For Valentines's Day - More great quotes on love

On Valentine's Day, I enjoy sharing some quotes and reflections about love with you.  Since it's that time of year again, here are some more thoughts about romance just for you.  The first quote I want to share with you is from Bob Marley (1945-1981), famed Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter and musician.  The words are beautiful, but I have to take issue with the first and last lines.  With regard to the first line, I think that people can fall in love again if their soulmate dies.  It may not be exactly the same, but it is a shared intimacy that does not diminish of nullify the previous relationship.  With regard to the last line, no one should regard another human being as his or her "only hope and security." No matter how strongly we love someone, it is unhealthy to be so emotionally dependent on someone else.


Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you've never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.

- Bob Marley






The course of true love never did run smooth.

- William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright, poet
From A Midsummer Night's Dream
Act I, Scene l






Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it.

- Nicholas Sparks, (1965- ), American writer
From A Walk to Remember

You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact they're not.

- Jodi Picoult (1966- ), American author
From My Sister's Keeper




love is the voice under all silences, 
the hope which has no opposite in fear, 
the strength so strong mere force is feebleness: 
the truth more first than the sun, more last than star

- E,E, Cummings (189 -1962), American poet, writer
From being to timelessness as it's to time




Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.

- Robert Frost (1874-1963), American poet
As quoted in a review of A Swinger of Birches (1957) by Sydney Cox in Vermont History, Vol. 25 (1957), page 355



Love never dies a natural death.  It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source.  It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals.  It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.

- Anaïs Nin (1903-1977), author, born in France to Cuban parents
From Cities of the Ineriors

The Rose

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
An endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
And you its only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dyin'
That never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.

- Lyrics by Bette Midler (1945- ), American singer, songwriter, actrees

- Joanne

Eugene V. Debs: The socialist who ran for President of the United States five times

 

If it had not been for the discontent of a few fellows who had not been satisfied with their conditions, you would still be living in caves.  Intelligent discontent is the mainspring of civilization.  Progress is born of agitation.  It is agitation or stagnation.  

- Eugene V. Debs

From "The Issue," Speech delivered at Giard, Kansas, May 23, 1908


With Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a self-proclaimed socialist, seeking the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, I thought it would be apropos to write about another American socialist - Eugene V. Debs.  Debs, who ran as the Socialist Party's candidate for president five times between 1900 and 1920, has been an inspiration to Sanders.  In a November 12, 2015 Reuters article, journalist Alexander Heffner wrote that when he asked the Vermont senator to name his political hero , "he quickly named labor organizer Eugene V. Debs . . ."

Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs was born on November 5, 1855 in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was the third of six surviving children and the first born son.  His parents, Jean Daniel (1820-1906) and Marguerite Marie Bettrich Debs (1828-1906) were immigrants to the United States from Alsace, France. They named their first born son after French authors Eugene Sue and Victor Hugo. Interestingly enough, Debs' father did not come from a working class background.  Jean Daniel Debs, was a member of an affluent family who owned a textile mill and a meat market in France.  In Terre Haute, Debs' parents owned a small grocery store at the front of the family's two-story home.

When he was just 14 years old, Eugene Debs dropped out of high school and left home to work as a paint scraper in the railroad yards.  He later became a locomotive firefighter and attended night classes at a business college.  In 1874, at his mother's urging, he left his job as a railway fireman and returned to Terre Haute.  He found employment as a billing clerk at Hulman & Cox, a wholesale grocery firm.  Although no longer a railroad employee, Debs' was interested in labour issues.  He remained a strong supporter of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and used his salary to assist the local union in Vigo County, Indiana.

While young Gene was working at the Hulman & Cox warehouse, he and some of his friends founded the Occidental Literary Club of Terre Haute.  As president of the club in 1875, Debs brought many famous personages to Terre Haute.  These included such outstanding speakers as lawyer and political leader Col. Robert Ingersoll, writer and poet James Whitcomb Riley, social reformer and feminist Susan B. Anthony, orator and lawyer Wendell Phillips and others.

