origin of Memorial Day

Taken from Wikipedia.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day
The gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery are decorated by U.S. flags on Memorial Day weekend.
Official name	Memorial Day
Observed by	United States
Type	National
Observances	Remembrance of American war dead
Date	Last Monday in May
2014 date	May 26  (2014-05-26)
2015 date	May 25  (2015-05-25)
2016 date	May 30  (2016-05-30)
2017 date	May 29  (2017-05-29)
Frequency	annual

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces.^[1] The holiday, which is observed every year on the last Monday of May,^[2] originated as Decoration Day after the American Civil War in 1868, when the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans — established it as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.^[3] By the 20th century, competing Union and Confederate holiday traditions, celebrated on different days, had merged, and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service.^[1] It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.

Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries.

Annual Decoration Days for particular cemeteries are held on a Sunday in late spring or early summer in some rural areas of the American South, notably in the mountain areas. In cases involving a family graveyard where remote ancestors as well as those who were deceased more recently are buried, this may take on the character of an extended family reunion to which some people travel hundreds of miles. People gather on the designated day and put flowers on graves and renew contacts with relatives and others. There often is a religious service and a picnic-like "dinner on the ground," the traditional term for a potluck meal in which people used to spread the dishes out on sheets or tablecloths on the grass. It is believed that this practice began before the American Civil War and thus may reflect the real origin of the "memorial day" idea.^[4]

Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day; Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving, while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans.^[5]

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Until next time,

Cherise the Mompreneur

Origin of Mother's Day

Taken from Wikipedia.

Mother's Day (United States)   

Mother's Day
Examples of handmade Mother's Day gifts
Observed by	USA
Type	Cultural, commercial
Observances	Church services, distribution of carnations, breakfasts in bed and family dinners[1]
Date	Second Sunday in May
2014 date	May 11  (2014-05-11)
2015 date	May 10  (2015-05-10)
2016 date	May 8  (2016-05-08)
2017 date	May 14  (2017-05-14)
Frequency	annual
Related to	Father's Day, Parents' Day

Mother's Day in the United States is an annual holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well as the positive contributions that they make to society. Although many Mother's Day celebrations world-wide have quite different origins and traditions, most have now been influenced by the more recent American tradition established by Anna Jarvis, who campaigned for the holiday. Organized by Jarvis, the first official Mother's Day was celebrated at St Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, which now holds the International Mother's Day Shrine.^[2] Previous attempts at establishing Mother's Day in the United States sought to promote peace by means of honoring mothers who had lost or were at risk of losing their sons to war.

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Until next time!
Cherise, the Mompreneur

Origin of Cinco de Mayo

Taken from Wikipedia


Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") is a celebration held on May 5. The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín.^[1][2] In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mistaken to be Mexico's Independence Day—the most important national holiday in Mexico—which is celebrated on September 16.^[1][3]

Events leading to the Battle of Puebla

Cinco de Mayo has its roots in the French occupation of Mexico, which took place in the aftermath of the Mexican–American War of 1846–48 and the 1858–61 Reform War. The Reform War was a civil war and it pitted Liberals (who believed in separation of church and state and freedom of religion) against the Conservatives (who favored a tight bond between the Roman Catholic Church and the Mexican State).^[4] These wars left the Mexican Treasury nearly bankrupt. On July 17, 1861, Mexican President Benito Juárez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments would be suspended for two years.^[5][6] In response, France, Britain, and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz to demand reimbursement. Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew, but France, at the time ruled by Napoleon III, decided to use the opportunity to establish a Latin empire in Mexico that would favor French interests, the Second Mexican Empire.

French invasion

Main article: Battle of Puebla

Late in 1861, a well-armed French fleet stormed Veracruz, landing a large French force and driving President Juárez and his government into retreat.^[7] Moving on from Veracruz towards Mexico City, the French army encountered heavy resistance from the Mexicans close to Puebla, at the Mexican forts of Loreto and Guadalupe.^[8] The 6,000-strong^[9] French army^{[10][note 1]} attacked the much smaller^[11] and poorly equipped Mexican army of 2,000.^{[12][note 2]} Yet, on May 5, 1862,^[13] the Mexicans managed to decisively crush the French army, then considered "the premier army in the world".^[14][15][16]

