also assisted with dealing with criminals, handling prisoners, and making arrests. Other duties associated with modern policing, such as investigating crimes, were left to the citizens themselves, in the Roman empire, the army, rather than a dedicated police organization, provided security. Local watchmen were hired by cities to some extra security. Magistrates such as fiscal and quaestors investigated crimes. There was no concept of public prosecution, so victims of crime or their families had to organize and their duties included apprehending thieves and robbers and capturing runaway slaves. The vigiles were supported by the Urban Cohorts who acted as a heavy-duty anti-riot force, in medieval Spain, Santa Hermandades, or holy brotherhoods, peacekeeping associations of armed individuals, were a characteristic of municipal life, especially in Castile. These organizations were intended to be temporary, but became a fixture of Spain
12.
New Year's Day
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New Years Day, also called simply New Years or New Year, is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar. In pre-Christian Rome under the Julian calendar, the day was dedicated to Janus, god of gateways and beginnings, other global New Years Day traditions include making New Years resolutions and calling ones friends and family. Mesopotamia instituted the concept of celebrating the new year in 2000 BC, celebrated new year around the time of the vernal equinox, the early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the new year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March and that the new year once began with the month of March is still reflected in some of the names of the months. September through December, our ninth through twelfth months, were positioned as the seventh through tenth months. Roman legend usually credited their second king Numa with the establishment of the months of January and February and these were first placed at the end of the year, but at some point came to be considered the first two months instead. The January Kalends came to be celebrated as the new year at some point after it became the day for the new consuls in 153 BC. Romans had long dated their years by these consulships, rather than sequentially, still, private and religious celebrations around the March new year continued for some time and there is no consensus on the question of the timing for January 1s new status. Once it became the new year, however, it became a time for family gatherings, in AD567, the Council of Tours formally abolished January 1 as the beginning of the year. These days were also astronomically and astrologically significant since, at the time of the Julian reform, March 25 had been understood as the spring equinox and December 25 as the winter solstice. Medieval calendars nonetheless often continued to display the months running from January to December, among the 7th century pagans of Flanders and the Netherlands, it was the custom to exchange gifts on the first day of the new year. This custom was deplored by Saint Eligius, who warned the Flemish and Dutch, make vetulas, little deer or iotticos or set tables at night or exchange New Year gifts or supply superfluous drinks. Because of the leap year error in the Julian calendar, the date of Easter had drifted backward since the First Council of Nicaea decided the computation of the date of Easter in 325, by the sixteenth century, the drift from the observed equinox had become unacceptable. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII declared the Gregorian calendar widely used today, the Gregorian calendar reform also restored January 1 as New Years Day. Although most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately, it was gradually adopted among Protestant countries. The British, for example, did not adopt the reformed calendar until 1752, until then, the British Empire – and its American colonies – still celebrated the new year on 25 March. Most nations of Western Europe officially adopted 1 January as New Years Day somewhat before they adopted the Gregorian Calendar, in Tudor England, New Years Day, along with Christmas Day and Twelfth Night, was celebrated as one of three main festivities among the twelve days of Christmastide. There, until the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752, Pope Gregory acknowledged 1 January as the beginning of the new year according to his reform of the Catholic Liturgical Calendar
13.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
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Martin Luther King Jr. Day is an American federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, the holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. King was the spokesman for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement. The campaign for a holiday in Kings honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, at first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000, the idea of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday was promoted by labor unions in contract negotiations. Senator Edward Brooke introduced a bill in Congress to make Kings birthday a national holiday, the bill first came to a vote in the U. S. House of Representatives in 1979. However, it fell five short of the number needed for passage. Only two other figures have national holidays in the U. S. honoring them, George Washington, soon after, the King Center turned to support from the corporate community and the general public. The success of this strategy was cemented when musician Stevie Wonder released the single Happy Birthday to popularize the campaign in 1980 and hosted the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981. Six million signatures were collected for a petition to Congress to pass the law, senators Jesse Helms and John Porter East led opposition to the holiday and questioned whether King was important enough to receive such an honor. Helms criticized Kings opposition to the Vietnam War and accused him of espousing action-oriented Marxism, Helms led a filibuster against the bill and on October 3,1983, submitted a 300-page document to the Senate alleging that King had associations with communists. New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan declared the document a packet of filth, threw it on the Senate floor, President Ronald Reagan originally opposed the holiday, citing cost concerns. But on November 2,1983, Reagan signed a bill, proposed by Representative Katie Hall of Indiana, the bill had passed the House of Representatives by a count of 338 to 90, a veto-proof margin. The holiday was observed for the first time on January 20,1986, the bill also established the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission to oversee observance of the holiday, and Coretta Scott King, in 2000, Utah became the last state to have a holiday named after King when Human Rights Day was officially changed to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Later that year, Mecham proclaimed the third Sunday in January to be Martin Luther King Jr. /Civil Rights Day in Arizona, in 1990, Arizona voters were given the opportunity to vote on giving state employees a paid MLK holiday. That same year, the National Football League threatened to move Super Bowl XXVII, both measures failed to pass, with only 49% of voters approving Prop 302, the more popular of the two options, although some who voted no on 302 voted yes on Prop 301
14.
