Veterans Day is not just another day off!
Frank Woodruff Buckles at age 16 and 107
Today November 11, 2010 is Veterans Day. Please hand your flag to show honor to these brave men and women. Don’t forget your flag etiquette.
What is Veterans Day? For most people it’s a paid day off from work and the the kids stay home from school. There are sales at the mall, parades and other festivities. But do you know why?
Veterans Day is an annual American holiday honoring the 24.5 million military veterans in the United States, 1.7 million of whom are women and 9.5 million of whom are 65 and older. Our oldest living veteran is Frank Woodruff Buckles, WWI veteran, age 109.
Veterans Day is both a federal and state holiday in all states and is usually observed on November 11. It is also celebrated as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world. November 11 is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.
Armistice Day was celebrated starting November 1919 until 1954 where is was official changed to Veterans Day and was to include all Veterans of all wars.
Be sure to thank a Veteran for fighting for and protecting your Constitutional Rights. Most important to me are our First and Second Amendment Rights:
- Freedom of Speech
- Freedom of Religion
- Freedom of the Press
- Freedom of Assembly
- Right to Keep and Bear Arms
China, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen don’t have that. Many many countries don’t have that. We have our issues, but I have traveled all over the and there is no better country in the world than the United States of America.
There are veteran and war memorials all over the US. Here are four National War Memorials from Washington DC.
World War I Memorial; Washington DC
4,734,991 US Troops deployed; 320,518 killed and wounded; 1917-1918
World War II Memorial; Washington DC
16,112,566 deployed worldwide; 1,077,245 killed and wounded; 1941-1945
Korean War Memorial; Washington DC
5,720,000 deployed worldwide; 157,530 killed and wounded; 1950-1953
Vietnam War Memorial; Washington DC
8,744,000 deployed worldwide; 243,512 killed and wounded; 1964-1975
There are many Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran and War Memorials being built in the US. There is a National Memorial in planning for Washington DC, but I think there are some design issues.
Desert Shield/Desert Storm Memorial; Evansville, IN
694,550 Deployed to the Gulf; 849 killed and wounded; 1990-1991
Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan 2001-Present
**Deployed, *1378 killed, *7266Wounded
Operation Iraq Freedom 2003-Present
**Deployed, *4745 Deaths, *31,902 Wounded
Note* – Number totals are based in statistics from icasualties.org
Note** – I could not find a current “Total Number Deployed” If you have a link to that info please send.
AMERICAS WARS-FACTS/STATISTICS
Icasualties -Fatalities and wounded stats
Please…do something special for a Veteran today.
It’s time to take a moment and send a card to a soldier!
My grandson singing cards for soldiers
It’s that time of the year again!! And this is the third year I’ve been involved helping to promote the Holiday Mail For Heroes program sponsored by The American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes. Every year I sit down with my grandson (now 7) and write notes and sign Holiday cards for our soldiers who are deployed or recovering in hospitals like Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
What could be more heartfelt than to receive a hand written heartfelt card from someone who really appreciates what you do. Let’s thank those soldiers!
The program started September 3rd and all cards must be postmarked buy December 10, 2010 so we need to get on this! Do it today!
Spooky stuff you should know about Halloween!
I have always been interested in how things evolve. That includes why are certain holiday traditions observed and coveted. Halloween is no exception. Halloween has become one the the the most popular Holidays in the United States. It is celebrated by children and adults alike and is second only to Christmas in popularity. The current Halloween holiday is a far cry from it’s odd beginnings. Halloween is the result of the combination of several ancient holidays and traditions. I’m sure the candy manufacturers have had a huge hand in current traditions as well!
Halloween, is one of the world’s oldest holidays and is still celebrated in several countries around the globe. The autumn rite is commemorated in the United Kingdom, although with a surprising and distinctive British twist such as the Lighting of the Witches. In Mexico, Latin America, and Spain, All Souls’ Day, the third day of the three-day Hallowmas observance, is the most important part of the celebration for many people. In Ireland and Canada, Halloween, which was once a frightening and superstitious time of year, is celebrated much as it is in the United States, with trick-or-treating, costume parties, and fun for all ages.
The word itself, “Halloween,” actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, “All Hollows Day” (or “All Saints Day”), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was a harvest festival called Samhain (pronounced sow-in), which means “end of summer” or the last day of the Celtic calender.
Trick for Treat
The custom of trick or treating probably has several origins. During Samhain, the Druids believed the dead would play tricks on mankind and cause panic and destruction. They had to be appeased, so country folk would give the Druids food as they visited their homes.
An old Irish peasant practice called for going door to door to collect money, breadcake, cheese, eggs, butter, apples, etc., in preparation for the festival of St. Columb Kill.
Also a ninth-century European custom called souling. On November 2, All Souls Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for “soul cakes” made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. At the time, it was believed that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by strangers, could expedite a soul’s passage to heaven.
A traditional food eaten on Halloween is barnbrack, a kind of fruitcake that can be bought in stores or baked at home. A muslin-wrapped treat is baked inside the cake that, it is said, can foretell the eater’s future. If a ring is found, it means that the person will soon be wed; a piece of straw means that a prosperous year is on its way.
The TRICK part of “Trick or Treat” has be attributed to Mischief Night. Mischief night or Gate night or Cabbage Night (also known as Devil’s Night, Cabbage Night and Mizzy Night in some areas) is an annual tradition in parts of England, Canada, and the United States; a night when the custom is for people (primarily teenagers and preteens) to take a degree of license to play pranks and do mischief to their neighbors. The most common date for mischief night is November 4th however October 30, the day before Halloween is becoming more popular.
Halloween Masquerade Mask Read more
