Every August I walk into Dollar General and my heart sinks. There on the shelves is the Halloween candy signaling the end of my sunny and breezy summer beginning the long and difficult descent into New Year. I have a theory that goes like this: Halloween happens, you blink, and then it is New Year. […]
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Juneteenth at 155 years
This is the 155th anniversary of the day slaves in Texas received the news that they were free. On June 19, 1865, Union Army Major General Gordon Granger read General Orders, Number 3, to the people of Galveston. It read in part:
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.
Ricochet has taken note of this important historical event and its commemoration for at least the past three years:
Juneteenth: Emancipation Day
On June 19, 1865, Union Army Major General Gordon Granger read General Orders, Number 3, to the people of Galveston, Texas. It was two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, but at last the words of freedom came to African-American slaves in Texas. This day became known as Juneteenth, and eventually became first an unofficial holiday and then a holiday recognized by some states.
General Granger wrote, in part:
The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.
Celebrating the Flag and the Army on June 14th
June 14th is officially designated both Flag Day and the Army Birthday in the United States. These two are intertwined, as the need for a flag, and the need of an army, arose from our bid for independence. The Army traces its birthday to an act of the Continental Congress in 1775, more than a year before the Declaration of Independence. The flag’s birthday is traced to another act of the Continental Congress, one year after the Declaration of Independence. The Army has marched under the flag, in its many configurations, and sometimes come home draped in the flag.
Happy 243rd Birthday, Army!
There is a special day on the calendar for almost anything. Few are actually Holy days, but we call them holidays, anyway. Christmas is Holy; it is the day Christians celebrate the birth of our Savior. Good Friday is Holy, because it is the day we commemorate the Savior took our sins to the Cross. […]
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It’s like getting a little holiday hug! I poured a coconut milk eggnog, with Bing and Satchmo in the background, and started writing my cards. I soon found myself a little teary-eyed looking over the names on the Ricochet Christmas Card list. I recognized them all and realized how special this site is. I thought […]
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Member Post
“In fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” Preview Open
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This message came from Company Headquarters. I changed the name to “Corporate” to maintain my thin veneer of anonymity. Preview Open
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I have barely begun to type this post when I can feel the curmudgeons of the world cry out in a single voice, “It’s not even THANKSGIVING yet!” But (and to quote the imitable Pee Wee Herman, “everyone has a big But…), I start my candy creations along side my Thanksgiving cooking so that Christmas […]
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I was debating what I should use for my 200th post (since December 2012), and then I looked at the calendar. It’s November, and you know what that means… Countdown to the 2016 Kujawa Holiday Open House and Chili Party! Preview Open
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Happy Easter, everyone! Thomas Tallis was probably inspired to write his Spem in alium after hearing Alessandro Striggio’s Missa sopra “Ecco sì beato giorno” – the mass on “Yes, the Blessed Day is Here”. It is a polychoral setting of the ordinary parts of the mass, employing 40 different voice parts in the Gloria and […]
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Thanksgiving, 1789
If you want a clear example of how the authors of the US Constitution understood our government’s relationship to religion, look no further than the proclamation of a day of thanksgiving to God in 1789 by President George Washington. Here is his speech inaugurating this holiday (and yes, “holiday” is a derivation of “holy day”).
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and—Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
Sitting with my parents during NBC’s coverage of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I’m on the hunt for a non-commercially broadcast live stream online. Why? Because NBC prefers to show its anchors, celebrity interviews, and basically anything other than the actual parade. The situation recurs every year. It’s a tradition for my parents to watch the […]
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Up until recently, the holidays were very stressful for me. As a child it pained me to choose, every year, between my mom and my dad each Thanksgiving and Christmas. It felt very unfair, and there was a definite inequality between me and my half sister, who was raised in an intact home. I always […]
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Is New Year’s Eve the Worst Holiday?
As a kid, New Year’s Eve fascinated me. It was a night when grown-ups dressed up, drank fancy cocktails and danced across ballroom floors. Granted, my parents only went out a time or two, but I had seen the movies. Most adults had the times of their lives and I couldn’t wait to join them.
Once I hit drinking age, I spent several New Year’s Eves at college bars or block parties trying to join the excitement. I rarely found any. Most the celebrations were overcrowded nightmares of sweaty throngs and queasy drinkers. Hardly the tuxedo-clad soirees I had imagined as a lad.