Confederate Memorial Day
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Confederate Memorial Day, also called Confederate Heroes Day in Texas, is a public holiday observed by the U. S. The day is marked by observances in many other states. It is observed on April 26 in most Southern states to recall the surrender of their last major field army at Bennett Place on that date in 1865, the war officially ended with the signing of Presidential Proclamation 157 on August 20,1866. In the spring of 1866 the Ladies Memorial Association of Columbus, Georgia, mary Ann Williams, the association secretary, was directed to pen a letter inviting ladies associations in every Southern state to join them in the observance. The actual date for the holiday was selected by Elizabeth Rutherford Ellis and she chose April 26, the first anniversary of Confederate General Johnstons surrender to Major-General Sherman at Bennett Place. For many in the South, that date in 1865 marked the end of the civil war, in a few places, most notably Columbus, Mississippi and Macon, Georgia, Union graves were decorated during the first observance. The day was referred to as Memorial Day by the Baltimore Sun on May 8,1866 after the ladies organization that started it. The name Confederate Memorial Day was not used until the northern observance was initiated in 1868, the GAR eventually adopted the name Memorial Day at their national encampment in 1882. Many theories have offered as to how Logan became aware of the southern tradition he imitated in 1868. In her autobiography, his wife claims she told him about it after a trip to Virginia in the spring of that year and his secretary and his adjutant also claim they told him about it. John Murray of Waterloo, New York claims it was he who inspired Logan in 1868. Bellware and Gardiner, however, offer proof that Logan was aware of the southern tributes long before any of them had a chance to mention it to him. ”In Alabama and it is a public holiday and state offices are closed. In Florida, Confederate Memorial Day is observed on April 26, when it falls upon a Sunday, the public holiday will be observed on the following Monday. In Georgia, the holiday celebrated on April 26 and known as Confederate Memorial Day was observed on the Monday prior to or on April 26, the state capitol and state agencies are closed, as on all state holidays. In 2016, the name Confederate Memorial Day was dropped and April 26 was observed on Monday April 25, in Mississippi, Confederate Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday in April. It is a holiday and state executives may close their respective offices. In South Carolina, Confederate Memorial Day is observed on May 10, if on a Saturday, it shifts to Friday. If Sunday, it will be observed the following Monday, in Louisiana, Confederate Memorial Day is observed on June 3rd
15.
United States presidential inauguration
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The inauguration of the President of the United States is a ceremony to mark the commencement of a new four-year term of a president of the United States. This ceremony takes place for new presidential term, even if the president is continuing in office for a second term. Since 1937, it has taken place on January 20, which is 72 to 78 days after the November presidential election, the term of a president commences at noon on that day, when the Chief Justice administers the oath to the president. However, when January 20 falls on a Sunday, the Chief Justice administers the oath to the president on that day privately and then again in a ceremony the next day, on Monday. The most recent presidential inauguration ceremony was the swearing in of Donald Trump to a term of office on Friday. However, over the years, various traditions have arisen that have expanded the inauguration from a simple oath-taking ceremony to an event, including parades. Since the 1981 inauguration of Ronald Reagan, the ceremony has held at the west front of the United States Capitol. Other swearing-in ceremonies have taken place at the Capitols east portico, inside the Old Senate Chamber, the House chamber, additionally, on two occasions—in 1817 and 1945—they were held at other locations in Washington, D. C. Although the Constitution does not mandate that anyone in particular should administer the oath of office. Since 1789, the oath has been administered at 58 scheduled public inaugurations, by 15 chief justices, one associate justice, when a new president assumed office under these circumstances the inauguration is kept low key, and conducted without pomp or fanfare. The first inauguration, that of George Washington, took place on April 30,1789, all subsequent inaugurations from 1793 until 1933, were held on March 4, the day of the year on which the federal government began operations under the U. S. The exception to this pattern being those years in when March 4 fell on a Sunday, when it did, the public inauguration ceremony would take place on Monday, March 5. This happened on four occasions, in,1821,1849,1877, Inauguration Day moved to January 20, beginning in 1937, following ratification of the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution, where it has remained since. A similar Sunday exception and move to Monday is made around this date as well, there is no in-lieu-of holiday for employees or students who are not regularly scheduled to work or attend school on Inauguration Day. Most presidential inaugurations since 1801 have been held in Washington D. C. at the Capitol Building, prior inaugurations were held, first at Federal Hall in New York City, and then at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Each city was, at the time, the nations capital, the location for James Monroes 1817 swearing in was moved to the Old Brick Capitol in Washington due to on-going restoration work at the Capitol building following the War of 1812. Three other inaugurations—Franklin D. Roosevelts fourth, Harry S. Trumans first, Presidential inaugurations have traditionally been outdoor public ceremonies. Andrew Jackson, in 1829, was the first of 35 held on the east front of the Capitol
16.
Stephen Foster Memorial Day
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Stephen Foster Memorial Day is a United States Federal Observance Day observed on January 13. §140, Stephen Foster Memorial Day celebrates the life of American songwriter Stephen Foster, the date commemorates date that Foster died. The law took effect on November 2,1966, and the day was first observed in January 1967
17.
The Eighth (United States)
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The Eighth was a federal holiday in the United States from 1828 until 1861. It honored the Battle of New Orleans, which place on January 8,1815, with Tennessees Andrew Jackson leading a successful battle against regular British soldiers. The holiday was celebrated widely across the US South after this battle in the War of 1812. The Eighth became a national holiday in 1828, following Jacksons election as President. The Eighth continued as a national holiday from 1828 until the advent of the American Civil War. The holiday remains largely forgotten by the American public, as it was the final war waged against England, it turns out to be Americas second independence. Historians recalled that celebrations were larger than Christmas and was surpassed by Independence Day. Public holidays in the United States Federal holidays in the United States
18.
Super Bowl Sunday
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Super Bowl Sunday is the day on which the Super Bowl, the annual championship for the National Football League, is played. It is usually on the last Sunday in January or the first Sunday in February and is referred to as an unofficial national holiday. The 51st annual event, Super Bowl LI, occurred on February 5,2017, festivities for Super Bowl Sunday typically involve groups of people gathering to watch the game. Both Super Bowl Sunday and Super Sunday are registered trademarks of the National Football League, although not an official holiday, Super Bowl Sunday is an occasion when many families and friends gather together to watch the game, including those who are not normally football fans. Although sports bars have historically been busy on Super Bowl Sunday in the past and this is due in part to the increasing size of home televisions in the United States as well as the attempts of budget conscious consumers to save money. Large amounts of food and alcohol are consumed on Super Bowl Sunday, the event is the second-largest day of food consumption in the United States after Thanksgiving, and some police departments have noticed a dramatic increase in drunk driving on Super Bowl Sunday. Super Bowl Sunday food is served buffet style, rather than as a sit-down meal. Foods traditionally eaten on Super Bowl Sunday include buffalo wings, chili, baby back ribs, dipping sauces, pizza, many pizza delivery businesses see their order numbers double as roughly 60 percent of the take out ordered on Super Bowl Sunday is pizza. Roughly 28,000,000 pounds of chips,1.25 billion chicken wings, and 8,000,000 pounds of guacamole are consumed during the Super Bowl
19.
