Today is Independence Day in Finland. This holiday is celebrated annually on December 6th and marks the Declaration of Independence from the Russian empire by the Finnish Parliament in 1917.
Finland had been part of the Russian Empire since 1809. Following the Russian revolution and the defeats in the First World War, movements within Finland pushed for independence from Russia and on December 6th 1917, the parliament declared Finland as an independent state.
Official Independence Day festivities usually commence with the raising of the Finnish flag on Tähtitorninmäki (“Observatory Hill”) in Helsinki.
A religious service is held at Helsinki Cathedral, and official visits are made to the war memorials of the second world war. Another event is the annual military parade by personnel of the Finnish Defense Forces, which is one of the big highlights and is a nationally televised event.
Some Finns spend the day watching the classical movie The Unknown Soldier from 1955 by Edvin Laine based on the novel of Väinö Linna, while others enjoy good homemade food, or simply enjoy Finnish winter activities.
An Independence Day tradition is for families to light two candles in the windows of their homes in the evening. This custom became commonplace during the 1920s and is said to recall a time when two candles were placed in the window as a sign to Finnish soldiers that the house would offer them shelter and hide them from the Russians.
Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää!
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Today is the birthday, in 1920, of Dave Brubeck, jazz pianist, (1962 UK No.12 album ‘Time Further Out’). Brubeck died of heart failure one day before his 92nd birthday on December 5, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT9Eh8wNMkw
Martyrdom Of Hazrat Fatimah, also known as Fāṭimīyya, is a bank holiday in Iran observed on the third day of the Islamic month Jumada al-Thani. Fatimah bin Muhammad was the youngest daughter and the only child of the prophet Muhammad and Khadijah who lived to adulthood, and therefore part of Muhammad’s household.
Fatimah was born in Mecca to Khadija, the first of Muhammad’s wives. She had three sisters and three brothers, all of whom died in childhood. She was a wife of Ali, Muhammad’s cousin, and was the mother of the second and third Imams, Hasan and Hussain.
Fatimah died, six months after Muhammad, aged 29 on 3 Jumada al-Thani 632 AD. Shia belief states that her death was the result of injuries sustained after her house was raided by Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
Fatimah remains one of the most popular girl’s names throughout the Muslim world. Fatimah is seen as a vital character in Islam and is considered a role model for all Muslim women.
Today is World Wildlife Conservation Day. This special day was first started in 2014 by a group of conservationists and animal lovers who wanted to raise awareness about the importance of conserving wild animals, plants, and habitats for future generations.
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SIGNZ!
Today is the birthday, in 1951, of Gary Rossington, American musician best known as a founder of southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd who had the 1974 US No. 8 single ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ the 1977 US No. 5 album Street Survivors and the 1982 UK No.21 single ‘Freebird’. Rossington died at his home in Milton, Georgia, on 5 March 2023, age 71. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYhh-avGjpU
Today is the UAE National Day. The holiday commemorates the United Arab Emirate’s formal nationalisation from the British Protectorate Treaties as a result of the expiration of a British treaty on December 2nd 1971. This lead to the eventual, federal unification of seven sheikhdoms in the former Trucial States in 1971 to form the modern-day country.
In an effort to protect their trade routes to India, the British mounted campaigns against Ras Al Khaimah and other harbors along the coast, including the Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 and the more successful campaign of 1819. The following year, Britain and a number of local rulers signed a maritime truce, giving rise to the term Trucial States, which came to define the status of the coastal emirates. A further treaty was signed in 1843 and in 1853, the Perpetual Maritime Truce was agreed. To this was added the ‘Exclusive Agreements’, signed in 1892, which made the Trucial States a British protectorate.
Under the 1892 treaty, the trucial sheikhs agreed not to dispose of any territory except to the British and not to enter into relationships with any foreign government other than the British without their consent. In return, the British promised to protect the Trucial Coast from all aggression by sea and to help in case of land attack. British maritime policing meant that pearling fleets could operate in relative security
By 1966, it had become clear that the British government could no longer afford to administer and protect the Trucial States, what is now the United Arab Emirates. the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, fearing vulnerability, tried to persuade the British to honor the protection treaties by offering to pay the full costs of keeping the British Armed Forces in the Emirates.
Fears of vulnerability were realized the day before independence. An Iranian destroyer group broke formation from an exercise in the lower Gulf, sailing to the Tunb islands. The islands were taken by force, civilians and Arab defenders alike allowed to flee. A British warship stood idle during the course of the invasion. A destroyer group approached the island of Abu Musa as well. But there, Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi had already negotiated with the Iranian shah, and the island was quickly leased to Iran for $3 million a year. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia laid claim to swathes of Abu Dhabi.
On 2 December 1971, six of the emirates (Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah, and Umm Al Quwain) agreed to enter into a union named the United Arab Emirates. Ras al-Khaimah joined later, on 10 January 1972.
Historic photo depicting the first hoisting of the United Arab Emirates flag by the rulers of the emirates at the Union House in Dubai on 2 December 1971
Children’s Books for Christmas!
BADA BINGLE!!!
There ought to be a better way to start the day than getting up.
Walmart is giving out free turkeys to anyone who can outrun security.
No one in my entire life has believed in me more than the waiter who just gave me a single napkin to use while eating my lunch.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting an annual increase.
Why don’t all of the Republican House members who are afraid to use the restroom just poop in the hallway like their supporters did?
The best way to save money is to go into the house and lie down.
What the hell happened to all the dog and cat eating? That still going on or no?
I’m beginning to think my husband isn’t going to apologize for the way he acted in my dream last night.
Guess how many times I have shared a bathroom with a trans person? I have no idea because I mind my own business.
I hate how a fly will get into your house through a 2mm crack in a bathroom window, but can’t find its way out even if you take the side of your house off.
80 million Americans expected to travel for the holiday. Just 3 weeks ago they couldn’t afford eggs.
To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there’s no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.
Today is the birthday, in 1951, of Kimberley Rew from British-American rock band Katrina And The Waves, best known for the 1985 hit ‘Walking on Sunshine’. They also won the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘Love Shine a Light’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPUmE-tne5U
Today King Tupou I Day is observed, a public holiday in Tonga. The holiday marks the start of the reign of King Tupou I in December, 1845 and the beginning of modern Tonga as a unified Christian Kingdom under the Tu’i Kanokupolu dynasty.
King George (Siaosi) Taufa’ahau Tupou I was Tonga’s first Christian King and he is seen as a key figure in the foundation of Modern Tonga. Tupou was born around 1797. December 4th is said to be his birthday, but that is not definitive. Tupou adopted the name Siaosi, the Tongan version of George, after King George III of the United Kingdom, when he was baptized in 1831.
He was declared King in 1845 following a consolidation of the various tribes that ruled over the area of Tonga. Tupou’s legacy is his help in spreading Christianity across the Pacific and his leadership in avoiding foreign domination from European nations. Despite a close relationship with Britain, Tonga never relinquished its sovereignty unlike many other countries in the region.
Tupou passed away at the age of 96 in 1893 after catching a cold.
Taufa’ahau Tupou I, King of Tonga (86), standing on a mat outside his palace in Neiafu. Image by Burton Brothers , via National Library of New Zealand
Oddly specific…
Welcome Christmas Season!
Today is the birthday, in 1981, of Britney Spears, US singer, (1999 US & UK No.1 single ”Baby One More Time’, 1999 album ‘Baby One More Time’, spent 82 weeks on the UK chart. Biggest selling teenage act in the world with album sales over 40m). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-u5WLJ9Yk4
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