In 1878, Debs was made assistant editor of the National Brotherhood Of  Locomotive Fireman's Magazine.  In 1879, he was elected on the Democrat ticket to the first of his two terms as City Clerk of Terre Haute.  The following year, he was named Grand Secretary of the Brotherhood of Railway Firemen and editor of the BLF Magazine.  His political career began to rise in 1884 when, as a Democrat, he was elected state representative to the Indiana General Assembly, representing Terre Haute and Vigo County.  He served one term in 1885.

Around that time, there were also major changes in Eugene Debs' personal life.  On June 9, 1885. at the age of 29, he married Katherine "Kate" Metzel, the stepdaughter of a prominent Terre Haute druggist named John Jacob Baur.  The couple did not have any children.

In 1890, Debs and his wife built and moved into a beautiful home in Terre Haute at 451 North Eigth Street.  According to the biographical sketch in Gentle Rebel: Letters of Eugene V. Debs, edited by J. Robert Constantine, the house "was a source of controversy from time to time." and that it was regarded as "tasteless" for a labour organizer to build such a grand home in an upscale neighbourhood.

The Debs home is now a National Historic Landmark,of the National Parks Department of Interior of the United States. Located on the campus of Indiana State University, it is an official historic site of the State of Indiana.and is known as the Eugene V. Debs House Museum.

Katherine "Kate" Metzel Debs

Eugene V. Debs House Museum

                                          Photo Attribution: C. Bedford Crenshaw



Eugene Debs organized the the American Railway Union (ARU). in Chicago in 1893.  With Debs as its president, the ARU was an independent union of 150,000 members and it was the first industrial union in the United States.  In April of 1894, Debs' union conducted a strike for higher wages against the Great Northern Railway . The strike lasted for 18 days after which the railway acceded to the demands of the union.

The next month, Debs became deeply involved in one of the most significant strikes in American history.  The conflict began on May 11, 1894 outside of Chicago, when workers at George Pullman's Palace factory walked out as a protest against a series of wage reductions and other grievances.. Some of the Pullman workers were members of the American Railway Union, led by Eugene V. Debs.  The strike was long and bitter.  It lasted for weeks and ARU members refused to handle trains with Pullman cars. Consequently, the major railroad lines in and out of Chicago were tied up and much of the freight and passenger traffic in the United States west of Detroit, Michigan was shut down.  The boycott became the largest national strike in the history of the United States.

Pullman workers exit the factory gates after a day's work. 

Below is a photo of striking American Railway Union members confronting Illinois National Guard troops in Chicago during the Pullman strike.

Determined to put an end to both the strike and boycott, the railway owners pleaded with President Grover Cleveland to send in federal troops to establish order.  Cleveland agreed, maintaining that the soldiers were needed to allow the movement of the mails.  The strike was ultimately crushed and many lives were lost in violent confrontations.  Eugene Debs was jailed in May of 1895 for defying a federal court's injunction.  He and other ARU leaders was incarcerated for contempt of court because they had disobeyed a federal order prohibiting them from saying or doing anything to encourage the continuation of the strike.

According to The American Nation: A History of the United States Since 1865, by John. A Garraty, one of the results of the Pullman strike was to make Eugene V. Debs a national figure. While serving a six month prison sentence at the McHenry County Jail in Woodstock, Illinois, Debs was visited by Milwaukee publisher Victor L. Berger and other well known independent socialists.  They brought him reading material such as Karl Marx's Das Kapital, which Garraty says he found "too dull to finish." He did, however, complete  Looking Backward, by Edward Bell and Wealth Against Commonwealth, by Henry Demarest Lloyd, and a variety of other works on socialist theory.  These writings influenced Debs greatly and after his release from prison in November 1895, he was to become more committed than ever to the international socialist movement.

In 1896, Debs supported the campaign of William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate.for president.  Jennings, who presented himself as a champion of the working man, lost the election to his more conservative Republican opponent, William McKinley.  In 1897, Debs announced his conversion to socialism.  He was the Socialist Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1900, but only received a modest 96,000 votes.

