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Today is Independence Day in Lebanon.

Lebanon was a part of the Ottoman Empire for many years. After World War I, despite the promises that had been made, the Middle East was partitioned into British and French sectors with Lebanon going to the French. During World War II, the Vichy government troops in Lebanon were defeated by the Free French and British troops in the area and on November 26, 1941, a representative of the Free French Government under de Gaulle proclaimed Lebanese independence.

The French didn’t leave, however, and continued exercising authority under their ‘mandate’. On 8 November, 1943, newly-elected local ministers announced that the ‘mandate’ was ended. The French promptly threw them in jail. The incident united the Christians and Muslims against the mandate, led to international pressure on France and massive street protests.

Finally France yielded and released the prisoners on November 23, 1943 and since then this date has been celebrated as Lebanon Independence Day.

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Today is the birthday, in 1950, of American musician and actor Steven Van Zandt, (Little Steven or Miami Steve), guitarist with South Side Johnny, then Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul. Created music-industry activist group Artists United Against Apartheid as an action against the Sun City resort in South Africa, Springsteen, U2, Bob Dylan and Run DMC, collaborated on ‘Sun City’. He starred as Silvio Dante in the TV Series The Sopranos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBTL4IwOTaU

Thanksgiving is coming up and after that more holidays. People are getting stressed when they’re supposed to be getting happy. Here are a couple little tunes that might relieve your stress. Relax and enjoy!

I like this one!

Today is Independence Day in North Macedonia. This holiday is North Macedonia’s National Day and is known in Macedonian as ‘Den na nezavisnosta’. This holiday marks the date of the 1991 Referendum for Independence.

Yugoslavia started to break apart in June 1991, when Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence. Macedonia avoided the conflicts that affected the other federal states, when on 8 September 1991 the Referendum for Independence in Macedonia that took place. Over 95.5% of the voters in the Referendum voted for Independence.

The results were announced on 18 September 1991 and on 25 September 1991, the independence of the Republic of Macedonia was declared with a new constitution adopted in November 1991. The international recognition of Macedonia’s Declaration of independence was slow as Greece objected to the use of the name Macedonia, which is the same as one of its own provinces. This is why the country changed its name to North Macedonia in June 2018.

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Today is the birthday, in 1932, of Patsy Cline country music singer. Her hits began in 1957 with Donn Hecht’s and Alan Block’s ‘Walkin’ After Midnight’, Hank Cochran’s and Harlan Howard’s ‘I Fall to Pieces’, Willie Nelson’s ‘Crazy’ and ended in 1963 with Don Gibson’s ‘Sweet Dreams’. She died aged 30 on 5 March 1963 at the height of her career in a plane crash. She was one of the most influential, successful and acclaimed female vocalists of the 20th century. Ten years after her death, in 1973, she became the first female solo artist inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4Bs8kSz4pY