Black History Month
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It is celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in February, and the United Kingdom in October. From the events initial phase, primary emphasis was placed on encouraging the teaching of the history of American blacks in the nations public schools. C. The American Indian left no continuous record and he did not appreciate the value of tradition, and where is he today. The Hebrew keenly appreciated the value of tradition, as is attested by the Bible itself, in spite of worldwide persecution, therefore, he is a great factor in our civilization. Negro History Week was met with enthusiastic response, it prompted the creation of black history clubs, an increase in interest among teachers, Negro History Week grew in popularity throughout the following decades, with mayors across the United States endorsing it as a holiday. On 21 February 2016, 106-year Washington D. C. resident, when asked by the president why she was there, Virginia said, A black president. And I’m here to celebrate black history, Black History Month was first proposed by Black educators and the Black United Students at Kent State University in February 1969. The first celebration of Black History Month took place at Kent State one year later and he urged Americans to seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history. Black History Month was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1987 and it was first celebrated in London. In 2008, Senator Donald Oliver moved to have the Senate officially recognize Black History Month, Black History Month often sparks an annual debate about the continued usefulness and fairness of a designated month dedicated to the history of one race. Another criticism is that the celebration is racist, Black celebrities such as actor and director Morgan Freeman and actress Stacey Dash have criticized Black History Month, with Freeman saying, I dont want a Black history month. Freeman has argued there was no White History Month, because white people did not want their history relegated to just one month. Board of Education and the Black History Month Syndrome, Harvard Blackletter Law Journal, C. G. Woodson, Negro History Week, Journal of Negro History, vol. Library of Congress Black History Month Website Official UK Black History Month Website Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada Black History Month website Youmanity and Black History Month
20.
Washington's Birthday
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It can occur on the 15th through the 21st of February inclusive. Colloquially, the day is now widely known as Presidents Day and is often an occasion to honor all persons who have served as president. The day is a holiday in most states, with official names including Washingtons Birthday, Presidents Day, Presidents Day. Depending upon the law, the state holiday might officially celebrate Washington alone, Washington and Abraham Lincoln. However, Presidents Day is not always a term and might refer to only a selection of presidents. Several states honor presidents with official state holidays that do not fall on the third Monday of February, in Massachusetts, the state officially celebrates Washingtons Birthday on the same day as the Federal holiday. In New Mexico, Presidents Day, at least as a state-government paid holiday, is observed on the Friday following Thanksgiving, George Washington was officially born on February 11,1731. Consequently, by the 1730s, the Julian calendar used by Britain, furthermore, the British civil year began on 25 March rather than 1 January, so that dates in February belonged to the preceding year. Since, during the 1700s, February 11 under the Julian calendar would fall as February 22 on the Gregorian, the federal holiday honoring Washington was originally implemented by an Act of Congress in 1879 for government offices in Washington and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices. As the first federal holiday to honor an American president, the holiday was celebrated on Washingtons actual birthday, on January 1,1971, the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This date places it between February 15 and 21, which makes the name Washingtons Birthday in some sense a misnomer, since it never occurs on Washingtons actual birthday, the purpose was not to honor any particular President but to honor the office of the Presidency. It was first thought that March 4, the inauguration day. However, the bill recognizing the March 4 date was stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee and that committee felt that, because of its proximity to Lincolns and Washingtons Birthdays, three holidays so close together would be unduly burdensome. During this time, however, the Governors of a majority of the states issued proclamations declaring March 4 to be Presidents Day in their respective jurisdictions. By the mid-1980s, with a push from advertisers, the term Presidents Day began its public appearance, in Washingtons adopted hometown of Alexandria, Virginia, celebrations are held throughout the month of February. Until the late 1980s, corporate businesses generally closed on this day, some public transit systems have also gone to regular schedules on the day. Many colleges and universities hold regular classes and operations on Presidents Day, consequently, some schools, which used to close for a single day for both Lincolns and Washingtons birthday, now often close for the entire week as a mid-winter recess. For example, the New York City school district began doing so in the 1990s, today, the February holiday has become well known for being a day in which many stores, especially car dealers, hold sales
21.
Valentine's Day
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Valentines Day, also called Saint Valentines Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is an annual holiday celebrated on February 14. According to legend, during his imprisonment, Saint Valentine healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius, the day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery. In Europe, Saint Valentines Keys are given to lovers as a romantic symbol, Valentines Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards, Saint Valentines Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion, as well as in the Lutheran Church. Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine, the Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni. Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred in 269 and was added to the calendar of saints by Pope Galesius in 496 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. The flower-crowned skull of Saint Valentine is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, other relics are found at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna and is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian in 273 and he is buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location from Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni, oruch states that abstracts of the acts of the two saints were in nearly every church and monastery of Europe. The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, Saint Valentines head was preserved in the abbey of New Minster, Winchester, and venerated. February 14 is celebrated as St. Valentines Day in various Christian denominations, it has, for example, in addition, the feast day of Saint Valentine is also given in the calendar of saints of the Lutheran Church. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, St. J. C. Cooper, in The Dictionary of Christianity, contemporary records of Saint Valentine were most probably destroyed during this Diocletianic Persecution in the early 4th century. The same events are found in Bedes Martyrology, which was compiled in the 8th century. It states that Saint Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person, Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead, because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing Julia, the jailers daughter and his forty-six member household came to believe in Jesus and were baptized
22.
