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Festivus 2011 – December 23

25. November 2011

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Festivus is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 as a way to celebrate the holiday season without participating in its pressures and commercialism. It was created by writer Dan O’Keefe and introduced into popular culture by his son Daniel, a screenwriter for the TV show Seinfeld, as part of a comical storyline on the [...]

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Winter Solstice 2011

25. November 2011

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The winter solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet’s polar hemisphere is farthest away from the star that it orbits. Earth’s maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26′. More evidently from high latitudes, a hemisphere’s winter solstice occurs on the shortest day and longest night [...]

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Chanukah lasts 8 days 2011

25. November 2011

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Many Jewish people in the United States mark the last day of Chanukah as the end of the Chanukah celebrations. Chanukah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish observance to commemorate the Jewish people’s struggle for religious freedom. It is a Jewish tradition for candles to be lit during Chanukah. ©iStockphoto.com/Pavlina [...]

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Poinsettia Day 2011 – December 12th

25. November 2011

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December 12, 2011 is National Poinsettia Day Though poinsettias are native to Mexico, 90 percent of all poinsettias are now exported from the United States. The Aztecs considered poinsettias a symbol of purity because of their brilliant red color. They were also highly prized by Kings Nezahualcoyotl and Montezuma but because of the high altitude [...]

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Advent begins 2011 – 27 November

25. November 2011

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The season of Advent, the time of preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas and the start of the liturgical year in the Roman Catholic Church, starts on a different date each year. When does Advent 2011 start? Answer: Advent 2011 begins on the First Sunday in Advent, November 27, 2011. (For the date [...]

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Black Friday 2011

25. November 2011

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Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing Day sales in many British Commonwealth countries. [...]

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Stepfamily Day 2011

9. September 2011

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In the United States, about 50 percent of marriages end in divorce according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adults who want to share their lives with others start new relationships, and many remarry. When divorced parents find new partners, step families are created. There is a special holiday that celebrates these family units: [...]

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Patriot Day 2011

5. September 2011

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Patriots’ Day (officially Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts and Patriot’s Day in Maine) is a civic holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. It is observed on the third Monday in April inMassachusetts and Maine (once part of Massachusetts), and is a public school observance day in Wisconsin. Observances and re-enactments of these first battles of the American Revolution occur annually [...]

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Grandparents Day 2011

5. September 2011

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National Grandparents Day  history of, activities, contests and Grand Parent of the Year Award. The impetus for a National Grandparents Day originated with Marian McQuade, a housewife in Fayette County, West Virginia. Her primary motivation was to champion the cause of lonely elderly in nursing homes. She also hoped to persuade grandchildren to tap the [...]

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