ALMANAC FOR DECEMBER OF 2013
Selected events by Susan Curnow Breedlove c) 2013
This is the Month of the Night Moon ManidooGisissons (Ojibwe),
１２月jūnigatsu (Japanese),shíèryuè十二月 (Chinese), décembre (French),
Kaum Ob hlif (Hmong), diciembre (Spanish)
Birthstone: Turquoise or Lapis Lazuli (success)
Flower: Narcissus or Holly
DECEMBER IS UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS MONTH
Quotes for the Month:
“I'll lift you and you lift me, and we'll both ascend together.”
Poet and abolitionist, John Greenleaf Whittier born 12-17-1807
“Do not prejudge others. We are more alike than we are different.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau, presenter at PHHS, 11-21-13
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Sunday, December 1 Today is UNITED NATION'S WORLD AIDS DAY. PORTUGAL celebrates
independence from Spain in 1640. The SHALAKO FESTIVAL of the HOPI and ZUNI NATION begins
invoking the divine blessing upon certain newly built houses, and of rendering thanks to the gods for the
harvests of the year.
In 1875 the U.S. government notified the Lakota (Sioux) Nation to remove to
reservations by January 14, 1876 or they "will be considered unfriendly.”
The game of basketball was born on this day in 1891 when James Naismith, a
physical education teacher, nailed up two peach baskets and gave students
soccer
balls.
Japanese U.S. architect Minoru Yamasaki, best known for his design of the twin towers
of the World Trade Center buildings 1 and 2, born. (d. 1986)
Father Flanagan founded "Boy's Town" in Omaha, Nebraska in 1917.
Blues singer ("You've Made Me So Happy"), Lou Rawls, born, 1933. d. 2006 Filmmaker
Woody Allen (Oscar for Annie Hall; Manhattan, Hannah & Her Sisters), born.
Comedian and actor Richard Pryor (Stir Crazy), born 1940. d. 2005
Singer Bette Middler (“You are the Wind Beneath My Wings”), born, 1945.
Rosa Parks, with the backup of the Pullman Porter's Union, refused to surrender her
seat in 1955, leading to a citywide bus boycott generally considered the beginning of the
U.S. Civil Rights movement. The planning for the event was initiated at Highlander
School.
A New Immigration law eliminating restrictions on Asian immigrants went into effect in
1965.
Carrie Saxon Perry became first black women mayor of a major U.S. city (Hartford,
Conn.) in 1987.
World AIDS Day established, 1988.
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Freeze line reaches the Wisconsin/Illinois border. The pond on 42 , next to Crystal Lake Cemetery,
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freezes over for the first time on this day in the 2009, on November 24 in 2010 and 2013.
Monday, December 2 Today is the INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY
adopted by the United Nations in 1949 and UNITED ARAB EMIRATES NATIONAL DAY. This is the
LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC NATIONAL DAY, a national holiday commemorating the
declaration of the republic in 1975.
The Oneida Indian Nation brought corn to Washington's starving troops at Valley Forge
in 1777.
Abolitionist John Brown was hanged on this day in 1859.
African American inventor Granville T. Woods patented the telephone transmitter, 1884.
American King Camp Gillette designed the first razor with disposable blades in 1901.
Opera singer Maria Anna Sophie Kalogeropoulos (Maria Callas), born 1923, in NYC.
d.1977
The U.S. Senate silenced Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1950 after two years of
bullying and making sensational charges against many U.S. citizens.
Anchor of “Dateline” and “20/20”, Stone Phillips, born 1954.
Lucy Liu, actress ("Ally McBeal" Charley’s Angels), born in 1967.
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Frank Yerby’s Judas My Brother, story of the 13 disciple of Jesus, published, 1968.
A federation of seven sheikdoms (Trucial States) declared independence from the United
Kingdom and became known as The United Arab Emirates, 1971.
Barney Clark became the first recipient of a permanent artificial heart in 1982 and
survived for almost 112 days.
The Taos Indian Nation won struggle to recover their sacred Blue Lake Region,1970.
National Organization of Minority Architects founded, 1971.
Tennis player Monica Seles was born in Yugoslavia in 1973.
Eight national parks were established in Alaska in 1980.
Singer Britney Spears celebrates a birthday (1981).
The energy services company Enron, filed for bankruptcy in Houston, Texas, in 2001,
following their corporate scandal.
Folksinger and civil rights activist Odetta Holmes, dies, 2008.
White-tailed jackrabbits are feeding on haystacks.
Tuesday, December 3 Today is UNITED NATION'S INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DISABLED
PERSONS. AL-HIJRA/MUHARRAM 1434, the celebration of the Muslim New Year, which started on the
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15 of November, concludes today.
Oberlin College in Ohio opened in 1833, the first co-ed college accepting African
Americans and women as equal to white men.
Octavia Hill, a social reformer in London’s slums, is born in England. She will cofound
the British National Trust (1895) to protect historic sites and landscapes.
Abolitionist Charles Redmond returned from Ireland in 1841 with 60,000 signature
petition urging Irish-Americans to "oppose slavery by peaceful means and to insist on
liberation."
In 1847 Frederick Douglass and Martin R. Delaney began publication of the
Newspaper The North Star, an antislavery paper.
Joseph Conrad, Polish born novelist (Lord Jim), born in 1857.
Guitarist and composer Carlos Montoya, renowned for popularizing flamenco guitar
music born, Spain, 1903. d. 1993
Neon lighting is displayed for the first time in the world, in Paris, France, 1910.
Singer Ferlin Husky (“Gone” “On the Wings of a Dove”),born, 1927.
Ozzy Osbourne, singer songwriter, original lead singer for Black Sabbath, born, 1948.
Actress Julianne Moore ("The Lost World") born in 1961.
South African surgeon Dr. Christian Bernard performed the world's first successful
heart transplantation in 1967.
Actor Brendan Fraser ("George of the Jungle" “Mummy” “The Quiet American”) born in
1968.
Skateboarder Bucky Lasek, born in Baltimore in 1972.
Bruno Campos, actor ("Jesse" “Nip Tuck”, born in Brazil in 1974.
Actor Brian Bonsall("Family Ties"), born, 1981.
A Union Carbide (U.S. chemical company) accident killed and injured thousands of
people in Phopal, India in 1984.
Many raccoons have retreated to their winter quarters.
Wednesday, December 4 Singer Cee Lo Green performs at the 80th Annual ROCKEFELLER CENTER
Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony this evening. This is NATIONAL DICE DAY in the U,S
This is the anniversary (1786) of the founding of the National Grange, the first organized
agricultural movement in the U.S. There is a renewal of similar efforts today.
Crazy Horse, great Dakota leader, born in 1842.
Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the first “Greek” organization for African Americans was
founded at Cornell University on this day in 1906. Patrick Henry High School’s
Principal Mr. Harris is a member of that organization. Thanks to the Alpha Phi Alpha’s
that mentor students on Saturdays at PHHS!
Grammy Award American jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer Cassandra
Wilson born, 1955.
Fred Armisen, American actor, voice actor, writer, producer, director, musician and comedian
best known for his work as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, born, 1966.
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Shawn Corey Carter, known by his stage name Jay-Z (sometimes styled Jay Z or JAY Z an
American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur, born in 1969.
In 1970 Cesar Chavez was ordered jailed until he would call off the U.F.W.O.C. (United
Farm Workers) lettuce boycott.
Model, talk show hostess, and actress Tyra Banks ("Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards"),
born in 1973.
Archeologists announced evidence that Africans may have been the first to reach the
Western Hemisphere in 1975.Liberian fishermen have been in South America as early
as 4,000 B.C.
Two snowbirds in Minnesota are the juncos and snow buntings. The former are at bird feeders now.
Thursday, December 5 This is UNITED NATIONALINTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER DAY FOR
ECONOMIC ANDSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. Today is a national holiday in THAILAND, THE KING'S
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BIRTHDAY(celebrated on December 7 in some places). AUSTRIA revels in KRAMPUSLAUF or
KRAMPUSDAY as Krampus, (punisher of bad children), is represented by “beasts” with red horns, the
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day before the good Saint Nicholas appears. (Philadelphia celebrates on the 14 .) CHANUKAH,
(Hanukkah) "The Feast of Lights," or the "Feast of Dedication" ends after eight days on the Hebrew
calendar.
Poet Phillis Wheatley, enslaved and brought to the U.S. in 1761, wrote her first
nationally recognized poetry at age 14, becoming famous worldwide for her literary
expertise, died in 1784 at about the age of 30.
In 1791 composer Mozart died after completing his Requiem Mass.
Alexandre Dumas (pe're), black author of The Three Musketeers and The Count of
Monte Cristo, died in 1870.
Bill Pickett, African American rodeo cowboy, inventor of bulldogging, the event that
involves wrestling a running steer to the ground, born in 1870.
The Cheyenne Transported, published as the first Native newspaper in U.S., began on
this day in 1877.
African American John Shippen, first American-born golfer to play in the U.S.Open
(1896), born in 1879 in Maplewood, NJ.
Animator, filmmaker, theme park developer, Walt Disney, born in 1901.
Strom Thurmond, the longest serving senator in U.S. history, born in 1902. (d. 2003)
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Prohibition was repealed in 1933 with the passing of the 21 Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution.
Singer, (“TuttiFruiti,” “Long Tall Sally”), Little Richard, born, 1935.Mary McCleod
Bethune founds the National Council of Negro Women in 1935. This year she will also
be appointed a special advisor to President Franklin Roosevelt on minority affairs.
Richard Wright, novelist was awarded the Spingarn Medal for his best-selling novel,
Native Son.
Jose Carreras, opera singer, one of the “Three Tenors.” Born Barcelona, Spain, 1946.
The AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial
Organizations) joined together on this day in 1955. Teachers and support staff of your
school are members of this union, as may be your family members.
The beginning of the yearlong Montgomery Bus Boycott begins in support of Rosa
Parks., 1955.
Actress Carrie Hamilton ("Fame") born in 1963.
Margaret Cho, comedienne and actress ("All American Girl") & comedienne, born, 1968.
Francisco "Frankie" Muñiz IV, American actor, musician, writer, producer, and racecar driver,
known primarily as star of the television family sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, born, 1985.
2013 – The world mourns the death of Nelson Mandala, the man many considered the father of
South Africa. Mandala, an anti-apartheid revolutionary, spent 27 years in prison for his
beliefs, was a politician and philanthropist, and served as South Africa's first black
president, leading the peaceful transition from white-only rule.
Look for beaver prints and tail tracks in the snow.
Friday, December 6 Tonight is the ANNUAL HOLIDAY ON 44TH AVENUE, an old fashioned
Camden festival from 6 to 9:30 pm from Humboldt to Queen. Traditionally there are many activities
including hayrides and sleigh rides, marshmallow roasting, performing artists such as Patrick Henry
musicians, and an arts and crafts fair in the Henry gym. Ghana celebrates NATIONAL FARMER’S DAY,
a public holiday. Today ST. NICHOLAS DAY and NATIONAL PAWNBROKERS DAY is celebrated in
many countries in honor of the revered Roman Catholic saint of pawn broking and charity. The
HOLLIDAZZLE PARADE will be presented at 6:30 on Fridays and Saturdays, down Minneapolis' Nicollet
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Avenue up through December 21 , weather permitting. Keep this date: The PATRICK HENRY HIGH
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SCHOOL MARCHING BAND will perform at the Hollidazzle Parade on Saturday, December 14 .
This is the ratification anniversary of the Thirteenth Amendment to the US
Constitution, 1865, abolishing slavery in the United States.
The Colored National Labor Convention met in Washington, D.C. in 1870. The 44th
Congress convened with eight African Americans taking office.
The first sound recording, “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” is made by Thomas Edison, 1877.
Composer Ira Gershwin ("I Got Rhythm") was born in 1896.
One of the greatest photojournalists in U.S. history, Alfred Eisenstaedt, born, 1898. (d.
1995)
Jazz musician Dave Brubeck, born, 1920.
Patsy Mink, first Japanese American congresswoman, who helped push funding for the
education programs of Headstart, born 1927.
The Everglades National Park was established in southern Florida on this day in 1947.
Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, born, 1952.
US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Andrew Cuomo, born in1957.
On this day in 1960, 500 storeowners in Tucson, Ariz., signed pledges vowing
nondiscrimination.
Actress Janine Turner ("Northern Exposure," "Cliffhanger") born in 1962.
Fourteen women were killed by a man who said he was “fighting feminism” at the
University of Montreal, 1989.
Lee Brown becomes Houston’s first African American mayor, 1997.
White-tail buck deer begin to drop their antlers.
Saturday, December 7 NORWEGIAN CHRISTMAS with an old-fashioned farm is celebrated at the
Brooklyn Park Historical Farm today and tomorrow. The
HOLLIDAZZLE PARADE will be presented at 6:30 on Fridays and Saturdays, down Minneapolis' Nicollet
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Avenue up through December 21 , weather permitting. Keep this date: The PATRICK HENRY HIGH
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SCHOOL MARCHING BAND will perform at the Hollidazzle Parade on Saturday, December 14 .
This is NATIONAL PEARL HARBOR REMEMBRANCE DAY in the U.S.
