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 It's often said that love is the same in any language. Here are some ideas of how to say "I love you" to your sweetheart this Valentine's Day.
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 Every February we celebrate Valentine's Day by giving flowers, candy and cards to those we love. We do this in honor of Saint Valentine. You may be wondering, "Who is St. Valentine"?
Legend says, there was an Emperor at that time by the name of Claudius II. Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those that were married and therefore outlawed marriage for young men in hopes of building a stronger military base. Supposedly, St. Valentine a priest at the time in Rome, decided this decree just unfair and chose to marry young couples secretly. When Emperor Claudius II found out about Valentine's actions he had him put to death.
Another legend has it that Valentine was an imprisoned man who fell in love with his jailor's daughter. Before he was put to death he sent the first 'valentine' himself when he wrote her a letter and signed it 'Your Valentine', words still used on cards today. |
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 In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Queen Gertrude offers the now-loved sentiment “Sweets to the Sweet.” Perhaps this is the origin of the tradition of giving candy to a loved one. Early American colonists made homemade candies with love notes scratched on the surface for Valentine’s Day. New England Confectionary Company (NECCO) expanded upon the colonists’ idea and created the conversation heart in the mid-1800s. |
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 The celebration of the new year on January 1st is a relatively new phenomenon. The earliest recording of a new year celebration is believed to have been in Mesopotamia, c. 2000 B.C. and was celebrated around the time of the vernal equinox, in mid-March. A variety of other dates tied to the seasons were also used by various ancient cultures. The Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians began their new year with the fall equinox, and the Greeks celebrated it on the winter solstice.
The early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the new year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March. 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 originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months (septem is Latin for “seven,” octo is “eight,” novem is “nine,” and decem is “ten”). |
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 New York in 1904 was a city on the verge of tremendous changes - and, not surprisingly, many of those changes had their genesis in the bustling energy and thronged streets of Times Square. Several innovations that would soon completely transform the Crossroads of the World debuted in 1904: the invention of the neon light, the opening of the city's first subway line - and the first-ever celebration of New Year's Eve in Times Square.
This inaugural bash commemorated the official opening of the new headquarters of The New York Times. The newspaper's owner, German Jewish immigrant Alfred Ochs, had successfully lobbied the city to rename Longacre Square, the district surrounding his paper's new home, in honor of the famous publication. The impressive Times Tower, marooned on a tiny triangle of land at the intersection of 7th Avenue, Broadway and 42nd Street, was at the time Manhattan's second-tallest building -- the tallest if measured from the basement up. |
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 World Clock
Have your children at the stroke of midnight find out what time it is in other cities around the world. Some city suggestions are: Wellington, Sydney, Bangkok, Tokyo, Beijing, New Delhi, Israel, Moscow, Rio Janeiro, Anchorage, Honolulu, Samoa, Seattle, Dallas, Denver, Mexico City, Nairobi, Kinshasa, Berlin, Rome, Hong Kong, etc.
2008 Calendar
Have kids make their own calendar for the new year.
New Year's Poetry Have the kids write a New Year’s poem with each line starting off with the letters in New Year’s. For example, the first line would start with a “N”, the second line would start with a “E”, etc. |
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 About The Thanksgiving Holiday And Celebrations
Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday in November, but many Americans take a day of vacation on the following Friday to make a four-day weekend, during which they may travel long distances to visit family and friends.
The holiday dates back to 1621, the year after the Puritans arrived in Massachusetts, determined to practice their dissenting religion without interference. After a rough winter, in which about half of them died, they turned for help to neighboring Indians, who taught them how to plant corn and other crops. The next fall's bountiful harvest inspired the Pilgrims to give thanks by holding a feast.
The Thanksgiving feast became a national tradition -- not only because so many other Americans have found prosperity but also because the Pilgrims' sacrifices for their freedom still captivate the imagination.
To this day, Thanksgiving dinner almost always includes some of the foods served at the first feast: roast turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, pumpkin pie. Before the meal begins, families or friends usually pause to give thanks for their blessings, including the joy of being united for the occasion.
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 Veterans Day Holiday History
Formerly Armistice Day, Veterans day is a holiday observed annually
in the United States in honor of all those, living and dead, who served
with the U.S. armed forces in wartime.
Some states observe the holiday on November 11 and other on the
fourth Monday in October. Armistice Day, the forerunner of Veterans
Day, was proclaimed in 1919 to commemorate the termination (at 11 am on
November 11, 1918) of World War I. On the first anniversary of the
truce, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation eulogizing
fallen Allied soldiers and referring to November 11 as Armistice Day.
It became a holiday in the U.S., France, Great Britain and Canada.
The holiday acquired its present name and broadened significance in
the U.S. in 1954. In Canada it is known as Remembrance Day, and in
Great Britain, as Remembrance Sunday.
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 In the world of retail, Thanksgiving traditionally marks the beginning of the Holiday shopping season.
The day after Thanksgiving is known in retail parlance as Black Friday, on of the major U.S. shopping days. The origin of Black Friday comes from the shift to profitability during the holiday season. Black Friday was when retailers went from being unprofitable ( in the red) to being profitable (in the black). This term dates back to pre-internet when accounting was done by hand in ledgers and “red ink” was used to indicate a loss.
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America's Birthday Independence Day July 4th
Happy Birthday America. July 4th, 2007 will mark America's 232 birthday.
She is still looking good for a woman of that age.
WHERE IT BEGAN: By the middle of the 1700's, the 13 colonies that made up part of England's empire in the New World were finding it difficult to be ruled by a king 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean. They were tired of the taxes imposed upon them. But independence was a gradual and painful process. The colonists could not forget that they were British citizens and that they owed allegiance to King George III.
A "tea party" and a "Massacre" were two events that hurried destiny. Along with general unrest these events united the colonists.
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Gift To Make: Father’s Day Car Tag
Materials :
- License plate frame
- Cardboard
- Construction paper
- Felt
- Letter and number stencils
- Marker
- Crafts glue
- Yarn
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 "Mom's Cooking” Hanging Award Plaque: Great Gifts You Can Make
This Mother's Day gift plaque sends your loving message to Mom.
You Need: - Six Jumbo Craft Sticks
- Mini Kitchen Utensils
- Raffia
- Low Temp Glue Gun
- Tacky Glue
- Mom’s Love Quote “Everything tastes better mixed with Mom’s Love”
- Paint and Small Brush
- Cardboard
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