All - Leep Calendar

LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDID THING... INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CARE AND SUPPORT The International Day of Care and Support, observed annually on April 15, aims to raise awareness about the importance of care and support for individuals of all ages, particularly as populations worldwide continue to age. The day highlights caregiving's critical role in ensuring the well-being and quality of life for the elderly, the disabled, and those with chronic illnesses. It also emphasizes the need for comprehensive care systems and caregivers' challenges. Care refers to providing assistance, support, and services to individuals who need help with daily activities due to age, disability, illness, or other conditions. These include physical, emotional, and social support from family members, professional caregivers, and community services. Care can range from help with basic activities such as eating, bathing, and dressing to medical and therapeutic interventions, companionship, and emotional support. CHALLENGES OF CARE Several challenges are impacting who and how a person in need receives care, including: Growing Demand As populations age, the demand for care services increases significantly. This demographic shift strains existing healthcare and social support systems, which often need help to meet the rising needs. Shortage of Caregivers More professional caregivers and healthcare workers are needed. Many countries need help recruiting, training, and retaining sufficient caregivers to provide quality care. Financial Burden The cost of care can be prohibitively expensive, particularly for long-term care. Many individuals and families face financial difficulties in providing necessary care services, leading to unmet needs and disparities in care access. Physical and Emotional Strain Caregivers, particularly family members, often experience significant physical and emotional strain. The demands of caregiving can lead to burnout, stress, and health problems for caregivers themselves, highlighting the need for support and respite services. Lack of Comprehensive Policies In many regions, comprehensive policies and infrastructure still need to be improved to support aging populations and caregivers. This includes inadequate funding, insufficient access to care services, and a lack of integration between health and social care systems. EVENT HISTORY The International Day of Care and Support was established by the United Nations in 2019, recognizing the critical role that care and support play in societies worldwide. The date, April 15, was chosen to honor the legacy of Florence Nightingale, a pioneer in nursing and healthcare who emphasized the importance of compassionate care. The day aims to promote global awareness, advocate for better care policies, and celebrate the contributions of caregivers. HOW TO PARTICIPATE There are multiple ways to participate in this event. Consider: Public Awareness Campaigns Various organizations and advocacy groups launch public awareness campaigns to highlight the importance of care and the challenges faced by caregivers. These campaigns include educational materials, social media posts, and public service announcements to inform and engage the public. Educational Programs Schools, universities, and community organizations conduct workshops, seminars, and training sessions to educate individuals about the role of caregiving, the skills required, and the available resources and support systems. Support Groups and Counseling Support groups and counseling services are organized for caregivers to provide emotional support, share experiences, and offer practical advice. These sessions help caregivers cope with the demands of their roles and reduce feelings of isolation. Policy Advocacy Advocacy groups engage with policymakers to push for comprehensive care policies and increased funding for care services. Discussions focus on improving access to quality care, supporting caregivers, and integrating health and social care systems. Community Events Local communities host events such as health fairs, caregiving workshops, and volunteer initiatives to promote care and support within the community. These events provide opportunities for individuals to learn, connect, and contribute to care efforts. Recognition and Awards Many organizations recognize and honor caregivers' contributions through awards and public acknowledgments. These accolades celebrate caregivers' dedication and hard work and raise awareness about the importance of their role. The International Day of Care and Support is a vital platform for raising awareness about the essential role of care and support in society. By promoting understanding, advocating for better policies, and celebrating the contributions of caregivers, the day contributes to building more inclusive and supportive communities for all individuals, particularly the aging population.

Africa

Oct

Cat Day, Ntl.: October 29

06:20 AM | -

Cat lovers unite to celebrate feline friends and raise awareness of the plight of cats in shelters. This day seeks to educate and provide an excuse to indulge in a new toy drenched in cat nip, feed gourmet kitty kibble, and go cuddle crazy with your doting purr balls. Please take this opportunity to donate to your local shelter in their honor. Kibble aside, this is the best way to celebrate and possibly save a life!

Africa

Oct

Double Ninth Festival (CN): October 29

06:20 AM | -

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month in the Chinese calendar is the Double Ninth Festival, Chung Yeung Festival in Hong Kong, the Chōyō or Chrysanthemum Festival in Japanese, and the Trùng Cửu in Vietnamese. Double nine is considered a dangerous date in Asian culture. Casually, the day is referred to as the Double Yang Festival; two nines are believed to be overabundant in "yang." It is customary to climb a high mountain to protect from danger, drink chrysanthemum liquor, and wear the zhu yu plant. This holiday seems to have originated between 25 BC and 25 AD.