Creator of Madame Tussaud's waxwork museum in London, England, Marie Grosholtz
Tussaud, born in France in 1761.
Author Willa Cather who once said, "Most of the basic material a writer works with is
acquired before the age of fifteen," born in 1873.
1941 was the date of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Dorie Miller, esteemed African
American of the U.S. Navy shoots down four Japanese planes during the attack.
Singer/songwriter Harry Chapen, recipient of Special Congressional Gold Medal for his
devotion to the issue of world hunger, born, 1942. Reginald F. Lewis, owner of
the first privately held African American Fortune 500 company, born, this year.
Hall of Fame baseball player Johnny Bench, born, 1947,
Basketball coach, former player, Larry Byrd, born in 1956.
In 1963 statesman Ralph Bunche and opera singer Marian Anderson were awarded
Medals of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson on this date.
Baseball player Tino Martinez, born 1967.
The National Fire Safety Council is founded in the U.S., 1979.
This is the anniversary of the Armenian earthquake of 6.9 on the Richter scale that
killed up to 60,000 people in 1988.
Downy, hairy, red-bellied and pileated wood-peckers, plus a few wintering northern flickers, come to
suet feeders.
Sunday, December 8 THE FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION is observed by the Roman
Catholic Church. BODHI DAY/ROHATSU celebrates the enlightenment of Buddha. (annually on
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December 8 or the first Sunday after). It is the SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT before Christmas, as
observed by Christians.
Eli Whitney, given credit for inventing the mechanical cotton gin which revolutionized the
Industry, born, 1765. This claim is disrupted by those that say the concept was invented
by enslaved African Americans or his associate Katherine Greene and that Whitney
merely patented it as enslaved people and women were not allowed to receive patents
during that time.
James Hoban, Irish-born architect who designed the White House died in 1831 (birth
date not known).
The first Black woman to graduate from college was Lucy Ann Stanton. She completed
the two-year ladies' course and received the Bachelor of Literature degree from Oberlin
College in Ohio, on this day in1850Founder of General Motors in 1908, Billy Durant,
born, 1861.
Diego Rivera, Mexican painter who helped lead the Mexican mural movement with his
art of political statements, born in 1886. The American Federation of Labor was
founded in Pittsburgh on the same date.
Creator of Popeye character, Elzie Segar, born in 1894 as was humorist and artist
James Thurber, long-time contributor to the New Yorker magazine. (d. 1961)
The Petrified Forest in Arizona was designated a national monument in 1906. Entertainer
Sammy Davis Jr. born in 1925 (d. 1990).
Comedian Flip Wilson as born in 1933.
The United States enters WWII by declaration of Congress in 1941.
Singer, songwriter, lead singer of The Doors, known as “The Lizard King,” Jim Morrison,
born in 1943. (d. 1971)
Political commentator and author Ann Coulter, born, 1961.
Actress Teri Hatcher, (Desperate Housewives), born in 1964.
Irish singer, songwriter Sinead O'Connor, born in Dublin, Ireland in 1966.
Actor Dominic Monaghan, star of television series “Lost” and The Lord of the Rings
born, 1976.
Rock star, international peace activist, former Beatle, John Lennon, shot and killed
outside his New York apartment in 1980.
Kurt Schmoke becomes the first African American mayor of Baltimore, 1987. The
former Soviet Union & U.S. sign treaty to eliminate nuclear arms, same date.
The Soviet Union or USSR is dissolved in 1991.
President Clinton signed NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, in 1993,
eliminating trade barriers between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Ice sheets on lakes are heard cracking, thundering and rumbling,.
Monday, December 9 This is INDEPENDENCE DAY for the REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA (from Britain in
1961.)
Sir John Milton, English poet, author, polemicist and civil servant best known for his
epic poem Paradise Lost and for his treatise condemning censorship, born, 1608. A
quote of Milton, “No man who knows aught can be so stupid to deny that all men naturally
were born free.”
The first formal cremation in the U.S. took place on this day in 1792 in South Carolina
when colonial statesman Henry Laurens willed his son to burn his corpse.
Joel Harris Chandler, collector and publisher of “Uncle Remus” stories from African
American folklore, such as the Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox stories, was born, 1848.
Clarence Birdseye, pioneer of frozen foods, born, 1886.
Famous circus clown Emmett Kelly, born in 1898.
Navy Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, developer of COBOL, the first user friendly
computer language, born in 1906.
Christmas seals were introduced to raise money for fighting tuberculosis in 1907.
Roy DeCarava, first African American photographer to be awarded a Guggenheim
Fellowship, born, 1919.
Comedian ("Sanford & Son") Redd Foxx, born, 1922 (d. 1991).
Hall of Fame football player, sportscaster, actor, Dick Butkus, born, 1942
Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide approved by
United Nations General Assembly in 1948 and supported by Presidents Kennedy,
Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagen.
Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park was established in 1962.
Tre Cool, drummer for Green Day, born 1972.Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman” hits
number one on the Billboard record charts and becomes an anthem for the women’s
movement on this day.
Reiko Aylesworth, U.S. American film, television and stage actressof Dutch, Welsh,
and Japanese ancestry, born, 1972.
Remember to feed the wild birds.
Tuesday, December 10 The annual holiday season MUSIC CONCERT at PHHS will begin at 7pm with
performances by vocal and instrumental groups. Today is THAILAND's CONSTITUTION DAY.
Thomas Hopkins Gallaludet, founder of the first public school for deaf people was born
on this day in 1787.
Emily Dickenson, one of the most original poets of the English speaking world, born in
1830. Although only 10 of her poems were published in her life time, over 1,700 poems
were discovered after her death.
The world’s first traffic lights began operating in London, England in 1868. Garrett
Morgan, African American inventor and scientist, later designed the stoplights of the U.S.
The first Nobel prizes were first awarded on this day in 1901 with money provided in the
will of the inventor of dynamite.
The Dakota Chief Red Cloud (Makhpiya-luta), of Minnesota, courageous leader and defender
of Indian rights, died on this day in 1909.
The first radio broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry was made in 1927.
Jane Adams, leader of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom wins
Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
In 1950 Dr. Ralph Bunche became the first man of African heritage to be awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize.
1964 - Dr. Martin Luther King awarded Nobel Peace prize at the age of 35.
1992 - Indigenous peoples (American Indians) were invited for the first time to speak
at the U.N. General assembly.
Raven-Symone, actress (Crosby Show) born 1985.
Long dark tree shadows are very distinct on sunlit fresh snow cover.
Wednesday, December 11 Today is INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY and the beginning of
HUMAN RIGHTS WEEK. Today is REPUBLIC DAY OF BURKINA FASO.