Groundhog Day
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Groundhog Day is a traditional holiday originating in the United States that is celebrated on February 2. Modern customs of the holiday involve early morning celebrations to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow, Groundhog Day was more widely adopted in the U. S. in 1887. Clymer H. Freas was the editor of the local paper Punxsutawney Spirit at the time, the largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, with Punxsutawney Phil. Groundhog Day, already a recognized and popular tradition, received widespread attention as a result of the 1993 film Groundhog Day. The celebration began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries and it has its origins in ancient European weather lore, in which a badger or a sacred bear is the prognosticator, as opposed to a groundhog. It also bears similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolc, the custom could have been a folk embodiment of the confusion created by the collision of two calendar systems. Some ancient traditions marked the change of season at cross-quarter days such as Imbolc when daylight first makes significant progress against the night, other traditions held that spring did not begin until the length of daylight overtook night at the Vernal Equinox. So an arbiter, the groundhog/hedgehog, was incorporated as a custom to settle the two traditions. Sometimes spring begins at Imbolc, and sometimes winter lasts six weeks until the equinox. However, observation of groundhogs in central New Jersey is that they come out of their burrows in mid-March. The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, other celebrations of note in Pennsylvania take place in Quarryville in Lancaster County, the Anthracite Region of Schuylkill County, and the Sinnamahoning Valley of Bucks County. In 2017 Groundhog Day was scheduled to be observed at zoos in Moscow, St. Petersburg, according to Groundhog Day organizers, the rodents forecasts are accurate 75% to 90% of the time. However, a Canadian study for 13 cities in the past 30 to 40 years found that the patterns predicted on Groundhog Day were only 37% accurate over that time period. According to the StormFax Weather Almanac and records kept since 1887, the National Climatic Data Center has described the forecasts as on average, inaccurate and stated that groundhog has shown no talent for predicting the arrival of spring, especially in recent years. A similar custom is celebrated among Orthodox Christians in Serbia on February 15 during the feast of celebration of Sretenje or The Meeting of the Lord, thus, if it is sunny on Sretenje, it is a sign that the winter is not over yet. If it is cloudy, it is a sign that the winter is about to end. In Germany, June 27 is Siebenschläfertag, if it rains that day, the rest of summer is supposedly going to be rainy. It might seem to refer to the Siebenschläfer squirrel, also known as the edible dormouse, but it actually commemorates the Seven Sleepers
23.
Lincoln's Birthday
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Lincolns Birthday is a legal, public holiday in some U. S. states, observed on the anniversary of Abraham Lincolns birth on February 12,1809 In Hodgensville, Kentucky. Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and New York observe the holiday, in other states, Lincolns birthday is not celebrated separately, as a stand-alone holiday. The earliest known observance of Lincolns birthday occurred in Buffalo, New York, julius Francis, a Buffalo druggist, made it his lifes mission to honor the slain president. He repeatedly petitioned Congress to establish Lincolns birthday as a legal holiday, the day is marked by traditional wreath-laying ceremonies at Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky, and at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C. The latter has been the site of a ceremony ever since the Memorial was dedicated, since that event in 1922, observances continue to be organized by the Lincoln Birthday National Commemorative Committee and by the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. A wreath is laid on behalf of the President of the United States, Lincolns tomb is in Springfield, Illinois. On February 12,2009, the annual wreath-laying ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial commemorated Lincolns 200th birthday in grand fashion. S, as part of Lincolns birthday bicentennial, the U. S. Mint released four new Lincoln cents. The commemorative coins have new designs on the reverse showing stages of his life, the first went into circulation on September 12,2009. The standard portrait of Lincolns head remains on the front. S, New Jersey stopped observing the holiday on September 29,2008 with the enactment of the Public Employee Pension and Benefits Reform Act of 2008. Black History Month has its origin in 19th Century celebrations of Lincolns Birthday by African-American communities in the United States, by the early 20th Century, black communities were annually celebrating Lincolns birthday in conjunction with the birthday of former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass on February 14. The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 when historian Carter G, by the 1970s, Negro History Week had become Black History Month. Black History Month has expanded further to Canada, where it is celebrated in February, and to the United Kingdom. Lincolns Birthday was never a U. S. Federal Government holiday, the third Monday in February remains only Washingtons Birthday in Federal Law. Regardless of the name and purpose, celebrations and commemorations on or about the third Monday often include honoring Lincoln. In Connecticut, Missouri, and Illinois, while Washingtons Birthday is a holiday, Lincolns Birthday is still a state holiday. California still lists Lincolns Birthday as a holiday, but as of 2009 no longer gives State employees a paid holiday on February 12, several states honor presidents with official state holidays that do not fall on the third Monday of February. In New Mexico, Presidents Day, at least as a state-government paid holiday, is observed on the Friday following Thanksgiving
24.
Ronald Reagan Day
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Ronald Reagan Day has also been declared a state holiday in Wisconsin. For the 100th anniversary of Reagans birthday in 2011, governors in 21 states issued proclamations designating February 6 Ronald Reagan Day, as of February 2017,40 governors have issued proclamations declaring Ronald Reagan Day in their respective states. Governor Gray Davis, a Democrat, proclaimed February 6 Ronald Reagan Day in both 2002 and 2003, daviss Republican successor, Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed February 6 Ronald Reagan Day in 2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009, and 2010. Senator George Runner introduced Senate Bill 944 on February 3,2010, the bill passed the Senate Education Committee on March 24,2010, by a 7–0 vote. SB944 was approved by the full Senate on April 8,2010, after its approval in the Senate, SB944 was sent to the Legislatures lower house, where the bill passed the Assembly Education Committee on June 16,2010, by a 5–1 vote. The bill was approved by the full Assembly on June 28,2010, on July 19,2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB944 into law, making Ronald Reagan Day a permanent day of special significance in California. The bill declared the first Ronald Reagan Day to be February 6, schwarzeneggers immediate successor, Jerry Brown proclaimed Ronald Reagan Day in 2011, as obligated by SB944. List of honors named for Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan Legacy Project Ronald Reagan Presidential Library The Ronald Reagan Legacy Project
25.
