Posts Tagged ‘holiday’
Happy Canada Day!
Friday, July 1st, 2011Lobster Trap Tree
Sunday, December 5th, 2010I’d heard about this on the radio, but I only now saw a photo (one of Yahoo! News’ most viewed) of the 50 foot lobster trap tree on Beal’s Island. Apparently they are competing with Rockland and Gloucester, Mass. for the tallest tree.
(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
“In this photo taken on Dec. 2, 2010, Albert Carver, looks at a 50-foot-tall Christmas tree made of lobster traps on Beals Island, Maine. Some of the top lobster-fishing ports in New England are claiming bragging rights about who has the biggest and best Christmas tree created from lobster traps. The groups that put up the trees say they draw attention to the ports’ maritime heritage, bring people together and raise money for good causes. The tree in Beals helps raises money for the Beals-Jonesport Fourth of July festivities and the one in Gloucester benefits a nonprofit devoted to the arts.”
Cambridge Schools Celebrate Muslim Holidays
Monday, October 11th, 2010Wow, Cambridge, Massachusetts’ public schools are closing for Eid al-Fitr in the 2011-2012 school year.
Check out this article from Sunday’s Boston Globe: “School system to get Muslim holiday.”
“At a time when I think the Muslim population is being characterized with a broad brush in a negative way, I think it’s important for us to say we’re not going to do that here,” [Cambridge School Committee member Marc] McGovern said.
Cambridge schools already close for some Christian and Jewish holidays, and McGovern said he believes Muslims should be treated equally.
“The issue that sort of came up was should we celebrate any religious holidays, but there was not the will to take away Good Friday or one of the Jewish holidays,” he said. “So I said, if that is the case, I think we have an obligation to celebrate one of the Muslim holidays, as well.”
I kind of want to move to Cambridge, now. Wow.
The last line is fantastic: “Can’t please everybody,” he said. “You have to do what you think is right.”
Ramadan Kareem!
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010Today’s the first day of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims. I spoke about the practices back on the Newlywed in Dubai blog (see Ramadan).
The basic gist is that for a month Muslims fast from dawn until sunset; using it as time for inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control. The usual practice is to have a pre-fast meal in the early morning and a post-fast meal after dark.
I was amazed in Dubai how many consumer products used Ramadan in marketing. One example I showed on the blog was the Ramadan M&Ms bag (see Ruining Ramadan).
There was an bus stop poster ad I always meant to take a photo of but didn’t. It was always too hot to stop, and I was driving fast in my air conditioned car. After the ads came down I kicked myself.
But then I found an image online.
First a little background – the Islamic calendar is lunar, so the start of Ramadan is based on the first waxing crescent moon.
Pretty awesome, isn’t it?
Ramadan Kareem, everyone. Go in peace.
Happy Fourth of July!
Sunday, July 4th, 2010I was going to be patriotic today, but I’m not great at that. So instead? Disney lesson!
You might remember this chap below from a Newlywed in Dubai blog post two years ago today (see 4 On The 4th).
His name is Sam the Olympic Eagle, he was the mascot of the 1984 Summer Olympics, and was designed by artists at the Walt Disney Company.
What makes this interesting (at least, to me) is that there are two other Sam Eagles out there, both also owned by Disney.
From 1974 to 1988 Disneyland park’s rotating Carousel Theater was home to the America Sings attraction which was hosted by “Eagle Sam” who was voiced by Burl Ives.
Interestingly, once the attraction closed most of the Audio-Animatronic animals were reused in the then-being-constructed Splash Mountain, which opened the summer of 1989.
The other Sam character is Sam the Eagle the censor and cultural moderator of the Muppets, who are now owned by Disney.
My favorite Sam the Eagle line is from the Disney theme park attraction MuppetVision 3D. In charge of the show’s grand finale, Sam says he has planned “a tribute to all nations, but mostly America”.
Awesome.
Anyway, thanks for putting up with this lesson, and Happy Fourth!
Happy Canada Day
Thursday, July 1st, 2010
I bet you thought I forgot that today was July 1, eh?
Nope, I’d never forget Canada Day!
Go celebrate with your loved ones.
Happy UFO Day
Thursday, June 24th, 2010Today’s the 53rd anniversary of Kenneth Arnold’s UFO sighting, a/k/a UFO Day!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
If you’re Irish or not, I want to wish you all a very Happy St Patrick’s Day!
Now go drink some green beer like the Celts used to in 400 AD.
And watch out for the snakes.