1844 – Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) first used in tooth extraction.
Astronomer Annie Jump Cannon, discover of over 300 rare stars, classifier of nearly
400,000 stars, developing a way to classify stars by their temperature, born1863.
Lieutenant Governor P.B.S. Pinchback, became first African American governor in
U.S. (Louisiana) in 1872, serving for 43 days.
Booker T. Washington helps to organize the National Negro Business League, 1900.
The inventor of processed cheese, James L. Kraft, born in 1874.
Author Alexander Solzhenitzyn(The Gulag Archipelago)was born in 1918.
R & B pioneer Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thorton born in 1926.
Actress Rita Moreno (Oscar for "West Side Story"), born in Puerto Rico in 1931.
Jazz artist McCoy Tyner was born in 1938.
Journalist, activist, and politician Tom Hayden, born, 1940.
Today is the Anniversary of UNICEF, United Nations Children's Fund started in 1946.
Actress Teri Garr (Young Frankenstein, Tootsie, The Black Stallion), born, 1949.
Singer and former member of the Jackson 5, Jermaine Jackson, born in 1954.
Rapper and actor (16 Blocks) MosDef, born, 1973.
Actor Rider Strong, (“Boy Meets World”), born, 1979.
Various spruces and pines each have their own shades of green.
Thursday, December 12 FINLAND celebrates its independence from Russia in 1917 today. Today is
the FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE, revered by those Catholic Christians of Mexican ancestry
and LAS MAÑANITAS is observed in Puerto Rico honoring the patron saint of these republics. KENYA
INDEPENDENCE DAY or JAMHURI DAY, declared in 1963 and celebrated today (independence from
Great Britain). RUSSIAN CONSTITUTION DAY observed since 1993.
William Lloyd Garrison, anti-slavery leader, poet and journalist, born in 1805.
Cherokee chief Stand Watie, first volunteer Cherokee of regiment of the Confederates in
Civil War, active in destroying property of Native Americans who supported the Union,
born in 1806.
The first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, Joseph Hayne
Rainey, was born 1870.
Lillian Smith, published South Today (1936-1945), first white southern journal to include
works by black writers, born in 1897.
A dry fall and snows of winter killed most fruit trees in this region in 1898.
African American George F. Grant patented the golf tee in 1899.
Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, U.S. diplomat who brought the Central American poinsettia
plant, was born on this day.
Former game show host for The Price is Right& animal activist, Bob Barker, born,1923.
Bebop pianist, jazz composer, and bandleader, Toshiko Akiyoshi, born 1929 in
Manchuria.
Dionne Warwick, singer ("I Say a Little Prayer for You"), born 1941.
Shelia E. (Escoveda), musician (The Glamorous Life”), who worked with Prince, born in
1957.
Actress Jennifer Connelly, (Hulk, Oscar for A Beautiful Mind), born, 1970.
Screech owls often roost in wood duck houses which are also used by gray squirrels & other animals.
Friday, December 13 The HOLLIDAZZLE PARADE will be presented at 6:30 on Fridays and
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Saturdays, down Minneapolis' Nicollet Avenue up through December 21 , weather permitting. The
PATRICK HENRY HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING BAND will perform TOMORROW, Saturday,
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December 14 . Today is ST. LUCIA DAY--The Festival of Light, celebrated in Sweden, Norway and
parts of Denmark. This Swedish ceremony is observed by many Swedish Americans with women
selected to dress in white with candelabra on their heads serving breakfast to family and friends. St.
Lucia was killed by the Romans in AD 304 because of her religious beliefs.
1607 - London Co. sent 105 colonists to settle Jamestown, VA.
John Mercer Langston, congressman and founder of Howard University Law
Department born in 1829.
Composer of the Christmas carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” Phillips Brooks, born,
1835.
Ella Baker, civil rights organizer, NAACP leader, first female director of Southern
Christian Leadership Conference, instrumental in founding the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), born in 1903.
The first black servicewomen were sworn into the WAVES in 1944.
Dick Van Dyke, actor (Mary Poppins, "Diagnosis Murder"), born 1925.
Daniel Chapman becomes Ghana’s first ambassador to the United States.
Steve Buscemi, actor (Fargo), born 1958.
Jamie Foxx, actor (The Truth About Cats & Dogs, “The Jamie Foxx Show”), born 1967.
North & South Korea ended their war in 1991.
Willie Brown defeats an incumbent to become the first African American mayor of San
Francisco, 1995.
Large flocks of mergansers can be seen in open water on the Mississippi River.
Saturday, December 14 The PATRICK HENRY HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING BAND will be the
featured band for Hollidazzle tonight. The HOLLIDAZZLE PARADE begins at 6:30 going down
Minneapolis' Nicollet Avenue, weather permitting. The PATRICK HENRY HIGH SCHOOL CHESS CLUB
will be a part of the Check It Out Tournament today. See Mark Kociemba for further details. HALCYON
DAYS are observed the seven days before and the seven days after winter solstice, traditionally
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December 14th through the 28 . This ancient custom is centered on a fabled bird (Halcyon) who comes
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to calm the wind and waves. NAVIDADES begins in Puerto Rico ending January 6 , Three King's Day.
Congresswoman and senator, the only woman to be elected to both houses, Margaret
Chase Smith born in 1897. A Republican, she supported Democratic President
Roosevelt's New Deal policies.
1911 - Scandinavian Roald Amundsen made it to the South Pole with four humans and
52 sled dogs.
1914 - Red Fox James (of Blackfoot nation) rode 4,000 miles collecting the signatures of
25 governors, petitioning for a day to honor Native Americans.
Jack Johnson became world heavyweight boxing champion in 1915.
Patty Duke, (Oscar for The Miracle Worker), born 1946.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld public accommodations section of 1964 Civil Rights
Act, 1964.
Craig Biggio, baseball player who has been hit by the most pitches, born in 1965.
DNA is created in a test tube for the first time, 1967.
The National Press Club, founded in 1908, votes to admit women as members, 1970.
The United Nations identified Puerto Rico as U.S. colony and affirms right of its people
to independence in 1973.
The National Press Club, founded in 1908, votes to admit women as members.
Actress and singer (High School Musical), Vanessa Hudgens, born.
The greatest maritime disaster for Egypt occurred on this day in 1991 when a ferry sank
off the port city of Safaga claiming 462 passengers and crew members with 180
survivors.
The Christmas Bird count begins throughout the U.S., ending January 5, 2013.
Sunday, December 15 Today is BILL OF RIGHTS DAY commemorating the first 10 Amendments to the
U.S. Constitution as ratified in 1791.
1761 - Jupiter Hammon, born a slave in 1720, published the first known political work by
an African American.