In 1901, the Socialist Democratic Party (SDP) was dissolved and the Socialist Party of America (SPA) was established by a merger of the SDP and dissatisfied elements of the Socialist Labor Party. In the 1904 and 1908 presidential campaigns, Eugene V. Debs' ran for president under the banner of the Socialist Party of America.  His vice-presidential running mate was Benjamin Hanford,  Hanford, a New York printer by trade, was the creator of a fictional socialist hero named "Jimmie Higgins." Debs' 1904 campaign platform included included support for woman's suffrage, restrictions on child labour, and workers' rights to organize unions.  Although he did not succeed in his presidential bid, the Socialist Party of America became the nation's third largest party that year, holding 1,000 elective offices in 33 states and 160 cities.

Ben Hanford

Debs poster 1904

Eugene V. Debs ran for president again in 1908 with Ben Hanford as his running mate.  Debs'
campaign that year featured the "Red Special Train" which travelled throughout the United States. On election day, his Socialist Party ticket won 420,856 votes (2.8% of the popular vote).  He finished third behind the Republican candidate William Taft who had 66.5% of the popular vote, and Democrat William J. Bryan who received 43.04% of the popular vote.  Below is a photo of the "Red Special Band" posing by Debs' campaign train.

In his 1912 presidential bid, Socialist P arty candidate Eugene Debs amassed 897,000 votes, It was an election in which liberals did well and Woodrow Wilson was elected president.with 6,286,000 of the 15 million ballots cast.  Debs' vice-presidential running mate in 1912 was Emil Seidel, the mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1910 to 1912.  Seidel had the distinction of being the first socialist mayor of a major city in the United States.

 Debs 1912 election campaign poster

Although Debs was the initial front runner for the Socialist Party nomination in 1916, he declined to run for president.  He opted instead to run for Congress in his home district of Terre Haute, Indiana, again on the Socialist ticket.  His campaign strongly advocated keeping America neutral in World War I.  Although many of his potential constituents agreed with him, Deb was defeated in his bid for a seat in Congress.

Eugene Debs was renowned for his oratory.  On June 16, 1918, with World War I raging in Europe, he delivered a passionate anti-war speech in Canton, Ohio in which he urged resistance to the draft. On June 30, as a result of that speech, he was arrested and charged with ten counts of sedition.  He appeared before a federal court in Cleveland and addressed the court in his own defence, but was convicted under the wartime anti-espionage act. and sentenced to ten years in prison  He also lost his U.S. citizenship, which he never recovered during his lifetime. It was restored posthumously by the United States government in 1976, fifty years after his death.

Debs delivering anti-war speech in Canton

On April 12, 1919, Eugene Debs began serving his sentence in Moundsville West Virginia State prison.  Two months later he was transferred to the Atlanta, Georgia federal prison.  In 1920, while imprisoned, Debs ran for president for the fifth and final time.  He was forced to conduct his campaign from a prison cell in Atlanta.  Yet, of his five presidential campaigns, he received his highest popular vote total that year, garnering about 915,000 write-in votes.

On Christmas Day, 1921, Debs was released from prison by President Warren G. Harding. His sentence was commuted to time served.  On December 28th,, he returned to his home in Terre Haute and was given a warm welcome by thousands of well-wishers.

Debs leaving federal penitentiary in Atlanta in 1921

By July of 1922, Debs' physical and mental health were in decline due to years of constant campaigning and time spent in prison.  In order to recapture his strength, he committed himself to the Lindlahr Sanitarium in Elmhurst, Illinois.  He died of heart failure there on October 20. 1926.  Eugene V. Debs was 70 years old at the time of his passing.


END NOTES

* Eugene V. Debs' wife, Kate Metzel Debs, died in 1936 at the age of 69.

*  Eugene Debs' most well known writings include a pamphlet entitled Unionism and Socialism (1904) and a book, Walls and Bars (1927).


- Joanne

The Wise Men, Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar.
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.


Today, January 6th, marks the feast of Epiphany, which celebrates the revelation of the Christ child to the Magi.  The story of the Magi has always intrigued me.  It is full of wonder and mysticism.   I have always been curious about the scholarly Wise Men who, according the Gospel of Matthew, came to Jerusalem declaring, "Where is he that is born 'King of the Jews,' for they had seen his star in the East and have come to worship him."

