President’s Day (US)
While originally intended to celebrate the birthday of the first US President, George Washington, the holiday has become a general celebration of all US Presidents (past and present).

With the passage of the Monday Holiday Law (1968), the federal celebration of George Washington’s birthday moved from its actual date, February 22nd, to the 3rd Monday of February. The celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birth (February 12th) while no longer observed as a federal holiday is also customarily celebrated on President’s Day.

link: President’s Day

Did You Know?
February 15

It’s President’s Day!

Thank you for counting down to President’s Day with us.

Happy President’s Day,

Louie and the holiday elves

Did You Know? Countdown to President’s Day
Facts, Figures & Folklore About America’s Presidents
February 14 : 01 day till President’s Day

Originally intended to celebrate the birthday of the first US President, George Washington, the President’s Day holiday has become a general celebration of all past US Presidents.

Did you know that Barack Obama was the first African American president ? of the Harvard Law Review?

Also the first African American president of the United States, Obama was raised in Hawaii, the son of a Kansan mother and a Kenyan father.

Over 96% of African Americans voted for Obama in November 2008. Until 1965, with the passage of the Voting Rights Act, most southern blacks were denied their right to vote by illegal literacy tests and poll taxes.

Obama was elected to office during the swelling of what many are calling the “Great Recession.” Like FDR did in his 1933 Inaugural address, Obama, the 44th president of the United States, attempted to restore hope to Americans when he said: “On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.”

So in honor of this upcoming holiday join us as we countdown to President’s Day with little know facts, figures, and folklore about America and its Presidents! We’ll be presenting a new “Did You Know?” fun fact each day as we countdown to February 15th! So stop by again tomorrow.

Did You Know? Countdown to President’s Day
Facts, Figures & Folklore About America’s Presidents
February 13 : 02 days till President’s Day

Originally intended to celebrate the birthday of the first US President, George Washington, the President’s Day holiday has become a general celebration of all past US Presidents.

Did you know that John F. Kennedy, the 35th president, was the youngest man elected to the presidency of the United States?

He was just 46 years old when he was inaugurated. Kennedy was also the youngest president to die in office, and the fourth U.S. president assassinated during his tenure.

Often quoted for his moving Inaugural address in which he stated, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”, Kennedy was a master orator.

In his less than 1,000 days in office, Kennedy historically presided over the Cuban Missile Crisis and the introduction of the sweeping Civil Rights Act. The bill, which ended racial discrimination in public places and required employers to provide equal employment opportunities, was being debated by Congress at the time of Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963.

So in honor of this upcoming holiday join us as we countdown to President’s Day with little know facts, figures, and folklore about America and its Presidents! We’ll be presenting a new “Did You Know?” fun fact each day as we countdown to February 15th! So stop by again tomorrow.

Did You Know? Countdown to President’s Day
Facts, Figures & Folklore About America’s Presidents
February 12 : 03 days till President’s Day

Originally intended to celebrate the birthday of the first US President, George Washington, the President’s Day holiday has become a general celebration of all past US Presidents.

Did you know that Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was the first Republican elected to the nation’s highest office?

Lincoln also differed from his predecessors in that he did not come from a family of means. The son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Lincoln’s mother died when he was just ten years old. Lincoln married Mary Todd and together they had four sons, but only one survived into adulthood.

Lincoln also struggled initially as a politician, losing his run for the Senate in 1858. Just two years later, however, Lincoln was elected president of the United States. He presided over the Union Forces in the Civil War (1861-1865) and, in 1863, issued the Emancipation Proclamation, ending slavery in America. President Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, the first of four U.S. presidents to be assassinated.

BTW – Today is the 201st Birth Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln.

So in honor of this upcoming holiday join us as we countdown to President’s Day with little know facts, figures, and folklore about America and its Presidents! We’ll be presenting a new “Did You Know?” fun fact each day as we countdown to February 15th! So stop by again tomorrow.

Did You Know? Countdown to President’s Day
Facts, Figures & Folklore About America’s Presidents
February 11 : 04 days till President’s Day

Originally intended to celebrate the birthday of the first US President, George Washington, the President’s Day holiday has become a general celebration of all past US Presidents.

Did you know that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected president four times?

The 32nd president of the United States, Roosevelt served four successive terms, between 1934 and 1945.

Elected during the height of the Great Depression, when over 13 million Americans were unemployed, FDR brought back hope to many citizens at his Inaugural address: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Under Roosevelt’s leadership, Congress enacted the New Deal to reverse the Great Depression. Public works projects put Americans back to work, America’s social security system was created, and sweeping government oversight was introduced, such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

From December, 1941, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt presided over the U.S. involvement in World War II, which ultimately brought about the conclusion of the Great Depression. FDR died in 1945 at the age of 63. Six years later, the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was ratified, limiting the tenure of the U.S. presidency to two successive terms.

