All - Leep Calendar

Kevin Zaborney created National Hugging Day in 1986. Zaborney chose this day because he felt people are generally tired and in low spirits between Christmas/New Year and Valentine's Day, surmising a hug would cheer us up.

Africa

Jan

Moon—New: January 21

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The new moon occurs when the moon and the sun have the same elliptical longitude when the moon is at its closest point to the sun in its orbit. From earth, we usually cannot see it. The new moon is considered the first phase.

Africa

Jan

Point in Time Count: January 21-31

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The Point-in-Time (PIT) is an annual count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness during the last ten days of January in the United States. HUD requires that Continuums of Care conduct an annual count of people experiencing homelessness who are sheltered in emergency shelter, transitional housing, and Safe Havens on a single night. In 2023, the New York Times did an excellent feature story on the count, following census takers throughout communities across the US. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/03/business/economy/us-homeless-population-count.html

Africa

Jan

Proxigean Tide: January 21

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The Proxigean Tide occurs when the moon is in its new moon or full moon phase and closest to the Earth. The gravitational forces between the Earth and the moon create an extremely high tide, and it is not unusual for increased flooding to occur across the planet.

Africa

Jan

Puppy, Hug Your Puppy Day, Ntl.: January 21

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A day set aside to demonstrate your love and affection for dogs. This event first ran in 2019.

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Jan

Spring Festival Holiday (CN): January 21 - 27

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THE SPRING FESTIVAL The dates shown are for the official national holiday. The Spring Festival, a major holiday, is the name for the 15 days between Chinese New Year's Eve and the Festival of Lanterns. It is revered like Christmas in the west or the Eid holidays in the Islamic world. Nationally, it is a whole week's celebration. During the Spring Festival, gifts and red packets of money in even number denominations are exchanged. Families travel to be together; holiday foods are prepared on Chinese New Year's Eve. That night's feast is the "reunion dinner" and the most important holiday meal. Retailers go crazy with specials leading up to and during the festivities. Activities culminate on the 15th day with the Lantern Festival, marking the end of the annual Chinese New Year Celebration. For organizations with business interests in China, block out the week leading up to and the first seven days of the Spring Festival. Getting anyone to pay much attention will be challenging, and celebration is the theme. Each day of the Spring Festival has a different activity. Day one is the welcoming of the deities with firecrackers, dragon dancing, and a vegetarian diet. On day two, married daughters visit their parents. Day three is Red Mouth Day, and paper is burned, symbolizing the destruction of wrath. It is considered very unlucky to visit or have guests on this day. Day four features dinners hosted by employers. Businesses go back to work. Day five features birthday celebrations for the god of wealth. Firecrackers light the sky, ensuring his favor, good fortune, and prosperity in the year ahead. Day six is a day of rest. Day seven is the universal birthday, where everyone becomes one year older, regardless of their actual birthday. Buddhists will avoid meeting people, and non-Buddhists will eat a raw fish salad to promote wealth and prosperity in the year ahead. Day eight focuses on family dinners, with companies hosting lunch or dinner to celebrate the birth of the Jade Emperor. In the hours leading up to midnight, burning incense and food offerings make their way to the shrines of the Jade Emperor. Should a family fail to make offerings, the kitchen god reports their lack of adherence to the Jade Emperor. Day nine is a day for prayers and offerings to the Jade Emperor. Days ten through twelve host parties for the Jade Emperor. Day 13 is vegetarian, a day designed to cleanse the stomach. Prayers, offerings, and tributes to the Chinese god of war, General Guan Yu of the Han Dynasty, take center stage. Day 14 is open. The final day features the Shangyuan Festival of Lanterns. People eat traditional Chinese foods like rice dumplings, rice ball soup, and candies. Traditionally, families stroll the town carrying colorful lanterns.

Africa

Jan

Squirrel Day: January 21

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Squirrel Day, or Squirrel Appreciation Day, expresses our love for the little, nut-eating rascals. Squirrels are an essential part of the ecosystem and provide hours of joy to those lucky enough to watch them go about their day. This event was created in 2001 by Christy Hargrove of the Wild North Carolina Nature Center.

Africa

Jan

Use Your Gift Card Day, Ntl.: January 21

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Initiated in 2020, National Use Your Gift Card Day encourages people who received gift cards over the holidays and previous to get out and redeem the total amount. Each year, over $500 million in gift card expenditures go unused, which is 2% of the nearly $26 billion spent on gift cards. Put that money where it belongs: in your gift rather than the issuer's pocket. Redeem!