Who were these mysterious foreigners who travelled such great distance to pay homage to the child Jesus?  They were certainly astronomers, but details about them in the New Testament are rather sketchy.  Their names are not even recorded in Matthew's gospel, nor is their exact number.  Yet, they are commonly depicted as a trio and referred to as the "Three Wise Men."  Why?

Matthew;s narrative tells us that the Magi came bearing three gifts, namely gold, frankincense and myrrh. That is probably why, according to The Encyclpaedia Britannica, Western tradition holds that there were three.Wise Men. Eastern tradition, however, sets the number at 12.

Although the Bible provides no names for the Magi, custom has given them the names Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar (or variations of those names).  Britannica asserts that around the 8th century, the names of the "three" Wise Men appeared in a chronicle known as the Excerpta latina barbari.  In Western church tradition, Balthazar is often presented as a king of Arabia, Melchior as a king of Persia, and Caspar or Gaspar as a king of India.

How about the gifts brought by the Wise Men?  What exactly are frankincense and myrrh, you may wonder?  Well, both frankincense and myrrh grow as small small trees or shrubs and they both come from the botanical family Burseraceae. Frankincense is used as an incense and perfume.  It is obtained from trees of the species Bowellia.  The word "frankincense" is derived from old French ("franc encens,"), meaning high quality incense.  Myrrh is a resin or sap-like substance that is taken from the barks of trees of the Commiphora species.

Myrrh trees are native to Northern Africa and the Middle East.  They can be found in Somalia, Ethiopia, Arabia and Yemen. They have light bark, tangled branches and little, white flowers.  Their resin has a bitter taste and the word "myrrh" itself is derived from "murr," meaning "bitter" in Arabic,

In ancient times, frankincense and myrrh were used as medicines for a variety of physical illnesses. Today, myrrh oil is beneficial for maintaining healthy skin.  It is also used as an aromatherapy oil for massages, a flavouring for food products and an embalming oil.  Myrrh oil's use as an embalming agent also goes back to ancient times.  The Egyptians used it for anointing the bodies of dead pharaohs and during religious rituals.

frankincense

myrrh tree in Somalia

myrrh oil

Gold. frankincense and myrrh have great symbolism in association with the birth of Christ.  Gold represents royalty or divinity. Frankincense (an incense) represents priesthood and myrrh (an embalming fluid) represents death or suffering.



END NOTES

*  The story of the Magi appears in Matthew 2: 1-12.  The Gospel of Matthew is the only one of the four Canonical gospels that mentions the Wise Men. There is no reference to them in the gospels of Mark, Luke or John.

*  "Epiphany" is a Greek word meaning revelation or manifestation.  In ecclesiastical terms, it is the manifestation of a supernatural or divine reality, especially in the form of a deity.  In Christian terms, it is the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles, as represented by the Magi.  In the Western Church, the feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on January 6.  In the Eastern Church, the baptism of Christ is commemorated on the sane date,

*  According to Matthew, the Wise Men were sent on to Bethlehem by King Herod 1 (also known as Herod the Great) of Judea, who asked them to reveal to him the exact location of Jesus so that he could worship him too.  However, they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod and they "left for their own country by another route."

By all accounts, King Herod, a Roman client king, was a tyrant. The Jewish Encyclopedia says Herod was "prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition."  In The Crash Course in Jewish History (2010), by Rabbi Ken Spino, he is described as "the evil genius of the Judean nation."

Matthew's gospel relates that Herod was troubled when he heard of the Wise Men from the East and their intention to pay homage to "the King of the Jews."  He consulted with all the chief priests and scribes, inquiring as to where this Messiah was to be born.  'In Bethlehem of Judea,' he was told, 'for thus it is written by the prophet.  But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah;  For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

According to Matthew, the Magi and the child Jesus were a source of consternation for Herod.  He was obviously threatened by them.



- Joanne

2016: The Year Ahead: Events and Anniversaries

ANNIVERSARIES IN 2016

400th Anniversary of the Death of William Shakespeare

The celebrated English playwright and poet, William Shakespeare, died on April 23, 1616 at Stratford-upon-Avon, England.  He was 52 years old at the time of his passing.  The exact cause of Shakespeare's death remains a mystery, although there have been several theories, including that of a cerebral hemorrhage.

