My Favorite Ginger (Awww Monday) and Inspiring Quote of the Week

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.) 

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Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

My favorite ginger:

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Sparks, the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, is on hiatus, so here's an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.

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Today is:

Assembly Line Workers' Day -- listed on many sites but no particular reason for it to be this day; then again, why not today?

Ati-Atihan Festival -- Aklan, Kalibo, Panay Island, Philippines (start of the vivid religious carnival/feast dating back to the 13th century to honor Santo Nino [Baby Jesus]; through the 20th)

Australian Open -- Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia (part of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments; through the 27th)

Azhirnikhua -- Abkhazia (Day of World Creation)

Cakes and Ale Day -- emblems of the good life, a day to remember the good things we have, and be grateful

Celebration of the 2nd Week of Moonhopper -- Fairy Calendar

Clean Off Your Desk Day -- me and what army? (Note:  some sites put this as always on Jan. 9, some the second Monday of January; either way, my question remains)

Daikoku Matsuri -- Kanda Myojin Shine, Tokyo, Japan (purification ceremony; through tomorrow)

Day of Defenders of the Native Land (Army Day) -- Uzbekistan

Eugenio Maria de Hostos' Day -- Puerto Rico (birth anniv. obs.)

Feast of Divina Pastora -- Barquisimeto, Venezuela (religious procession attended by about 2 million people)

Feast of the Ass -- Medieval Christianity (commemorates the Flight Into Egypt)

International Kite Festival -- Jaipur and Ahmedabad, India

Makar Sandranti -- India/Hindu Calendar (part of the sidereal solstice festivals)

National Dress Up Your Pet Day -- do you really dislike your pet this much?

National Forest Conservation Day -- Thailand

National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day

Niino no Yukimatsuri -- Izu shrine, Niino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan (snow festival with offerings made to bring a good harvest in the coming year; through tomorrow)

North American International Auto Show -- Detroit, MI, US (a showcase for the world's vehicle introductions; through the 27th)

Organize Your Home Day -- another one that i can't figure out who started it, but i will say s/he was nuts to think this could be done in one day

Orthodox New Year -- RS, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Serbia

Pongal continues -- Tamil New Year, among the Tamil People (multiple day thanksgiving festival at the end of harvest)

    Tamil Thai Pongal Day -- Sri Lanka

    Maghi Parba/Maghe Sankranti -- Western Nepal

Ratification Day -- US (anniversary of the Treaty of Paris that recognized the independence of the US from England)

Revolution and Youth Day -- Tunisia

Seijin-no-hi -- Japan (Adult's Day, or Coming of Age Day; celebrating all who have reached age 20, full legal adult age, in the past year)

Sidereal Winter Solstice Celebrations -- throughout South and Southeast Asia

St. Felix of Nola's Day (Patron of domestic animals, eyes; Nola, Italy; against eye diseases, false witness, lies, perjury)

St. Sava's Day (Patron of Serbia and all Serbs)

Take a Missionary to Lunch Day -- to honor Albert Schweitzer's birth anniversary

Anniversaries Today:

Joe DiMaggio marries Marilyn Monroe, 1954

Birthdays Today:

Kristin Cavallari, 1987

Jason Bateman, 1969

Emily Watson, 1967

Shepard Smith, 1964

Steven Soderbergh, 1963

Lawrence Kasdan, 1949

Carl Weathers, 1948

Nina Totenberg, 1944

Holland Taylor, 1943

Faye Dunaway, 1941

Jack Jones, 1938

Andy Rooney, 1919

William Bendix, 1906

John dos Passos, 1896

Hal Roach, 1892

Hugh Lofting, 1886

Albert Schweitzer, 1875

Thornton W. Burgess, 1874

Richard Felton Outcault, 1863

Matthew Fontaine Maury, 1806

Benedict Arnold, 1741

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Bionic Woman"(TV), 1976

"Sanford and Son"(TV), 1972

"Sinfonia Antartica"(Vaughan Williams' 7th symphony), 1953

"Today Show"(TV), 1952

"Tosca"(Puccini Opera), 1900

Today in History:

The Knights Templar are formally approved by the Roman Catholic Church, 1129

Pope Leo X issues a papal bull against slavery, 1514

Spain annexes Cuba, 1539

The "Fundamental Orders", the first written constitution that created a government, is adopted in Connecticut, 1639