Rosa Parks Day
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Rosa Parks Day is an American holiday in honor of the civil rights leader Rosa Parks. In the U. S. states of California and Missouri it is celebrated on her birthday, in Ohio and Oregon it is celebrated on the day she was arrested, December 1. Rosa Parks Day was created by the California State Legislature and first celebrated in 2000, the holiday was first designated in the U. S. state of Ohio championed by Joyce Beatty, advocate who helped Ohios legislation pass to honor the late leader. It is also celebrated by the Columbus Ohio bus system with a tribute to the late civil rights leader. As of 2014, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon proclaimed Rosa Parks Day official in the state, in 2014, Oregon governor Kitzhaber declared that Oregon will celebrate its first Rosa Parks Day. Rosa Parks was a seamstress by profession, she was also the secretary for the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP. Twelve years before her history-making arrest, Parks was stopped from boarding a city bus by driver James F. Blake, Parks vowed never again to ride a bus driven by Blake. As a member of the NAACP, Parks was an investigator assigned to cases of sexual assault, in 1945, she was sent to Abbeville, Alabama, to investigate the gang rape of Recy Taylor. The protest that arose around the Taylor case was the first instance of a civil rights protest. In 1955, Parks completed a course in Race Relations at the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee where nonviolent civil disobedience had been discussed as a tactic, on December 1,1955, Parks was sitting in the frontmost row for black people. When a Caucasian man boarded the bus, the bus driver told everyone in her row to move back, at that moment, Parks realized that she was again on a bus driven by Blake. Found guilty on December 5, Parks was fined $10 plus a court cost of $4, gayle, took effect, and led to a United States Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama and Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses to be unconstitutional. Many important figures in the Civil Rights Movement took part in the boycott, including Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. the 381-day boycott almost bankrupted the bus company and effectively made segregation in buses unconstitutional and illegal. Public holidays in the United States Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Malcolm X Day Harriet Tubman Day Susan B, anthony Day International Womens Day Womens Equality Day National Girls and Women in Sports Day Harvey Milk Day
26.
Susan B. Anthony Day
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Anthony Day is a commemorative holiday to celebrate the birth of Susan B. Anthony and womens suffrage in the United States, the holiday is February 15—Anthonys birthday. The idea of honoring Susan B, Anthony with a holiday has only been around since 2011 when Representative Carolyn Maloney introduced the Susan B. Today, only the U. S. state of Florida has the holiday enacted with state offices closed, in the state of Wisconsin, Susan B. Anthony Day is also a state holiday, enacted into law April 15,1976, from the 1975 Laws of Wisconsin, Chapter 307. In West Virginia, this day is celebrated on Election Day on even years and this holiday is not celebrated at a national level. In 1985, The Seattle Times reported on a campaign to establish the holiday as one celebrated nationally, the U. S. state of California has also made this day a legal holiday as of 2014. In 2004, New York governor George Pataki signed legislation that made this a holiday in that state, on February 11,2011, Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York introduced the Susan B. Anthony Birthday Act to the 112th session of Congress to honor the birthday as a U. S. national holiday on the third Monday of February, the bill was not enacted and its current status is dead. Anthony is known for her leadership in the campaign for womens right to vote in the United States. She indicated her interest as early as 1852, when she attended the National Women’s Rights Convention in Syracuse and she was also a vigorous opponent of slavery. In 1863, during the American Civil War, she and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Womens Loyal National League and it collected nearly 400,000 signatures on petitions to abolish slavery in the largest petition drive in the nations history up to that time. By the end of the Civil War, according to historian Ann D. Gordon, Anthony occupied new social and political territory. She was emerging on the scene as a female leader, something new in American history. By the 1880s, she was among the political figures in the United States. After the Civil War, Anthony worked primarily for womens suffrage and this right was established over the course of several decades, first in various states and localities, sometimes on a limited basis. The amendment was popularly known as the Susan B, Anthony Amendment in recognition of her leadership in achieving its passage. She died in 1906, fourteen years before it became the law of the land, Anthony Day Merriam Webster definition of Susan B
27.
Mardi Gras
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Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, reflecting the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season. Related popular practices are associated with Shrovetide celebrations before the fasting, in countries such as England, Mardi Gras is also known as Shrove Tuesday, which is derived from the word shrive, meaning confess. In many areas, the term Mardi Gras has come to mean the period of activity related to the celebratory events. In some American cities, it is now called Mardi Gras Day, the festival season varies from city to city, as some traditions, such as the one in New Orleans, Louisiana, consider Mardi Gras to stretch the entire period from Twelfth Night to Ash Wednesday. Others treat the final period before Ash Wednesday as the Mardi Gras. In earlier times, parades were held on New Years Day, Carnival is an important celebration in Anglican and Catholic European nations. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the week before Ash Wednesday is called Shrovetide and it has its popular celebratory aspects, as well. Pancakes and related fried breads or pastries made with sugar, fat, and eggs are traditionally consumed at this time in many parts of Latin America. The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is an annual LGBT pride parade and festival in Sydney, Australia, attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. In the Belgian city of Binche, the Mardi Gras festival is one of the most important days of the year, around 1000 Gilles dance throughout the city from morning until past dusk, whilst traditional carnival songs play. In 2003, the Carnival of Binche was proclaimed one of the Masterpieces of the Oral, Carnival is the most famous Brazilian holiday. During this time, Brazil attracts 70% of its tourists, variations in carnival celebrations are observed throughout the multitude of Brazilian cities. Yet, a commonality observed among them is the incorporation of samba into the celebrations, the southeastern cities of Brazil have massive parades that take place in large sambadromes. The Rio Carnival is where two million people celebrate in the city, the city of Salvador holds a very large carnival celebration where millions of people celebrate the party in the streets of the city with a very big diversity of musical styles together. Cayman Mardi Gras has now been recognised as one of the national festivals. Celebrating the traditional Fat Tuesday, they also host a festive Monday Food Festival as well as an all day EDM Ash Wednesday, the event attracts thousands of attendees during the 3 day festival and includes a line up of international celebrities and performers. The Cayman Mardi Gras Festival is slowly becoming a major tourist attraction to the island nation, Carnaval de Barranquilla is Colombias Mardi Gras celebration. In 2003, it was proclaimed as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral, in the Czech Republic it is a folk tradition to celebrate Mardi Gras, which is called Masopust
28.