350th Anniversary of the Great Fire of London (1666)

Painting of The Great Fire of London (thought to be from 17th century)

The Great Fire of London swept through the centre of London, England from September 2 to September 5, 1666.  The conflagration destroyed thousands of houses and many churches, including St. Paul's Cathedral.  It gutted the medieval City of London within the ancient Roman wall.  Although there was much destruction of property, deaths are considered to have been few.  The fire is believed to have stared at a bakery on Pudding Lane.  Only six fatalities were officially recorded, but there were undoubtedly more.

The fire occurred under the reign of King Charles II and is considered one of the most famous incidents in Stuart England.  It was the second tragedy to befall England's largest city within a period of a year.  When the disaster struck, London was just recovering from the Great Plague of 1665 in which an estimated 15 per cent of its populated died from a major outbreak of the bubonic plague.

100th Anniversary of the Chicago Cubs' first game at Weeghman Park (Wrigley Field)

Weeghman Park in 1916

Built in 1914 as Weeghman Park, Wrigley Field was originally the home of of the Chicago Whales of the Federal League (a short-lived "third major league").  The Chicago Cubs played their first game there on April 20, 1916 and defeated the Cincinnati Reds by a score of 7-6 in eleven innings.  By 1921 chewing gum tycoon William Wrigley, Jr. had gained possession of the team. From 1920 until 1926, the stadium, located on Chicago's North Side, was known as Cubs Park.  In 1927, its name was officially changed to Wrigley Field.

100th Anniversary of the Easter Rebellion in Ireland

2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rebellion against British rule in Ireland.  The Rebellion began in Dublin on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916 and lasted for six days. It was an armed uprising by Irish republicans to establish an independent Irish republic at a time when the United Kingdom was deeply engaged in World War I.  However, the British army quickly suppressed the insurrection.

Below is the Proclamation of the Republic, 1916, a document issued by the Irish republicans.  In the document, the Military Council of the Irish Republican Brotherhood refers to itself as "the provisional government of the Irish Republic" and proclaims Irish independence from Great Britain.

                                                                                                             

100th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme

British soldiers waiting to attack during Battle of the Somme

The Battle of the Somme was a battle of the First World War.  It took place between July 1 and November 18, 1916 on both sides of the River Somme in France and was one of the bloodiest confrontations in human history.  All together more than 1,000,000 combatants were wounded and killed.  The British alone suffered more than 57,000 casualties.

60th Anniversary of the Wedding of Grace Kelly to Price Rainier of Monaco

American movie star Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III of Monaco.  At the time, it was dubbed "The Wedding of the Century."  As necessitated by the Napoleonic Code of France and the laws of the Room Catholic Church, there were two ceremonies.  The civil ceremony took place in the Palace Throne Room of Monaco on April 18, 1956, while the religious ceremony was held the next day (August 19th) at Monaco's Saint Nicholas Cathedral.  Grace's wedding dress was designed by MGM's Academy Award-winning Helen Rose.

50th Anniversary of Muhammad Ali versus George Chuvalo

On March 29, 1966 Muhammad Ali faced Canadian Heavyweight Champion George Chuvalo at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.  The bout took place in Canada due to Ali's opposition to the Vietnam War. On February 17, 1966, the outspoken pugilist, originally known as Cassius Clay, had stated that he had "no quarrel with them Vietcong."  As a result, he was banned from fighting in Chicago and in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.  It soon became apparent that he would have to engage in matches outside the United States.

On that chilly spring evening in Toronto, the gritty Chuvalo went the distance with Ali in his prime, the first to do since Ali had won the championship title.  After 15 hard fought rounds, Ali was awarded the decision, but Chuvalo won a great deal of respect for his performance in the ring that night.

50 Years Since the Speck Murders in Chicago

On July 14, 2014, Richard Speck brutally murdered eight student nurses in Chicago, Illinois.  After 25 years of incarceration,at the Stateville Correctional Center, a maximum security prison in Crest Hill, Illinois, Speck died of a heart attack on December 5, 1991.  He was 49 years old.

