Happy New Year

So this is 2011. Too wet. #2 Son almost drowned, but still set off fireworks in a "war" with the other neighborhood kids. The kind of war where everyone has fun and comes out a winner.

The kittens have gotten the upper respiratory infection from Kida Cat. Can't go to adoption events until they are clear of it.

In the good news, Sweetie cleaned his side of the bedroom, got rid of all those old magazines.

Be careful what you do today, the legend is that whatever you do on the New Year's Day is what you will be doing a great deal of for the whole rest of the year.


Today is:

Bad Hangover Day

Black Nazarene Fiesta (through Jan. 9) -- Philippines

Bonza Bottler Day

Cape Town Minstrel Carnival (previously called Coon Carnival) -- South Africa (equivalent of Mardi Gras)

Constitution Day -- Italy

Day of the Establishment of the Slovak Republic -- Slovakia

Eighth Day of Christmas

Father Frost Day -- Russia (Sometimes called Grandfather Frost, an equivalent of Santa Claus who visits on New Year's Day.)

Feast of St. Basil -- Orthodox Christian

First-Foot Day (Make sure an auspicious or good person is the first to set foot in your home for the New Year.)

Fruitcake Toss Day

Gantan-sai (New Years) -- Shinto

Independence Day -- Brunei; Czech Republic; Haiti; Sudan

Kalends of January

Kwanzaa, Day 7 (final day) -- Imani (faith)

Mary, Mother of God -- Catholic Christian

Mummer's Parade -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

National Bloody Mary Day

National Tree Planting Day -- Tanzania

New Year's Day

New Year's Dishonor List Day

Polar Swim Day -- Vancouver

Restoration Day of the Independent Czech State - Czech Republic

Sacrifice to Fortuna -- Ancient Roman Calendar (Sacrifice something to the goddess of Fortune so she will give you a good year.

Shogatsu, Japan (New Year, most important holiday of the year)

Shusho-e Matsuri (through the 14th) -- Buddhists in Japan

St. Agatha's Day (protector from starvation, fire)

St. Basil's Day (Patron of hospital administrators)

St. Clarus' Day (patron against myopia)

St. Odilo's Day

St. Fulgentius' Day

St. Telemachus' Day

Tournament of Roses Parade

Triumph of the Revolution -- Cuba

Universal Hour of Peace (noon, Greenwich Mean Time)

Vienna New Year's Concert -- Vienna, Austria

Z Day


Birthdays Today:

Verne "Mini-Me" Troyer, 1969
Kathleen Casey, 1946
Don Novello, 1943
J. D. Salinger, 1919
Barry Goldwater, 1909
Xavier Cugat, 1900
J. Edgar Hoover, 1895
EM Forster, 1879
Betsy Ross, 1752
Paul Revere, 1735


Today in History:

The Julian Calendar takes effect for the first time, BC45
Origin of the Christian Era, 1
The last gladiator competion in Rome, 404
Muhammad sets out toward Mecca with his army, 630
Jews of Sicily are no longer required to attend conversionist services, 1430
Portuguese navigators become the first Europeans to see the Guanabara Bay, which they thought was the mouth of a river and first called Rio de Janeiro (River of January), 1502
Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of March 25, 1600
German astronomer Simon Marius first sees Jupiter's moons (he did not report them, though, Galileo did, on July 10 of the same year), 1610
Samuel Pepys makes his first diary entry, 1660
The first traveler's cheques go on sale in London, for use in 90 European cities, 1772
The Irish Parliament votes to join the Kingdom of Great Britain, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1801
The dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi, 1801
Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tay San Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Hue, Vietnam, 1803
Haiti gains independence from France (National Day), 1804
Import of slaves into the US is banned, 1808
The first homestead under the Homestead Act claimed, near Beatrice, Nebraska, 1863
Japan begins using the Gregorian Calendar, 1873
England's Queen Victoria proclaimed empress of India, 1877
Twenty-five nations adopt Sanford Fleming's proposal for Standard Time and Time Zones, 1885
The first Tournament of Roses is held, 1900
The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia, 1901
Vancouver, BC starts driving on the right side of road, 1922
Turkey adopts the Gregorian calendar: December 18, 1926 (Julian), is immediately followed by January 1, 1927 (Gregorian), 1927
Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god, 1946
The European Community is established, 1958
United States Navy SEALs established, 1962
The Internet's Domain Name System is created, 1985
The first British mobile phone call is made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone, 1985
A single market within the European Community is introduced, 1993
The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect 1994
The World Trade Organization goes into effect, 1995
The European Central Bank is established, 1998
The Euro currency is introduced in 11 countries, 1999
Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states, 2002
Taiwan officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei, 2002
The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty officially comes into force, 2002
Sydney, Australia swelters through its hottest New Years Day on record. The thermometer peaked at 45 °C (113 °F), sparking bushfires and power outages, 2006
Bulgaria and Romania officially join the European Union. Also, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Irish become official languages of the European Union, 2007
Malta and Cyprus officially adopt the Euro currency and become the fourteenth and fifteenth Eurozone countries, 2008