Africa

Oct

Hermit Day, Ntl. (US/UK)(632 AD): October 29

06:20 AM | -

National Hermit Day celebrates the value of being alone every once in a while and using the time for contemplation and prayer. It is a day for you to take some days off, turn off your computer and phone, and just rest and relax. The day marks the death of Saint Colman Mac Duagh of Cork, Ireland, on October 29, 632. He was known for living in seclusion and spending time in quiet contemplation and built one of the first monasteries in Ireland, the Monastery of Kilmacduagh. Saint Colman Mac Duagh is the origin of using a rooster's morning crows as an alarm clock. WHY SO MANY FEAST DAYS? Have you ever noticed that there seem to be feast days for just about everything in the Catholic and Orthodox Christian faiths? There is a reason for that. The church granted feast days to allow all subjects of the Crown to take a day off. As most worked six days a week, feast days provided a break that landowners and nobility couldn't deny. If they tried, they were going against the church, and that you did not do. In medieval times, there were approximately 60 feast days a year. Add this to 52 Sundays, Christmas, and Easter, and workers received a minimum of 114 days off a year. Contrast that to today. The average American gets 104 weekend days and seven national holidays off work. That's three days less than the commoners of the Dark Ages, just in case you're feeling a little overworked.

Africa

Oct

Internet Day, Intl. (1969): October 29

06:20 AM | -

International Internet Day marks the invention of the Internet in 1969 by Leonard Kleinrock at UCLA. It was called ARPANET. The original idea came from MIT's JCR Licklider in 1962 via a concept he called the "Galactic Network." A year earlier, Kleinrock published his first paper on packet switching theory, which replaces circuits with information packets. The third piece of the puzzle is the ability of one computer to speak to another. This piece came in 1965 when Lawrence G. Roberts and Thomas Merrill connected two computers, one in California and the other in Massachusetts, over an ordinary telephone line, enabling the two computers to work together. Researchers at defense contractor RAND and NPL were also coming to similar conclusions. The first Internet included four computers in four different locations. By 1972, the first application was introduced—electronic mail. The word Internet comes from a packet radio program that formed the basis for networking called "interneting," coined in 1972 by Bob Kahn of DARPA. The impact of the Internet on shaping society and how we do business, share ideas, and disseminate information was unfathomable in 1969. Ask anyone born after 1990 to imagine their life without the Internet. Likely, they cannot. Those of us (like this writer) born in the 1960s remember life before the Internet. My first experience with it was in college, researching term papers. The library had an intranet that allowed me to do weeks of research within hours through search. That was 1990. I'd have to wait a few years for the commercial applications to catch up with the institutional application. In 1995, I had the privilege of working for the fifth radio station globally to go online. Even in that early time of the World Wide Web, we tried to convince retailers to put their products online for purchase, use the web for advertising, and rely on email to deliver products, including digital magazines, letters, and announcements. Businesses weren't listening then (and Jeff Bezos was just getting started). Time would show e-commerce and digital media to be a wise move. By 2004, with web 2.0, social media was invented. With the 2007 introduction of the smartphone, the Internet went mobile. Today, we don't go to video stores for movies; rather, we stream. We don't use landlines to make phone calls. Instead, we video chat, text, delve into cellular and use VoIP. We shop by keyword instead of stepping into stores. Our music comes from online depositories, and even our books and newspapers are delivered seamlessly to our phones and tablets. Retailers seem to know what you want to buy before you know you want to buy it, and a President of the United States can bypass press briefings and rally an insurrection 280 characters at a time. Okay, not everything about the Internet is ideal, but life is certainly a lot different than it was pre-internet. Most of the world's people cannot fathom a world without the Internet. Happy Birthday, Internet!

Africa

Oct

Mercury Prize, Hyundai (UK): October 29 (est)

06:20 AM | -

THE MERCURY PRIZE: BRITISH MUSIC EXCELLENCE The Hyundai Mercury Prize promotes the best of UK music and the artists who produce it by celebrating the 12 Albums of the Year. The event recognizes artistic achievement across a range of contemporary music genres. The Mercury Prize is the music equivalent of the Booker Prize for literature and the Turner Prize for art. PLEASE NOTE: The actual date for this event (sometime in September or October) is announced approximately six weeks prior to the event. We are estimating it based on previous events. Verify the date with the source link above before promoting or participating. We will update this entry once the official date is announced.

Africa

Oct

Moon—First Quarter: October 29

06:20 AM | -

The first quarter moon occurs when the moon is one-half illuminated by the sun. Each day forward increases the amount of the moon you can see. The 1st quarter typically occurs seven days after the New Moon.