Ash Wednesday
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Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting, is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity. It occurs 46 days before Easter and can fall as early as February 4 or as late as March 10, Ash Wednesday is observed by many Western Christians, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Roman Catholics. According to the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus Christ spent 40 days fasting in the desert. Lent originated as a mirroring of this, fasting 40 days as preparation for Easter, every Sunday was seen as a commemoration of the Sunday of Christs resurrection and so as a feast day on which fasting was inappropriate. Accordingly, Christians fasted from Monday to Saturday during six weeks and from Wednesday to Saturday in the preceding week, orthodox Christians do this 40 days in a row. The words used traditionally to accompany this gesture are, Remember that you are dust, in the 1969 revision of the Roman Rite, an alternative formula was introduced and given first place, Repent, and believe in the Gospel. The old formula, based on the spoken to Adam and Eve after their sin, reminds worshippers of their sinfulness and mortality and thus, implicitly. The newer formula makes explicit what was implicit in the old. Originally, the ashes were strewn over mens heads, but, in the Catholic Church the manner of imposing ashes depends largely on local custom, since no fixed rule has been laid down. The Ash Wednesday ritual of the Church of England, Mother Church of the Anglican Communion, contains The Imposition of Ashes in its Ash Wednesday liturgy. The corresponding Catholic ritual in the Roman Missal for celebration within Mass merely states, Then the Priest places ashes on the head of those present who come to him, and says to each one. The 1969 revision of the Roman Rite inserted into the Mass the solemn ceremony of blessing ashes and placing them on heads, the Book of Blessings contains a simple rite. While the solemn rite would normally be carried out within a church building, while only a priest or deacon may bless the ashes, laypeople may do the placing of the ashes on a persons head. Even in the rite, lay men or women may assist the priest in distributing the ashes. In addition, laypeople take blessed ashes left over after the collective ceremony, at home the ashes are then placed with little or no ceremony. Even those who have been excommunicated and are forbidden to celebrate sacramentals are not forbidden to receive them. After describing the blessing, the rite of Blessing and Distribution of Ashes states, the Catholic Church does not limit distribution of blessed ashes to within church buildings and has suggested the holding of celebrations in shopping centres, nursing homes, and factories. Such celebrations presume preparation of an area and include readings from Scripture and prayers
29.
Courir de Mardi Gras
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The Courir de Mardi Gras is a traditional Mardi Gras event held in many Cajun communities of south Louisiana on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Courir de Mardi Gras is Cajun French for Fat Tuesday Run, the rural Mardi Gras celebration is based on early begging rituals, similar to those still celebrated by mummers, wassailers and celebrants of Halloween. As Mardi Gras is the celebration of the day before Lent, celebrants drink and eat heavily. Popular practices include wearing masks, capuchons, and costumes, overturning social conventions, dancing, drinking alcohol, begging, feasting, whipping, because of violent activities associated with the Ku Klux Klan, Louisiana has a state law prohibiting the wearing of hoods and masks in public. Mardi Gras is one of the few occasions when exceptions are allowed, as are Halloween celebrations, Two HBO series make reference to the tradition. This is similar to other contemporary traditional European customs such as mumming and wassailing which usually occur around Christmas, New Years and these traditions originated in a time when most of the land and money was held by the upper classes. French medieval carnival celebrations also featured contests and races, which may be the origins of the chicken chase associated with the courir, a few of the traditional runs have whipping and penitinece as part of their traditions. These traditions are traced to the Medieval Flagellants, who would hold processions through the streets whipping themselves and sometimes onlookers to beat the sin out of them. Other of the associated with the courir are derived from the folk traditions of Pre-Christian Celtic Europe and are associated with fertility. These traditions were carried to North America by European immigrants during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Cajuns, as they would become known to the rest of the world, have held on to many of their customs, including their language, music, dances. In 1993 documentary film maker Pat Mire chronicled the tradition with his film Dance for a Chicken, The Cajun Mardi Gras. The imagery of the event is represented in work by artists such as Chuck Broussard, Francis Pavy. The increased popularity of Cajun music and culture has led to more nonlocal attention for the event. People escape from ordinary life through the alcohol and the roles they portray in costume, in the early morning the riders or runners or Mardi Gras gather in a central meeting place. As they gather, Le Capitaine and his co-capitaines explain the rules, the Capitaine usually rides on horseback, wears a cape and carries a small flag. After he organizes the troop, the begin to play. Traditions vary in each town with the way it is carried out, some towns have people on horse back, some on trailers and some on foot, and others use a variation of all three methods
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Super Tuesday
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More delegates to the presidential nominating conventions can be won on Super Tuesday than on any other single day of the primary calendar. Thus, candidates seeking the presidency traditionally must do well on this day to secure their partys nomination. In fact, convincing wins in Super Tuesday primaries have usually propelled candidates to their partys nomination, Super Tuesday is in either February or March of the presidential election year. During the 2016 election year, Super Tuesday was held on March 1, the particular states holding primaries on Super Tuesday have varied from year to year since each state decides separately. Some years have had more than one Super Tuesday, the phrase Super Tuesday has been used to refer to presidential primary elections since at least 1976. It is a term used by journalists and political pundits. In 2016, this date was dubbed the SEC Primary since many of the participating states are represented in the Southeastern Conference. Tuesday is the day for elections in the United States. State law determines how each parties delegates are chosen in that state including by either an election or a caucus. State governments are free to choose whichever date they want for their states primary or caucus, with the broadened use of the modern presidential primary system, states have tried to increase their influence in the nomination process. One tactic has been to create geographic blocs to encourage candidates to spend time in a region, the 1984 primary season had three Super Tuesdays. Decided on Super Tuesday III were delegates from five states, South Dakota, New Mexico, West Virginia, California, however, Gary Hart maintained that unpledged superdelegates that had previously announced support for Mondale would shift to his side if he swept the Super Tuesday III primary. Once again, Hart committed a faux pas, insulting New Jersey shortly before the primary day. Compounding the problem, when his wife interjected that she got to hold a koala bear, Hart replied that I wont tell you what I got to hold, while Hart won California, he lost New Jersey after leading in polls by as much as 15 points. Mondale secured the majority of delegates from the primaries, leading the way for him to take the Democratic nomination, in the 1984 Republican Party primaries, incumbent President Ronald Reagan was the only candidate to secure delegates. In the 1988 Democratic Party primaries, Southern Democrats came up with the idea of a primary in an effort to nominate a moderate candidate who would more closely represent their interests. However, Dick Gephardt, Jesse Jackson, Al Gore, and Michael Dukakis split the Super Tuesday primaries, meanwhile, George H. W. Bush secured most of the delegates in the 1988 Republican Party primaries. From 1996 to 2004, most of these Southern primaries were held the week after Super Tuesday, in 1992, Super Tuesday was on March 10
