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Clergy Appreciation Day falls on the second Sunday of October during Clergy Appreciation Month. This event began as Pastor Appreciation Day, founded by Jerry Frear of Under His Wings. It later became Clergy Appreciation Month, a month open to all faith leaders (Rabbis, Monks, Imams, Priests) regardless of religion. Frear started the original Pastor Appreciation Day based upon a survey he and his staff conducted in 1992 that found that many of the clergy were unhappy in their jobs. The day focuses on celebrating everything faith leaders do to minister to their flocks and support the local community. Over a few years, it became clear that an entire month was needed and that clergy of other faiths should also be recognized. The focus on appreciating clergy seems to be working. When asked today, most faith leaders are devoted to their work and have a strong desire to work with their communities. Clergy Appreciation Month is about saying thank you to the shepherds of faith and learning more about what they do daily.

Africa

Oct

Columbus Day (BZ)(1492): October 12

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Columbus Day / Discovery Day / Friendship Day / Día de la Hispanidad / Día de la Raza / Native Americans' Day / Discovers' Day Locations: Belize, Mexico, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Spain, South Dakota & Hawaii, United States All of these events mark a historical anniversary. The celebration, however, originated with President Benjamin Harrison in 1892. You see, Harrison had a problem. In 1891, rioters in New Orleans killed 11 Italian immigrants, three of whom still held Italian citizenship. Even then, uniquely American hypocrisy reigned. Citizens hated immigrants, despite nearly every American descending from or being an immigrant. Six Italians were accused of murder in March of that year. By the next day, rumors whipped through the Big Easy, and a mob stormed the jail. The rioters murdered 11 Italians as retribution. The shootings and lynchings caused a political nightmare for the Harrison Administration with the Italian government, and Harrison was up for re-election. Italy recalled its officials, and American officials vacated Rome. Threats of war were traded, and nobody was happy. Since the mid-nineteenth century, Italians choosing US citizenship had become a significant voting block in the United States. Harrison needed their vote, and paying restitution to the Italian government produced ridicule rather than results. An idea formed. It was the 400th anniversary of Columbus' landing in the Americas. Columbus was Italian, and many large spectaculars were already planned. Why not make Columbus Day an official federal holiday for the year 1892? That worked. Diplomats returned to their posts, war was averted, and Italians celebrated in the Americas. Columbus Day became an official annual holiday in the United States by a joint Congressional/Presidential resolution on April 30, 1934, with modification in 1968 (36 USC 107) to the second Monday of October. Columbus Day commemorates the events of October 11-15, 1492, when Christopher Columbus and his crew first sighted land. Landfall occurred on October 12, 1492; he thought he had found a way to India. Instead, Columbus discovered the Bahamas, and it would take time for him to realize it was an entirely new continent. Columbus Day, on October 12, is a national holiday in Belize, and the Bahamas refer to it as Discovery Day. In Spain, it is called Día de la Hispanidad, or Hispanity Day. In the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, it is called Friendship Day, and Mexico refers to the anniversary as Día de la Raza, or Day of Race. The United States also marks the anniversary with Native American Day and the state of Hawaii with Discovers' Day. FIRST EUROPEANS Most Americans believe that Columbus was the first European to discover America. He was the first to find the islands of the Caribbean, but not mainland North America. The first European to land on American soil was Leif Eriksson, a Viking, on October 9, 1000 AD. But first, he saw it a year before when his ship was blown off course leaving Iceland. In 999 AD, he did not land. He called the new land Helluland (Stone Slab Land). The following year, he returned, sailing south, and eventually set up camp in what we refer to as present-day Newfoundland, which he called Vinland since it was bursting with spectacular wine grapes. Archeologists in the 1960s uncovered the original camp in modern L'Anse aux Meadows, a UNESCO world heritage site today. Eriksson wasn't the first European to see America. That honor falls to another Viking, Bjarni Herjolfsson. Herjolfsson saw a land covered in trees in 986 AD. He was trying to get to Greenland with his father, Erik the Red. He missed it. However, Herjolfsson did not set foot on American soil; that would have to wait another 13 years. On October 9, 1825, the first group of immigrants from Norway arrived in the United States. In 1964 President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed October 9 as Leif Eriksson Day. CONTROVERSY OVER COLUMBUS Columbus Day has become controversial in the United States because his discovery also led to the genocide of Native Americans, who lost 90% of their people over the next 400 years due to illness, enforced poverty, land theft, discrimination, and wars. That Columbus initiated colonialism through his discovery, which led to slavery and the disenfranchisement of Native Americans, is another reason several groups do not want the day or the explorer remembered. However, Columbus Day is significant to Italian Americans, who view the explorer with great pride. An Italian, he sailed to America under the patronage of the Spanish King and Queen. As far as I can tell, Alabama, in 2000, was the first state to change Columbus Day to American Indian Day in honor of America's indigenous people. By 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement, Native American organizations, and other social justice movements continued to call into question Columbus' legacy and advocate for the abolition of the holiday. In 2021, after a rise of activism to recognize indigenous people in the United States rather than their colonizers, President Biden proclaimed the first-ever National Indigenous Peoples' Day in place of Columbus Day.