Africa

Oct

Psoriasis Day, World: October 29

06:20 AM | -

World Psoriasis Day is an annual event dedicated to people with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. Conceived by patients for patients, World Psoriasis Day is a global event that sets out to give an international voice to the more than 125 million people with psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis by raising the profile of the condition. The goals of World Psoriasis Day include: • Raising awareness: to let people with psoriasis know that they are not alone and to raise the profile of this devastating skin disease and the misery it can cause. To dispel myths about the condition, such as the mistaken view that psoriasis is contagious. • Improving access to treatment: encouraging healthcare systems, governments, physicians, carers, and all those responsible for psoriasis care to allow people with psoriasis access to optimum therapy. For too long, psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis has been a low priority, and they are debilitating diseases and must move up the healthcare agenda. • Increasing understanding: to provide information to those affected by the condition and the general public to educate people about the disease so they can discuss it more openly and confidently. • Building unity among the psoriasis community: to provide a platform from which patient voices from around the world can speak as one and be heard by key decision-makers.

Africa

Oct

Republic Day, (TR)(1923): October 29

06:20 AM | -

On October 29, 1923, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, an officer in the Turkish Army, declared the Republic of Turkey. He served as its first president from 1923 until he died in 1938. Republic Day is an official state holiday celebrated with joy and patriotism.

Africa

Oct

Stroke Day, World: October 29

06:20 AM | -

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability, accounting for one in ten deaths. A stroke can happen to anyone at any time. World Stroke Day urges people to learn the critical warning signs of a stroke, including: Double vision and blurriness Numbness in one or more limb for more than a minute or two Slurred speech Difficulty walking Loss of balance Foggy, tired feeling Severe headache Hallucinations Change in personality

Africa

Oct

Yom HaAliyah School Observance (IL): October 29

06:20 AM | -

Yom HaAliyah School Observance is the day when Israeli schoolchildren celebrate the events of the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the day in the year 1406 BCE the waters of the Jordan River parted to allow the Israelites (also known as Canaanites or Hebrews) their first steps into the Egyptian region of Canaan, later called Palestine beginning with the Romans. Over 3300 years later, a portion of the area would become the modern nation-state of Israel in 1948. The nation also celebrates Yom HaAliyah, or Aliya Day, a holiday relatively recent addition to the Israeli calendar, first recognized by the Knesset in 2016. Yom HaAliyah celebrates the immigration of persons of the Jewish faith to Israel exclusively; in Israel, this immigration of Jewish people to Israel is known as "aliyah."

Africa

Oct

All Hallows Eve: October 30

06:20 AM | -

All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day are Christian observances first declared by the Catholic Church in the eighth century AD. It is a time of feasting during the day to honor those sainted and soon to be sainted. In England, it was a time of penance to reflect on the souls of those sanctioned to purgatory. Through quiet vigil, it's hoped that trapped souls will be released into the kingdom of heaven. The time of the year is the precipice of fall into winter, representing the end of the summer harvest, the beginning of winter, and preparation for renewal in the spring. It is a metaphor for transitioning from life to death to eternal life and salvation.

Africa

Oct

Audio Drama Day, World (1938): October 30

06:20 AM | -

On October 30, 1938, Orson Wells broadcast his audio play "The War of The Worlds." The play convinced thousands of people they were being invaded from outer space. As television overtook radio as the primary form of entertainment, the lost art of the audio play seemed to disappear. Audiobooks and podcasts have brought back this lost art, making it even more popular than in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. Audio Drama Day first ran in 2012.

Africa

Oct

Candy Corn Day, Ntl.: October 30

06:20 AM | -

National Candy Corn Day honors the traditional Halloween confection shaped like a kernel of corn, the candy corn. George Renninger invented the candy corn in 1880 at the Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1898, the Goelitz Confectionery Company of Germany began making them. Jelly Belly acquired Goelitz in the US, and Candy Corns have been Halloween favorites for over a century, bringing joy (and work for dentists) ever since!

Africa

Oct

Checklist Day (1935): October 30

06:20 AM | -

October 30, 1935, Boeing Model 299 Flying Fortress, NX13372, took off on its initial run. It crashed right after takeoff, stalling first. Three of the men on board escaped the crash. It was later discovered that going through a checklist before takeoff would have prevented the crash. In this instance, the flight crew had forgotten to release the flight control gust locks. Due to this accident, the pre-flight checklist was developed and used by all planes before taking off, whether private, military, or commercial.

Africa