Alexandre Eiffel, French engineer of The Eiffel Tower weighing more than 7,000 tons
and co-designer of The Statute of Liberty, born in 1832.
TatankaYatanka (Sitting Bull), Dakota spiritual and military leader who continually
fought against assimilation, and his son Crowfoot, were killed by Federal troops in South
Dakota after refusing to obey the command of an Indian Agent to come to his office in
1890.
The Indian Rights Association was formed in Philadelphia to promote education & civil
rights for Indians in 1882. It ceased to exist by 1994.
William A. Hinton, first African American on Harvard Medical School faculty and
developer of the Hinton test to detect syphilis, born in 1883.
Uziel Gal, German inventor of 9-millimeter submachine gun which revolutionized
automatic weaponry, born in 1923.
Tim Conway, actor, comedian (“McCale's Navy,” “The Carol Burnett Show”), born 1933.
Canada adopts its national flag, a red maple leaf on a white background in 1964.
Actor Garrett Wang ("Star Trek: Voyager"), born 1968.
The first female U.S. Secret Service agents are sworn in, 1971.
Kao Kalia Yang (born 1980), a/k/a Kao Kaliya Yang, Hmong American writer and author of The
Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir from Coffee House Press. She wrote the lyric
documentary, The Place Where We Were Born. She resides in Minnesota.
Military dictatorship ends in Chili in 1989.
Grey whales are migrating in California.
Monday, December 16 Sign up with the PHHS BEACONS (Room 021) for the “Kids Can Give” event
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on December 19 and 20 wherein for $5, PHHS students can purchase numerous gifts for their loved
ones at Olson Middle School. POSADAS NAVIDENAS or LAS POSADASis observed by
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Hispanic/Mexican and Mexican American Christians through December 25 . The PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
begin Christmas observances as SIMBANG GABI, a traditional nine-day of predawn masses (church
services). South Africa observes RECONCILIATION DAY and this is KAZAKHSTAN’s and BAHRAIN’s
INDEPENDENCE DAY (from Soviet Union in 1991 and British in 1971). BANGLADESH celebrates
VICTORY DAY (over Pakistan in 1971).
Composer Ludwig Beethoven born in 1770. Regarded by many as the greatest orchestral
composer, Beethoven deafness began at age 30. He conducted the premiere of his
famous 9th Symphony unable to hear orchestra or applause. Beethoven was of African
and European heritage.
In 1775 patriot tax resisters threw the Boston “Tea Party. Author of novels, Jane
Austen (Pride and Prejudice)born in Hampshire, England,1775.
.Spanish American philosopher and author who said, “Those who cannot remember the
past are condemned to repeat it,” George Santayana, born in 1863.
Dvorak’s New World Symphony premieres at Carnegie Hall; it contains pieces of
African American spirituals and U.S. folk music.
Anthropologist and author Margaret Mead, whose tombstone spells out her life's mission:
"To cherish the life of the world," born in 1901.
Arthur Charles Clarke, author (2001: A Space Odyssey), born 1917.
Biochemist, cancer researcher, Bruce Ames, born, 1928.
Actress LivUllmann (The Immigrants), born, 1939.
Journalist Leslie Stahl ("60 Minutes"), born 1941.
Andrew Young appointed by President Carter as U.S. delegate to the United Nations
in 1976. (He has relatives in the Twin Cities area and visits often.)
Look for mink slides along creeks and waterways.
Tuesday, December 17 SATURNALIA, the ancient Roman festival honoring Saturnus, the god of
agriculture, is observed as a time of merriment at the end of harvesting and wine-making through
rd
th
December 23 . Saturnalia is the reason we celebrate Christmas in December. Christians of the 4
Century choose December to coincide with this most popular holiday of the Roman year, making
Christianizing easier.
Deborah Sampson, an indentured servant as a child, disguised herself as a man in
order to fight in the Revolutionary War, born in 1760. Her real identity was discovered
only after she became ill with fever.
The Aztec solar calendar, believed to have been carved in a 11 ft, 25 ton stone in 1479,
was discovered on this day in 1790.
The Nutcracker Ballet was first performed in 1892.
Poet and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier(Snowbound). Born in 1807.
The 1903 anniversary of the first powered flight by the Wright Brothers is observed.
1943 -President Roosevelt approved the repeal of Chinese exclusion laws which had
barred Chinese people from immigrating since 1862 and new quota was set at 105
persons.
U. S. Congress passes the Clean Air Act in 1967.
“The Simpsons” TV premiered in 1989.
There is a FULL MOON tonight. The Native Americans of Northeastern United States and the Great
Lakes area call this the COLD MOON, LONG NIGHTS or DECEMBER FULL MOON.
Wednesday, December 18 MEXICO observes the FEAST of OUR LADY of SOLITUDE, the patron of
the lonely. NIGER celebrates independence from FRANCE in 1958. The United Nations recognizes the
contributions that millions of migrant workers make to the global economy with INTERNATIONAL
MIGRANTS DAY.
1803 - Louisiana Purchase was made with the U.S. paying $20 a square mile.
Actor Dame Gladys Cooper born in 1888 in Lewisham, England. Her films include My
Fair Lady (1964).
Benjamin O. Davis Jr., World War II hero who led Tuskegee Airmen and helped plan
integration of U.S. Air Force in 1948-49, born in 1912. Davis was the Air Force's first
black general (1954).
Writer, civil rights activist and actor of film and stage, Ossie Davis, (A Raisin in the Sun,
Grumpy Old Men), born in 1917. (d. 2005, while on a film shoot). Married to actress
Ruby Dee.
Musician, singer (Rolling Stones), Keith Richards, born, England, 1943.
South African/Azanian leader of the Black Consiousness Movement, Steve Biko, born, South
Africa, 1946.
Producer, director Steven Spielberg (ET, Jurassic Park, The Color Purple, Shindler's
List, Amistad), born in 1947.
Actor Kiefer Sutherland, (The Land Before Time), born in 1966.
The Alaska Native Claims Act which gave Inuit, Indian, and Aleut people title to 40
million acres of federal land, passes in 1971.
Rev. Jesse Jackson founds Operation PUSHIn 1971.
Singer Christina Aguilera was born in 1980.
Look for otter slides along creeks and waterways.
Thursday, December 19 Today and tomorrow the “Kids Can Give” event is at Olson Middle
School, wherein for $5, PHHS students can purchase numerous gifts for their loved ones.
Slavery was abolished with the 13th Amendment on this day in 1865.
1875 –Educator Carter C. Woodson, African American "Father of Black
History," born.
Actress (Emmy for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Sounder) Cicely
Tyson, born in NYC in 1933.
