Origin of Rosh Hashana

Taken from Wikipedia

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה‎, literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The Biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (Hebrew: יוֹם תְּרוּעָה‎, literally "day [of] shouting/raising a noise") or the Feast of Trumpets. It is the first of the High Holy Days or יָמִים נוֹרָאִים Yamim Nora'im ("Days of Awe") which usually occur in the early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. Rosh Hashanah is a two-day celebration, which begins on the first day of Tishrei. Tishrei is the first month of the Jewish civil year, but the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year.
The day is said to be the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of humanity's role in God's world. Rosh Hashanah customs include sounding the shofar (a hollowed-out ram's horn) and eating symbolic foods such as apples dipped in honey to evoke a "sweet new year".

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Until next time!
Cherise, the Mompreneur

Origin of National Grandparents Day

Taken from Wikipedia

National Grandparents Day

National Grandparents' Day is a secular holiday celebrated in the United States since 1978 and officially recognized in a number of countries on various days of the year, either as one holiday or sometimes as a separate Grandmothers' Day and Grandfathers' Day (for the first time Grandma's Day was celebrated in Poland in 1965,^[1]see below for dates by country). One celebrates both paternal and maternal grandparents.

History[edit]

Marian McQuade of Oak Hill, West Virginia, has been recognized nationally by the United States Senate – in particular by Senators Jennings Randolph;^[2] and Robert Byrd – and by President Jimmy Carter, as the founder of National Grandparents Day. McQuade made it her goal to educate the youth in the community^{[clarification needed]} about the important contributions seniors have made throughout history. She also urged the youth to "adopt" a grandparent, not just for one day a year, but rather for a lifetime.
In 1973, Senator Jennings Randolph (D-WV) introduced a resolution to the senate to make Grandparents' Day a national holiday. West Virginia's Governor Arch Moore had proclaimed an annual Grandparents' Day for the state, at the urging of Marian McQuade. When Senator Randolph's resolution in the U.S. Senate died in committee, Marian McQuade organized supporters and began contacting governors, senators, and congressmen in all fifty states. She urged each state to proclaim their own Grandparents' Day. Within three years, she had received Grandparents' Day proclamations from forty-three states. She sent copies of the proclamations to Senator Randolph.^{[citation needed]}
In February 1977, Senator Randolph, with the concurrence of many other senators, introduced a joint resolution to the senate requesting the president to "issue annually a proclamation designating the first Sunday of September after Labor Day of each year as 'National Grandparents' Day'." Congress passed the legislation proclaiming the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents' Day and, on August 3, 1978, then-President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation.^[3][4] The statute cites the day's purpose: "...to honor grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children's children, and to help children become aware of strength, information, and guidance older people can offer".

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Until next time,
Cherise, the mompreneur

A video series for young children (Spotlight)

Caleb & Sophia

I'm starting a new feature in my blog called Spotlight. Spotlight will highlight different things in my family's life that we feel we can't live without.

So my /lo likes to watch television. But only kinda'! Maybe I should say that he likes to play and stop and glance at the television from time to time. Can you relate?

Anyway, as much as I love children's shows like Sesame Street, Peg + Cat, Super Why, etc,  that teach children. But every so often, I'd like to switch things up, especially when someone in the supermarket comments that there is a problem and you find yourself quoting a toddler cartoon!

One video series I've found that my LO LOVES is the 'Become Jehovah's Friend" series found at jw.org. You can find them here. The reason I love these so much is because it doesn't shove religion down children's throats (as some have assumed). But it teaches your children to obey their parents, forgive freely, be kind and share, say please and thank you as well as many other helpful things. There are videos, songs and activies for them.

I hope your LOs enjoy this as much as mine does.

Until next time!
Cherise, the Mompreneur

origin of Labor Day

Copied from Wikipedia:

Labor Day in the United States is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a celebration of the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country.

Labor Day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, who organized the first parade in New York City. After the Haymarket Massacre, which occurred in Chicago on May 4, 1886, U.S. President Grover Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the affair. Thus, in 1887, it was established as an official holiday in September to support the Labor Day that the Knights favored.^[1]

The equivalent holiday in Canada, Labour Day, is also celebrated on the first Monday of September. In many other countries (more than 80 worldwide), "Labour Day" is synonymous with, or linked with, International Workers' Day, which is observed on May 1. 

History[edit]

In 1882, Matthew Maguire, a machinist, first proposed the holiday while serving as secretary of the CLU (Central Labor Union) of New York.^[2] Others argue that it was first proposed by Peter J. McGuire of the American Federation of Labor in May 1882,^[3] after witnessing the annual labour festival held in Toronto, Canada.^[4] Oregon was the first state to make it a holiday on February 21, 1887. By the time it became a federal holiday in 1894, thirty states officially celebrated Labor Day.^[3]

Following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, the United States Congress unanimously voted to approve rush legislation that made Labor Day a national holiday; President Grover Cleveland signed it into law a mere six days after the end of the strike.^[5] The September date originally chosen by the CLU of New York and observed by many of the nation's trade unions for the past several years was selected rather than the more widespreadInternational Workers' Day because Cleveland was concerned that observance of the latter would be associated with the nascent socialist and anarchist movements that, though distinct from one another, had rallied to commemorate the Haymarket Affair in International Workers' Day.^[6][7] All U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the territories have made it a statutory holiday.

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Until next time!

Cherise, the Mompreneur