50th Anniversary of the Beatles' Final Public Concert

In August of 1966, the Beatles went on tour in the United States and Canada.  They performed 19 shows, with 17 concerts in American locales and two in Toronto, Canada.  It was to be the group's last commercial tour.  On August 29th, 1966, they staged their final public concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California, which was then the home of baseball's San Francisco Giants. The Park seated over 40,000 people, but only about 25,000 were sold.  Ticket prices ranged from $4.50 to $6.50.

On January 30, 1969, the Beatles made a surprise live appearance on the rooftop of the Apple building in London.   Although the rooftop concert was the band's final public performance, the Candlestick Park concert was really their last "commercial" concert.

HOLIDAYS, FESTIVALS AND OBSERVANCES, RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR 2016 (Canada and the United States)

JANUARY


NEW YEAR'S DAY (Gregorian Calendar): Friday, January 1, 2016

FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY:  Wednesday, January 6, 2016

MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY (United States):  Monday, January 18, 2016

FEBRUARY

CHINESE NEW YEAR

2016 is The Year of the Monkey.  The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, in determined according to the Chinese lunar calendar.  This year the festival begins on Monday, February 8, 2016, the first day of the lunar calendar.

MARDI GRAS (SHROVE TUESDAY):  Tuesday, February 9, 2016

ASH WEDNESDAY:  Lent begins February 10, 2016

VALENTINE'S DAY:  Sunday, February 14, 2016

PRESIDENTS' DAY (United States): Monday, February 15, 2016

LEAP YEAR DAY:  Monday, February 29, 2016

MARCH


INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY: Tuesday, March 8, 2016

ST. PATRICK'S DAY:  Thursday, March 17, 2016

GOOD FRIDAY:  Friday, March 25, 2016

EASTER SUNDAY:  Sunday, March 27, 2016

APRIL


PASSOVER:  Begins the evening of Friday, April 22, 2016 and ends the evening of Saturday, April 30 , 2016

EARTH DAY:  Friday, April 22, 2016

MAY


MOTHER'S DAY:  Monday, May 8, 2016

VICTORIA DAY (Canada):  Monday, May 23, 2016

MEMORIAL DAY (United States): Monday, May 30, 2016

JUNE


RAMADAN:  Dates vary with country - Begins Tuesday, June 7, 2016 in Canada 

FATHER'S DAY:  Sunday, June 19, 2016

JULY


CANADA DAY (Canada):  Friday, July 1, 2016

INDEPENDENCE DAY (United States):  Monday, July 4, 2016

EID-AL-FITR (End of Ramadan):  Thursday, July 7, 2016

AUGUST



SEPTEMBER


LABOUR DAY (Canada), LABOR DAY (United States):  Monday, September 5, 2016

OCTOBER



ROSH HASHANA (Jewish New Year):  Begins the evening of Sunday, October 2, 2016 and ends the evening of Tuesday, October 4, 2016

THANKSGIVING DAY (Canada):  Monday, October 10, 2016

YOM KIPPUR (Jewish Day of Atonement):  Begins the evening of Tuesday, October 11, 2016 and ends Wednesday, October 12, 2016.

DIWALI (Hindu Festival of Lights, beginning of Hindu New Year): Begins on Sunday October 30, 2016 and ends Thursday, November 3, 2016

HALLOWEEN:  Monday, October 31, 2016

NOVEMBER


ALL SAINTS DAY:  Tuesday, November 1, 2016

REMEMBRANCE DAY (Canada), VETERAN'S DAY (United States):  Friday, November 11, 2016

THANKSGIVING DAY (United States):  Thursday, November 25, 2016

DECEMBER


HANUKKAH:  Begins the evening of Saturday, December 24, 2016 and ends the evening of Sunday, January 1, 2017

CHRISTMAS DAY:  Sunday, December 25, 2016

BOXING DAY (Canada): Monday, December 26, 2016

AROUND THE WORLD IN 2016

AUSTRALIA

Census 2016

2016 is a census year Down Under and the census is really going digital.  The 2016 Census will be Australia's first census in which two thirds of the country's population (more than 15 million people) are expected to complete the Census online.  Census day is scheduled for Tuesday, August 9, 2016. Leading up to that date, households will receive a letter from the Australian Bureau of Statistics containing a login and instructions on how to complete the Census online. Paper forms are available by request if needed.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics expects to count close to 10 million dwellings and a population of about 24 million.