Anthropologist Richard Leakey, born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1944.
Football player Reggie White, born 1945.
Kevin McHale, former basketball player & current Manager of Timberwolves,
born in Hibbing, MN in 1957.
The first radio broadcast is made from space in 1958.
Actor Jake Gyllenhaal(The Day After Tomorrow), born in 1980.
The most expensive film made (up to that time) at $200 million, Titanic, was
released in theaters on this date in 1997.
Red foxes travel in pairs now.
Friday, December 20 The ANNUAL PHHS HMONG NEW YEARS CELEBRATION will start at 6:00 pm
this afternoon The “Kids Can Give” event is at Olson Middle School, wherein for $5, PHHS students can
purchase numerous gifts for their loved ones. The HOLLIDAZZLE PARADE will continue at 6:30 this
st
evening and tomorrow, down Minneapolis' Nicollet Avenue up through December 21 , weather permitting.
Today is UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SOLIDARITY DAY.
The Naragansetts made their last stand against the English in 1675.
The Louisiana Purchase was made in 1803 almost doubling the size of the
United States at $20 an acre (from France)
1812 - Sacajaewa, Shoshone teen-age woman guide and explorer who is
credited, with enslaved man York, for making the Lewis and Clark expedition successful,
dies. She is now on the dollar coin.
U. S. industrialist and founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, Harvey
Firestone, born, 1868.
The Ethel Barrymore Theater, built to honor the actress, opens in New York City in
1928.
The kinescope, today known as the cathode-ray tube, was patented in 1929 by Russian
immigrant Vladmimir Zworykin. It is used in computer monitors and
television sets.
The famous Christmas drama film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” premiered in New York. The
1946 U.S. film was produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the
short story, "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip VanDoren Stern.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott of 400 days ended in 1956 with buses now
desegregated.
A bill empowering the Librarian of Congress to name, annually, a U. S. Poet Laureate, was
passed in 1985.
Max Robinson, the first African American news anchor for a major television network, dies,
1988.
1989-The United States invaded Panama.
Only 80% of the young of black-capped chickadees survive past the first winter.
Saturday, December 21 This the last night for the HOLLIDAZZLE PARADE, 6:30 on down Minneapolis'
Nicollet weather permitting. This may be the last such event as Minneapolis is coming up with a
“new plan.” The WINTER SOLSTICE begins as Yule (Wicca/Pagan faith) in the northern hemisphere,
Litha (Wicca/Pagan faith) in the southern hemisphere, and Yule (Christian faith). The King Wiccan’s
birth symbolizes the rebirth of the sun in the WICCAN AND PAGAN calendar. YALDA, the longest night
in the year, is celebrated by the Iranians.
The Pilgrims landed on the Eastern shores of North America at Plymouth Rock on this day in
1620.
English physician James Parkinson, who first described and named the "shaking palsy"
disease after himself, died in 1824. (b. 1755)
In 1844, the first co-op was formed by 28 destitute shopkeepers.
Teacher, writer, social worker, organizer and pioneer Zionist, influenced by her father, the
vocal abolitionist Benjamin Szold, Henrietta Szold, born in 1860.
British-Irish suffragist and writer famous for her novels, literary criticism, and her
relationship with H. G. Wells, Rebecca West, born, 1892. She wrote for The New
Yorker, The New Republic, etc.
Baseball legend Josh Gibson, the Negro Leagues’ greatest home run hitter, dubbed
“The Black Babe Ruth, born in 1911. He died at age 35 of a stroke; some say a broken
heart after not being accepted into the white major league.
The first crossword puzzle was compiled by Arthur Wynne and published in
theNew York World in 1913.
Ventriloquist Paul Mitchell born in 1922.
Former TV talk-show host, writer, co-director and co-producer of a film documenting the
reality of the Iraq War with paralyzed veteran Tomas Young, Phil Donahue, born, 1935.
Actress Jane Fonda (Oscars for Klute, Coming Home, Golden Pond), born in 1937.
United States' first full-length animated feature film, Snow White and The Seven
Dwarf's, premiered on this date at the Carthay Circle Theater, Hollywood, 1937.
Rock musician and composer Frank Zappa born in 1940 (Died in 1993).
Samuel Jackson, actor (has appeared in over 100 films including Die Hard with a
Vengeance, The 51st State, Pulp Fiction, Jurassic Park, Jackie Brown, Unbreakable, The
Incredibles, Black Snake Man, Snakes on a Plane, as well as the Star Wars prequel
trilogy), born in 1948.
Sports caster, former tennis player, Chris Everett, born 1954.
Ray Romano, comedian, actor ("Everybody Loves Raymond"), born 1957.
Keifer Sutherland, actor, born, 1966.
The first moon voyage, Apollo 8 (US), was launched in 1968.
Actor Jackson Rathbone (Twilight), born, 1984.
Pan American Flight 103 exploded in midair and crashed in Scotland on this day
in1988, killing 100s, the result of a terrorist bombing, the plans of which were known by
government officials.
Even on cold days, porcupines can be seen high up in trees feeding on the inner bark and twigs of
aspens, basswoods, pines and other trees.
Sunday, December 22 Capricorn, astrological and astronomical zodiac sign of the Goat, begins.
Aline Bernstein, credited as the first U.S. woman theatrical designer, born, 1880.
Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, of such operas as Madame Butterfly and La Boheme, born
in 1858.
The first African American elected to U.S. Congress, Arthur Wergs Mitchell, born, 1883.
Historian & author of Destruction of Black Civilization,Chancellor Williams, dies, 1898.
Chicano author, poet, and educator.Tomás Rivera, born, 1935. May 16, 1984)
Born to migrant farmworkers, , he became a chancellor of the University of California, the
first Mexican American to hold such a position in that system.. (d. 1984)
Former U.S. First Lady Claudia Taylor (Lady Bird) Johnson born, 1912.She championed a
nationwide highway beautification program that continues with blooms onto this day and
she was the founder of the National Wildflower Research Center. (d. 2007)
\Hector Elizondo, actor (Pretty Woman, "Chicago Hope"), born 1936.
W.E.B. DuBois becomes the first African American elected to the National Institute of
Arts and Letters in 1943.
Diane Sawyer, journalist ("60 Minutes," "Prime Time Live"), born 1946.
The first gorilla born in captivity, "Colo," born in Columbus, Ohio zoo in 1956.
British actor Ralph Fiennes(William Shakespeare Award in 2001, Tony Award or playing Hamlet
on Broadway, Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire), born in 1962.
A fresh snowfall adds a new dimension to our neighborhoods.
Monday, December 23 Mexico observes the FEAST OF THE RADISHES (Noche de Rabanos), as
figurines of animals and people are cleverly carved out of radishes.