So in honor of this upcoming holiday join us as we countdown to President’s Day with little know facts, figures, and folklore about America and its Presidents! We’ll be presenting a new “Did You Know?” fun fact each day as we countdown to February 15th! So stop by again tomorrow.

Did You Know? Countdown to President’s Day
Facts, Figures & Folklore About America’s Presidents
February 10 : 05 days till President’s Day

Originally intended to celebrate the birthday of the first US President, George Washington, the President’s Day holiday has become a general celebration of all past US Presidents.

Did you know that George Washington, according to some historical accounting, was actually the eighth president of the United States, and not the first president?

Washington was sworn in as President on April 30, 1789 at the age of 57. He was the first president elected after the passage of the U.S. Constitution in 1788. From 1781 to 1788, however, the United States had been governed by a document known as the “Articles of Confederation,” which set out that there should be one house of Congress without an executive branch.

During that eight-year time period, Congress elected its own president. The first Congressional president was John Hanson, who served a two-year term. Hanson was succeeded by six other Congressional presidents, causing some historians to argue that George Washington was in fact the eighth president of the United States.

So in honor of this upcoming holiday join us as we countdown to President’s Day with little know facts, figures, and folklore about America and its Presidents! We’ll be presenting a new “Did You Know?” fun fact each day as we countdown to February 15th! So stop by again tomorrow.

Welcome February!

Its February, the 2nd and shortest month of the year. Its still winter and cold up here in the Northern Hemisphere. But we’ll know more tomorrow, Groundhogs Day (Feb 02), whether its another 6 weeks of Winter or hopefully an early Spring.

This month we’re celebrating Black History Month, the aim of which is …

… to expose the harms of racial prejudice and to cultivate black self-esteem following centuries of socio-economic oppression. It is also an opportunity to recognize significant contributions to society made by people with African heritage.*

And February’s also the time for cherry pies and “no telling lies” as we celebrate President’s Day (Feb 15). And while it seems to be mostly a weekend of sales, sales, sales we will be celebrating all the Presidents of the United States.

And lets not forget the big celebration this month; Valentine’s Day (Feb 14). A day set aside to intimidate men into spending too much on not much. (I kid! I kid!) So there is still time to start putting together a great Valentine’s Day for your love. We’ve go lots to help you get prepared; whether its craft/gift ideas, a sensuous dessert recipe to help get things in the mood, or even free holiday eCards to send your valentine – we’ve got it all here. So join us as we celebrate Valentine’s Day.

There are lots of other celebrations to observe. There’s the Chinese New Year on the 14th and a “Gong Xi Fa C i” to the Year of the Tiger!

We’ll also be celebrating Mardi Gras soon after. So get out your “beads, doubloons, cups, and trinkets” as we celebrate Fat Tuesday on Feb. 16th. And once the fog, and the hangovers, clears the next morning it’s on to Ash Wednesday (Feb 17) and the beginning of the Lenten season.

And we’ll be closing out the month with the joyous Jewish holiday of Purim which begins at sundown on the 27th, continuing into the 28th. Did you know one of the tenants of Purim is to “drink to you drop?” Sweeeeet!

Here’s some fun facts about February…

Month of year: 2nd
Days: 28
Birthstone: Amethyst
Flower: Violet
Season: Winter
Horoscope: Aquarius, Pisces
History: February, named for the Roman purification ritual Februa, was one of the last months added to the Roman calendar.
Important Observances:
Black History Month, Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, Purim

And remember – someone, somewhere is celebrating something. And we are too! So join us as we celebrate the holidays of the year. One day at a time.

Happy February!!

*Source: wikipedia – Black History Month

links:
Valentine’s Day : Amore on the Net
Mardi Gras : Mardi Gras on the Net
Independence Day on the Net : President’s Day
Purim: Purim on the Net

Today, Sunday January 17, is the birthday of US First Lady Michelle Obama.

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the forty-fourth President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States.

Michelle Robinson was born and grew up on the South Side of Chicago. She graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. After completing her formal education, she returned to Chicago and accepted a position with the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center. Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband’s presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men’s basketball coach at Oregon State University.*

*source: wikipedia – Michelle Obama

Reminder: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday will be celebrated next week, Monday January 18, 2010. Remember – It’s A Day On, Not A Day Off!!

Moe Info: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day On the Net