Africa

Oct

Cookbook Launch Day: October 12

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National Cookbook Launch Day is timed to get any new cookbooks on the shelves before the holiday rush. Cookbooks are a popular gift to get and give. In addition to launching a book, this is a day to create your family cookbook by collecting recipes from friends and family, compiling them, and binding them. Tools exist today that make digital publishing of your family’s recipes in a paperback form more accessible than ever, Use this day to launch your cookbook or begin creating a legacy for your family of recipes for generations to come.

Africa

Oct

Dia de la Raza (MX)(1492): October 12

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Africa

Oct

Discoverers' Day (US-HI)(1492): October 12

06:20 AM | -

Columbus Day / Discovery Day / Friendship Day / Día de la Hispanidad / Día de la Raza / Native Americans' Day / Discoverers' Day Locations: Belize, Mexico, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Spain, South Dakota & Hawaii, USA These commemorations acknowledge a historic milestone. Its inception began with President Benjamin Harrison in 1892 due to a predicament. In 1891, an unruly mob in New Orleans took the lives of 11 Italian immigrants, of which three still possessed Italian citizenship. The irony was palpable; the very immigrants, from whom many Americans descended, were despised. After accusations of murder were levied against six Italians, a fueled mob retaliated, resulting in the death of those above 11. This incident strained relations between the Harrison Administration and Italy. Italy withdrew its diplomats, while American representatives departed from Rome. Amid these tensions, Harrison faced re-election. With Italians becoming a significant electorate in the US, Harrison sought their favor. The upcoming 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage presented an opportunity. Celebrating Columbus, an Italian figure, was deemed a strategic move. Columbus Day was declared a federal holiday in 1892, further cemented in 1934, and adjusted in 1968. Columbus Day remembers the period between October 11-15, 1492, marking Columbus' discovery. Initially thinking he had found a route to India on October 12, he had landed in the Bahamas, recognizing its true identity only later. Different nations honor this day uniquely: Belize celebrates it as Columbus Day, the Bahamas as Discovery Day, Spain as Día de la Hispanidad, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as Friendship Day, and Mexico as Día de la Raza. The USA also acknowledges it with Native Americans' Day and Hawaii Discoverers' Day. FIRST EUROPEANS While Columbus is credited with discovering the Caribbean islands, he wasn't the first European to land on the American mainland. That distinction goes to Viking Leif Eriksson in 1000 AD, preceded by a sighting in 999 AD. He dubbed this land Helluland and eventually settled in what's now Newfoundland, named Vinland, due to its vine-rich landscape. Eriksson's discovery site was later unearthed at L'Anse aux Meadows, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. However, the first European to glimpse America was Viking Bjarni Herjolfsson in 986 AD. Though he didn't land, he paved the way for Eriksson's later discovery. Significantly, the initial Norwegian immigrants arrived in the US on October 9, 1825. By 1964, this date was commemorated as Leif Eriksson Day. CONTROVERSY OVER COLUMBUS Columbus Day has become controversial in the United States because his discovery also led to the genocide of Native Americans, who lost 90% of their people over the next 400 years due to illness, enforced poverty, land theft, discrimination, and wars. That Columbus initiated colonialism through his discovery, which led to slavery and the disenfranchisement of Native Americans, is another reason several groups do not want the day or the explorer remembered. However, Columbus Day is significant to Italian Americans, who view the explorer with great pride. An Italian, he sailed to America under the patronage of the Spanish King and Queen. As far as I can tell, Alabama, in 2000, was the first state to change Columbus Day to American Indian Day in honor of America's indigenous people. By 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement, Native American organizations, and other social justice movements continued to call into question Columbus' legacy and advocate for the abolition of the holiday. In 2021, after a rise of activism to recognize indigenous people in the United States rather than their colonizers, President Biden proclaimed the first-ever National Indigenous Peoples' Day instead of Columbus Day.

Africa

Oct

06:20 AM | -

Africa