“Madame C.J.” Breedlove Walker, businesswoman, self-made cosmetics magnate,
philanthropist, and first woman millionaire of her own volition, born on a cotton
plantation in the Louisiana delta, 1867.
The Federal Reserve System, our nation's central bank, began on this day in 1913.
Dancer José Greco, born, 1918.
Poet, author, activist and leader of the Mythopoetic Men's Movement in the United
States,Robert Bly born, Madison, Minnesota, in 1926. He lives in South Minneapolis
and Moose Lake, Minnesota.
Akihito, Emperor of Japan, born in 1933.
President Harry Truman pardons 1,523 of 15,805 WWII draft resisters, 1947.
The transistor was invented in 1947, a revolution in communication and electronics.
The first of 55,000 U.S. soldiers were killed in Viet Nam War; over 2 million Vietnamese
died by this day in 1961.
The first nonstop flight around the world without refueling occurred in 1987.
1988-Chico Mendes, leader of rubber harvesters union and rain forest preservation was
killed.
Look for snow fleas (springtails) on the snow near dead vegetation.
Tuesday, December 24 Today is Japan's BIRTHDAY OF THE EMPEROR (天皇誕生日, Tennōtanjōbi).
Today is CHRISTMAS EVE, the Christian observance of Christ's birth. Libya observes
INDEPENDENCE DAY from Italy in 1951.
1807-Elizabeth Chandler, a Quaker and an abolitionist who will organize the first
women’s antislavery society in Michigan, born.
1832- Charter granted to the Georgia Infirmary, first African American hospital.
Author, community leader, chronicler of slavery in the United States and teacher Octavia
Rogers Albert, born, 1853.
1868 - Scott Joplin, African American composer who helped form the ragtime tradition,
born.
Giusepe Verdi's opera Aida premiered in 1871 at Cairo, Egypt to celebrate the opening
of the Suez Canal.
Wealthy U.S, industrialist, aviator, and movie producer, Howard Hughes, born in 1905.
Ricky Martin, singer, actor ("General Hospital"), born Enrique Jose’ Martin, in Puerto
Rico in 1971.
Author of the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer, born, 1973.
T.V. talk-who host (“American Idol”), Ryan Seacrest, born, 1974.
1990 – Christmas bells rang again in St. Basil’s Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow
after being silenced in 1924.
Frogs, toads, snapping turtles, snakes, bats, black bears, ladybird beetles and others are
hibernating across the region.
Wednesday, December 25 Today is CHRISTMAS DAY, the Christian celebration of Christ's birth, a
public holiday in the U.S., United Kingdom, etc. PAKISTAN celebrates the birth date of a revered leader
MOHAMMED ALI JINNAH (QAID-E-AZAM) (b. 1876, d. 1948)
Jupiter Harmon became the first African American published poet in 1760 with "An
Evening Thought.”
General George Washington crossed the Delaware during driving snow to conduct
American Revolutionary War military maneuver in 1776.
1821 - Clara Barton, first woman hired for a government job, Union "medic," founder of
the Red Cross, born.
"French artist Henri Matisse was born on this day in 1869.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah, founder of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, born in 1876.
Louis Chevrolet, car designer, born, 1878.
Founder of the Hilton Hotel chain, great-grandfather of Paris Hilton, Conrad Hilton, born
in 1887.
The first indoor baseball game was played in a large building at the state fairgrounds in
Philadelphia, PA, in 1888.
Cal Farley, called by some, “America’s Greatest Foster Father,” started Boys Ranch in
1939, which educated and housed more than 4,000 boys and girls, born in 1895.
Singer & bandleader Cab Calloway, first jazz singer to sell a million records, born, 1907.
The Metropolitan Opera Radio broadcast premiered with the opera “Hansel and Gretel”
in 1931.
Jimmy Buffett, songwriter, singer ("Margaritaville"), and Larry Csonka, Hall of Fame
football player, born in 1946.
Country western singer Barbara Mandrell ("I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool"),
born in 1948.
Mary Elizabeth (Sissy) Spacek, actress (Oscar for Coal Miner's Daughter: Missing),
born in 1949.
Singer ("Sweet Dreams are Made of This"), Annie Lennox, born in Scotland in 1954.
Former baseball player Rickey Henley Henderson, born in 1958.
Christmas celebrations returned in Cuba after ceasing in 1969.
Thursday, December 26 Today is the first day of the African American holiday of KWANZAA (meaning
"first fruits" in Swahili). The 7-day African American festival of principles for a stronger nation begins with
UMOJA (Unity) in the family, as a race, community & nation. Those of the Zoroastrian faith observe the
anniversary of the DEATH OF PROPHET ZARATHUSTRA and those of Catholic CHRISTIAN faith
celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family and ST. STEPHEN’S DAY. Today is BOXING DAY is a legal
holidayin CANADA, ENGLAND, AUSTRALIA, and many other countries. This is a day of gift giving to
public servants. The people of the BAHAMAS celebrate JUNKANOO SLAVE FREEDOM FESTIVAL, a
kaleidoscope of sound and spectacle combining a bit of Mardi Gras, mummers' parade and ancient
African tribal rituals. (Always on Boxing Day) SOUTH AFRICA replaces Boxing Day with DAY OF
GOODWILL. The Dingle Peninsula of IRELAND observes THE DAY OF THE WREN, a traditional day of
public merrymaking celebrating the wren, a bird considered as a symbol of the past year in Celtic
mythology.
The first deaf teacher in the U.S., Luarent Clerc, born in 1785. He assisted Thomas
Hopkins Gallaudet in establishing the first public school for the deaf (in Hartford,
CONN.).
James H. Mason patents the coffee percolator, 1865.
Thirty eight Lakota people were hanged in Mankato, MN, by the order of President
Abraham Lincoln on this day in 1862 following their uprising when promises of food and
blankets by the U.S. government were not kept.
Librarian, teacher, communist revolutionist, and founder of People's Republic of China,
Mao Tse-Tung was born in 1893.
Radium was discovered on this day in 1898 by French scientists Pierre and Marie
Curie, for which they later won the Nobel Prize for Physics.
1908-Jack Johnson became the first black man to win the heavy weight boxing
championship.
1933-FM radio is patented.
1936-Clare Boothe Luce’s play The Women opens on Broadway. It will be the smash
hit of the decade, running for 657 performances. This playwright was also a
legislator and diplomat.
Sled dog racer Susan Butcher, and Hall of Fame baseball player Osborne (Ozzie)
Smith, born in 1954.
The first Kwanzaa is celebrated in Los Angeles, CA, 1966.