Mexican victory

The victory represented a significant morale boost to the Mexican army and the Mexican people at large. In the description of The History Channel, "Although not a major strategic win in the overall war against the French, Zaragoza's success at Puebla represented a great symbolic victory for the Mexican government and bolstered the resistance movement."^[17] As Time magazine remarked, "The Puebla victory came to symbolize unity and pride for what seemed like a Mexican David defeating a French Goliath."^[18] It helped establish a much-needed sense of national unity and patriotism.^[8]

Events after the battle

The Mexican victory, however, was short-lived. A year later, with thirty thousand troops, the French were able to defeat the Mexican army, capture Mexico City, and install Emperor Maximilian I as ruler of Mexico.^[19] The French victory was short-lived, lasting only three years, from 1864 to 1867.^[19] By 1865, "with the American Civil War now over, the U.S. began to provide more political and military assistance to Mexico to expel the French".^[19] Upon the conclusion of the U.S. Civil War, Napoleon III, facing a persistent Mexican guerilla resistance, the threat of war with Prussia, and "the prospect of a serious scrap with the United States", retreated from Mexico starting in 1866.^[20] The Mexicans recaptured Mexico City, and Maximilian I was apprehended and executed, along with his Mexican generals Miramón and Mejía, in the Cerro de las Campanas, Querétaro.^[19][6] "On June 5, 1867, Benito Juarez finally entered Mexico City where he installed a legitimate government and reorganized his administration."^[6]

Significance

The Battle of Puebla was important for at least two reasons. First, although considerably outnumbered, the Mexicans defeated a much better-equipped French army. "This battle was significant in that the 4,000 Mexican soldiers were greatly outnumbered by the well-equipped French army of 8,000 that had not been defeated for almost 50 years." ^{[21][22] [note 3]} Second, since the Battle of Puebla, no country in the Americas has subsequently been invaded by any other European military force.^{[23][note 4]}

Consequences to the United States

Further information: France in the American Civil War

Cinco de Mayo dancers greeted by U.S. President George W. Bush

Donald W. Miles states, "At the time, there were fears in the United States that the French would use Mexico as a base to back the Confederacy, so President Lincoln and his Secretary of State went out.... to continue reading, click here.

Until next time!
Cherise, the Mompreneur 

No more Mommy Guilt part 2

image taken from ecochiclife(dot)net

With Mother's Day around the corner, I thought that now would be a good time to discuss 'Mommy guilt' again.

1. Stop comparing. So what Johnny is potty trained at 12 months old and Samantha can read at age 2. The only thing that matters is that you love your child as best you can and as much as they need. Besides, every child develops differently. Comparing two children's developments is like comparing apples to oranges. Stop it!

2. You're going to make mistakes. News flash: you're human. So you will put a diaper on backwards (or am I the only one who's done that?), forget to pull the meat out the freezer and have to get fast food, and

3. You are not responsible for everything your child does. If you're child get straight A's on their report card or shot the winning goal for the championship game, would you take credit? Then why is it your fault when they make bad decisions? It's our responsibility to teach them the right way. It's their responsibility to follow that advice.

4. Try to find harmony instead of balance. You will never be able to spend equal amounts of time in each important area of your life. Sometimes you'll miss that recital for a work deadline. But with harmony, you will be able to put the time in each area of your life as needed. So you may miss this week's game but make the Homecoming game. You may work late and miss putting them to bed but get them up and dressed for school every morning. Harmony is the key.

5. Celebrate those wins, no matter how 'small'. Okay, so the dishes are piling in the sink, the laundry isn't folded and the beds aren't made. But your little one is sitting in your lap, laughing at the faces you're making. Win! As long as you do the best by that child, and they are happy, you've won!

6. You deserve a break. If you are overworked, sleep deprived and in a generally bad mood, how can you keep your child happy? How can you give them your best when you have nothing left to give? In parenthood, we are constantly pouring from our cups, giving and giving to our children. We MUST refill our cup to keep giving. So let the kids stay with dad and go to a spa, spend the night in a hotel room alone with the cell phone on silent, or just take a warm bubble bath with a glass of wine and a good book. You deserve it.

7. Children are very forgiving. The other day, when picking up my toddler, I scratched his face and poked him in the eye. Great parenting, right? But before I could even apologize, he yelled out: 'I'm okay!!!'. Our children know we love them. So if they get a bad haircut, their white shirt is now pink from the wash, or you got shampoo in their eyes, they forgive you. And they love you.

Until next time!
Cherise, the Mompreneur