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Irish-American Heritage Month
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It was first celebrated in 1991. The heritage month is in March to coincide with Saint Patricks Day, heritage Months are usually proclaimed by nations to celebrate centuries of contributions by a group to a country. Saint Patricks Day is a Roman Catholic religious holiday that honors the saint and it has developed in the United States as a celebration of all things Irish. With large ethnic Irish populations, Boston and New York City both claim the worlds first Saint Patricks Day parade, while Philadelphia claims to be the second oldest behind New York City. In New York City, it occurred on 17 March 1762, featuring Irish soldiers serving in the British military protecting the Colonies during the French and Indian War. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman, of Scottish descent, attended the New York Saint Patricks Day parade and this was a proud moment for the many Irish whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and prejudice to find acceptance in the United States. In 1960 John F. Kennedy was elected as the first Irish American Catholic President, within the authority of the Executive Branch, the President of the United States has also issued a proclamation each year since 1991. Each year in March, the Irish Taoiseach visits the United States for Saint Patricks Day, a Shamrock Ceremony takes place in the morning at the White House where a crystal bowl containing shamrock, a traditional symbol of Ireland, is presented to the President in the Oval Office. This is followed by a Friends of Ireland luncheon hosted by the House Speaker in the U. S. Capitol or the Rayburn House Office Building, the luncheon is attended by the President, Vice President, the Taoiseach, the Speaker, and other officials. In the evening, a Saint Patricks Day Reception takes place at the White House
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Women's History Month
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Womens History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. In the United States, Womens History Month traces its beginnings back to the first International Womens Day in 1911, in 1978, the school district of Sonoma, California participated in Womens History Week, an event designed around the week of March 8. In 1979 a fifteen-day conference about womens history was held at Sarah Lawrence College from July 13 until July 29 and it was co-sponsored by Sarah Lawrence College, the Womens Action Alliance, and the Smithsonian Institution. They also agreed to support an effort to secure a National Womens History Week, in February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8,1980, as National Womens History Week. The proclamation stated, From the first settlers who came to our shores, from the first American Indian families who befriended them, too often the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well, as Dr. Gerda Lerner has noted, Women’s History is Women’s Right. It is an essential and indispensable heritage from which we can draw pride, comfort, courage, I ask my fellow Americans to recognize this heritage with appropriate activities during National Women’s History Week, March 2–8,1980. I urge libraries, schools, and community organizations to focus their observances on the leaders who struggled for equality - Susan B, anthony, Sojourner Truth, Lucy Stone, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Tubman, and Alice Paul. Understanding the true history of our country will help us to comprehend the need for equality under the law for all our people. Carter was referring to the Equal Rights Amendment, which was never ratified, in 1981, responding to the growing popularity of Womens History Week, Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep Barbara Mikulski co-sponsored the first Joint Congressional Resolution proclaiming a Womens History Week. Congress passed their resolution as Pub. L. 97-28, which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7,1982 as “Women’s History Week. Throughout the next years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as Women’s History Week. Schools across the country began to have their own local celebrations of Womens History Week. By 1986, fourteen states had declared March as Womens History Month, in 1987, after being petitioned by the National Womens History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as Women’s History Month. Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month, since 1988, U. S. presidents have issued annual proclamations designating the month of March as Women’s History Month. State departments of education began to encourage celebrations of Womens History Month as a way to promote equality among the sexes in the classroom. Within a few years, thousands of schools and communities began to celebrate of Womens History Month. They planned engaging and stimulating programs about womens roles in history and society, with support and encouragement from governors, city councils, school boards, and the U. S. Congress
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Saint Patrick's Day
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Saint Patricks Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick, is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, cèilidhs, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks. Saint Patricks Day is a holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is also celebrated by the Irish diaspora around the world, especially in Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia. Saint Patricks Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival, modern celebrations have been greatly influenced by those of the Irish diaspora, particularly those that developed in North America. In recent years, there has been criticism of Saint Patricks Day celebrations for having become too commercialised, Patrick was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Much of what is known about Saint Patrick comes from the Declaration and it is believed that he was born in Roman Britain in the fourth century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest in the Christian church, according to the Declaration, at the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland. It says that he spent six years working as a shepherd. The Declaration says that God told Patrick to flee to the coast, after making his way home, Patrick went on to become a priest. According to tradition, Patrick returned to Ireland to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity, the Declaration says that he spent many years evangelising in the northern half of Ireland and converted thousands. Patricks efforts against the druids were eventually turned into an allegory in which he drove out of Ireland. Tradition holds that he died on 17 March and was buried at Downpatrick, over the following centuries, many legends grew up around Patrick and he became Irelands foremost saint. Todays St Patricks Day celebrations have been influenced by those that developed among the Irish diaspora. Until the late 20th century, St Patricks Day was often a celebration among the diaspora than it was in Ireland. Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, Irish traditional music sessions, there are also formal gatherings such as banquets and dances, although these were more common in the past. St Patricks Day parades began in North America in the 18th century, the participants generally include marching bands, the military, fire brigades, cultural organisations, charitable organisations, voluntary associations, youth groups, fraternities, and so on. However, over time, many of the parades have become akin to a carnival