AUSTRIA

The next Austrian presidential election is scheduled for April 2016.  The incumbent president, Heniz Fischer. has already served two terms and is not eligible to serve a third term in succession.

CANADA

The Quebec Winter Carnival (Carnaval de Québec) will be held in held in Quebec City, Quebec from January 29, 2016 to February 14, 2016.  Below is a drawing of Bonhomme Carnaval, the festival's mascot.

Census 2016

This is a census year in Canada.  The next Census of Population and Census of Agriculture will occur in May.  Starting on May 2, 2016, Statistics Canada will send census letters and packages to all Canadian households. The questionnaire can be completed online or on paper (It first appeared online in 2006).  Statistics Canada has identified Tuesday, May 10, 2016 as the official census day.  The long-form census will be mandatory again.  In 2011, respondents could choose to complete a short form version instead.

The Calgary Stampede with take place in Calgary, Alberta from July 8, 2016 to July 17, 2016.

The 138th Canadian National Exhibition (also known as the CNE or The Ex) will be held from August 19, 2016 to September 5, 2016 at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario.

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the leading public film festival in the world, will take
place in Toronto, Ontario from Thursday, September 8, 2016 to Sunday, September 18, 2016.

FRANCE

The 69th Cannes Film Festival {Festival de Cannes) will be held in Cannes, France from May 11, 2016 until May 22, 2016.

NEW ZEALAND

Is this flag still the people's choice or is it on its way out?

flag of New Zealand

Will this become the flag of New Zealand?

New Zealand will hold a referendum from March 3 to March 24, 2016.  Voters will be asked to choose between its current flag and the preferred alternative design selected in a previous referendum.  The proposed flag for New Zealand was designed by Kyle Lockwood.  It is  a black, white and blue silver fern flag with four red stars in the shape of the Southern Cross constellation.

The result of the referendum will be binding and the flag with the most votes will be the official flag of New Zealand.

SLOVAKIA

Parliamentary elections will take place in Slovakia on March 5, 2016.  150 members will be elected to the National Council by proportional representation.

UNITED KINGDOM

Queen Elizabeth II will turn 90 years old on April 21, 2016.  There will be huge celebrations, featuring 900 horses and 1,500 performers, on the grounds of Windsor Castle from May 12, 2016 to May 15, 2016.  On June 12, 2016, there will be a mega street party on The Mall in St. James Park, London, England.

UNITED STATES

The Republican National Convention will be held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio from July 18, 2016 to July 21, 2016.  The delegates will select the Republican nominees for President and Vice President of the United States.

The Democratic National Convention will be held from July 25, 2016 to July 28, 2016 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with some events at the Philadelphia Convention Center. The delegates will choose the Democratic Party's nominees for President and Vice President of the United States.

The United States will hold a presidential election on Tuesday, November 8, 2016.  It will be the 58th quadrennial presidential election in U.S. history.

 

SPORTING EVENTS IN 2016

AUSTRALIA

TENNIS:  The Australian Open will take place from January 18, 2016  to January 31, 2016 at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia.

BRAZIL

SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES:  The 2016 Summer Olympics (the 31st Summer Olympic Games) will be hosted by Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from August 5, 2016 to August 21, 2016.

CANADA

BASKETBALL:  The 65th edition of the NBA All-Star Game will take place at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario (home of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association) on February 14, 2016.  This will mark the first occasion that the All-Star game will be played outside of the United States.

HORSE RACING:  The 157th running of the Queen's Plate, the first jewel of Canada's Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Horse Racing, will take place on Sunday, July 3, 2016 at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.  The Queen's Plate is the longest continuously run stakes race in North America.

GOLF:  The Canadian Open will be played at the Glen Abbey Golf  Club in Oakville, Ontario.  The tournament will be take place from July 18 to July 24, 2016.

INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY:  The World Cup of Hockey will take place at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario from September 17, 2016 to October 1, 2016.

CANADIAN FOOTBALL:  The 104th Grey Cup will be held on Sunday, November 27, 2016 at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario.