Africa

Jan

Answer Your Cat's Question Day: January 22

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Have a talkative cat? Today's the day you speak back and answer his or her question—another crazy holiday from Wellcat.

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Jan

Blonde Brownie Day, Ntl.: January 22

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National Blonde Brownie Day recognizes the blonde brownie, the first brownie ever included in a cookbook, The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook by Fanny Merrit Farmer, in 1896. This book changed the way American families cook. It was written in a teaching format rather than simply recipes. The day chosen for Blond Brownie Day may coincide with the book's release date. We are unable to confirm that. It was in 1898 that the words chocolate and brownie would finally appear together in an advertisement in the Kansas City Journal, and in 1899 before a chocolate brownie recipe would be published. Blonde brownies contain zero chocolate and are cookies baked in a pan and cut into rectangles. Today we often do this with chocolate chip cookie dough to shorten the time it takes to cook the cookies one sheet at a time. Technically, these pan chocolate chip cookies would be brownies. What differentiates a brownie from cookies and cake is the density of the finished product. Cookies tend to be flat and dense. Cake is high and light. Brownies are high and dense.

Africa

Jan

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) Week, Ntl.: January 22 - 28

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National CRNA Week focuses on anesthesia patient safety and the work of more than 50,000 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists in the United States. Through their expertise, they administer to over 45 million patients each year. The week's objective is to assist hospital administrators, patients, healthcare professionals, and policymakers in understanding the value of CRNA credentials and the services these professionals provide.

Africa

Jan

Chinese New Year (Rabbit) (CN): January 22

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Chinese New Year is a significant holiday in China and Chinese communities worldwide. It is treated much like Christmas in the west or the Eid holidays in the Islamic world. Festivities last 15 days and are now known as the Spring Festival in China. Red packets with money in even number denominations and gift exchange remain favorite traditions. Families travel far and wide to be together. Preparation of holiday foods specific to the event occurs the night before the Chinese New Year. This reunion dinner is the primary feast. Retailers pile on the specials leading up to and during the festivities. Activities culminate on the 15th day with the Lantern Festival, marking the end of the annual Chinese New Year Celebration. Chinese companies typically shut down for the two weeks of the Chinese New Year. This time is about celebrating.

Africa

Jan

Chinese Year of the Rabbit, 4721: January 22 - February 9

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The Chinese calendar is the backdrop of the Chinese year and is based upon the moon's phases and runs in 12-year cycles, each year denoting a different animal in the Chinese astrological lineup. 2023 is the year of the water rabbit. Numerically, this year would be 4721. The rabbit is associated with the moon and the early daylight hours. Men born under the rabbit are polite, and women born this year are very social. Both tend to be artistic, sensitive, and wonderful life partners. Overall, the year of the rabbit projects to be far more peaceful and serene than years. It's time to recharge.

Africa

Jan

Handwriting Analysis Week, Intl. (1737): January 22 - 28

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You can tell a lot about a person from their handwriting. It lays bare insecurities, strengths, personalities, biases, and where they are. Graphology is the study of handwriting; graphologists or graphoanalyst are the people who study it. Writing is individual to the person, and it changes over time. Consider diary entries you made in your teens and checks you wrote in your early twenties. Go back and look at those and see how your writing has changed. Increasingly with texting and computers, handwriting, especially cursive, is becoming a lost art. Some schools don't even teach cursive writing, which is a shame. It disadvantages students, especially in higher education or a business atmosphere. One writes two to three times faster in cursive than in printing. International Handwriting Analysis Week is your opportunity to learn what your writing says about you, play with your signature and appreciate the written word. Annually the week of John Hancock's birthday, January 23, 1737.

Africa

Jan

Magha (H): January 22 - February 20

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Magha is the eleventh month of the Hindu calendar and corresponds to January-February in the Gregorian calendar. Its name relates to the full moon, usually present or within the Magha star cluster. Magha is considered sacred and marks the beginning of the sun's northern path. Magha Purnima, the last and most important day of the month, is celebrated with holy baths. PLEASE NOTE: We use the Indian civil calendar, the official holiday calendar in India. The Hindu faith has many calendars, each specific to different regions and tribes, with dates and celebrations marked by differing positions of the sun, moon, and stars. Names of months and holidays and the corresponding dates in the Gregorian Calendar may vary widely from one calendar to the next. Determine the proper calendar before attending local events.

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