Holiday

Dec

2024

‘Tis the Season…

Fun Christmas Flash Mobsss

Or this…

Or maybe this one!

or this one is nice…Enjoy!!

Dec

2023

Today is Sambisa Memorial Day in Nigeria. Every 22nd December, Nigeria mourns victims of Boko Haram insurgents and celebrates the victory of Nigeria’s military. The day is commemorated as Sambisa Memorial Day.

The Sambisa Forest is a forest in Borno State, northeast Nigeria. It is in the southwestern part of Chad Basin National Park, about 60 kilometers southeast of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. The name of the forest comes from the village of Sambisa which is on the border with Gwoza in the East. The forest had a large population of Leopards, Lions, Elephants, and Hyenas before its occupation in 2013 by the Boko Haram terrorists.

December 22 was chosen for the annual public holiday because it was on December 22, 2016, that the Nigerian Armed Forces took over the Sambisa Forest from Boko Haram. Boko Haram, officially known as Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād (Arabic: جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit. ‘Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad’), is an Islamist militant organization based in northeastern Nigeria, which is also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. Boko Haram was the world’s deadliest terror group during part of the mid-2010s according to the Global Terrorism Index.

Boko Haram has killed tens of thousands of people, in frequent attacks against the police, armed forces and civilians. It has resulted in the deaths of more than 300,000 children and has 2.3 million from their homes. Boko Haram has contributed to regional food crises and famines.

Inspirational…

Another fun Christmas song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsvOrtcrA5c

Dec

2023

I dreamed it was THURSDAY

São Tomé Day is a public holiday in the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe on December 21st each year. This holiday commemorates the arrival of the first Europeans to the island of São Tomé on this day in 1471. The traditional dates for the arrival of the Portuguese are December 21st 1471 for São Tomé and January 17th 1472 for Príncipe.

Both islands were uninhabited when the Portuguese arrived. It was decided that the islands would make good bases from which to trade with the African mainland and the first successful settlement of São Tomé was established in 1493 with Príncipe being settled 7 years later.

However, this wasn’t some idyllic new colony. The islands were stocked with African slaves and degredados (“undesirables” sent from Portugal), all of whom were forced to work on sugar plantations.

São Tomé and Príncipe achieved independence on 12 July 1975. Interestingly, Principe is where an experiment by Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington during a solar eclipse on May 29, 1919 proved Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

OOPS!

The Season’s Upon Us! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTx-sdR6Yzk

Nov

2023

Yup…It’s MONDAY

Today, the people of Colombia celebrate Independence of the City of Cartagena Day. The holiday commemorates November 11th 1811 when Cartagena became the first Colombian city to declare independence from the Spanish.

While celebrations focus on the city of Cartagena, this is a national holiday as the independence of Cartagena is seen as a key event in the struggle for freedom in Colombia and other parts of Latin America.

The Spanish first arrived in Colombia in 1499, founding the first permanent settlement in 1510. The city of Cartagena was founded on June 1st 1533, and named after Cartagena in Spain.

Due to its location, the city grew to be one of the most important cities in the Spanish Colonies with large political power and the location of the Viceroys.

From the late eighteenth century, resentment in the colonies had been growing as the Spanish insisted that the colonies could only trade with Spain, limiting their growth and also as the Spanish support for the Americans in the US war of independence increased taxation.

The desire for independence was ignited by an uprising in Bogota in 1810 and on November 11th 1811 Cartagena declared its independence from Spain. Before independence was gained in 1819, Cartagena was reclaimed by the Spanish and royalist forces, but its initial claim of independence remains is viewed as an important step towards the independence of Colombia.

Florida construction…

Today is the birthday, in 1953, of Andrew Ranken, drummer from Irish-British Celtic punk band The Pogues who scored the 1987 UK No.8 single ‘The Irish Rover’. Here are The Pogues with a kind of Christmas song… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9jbdgZidu8

Dec

2022

TUESDAY before Christmas

Today is a public holiday in Argentina to celebrate Argentina’s victory in the World Cup. The men’s soccer team, La Albiceleste, will travel to the obelisk in Buenos Aires to celebrate the victory with their fans and with the country.