Massachusetts holds a day of fasting for wrongly accusing "witches", 1699

Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, formally ending the American Revolutionary War, 1783

The US Supreme Court rules that racial separation on trains is unconstitutional, 1878

An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills more than 1000, 1907

Henry Ford introduces the assembly line to the production of the Model-T, 1914

The first prototype of the MiG-17 makes its maiden flight, 1950

The Reserve Bank of Australia, the country's central bank and banknote issuing authority, is established, 1960

Toronto, Ontario Mayor Mel Lastman becomes the first mayor in Canada to call in the Army to help with emergency medical evacuations and snow removal after more than one meter of snow paralyzes the city, 1999

The national flag of Georgia, the so-called "five cross flag", is restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years, 2004

Landing of the Huygens probe on Saturn's moon Titan, 2005

The MESSENGER spacecraft performs a Mercury flyby, 2008

American rock climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson become the first to successfully free-climb the Dawn Wall face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, 2015

Christmas Baby Visit (Awww Monday) and Inspiring Quote of the Week

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.) 

***********************************

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

Baby Lee came by for a visit in his Christmas jammies:

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Sparks, the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, is on hiatus, so here's an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.

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Wishing all of you a blessed and beautiful Happy New Year!

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Today is:

Check Your Smoke Alarms Day (and not a bad idea to check the carbon monoxide detectors and check to see if you need new fire extinguishers, too) 

Fairy Eve's Year News -- Fairy Calendar

Feast of Sharaf (Honor) -- Baha'i

International Solidarity Day -- Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis worldwide

Kwanzaa, Day 6, Kuumba (Creativity)

Leap Second Adjustment Day -- if a second needs to be added or subtracted to coordinate the atomic and astronimical time, it will be done today, buy the International Earth Rotation Service of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures at Paris, France

Make Up Your Mind Day/Procrastinator's Day -- you have to make up your mind

National Champagne Day

New Year's Eve -- a selection of related observances

    Allendale Tar Barrel Burning/Baal Fire Festival -- Allendale, England (locals burn out the old year by carrying burning tar barrels on their heads, then use them to light one huge bonfire)

    Feast of Father Time -- because he ultimately overcomes us all

    Festival of Yemaya -- Yoruba/Santeria (celebration of the mother of the sun and moon)

    Fire and Ice New Year's Eve Celebration -- Anchorage, AK (fire jugglers, ice carvers, fireworks, and more)

    First Night -- a non-alcoholic alternative to New Year's Eve

    Fravartigan -- Parsi Zoroastrian (celebration to honor the dead through the night)

    Gamlarskvold -- Icelandic traditions; cows gain human speech, seals take on human form, the dead rise, and Elves move house

               obtain gold from the Elves by sitting at a crossroads and waiting for them to pass

               Housewives greet the Elves by reciting the rhyme of protection

                       Let those who want to, arrive

                       Let those who want to, leave

                       Let those who want to, Stay

                       Without harm to me or mine

               Light a bonfire, and "blow out the year" with fireworks 

    Harvest Day Celebrations -- Benin (celebration of the end of harvest season at the turn of the year)

    Hogmanay Day -- Scotland (Auld Year's Night)

    Japanese Observances (a few, at least)

         Joya no Kane -- Japan (ringing out the old year with temple bells; Buddhists believe humans are born with 108 worldly desires which are removed when the bells are rung 108 times)

         Namahge -- Oga Peninsula, Japan (devil appearing holiday; young men dress as demons and run through the town warning children to behave during the coming year)

         Okera Matsuri -- Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto, Japan (Sacred Fire Rite)

         Omisoka Day -- Japan (the second most important day on the Japanese Calendar; tomorrow is the most important)

    Noche de Pedimento -- Oaxaca, Mexico (Night of the Petition)

    Ritual for Iemanja -- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (seaside rituals for the goddess of the sea and carnal pleasure, followed by a swinging party in the city and on the beaches overnight)

    Samoan Fire Dance -- Samoa

    Swinging the Fireballs -- Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, Scotland

    Universal Hour of Peace -- begins at 11:30pm your local time, welcome the New Year with peace

    Watch Night -- Christian

    World Peace Meditation Day (International observance of one hour beginning 12:00 PM GMT, focusing thought and energy on peace.)