FRANCE

TENNIS:  The French Open (also known as the Roland Garros) will take place at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France from May 22, 2016 to June 5, 2016.

FOOTBALL (SOCCER):  France will play host to the UEFA 2016 European Championship (commonly known as Euro 2016), the men's football (soccer) championship of Europe.The tournament will take place from June 10, 2016 to July 10, 2016.

UNITED KINGDOM

TENNIS:  The prestigious Wimbledon tournament will run from Monday, June 27, 2016 until Sunday, July 10, 2016.  It will take place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbleton, London, England.

GOLF:  The 145th British Open Championship will be held at Royal Troon Golf Club in Ayrhire, Scotland from July 14, 2016 to July 17, 2016.

UNITED STATES

NFL FOOTBALL:  Super Bowl 50 (the 50th edition of the Super Bowl) will take place on Sunday, February 7, 2016 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.  Levi's Stadium is the home of the San Francisco 49's of the National Football League (NFL).

AUTO RACING:  The 100th Indianapolis 500 will take place on Sunday, May, 29, 2016 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana.

GOLF:  The 80th edition of the Masters Tournament will be held from April 7, 2016 to April 10, 2016 at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

HORSE RACING:  The 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby, known as "The Run for the Roses," will be held on Saturday, May 7, 2016 (the first Saturday in May) at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

GOLF:  The 116th United States Open Championship (U.S. Open) will be played from June 16, 2016 to June 19, 2016  at the Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.

BASEBALL:  The 87th edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be hosted by the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego, California.  The game between the stars of the American League and the National League will take place on Tuesday, July 12, 2016.

TENNIS:  The U.S. Open will be held from Monday, August 29, 2016 through Sunday, September 11, 2016. at the USTA Billie Jean King Center in New York, New York.

ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS IN 2016

The 73rd Golden Globe Awards ceremonies, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, will be held on Sunday, January 10, 2016. at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. These awards recognize excellence in film and television, both American and foreign.

The 58th annual Grammy Awards, honouring the best of the music industry, will be held on Monday, February 15, 2016 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

The 88th Academy Awards ceremonies will take place on Sunday, February 28, 2016 at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.

The city of Calgary, Alberta will host the 45th Juno Awards, honouring the best in Canadian music. The ceremony will be broadcast from the Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday, April 3, 2016.

The 70th  Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, better known as the Tony Awards, will be held at the Beacon Theatre  in New York City on Sunday, June 12, 2016.

WHO TURNS 50 IN 2016?

J.J. Abrams, American director, actor, producer, born June 27, 1966 in New York City, New York. United States

Justine Bateman, American writer, producer, actress, born February 19, 1966 in Rye, New York, United States

Halle Berry, American actress, born August 14, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Helena Bonham Carter, English actress, born May 26, 1966 in Islington, London, England, United Kingdom

David Cameron, current British prime minister, born October 9, 1966 in London, England, United Kingdom

Cindy Crawford, American model, born February 20, 1966 in DeKalb, Illinois, United States

John Cusack, American actor, born June 28, 1966 in Evanston, Illinois, United States

Patrick Dempsey, American actor, born January 13, 1966 in Lewiston, Maine, United States

Salma, Hayek, Mexican-American actress, born September 2, 1966 in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico

Janet Jackson, American singer, born May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana, United States

Nancy McKeon, American actress, born April 4, 1966 in Westbury, New York, United States

Sinead O'Connor, Irish singer-songwriter, born December 8, 1966 in Dublin, Ireland.

Enrique Peña Nieto, current President of Mexico, born July 20, 1966 in Atlacomulco, Mexico

Gordon Ramsay, British chef, restaurateur and television personality, born November 8, 1966 in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

Adam Sandler, American actor, comedian, musician, born September 9, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York, United States

Curt Schilling, retired American baseball pitcher, born November, 14, 1966, Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Mike Tyson, retired American boxer, born June 30, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York, United States

Jimmy Wales, American Internet entrepreneur and founder of Wikipedia, born August 7, 1966 in Huntsville, Alabama, United States

Robin Wright: American actress, born April 8, 1966 in Dallas, Texas, United States

 - Joanne