Tennis player Marcelo Rios, born in Santiago, Chile in 1975.
2004 – Anniversary of Sumatran – Andaman earthquake and tsunamis with 250,000
people dying.
There was a record 52 degrees at MSP Airport on this day in 2011.
Friday, December 27 Today is the second day of Kwanzaa, KUJICHAGULIA (Self-determination) to
define, create and speak for ourselves.
French chemist-bacteriologist, Louis Pasteur, discoverer of prophylactic inoculation
against rabies, born in 1822. The Pasteurization process is named for him.
Radio City Music Hall opened at New York City in 1932.
News correspondent Cokie Roberts, born New Orleans, 1943.
The first popular children's show, "Howdy Doody," was brought to television in 1947.
Actor Masi Oka (“Heroes” “Scrubs”) born, Japan, 1974.
2002-Melinda Cooper, the first female boxer approved by Nevada to fight professionally
before the age of 18, wins a unanimous four round decision over Antoinette Weaver.
Venus is at its highest and brightest this month.
Saturday, December 28 This is the third day of Kwanzaa, UJIMA (Collective work & Responsibility) to
build & keep community together. Christians observe HOLY INNOCENTS DAY, celebrating the memory
of the small children of the neighborhood of Bethlehem put to death by Herod of Pro-Roman days.
1732 - U.S.'s most famous almanac, Poor Richard's Almanack by Richard Saunders
(Benjamin Franklin), first published in 1732.
Trans-Pacific cable links Hawaii with the mainland in 1902.
Earl "Fatha" Hines, "Father of Modern Jazz Piano," born in 1905.
Oscar-winning actress Maggie Smith of Harry Potter films, born in England in 1934.
The US Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance in 1945. It had been
composed in 1892. In 1954, Congress following the urging of the Knights of Columbus
added the words “under God”.
Actor Denzel Washington (The Hurricane, Malcolm X, Oscar awards for Training Day
andGlory), born in 1954. He and his wife are regular customers at Minneapolis
Northside’s Friedman’s Shoe Store on West Broadway,.
Olympic skateboarder Todd Richards, born in 1969.
The Endangered Species Act was signed into law in 1973.
R & B singer, song writer, actor, John Legend, born, 1978.
Ruffled grouse dive under powdery snow to keep warm at night.
Sunday, December 29 Today is the fourth day of Kwanzaa, UJAMAA (Co-operative economics) to build
& manage our own economic realities. Catholic Christians observe the Feast of the Holy Family. Today
is ST. THOMAS DAY, named for the apostle Doubting Thomas, is observed by Roman Catholics.
The YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) was organized in 1851.
The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred on this day in 1890. U.S. infantry murdered
350 men, women & children in the spiritual circle in which they sat at Wounded Knee
Creek, South Dakota.
Russian monk and mystic advisor to the emperor Nicholas II and the empress Alexandra,
GrigoriEfimovichRasputin, assassinated in 1916.
Actress Mary Tyler Moore (three Emmys for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, partially
filmed in Minneapolis; Ordinary People), born in 1936. There is a statute of her
downtown on Nicollet Avenue.
Actor Ted Danson ("Cheers," "Becker," Three Men and a Baby), born in 1947.
1986-The first all-female flight crew, led by Capt. Beverly Bass, flies an American
Airlines Boeing 727 jetliner from Washington, DC, to Dallas/Fort Worth.
Pheasants feed near cover in cornfields.
Monday, December 30 The fifth day of Kwanzaa, NIA (Purpose) the restoration of dignity to the
community. THE PHILLIPINES commemorate the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal in 1896 with RIZAL DAY.
English novelist and short story writer (Jungle Book, Just So Stories), Nobel prize
laureate, poet (“If”), Rudyard Kipling, born in 1865.
Journalist Peggy Hull born in 1889. A correspondent in both world wars, in 1918 she
becomes the first U.S. woman granted press credentials by the U.S. War
Department.
The USSR or Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) was founded in 1922.
(It dissolved in 1991.)
Musician, singer, songwriter ("Who Do You Love," "I'm a Man"), Bo Diddley, born, 1928.
Hall of Fame baseball player Sanford (Sandy) Koufax, born, 1935.
General Motors sit-down strike spreads to Flint, MI, 1936.
The very popular "The Roy Rogers Show" premiered on television in 1951 with Roy
Rogers and his wife, Dale Evans, their horses Trigger and Buttermilk, and a German
shepherd named Bullet.
News anchor ("Today"), Matt Lauer, born New York, NY, 1957.
"Let's Make a Deal" premiered on television in 1963 with host Monty Hall.
Daniel Ellsberg indicted by a federal grand jury for releasing Pentagon Papers to news media,
1971.
The world's greatest golfer, Eldrick Tiger Woods was born on this day, 1975.
Actress Eliza Dushku (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), born, 1980.
Actress Kristin Kreuk, ("Smallville"), born in 1982.
Basketball player LeBron James, born, 1984.
Christmas trees make great cover near your bird feeders.
Tuesday, December 31 The UNIVERSAL HOUR OF PEACE is from 11:30 PM tonight-12:30 PM on
January 1, 2011. NEW YEAR'S EVE celebrations for those using the Judea-Christian calendar. Many
communities have New Year's Pow-Wows. Some Christians spend the evening as WATCH NIGHT.
Several CANADIAN and US cities celebrate FIRST NIGHTS. NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATIONS include
SAMOA with SAMOAN FIRE DANCE and SCOTLAND with HOGMANAY. WORLD PEACE
MEDIATIONS are held tonight. The sixth day of Kwanzaa, KUUMBA (Creativity) striving to leave our
community more beautiful & beneficial is today. JAPAN observes NAMAHAGE, the traditional New Year
festival, with men disguised as devils make door-to-door visits, growling and asking "any good-for-nothing
fellow hereabout?" The object of this annual event is to give sluggards a chance to change.
The first modern bank in the U.S., the Bank of North America, was organized in
Philadelphia in 1781.
Civil War nurse Mary Jane Safford born in 1834. After the war ends, she will become a
doctor.
Painter and designer of textiles and stained glass windows Henri Matisse, born in
France in 1869.
Blues, gospel and folk singer and guitarist Odetta, born in 1930. One of the most
th
influential artists of the 20 Century, she received the Presidential Medal of Arts in 1999,
received a 2007 Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album,Gonna Let It
Shine,and has recorded over 30 albums.
Actor who received an Oscar for Gandhi and starred in Schindler's List, Ben Kingsley,
born in England in 1943.
Singer Donna Summer ("Bad Girls"), born in 1948.
First Night Boston, the largest New Year's art festival in North America began in 1976.
Panama assumed control and full responsibility of the Panama Canal in 1999.
.