No Resolution Day / Ditch the Resolutions Day -- if you don't want to, you don't have to!

Restoration Day -- Geneva, Switzerland

Seventh Day of Christmas

St. Sylvester's Day (Patron of Feroleto Antico, Italy; Poggio Catino, Italy) related observances

    Saint Sylvester's Day Celebrations-- Belgium, Germany, France and Switzerland

    Silvesterklause -- Urnäsch, Switzerland

St. Zoticus of Constantinople's Day (Patron of the poor; often titled Feeder of Orphans)

You're All Done Day -- sponsored by something i haven't been able to pin down online called The Long Haul Committee (and it's more like "all done in" if you are like me!)

Anniversaries Today:

Gregory Peck marries Veronique Passani, 1955

Rocky Marciano marries Barbara Cousins, 1950

Bette Davis marries Arthur Farnsworth, 1940

Birthdays Today:

Joe McIntyre, 1972

Nicholas Sparks, 1965

Val Kilmer, 1959

Bebe Neuwirth, 1958

James Remar, 1953

Donna Summer, 1948

Tim Matheson, 1947

Barbara Carrera, 1945

Diane Halfin von Furstenberg, 1945

John Denver, 1943

Ben Kingsley, 1943

Andy Summers, 1942

Sarah Miles, 1941

Anthony Hopkins, 1937

Odetta, 1930

Simon Wiesenthal, 1908

George C. Marshall, 1880

Henri Matisse, 1869

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The London Eye(World's Largest Ferris Wheel), 1999

"Lost in Yonkers"(Play), 1990

"Pirates of Penzance"(Comic Opera), 1879

Today in History:

80,000 Vandals, Alans and Suebians attack the Rhine at Mainz, crossing into and beginning the invasion of Gallia, 406

Byzantine General Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Ostrogothic garrison of Syracuse, and ending his consulship for the year, 535

Ch'an monk Ho-tse Shen-hui interred in a stupa built in China, 765

James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma, Spain) thus consummating the Christian conquest of the island of Majorca, 1229

100,000 Jews expelled from Sicily, 1492

The British East India Company chartered, 1600

The first Huguenots depart France to Cape of Good Hope, 1687

A window tax is imposed in England, causing many shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid the tax, 1695

Rhode Island establishes wage & price controls to curb inflation: Limit is 70 cents a day for carpenters, 42 cents for tailors, 1776

Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada, 1857

The cornerstone is laid for Honolulu, Hawai'i's Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the US, 1879

Edison gives 1st public demonstration of his incandescent lamp, 1879

Ellis Island (NYC) opens as a US immigration depot, 1890

Brooklyn's last day as a city, it incorporates into NYC (1/1/1898), 1897

Boers & British army sign peace treaty, 1902

The first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square, then known as Longacre Square, in New York, New York, 1904

For the first time a ball drops at Times Square to signal the new year, 1907

The last San Francisco firehorses are retired, 1921

The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast on radio for the first time by the BBC, 1923

Dr R N Harger's "drunkometer," the first breath test, is introduced in Indiana, 1938

The farthing coin ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom, 1960

The Central African Federation officially collapses and splits into Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia, 1963

The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government, 1983

All official Soviet Union institutions have ceased operations by this date and the Soviet Union is officially dissolved, 1991

Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved in what is dubbed by media as the Velvet Divorce, resulting in the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, 1992

This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones, 1994

The European Exchange Rate Mechanism freezes the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone, and establishes the value of the euro currency, 1998

The United States Government hands control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama, 1999

The official opening of Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper at that time in the world, 2004

Italy's ban of plastic bags goes into effect, 2010

A ship abandoned by human traffickers who deliberately set it on a collision course with the Italian coast is brought to shore safely by the Italian Coast Guard with 900 Syrian refugees on board, 2014

Smiling Baby (Awww Monday) and Inspiring Quote of the Week

(Because some people like Blogger and some like WordPress, i am putting the same content at both.  If you would prefer to read this on the other site, it is linked here.) 

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Awww Monday

Awww Monday is hosted by Sandee, of Comedy Plus.

Join us every Monday for Awww...Mondays.  Post a picture that makes you say Awww... and that's it.

Make sure you get the code from Sandee's site, linked above, and leave a link to your post so we can visit you.  What better way to start the week than with a smile!