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Casimir Pulaski Day
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He is praised for his contributions to the U. S. military in the American Revolution and known as the father of the American cavalry. The day is celebrated mainly in areas that have large Polish populations, such as Chicago and Bloomington and this is a separate holiday from the federal observance, General Pulaski Memorial Day, which commemorates Pulaskis death from wounds suffered at the Siege of Savannah on October 9,1779. Illinois enacted a law on September 13,1977, to celebrate the birthday of Casimir Pulaski, the bill was introduced by State Senator Norbert A. Kosinski, a Democrat from Chicago, and signed by Thomas Hynes, President of the Senate, on June 26,1977. Cook County government offices, the Chicago Public Library, and statewide public, Wisconsin public schools also observe Casimir Pulaski Day, although they do not close for it. Banks in Illinois may close for the holiday, the use of shall denotes this as a mandatory requirement. Each public school in Wisconsin must observe Casimir Pulaski Day on March 4, how the day is observed — appropriately — allows for some discretion among the schools. Buffalo, New York also acknowledges a Pulaski Day, which is held in the middle of July, and is celebrated with an annual parade. On November 6,2009, President Barack Obama signed a joint resolution of the U. S. Senate and he is one of eight people to be granted honorary United States citizenship. Grand Rapids, Michigan hosts a Pulaski Days celebration annually on the first full weekend of October in recognition of General Pulaski, michigan-born songwriter Sufjan Stevens titled a song Casimir Pulaski Day on his album Illinois. Big Black, a Chicago-based post-hardcore band active between 1982 and 1987, have a song titled Kasimir S. Pulaski Day, Chicago-based alternative hip-hop artist Kidd Russell titled a song Pulaski Day produced by Cisco Adler. The single was released on Pulaski Day 2012, and was featured on the front page of Vevo, the video has a cameo from professional wrestler Colt Cabana. The song is a track that features lyrics about Chicago in the summer time. North beach in the time, lake shore drive is on my mind, no matter where I go. Andrew Bird released a song entitled Pulaski at Night, painting a picture of Pulaski at Night and enticing a lover to return to Chicago. In Gilmore Girls, season 3, episode 14 entitled, Swan Song and season 4, episode 16 entitled, The Reigning Lorelai, in the middle of the season 4 episode, Nicole and Luke are seen fighting outside right in front of the statue. Von Steuben Day Public holidays in Illinois Casimir Pulaski Day
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Cesar Chavez Day
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Cesar Chavez Day is a federal commemorative holiday in the U. S. by proclamation of President Obama in 2014. On March 31 of each year, it celebrates the birth and legacy of the civil rights, Cesar Chavez was an American farm worker, labor leader and civil rights activist, who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association. It is commemorated to promote service to the community in honor of Cesar Chavezs life, some state government offices, community colleges, libraries, and public schools are closed. Texas also recognizes the day, and it is a holiday in Arizona. Americans are urged to observe this day with appropriate service, community, as a senator, Barack Obama made a call in 2008 for a national holiday in Chavezs honor, saying, Chavez left a legacy as an educator, environmentalist, and a civil rights leader. As farm workers and laborers across America continue to struggle for fair treatment and fair wages, and we should honor him for what hes taught us about making America a stronger, more just, and more prosperous nation. Thats why I support the call to make Cesar Chavezs birthday a national holiday and its time to recognize the contributions of this American icon to the ongoing efforts to perfect our union. Grassroots organizations continue to advocate to create a national holiday, on March 30,2011, President Obama reiterated his support for the cause, Cesar Chavezs legacy provides lessons from which all Americans can learn. Cesar Chavez Day has been celebrated in Reno, Nevada, since 2003, a state law passed in 2009 requires Nevadas governor to annually issue a proclamation declaring March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day. On March 28,2014, President Obama used his authority to proclaim March 31 as the national Cesar Chavez Day, Cesar Chavez Day as a national holiday has gained support from musician Carlos Santana, civil rights and labor leaders. Rallies were held in 2006 in Los Angeles with the goal of raising awareness beyond California, currently, a major obstacle to this day becoming a national holiday is caused by a rule in Congress that prevents bills with national holiday provisions from being introduced. The holiday proposal would need to overcome that obstacle before legislation can be introduced, public holidays in the United States Susan B. Anthony Day Harriet Tubman Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day Harvey Milk Day Rosa Parks Day A Model curriculum for teaching Cesar Chavezs legacy
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Evacuation Day (Massachusetts)
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Evacuation Day is a holiday observed on March 17 in Suffolk County, Massachusetts and also by the public schools in Somerville, Massachusetts. The holiday commemorates the evacuation of British forces from the city of Boston following the Siege of Boston, schools and government offices are closed. If March 17 falls on a weekend, schools and government offices are closed on the following Monday in observance and it is the same day as Saint Patricks Day, a coincidence that played a role in the establishment of the holiday. The 11-month siege of Boston ended when the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, British General William Howe, whose garrison and navy were threatened by these positions, was forced to decide between attack and retreat. To prevent what could have been a repeat of the Battle of Bunker Hill, Howe decided to retreat, the British evacuation was Washingtons first victory of the war. It was also a huge morale boost for the Thirteen Colonies, the state made it a holiday in Suffolk County in 1938. The large Irish population of Boston at that time played a role in the establishment of the holiday, a 1941 law establishing the holiday in Suffolk County was signed in both black and green ink. Evacuation Day activities in the areas that observe the holiday are limited, most events of note, like the annual parade and politicians breakfast in South Boston, are dominated by celebrations of Irish culture. The parade is designated the Saint Patricks Day and Evacuation Day Parade. The Allied War Veterans of South Boston mark the day with a ceremony on Dorchester Heights, mayor Thomas Menino boycotted the parade every year he was in office, in protest of the exclusion of GLB marchers. Another local holiday observing an event in the American Revolutionary War is Bunker Hill Day, state workers outside Suffolk County are allowed to choose any two days off in lieu of celebrating Evacuation Day and Bunker Hill Day on the observance days. The two holidays are not observed by the private businesses. In Charlestown, where the Battle of Bunker Hill took place, some government services remain in operation, such as trash pickup in the City of Boston and all state Registry of Motor Vehicle offices. The MBTA runs a schedule but, due to special events, prohibits bicycles on the subway. In 2010, the legislature debated eliminating Evacuation Day and Bunker Hill Day as official holidays, citing the expense of giving state. The states FY2011 budget requires all state and municipal offices in Suffolk County be open on both days, patriots Day Massacre Day Evacuation Day OConnor, Thomas H. South Boston, My Home Town, The History of an Ethnic Neighborhood, when in Boston, a time line & almanac. Archived from the original on March 18,2009
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