My foster grandbaby, Lee, almost always has a smile!

***********************************

Sparks, the brainchild of Annie of McGuffy's Reader, is on hiatus, so here's an Inspiring Quote of the Week in her honor.

***********************************

Today is:

Christmas Festival in Salvador -- Salvador, Brazil (one fun party, with many different activities, that begins around now, lasts until New Year's Day)

Clean Air Act Day -- US (passed this day 1963; a day to give thanks for the air we breathe)

Cookie Cutter Day

Daniel the Prophet's Day -- Orthodox Catholic Feast Day

Feast of Babalu Aye -- Yoruba/Santeria (celebration of the healer of deadly diseases)

Feast of the Fairy Godmothers -- Fairy Calendar

Hagoita Ichi -- Sensoji Temple, Japan (sale of specially decorated paddles, called hagoita; through the 19th)

Icelandic Yuletide Lad of the Day, Askasleikir -- Bowl-licker, who hides under the bed and snatches bowls set on the floor to lick them clean

Kasuga Wakamiya Festival -- Nara, Japan (rarely performed traditional dances at a festival held every year since 1136)

National Day -- Bhutan

National Maple Syrup Day

Procession of Agnios Dionysios -- Zakynthos, Greece (one of the biggest festivals of the year, when the relics of this island's patron saint is honored)

Saturnalia begins (through Dec. 23) -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival for Saturn, the planter god)

Sow Day -- Orkney Islands, Scotland (ritual slaughter of a sow for the Yule feast)

St. Lazarus of Bethany's Day

Take a New Year's Resolution to Stop Smoking -- Tanyrtss, the annual campaign goes through February; make the decision now to improve your life and health next year     

Wright Brother's Day -- US

Anniversary Today:

Tiny Tim weds Miss Vicky, 1969

Birthdays Today:

Milla Jovovich, 1975

Duff Goldman, 1974

Sean Patrick Thomas, 1970

Mike Mills, 1958

Bill Pullman, 1954

Wes Studi, 1947

Eugene Levy, 1946

Chris Matthews, 1945

Ernie Hudson, 1945

Bernard Hill, 1944

Tommy Steele, 1936

Bob Guccione, 1930

William Safire, 1929

Willard Frank Libby, 1908

Arthur Fiedler, 1894

John Greenleaf Whittier, 1807

W. L. Mackenzie King, 1874

Joseph Henry, 1797

Deborah Sampson, 1760

William Floyd, 1734

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Simpsons"(TV), 1989

Turner Broadcasting System(Cable TV Network), 1976

"El Pessebre"(Casals' Oratorio), 1960

"On The Beach"(Film), 1959

Today in History:

The Ostrogoths of King Totila conquer Rome by bribing the Byzantine garrison, 546

Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud's armies in Delhi are defeated by Timur, 1398

Pope Paul III excommunicates England's King Henry VIII, 1538

Go-Yozei becomes Emperor of Japan, 1586

Shimabara Rebellion: Japanese peasants led by Amakusa Shiro rise against daimyo Matsukura Shigeharu, 1637

Congregation Shearith Israel of NY purchases a lot on Mill Street in lower Manhattan, to build NY's first synagogue, 1728

France recognizes independence of English colonies in America, 1777

Aztec calendar stone discovered in Mexico City, 1790

NYC traffic regulation creates first 1-way street, 1791

Opening of the first legislative assembly of Lower Canada in Quebec city, 1792

The US state of Kentucky abolishes debtors prisons, 1821

General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky, 1862

First performance of the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert, 1865

Violent riots in Montreal, as workers demand work or bread,1875

France declares Madagascar a protectorate, 1885

George Brownell patents a machine to make paper twine, 1895

A first prize of 100,00 francs offered for communications with extraterrestrialsbut Martians are excluded - considered too easy, 1900

The Wright Brothers make their first successful flights, 1903

First flight of the Douglas DC-3 airplane, 1935

Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and dummy Charlie McCarthy first appear on TV, 1936

The SALT I talks begin, 1969

Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years, 1989

SpaceShipOne flight 11P, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first supersonic flight, 2003

NASA completes a successful mission to map the Moon’s gravity field, 2012

French sailor François Gabart sets the round-the-world record for the fastest solo navigation of the globe in 42 days 16 hours, 2017