What are you giving up for Lent????

Here’s a little history on Ash Wednesday…Enjoy!!

Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10.

According to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert before the beginning of hispublic ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan.^[1][2] Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this forty day liturgical period of prayer and fasting.

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance toGod. The ashes used are typically gathered after the palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday are burned.^[3]

This practice is common in much of Christendom, being celebrated by Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and some Baptist denominations.^[4][5]

Article taken from Wikipedia

A cross of ashes on a worshipper’s forehead on Ash Wednesday
Observed by	Followers of many Christian denominations, primarilyWestern Christian (see below).
Type	Christian
Date	Wednesday in seventh week before Easter
2012 date	February 22
2013 date	February 13
Observances	Service of worship or Mass Marking of an ash cross on the forehead

Happy Birthday President Washington!!!

George Washington (February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731] [1731 in Annunciation Style of enumerating years]—December 14, 1799) was the firstPresident of the United States of America, serving from 1789 to 1797, and dominant military and political leader of the United States from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of the Constitution in 1787. Washington became the first president by unanimous choice, and oversaw the creation of a strong, well-financed national government that maintained neutrality in the wars raging in Europe, suppressed rebellion and won acceptance among Americans of all types. His leadership style established many forms and rituals of government that have been used since, such as using a cabinet system and delivering an inaugural address. Washington is universally regarded as the “Father of his country”.

Taken from Wikipedia

Because it’s Fat Tuesday, Our flag of the week is the New Orleans, LA City Flag.

Here are some fun facts about New Orleans, LA!

Laissez les bons temps rouler!!!

1. New Orleans is where opera was first performed in the U.S., back in 1796.
2. The first Mardi Gras parade took place on Shrove Tuesday 1838 in New Orleans.
3. New Orleans is the largest port on the Gulf of Mexico, the second largest in the U.S. and the third largest in the world in volume of cargo handled.
4. The Superdome is the largest enclosed stadium/arena in the world.
5. The first U.S. theater was established in New Orleans.
6. Antoine’s, established in 1840, is the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Louisiana.
7. The name “Uncle Sam” was coined on the wharfs of New Orleans before Louisiana was a U.S. territory — goods labeled “U.S.” were said to be from “Uncle Sam.”
8. Poker was invented in New Orleans in the 1700s.
9. When individual states had their own currency, the Louisiana dix (French for 10) was a favored currency for trade. In English they became known as “dixies” and the term “Dixieland” was coined.
10. New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, which still reigns supreme in the city today. Later, jazz spawned both the blues and rock and roll.

Presidents’ Day, celebrated each year on the third Monday in February, is a day when Americans honor the legacies of the U.S. presidents. The holiday was established in 1800, when Congress declared February 22–George Washington’s birthday–a federal holiday. Still legally known as Washington’s Birthday, Presidents’ Day has become a day to honor not only Washington, but Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. president who was born on February 12,  and the lives and accomplishments of all U.S. presidents.

The origin of Presidents’ Day lies in the 1880s, when the birthday of George Washington—commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and the first president of the United States—was first celebrated as a federal holiday. In 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, which moved a number of federal holidays to Mondays. The change was designed to schedule certain holidays so that workers had a number of long weekends throughout the year, but it has been opposed by those who believe that those holidays should be celebrated on the dates they actually commemorate. During debate on the bill, it was proposed that Washington’s Birthday be renamed Presidents’ Day to honor the birthdays of both Washington (February 22) and Abraham Lincoln(February12); although Lincoln’s birthday was celebrated in many states, it was never an official federal holiday. Following much discussion, Congress rejected the name change. After the bill went into effect in 1971, however, Presidents’ Day became the commonly accepted name, due in part to retailers’ use of that name to promote sales and the holiday’s proximity to Lincoln’s birthday. Presidents’ Day is usually marked by public ceremonies in Washington, D.C., and throughout the country.

Copyright © 1994-2009 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For more information visit Britannica.com.

Article taken from history.com

Feb 16, 1778 - John Adams prepares to sail for France

On this day in 1778, two future presidents of the United States, John Adams and his son, 10-year-old John Quincy Adams, sit in Marblehead Harbor, off the coast of Massachusetts, on board the frigate, Boston, which is to take them to France, where John Adams will replace Silas Deane in Congress’ commission to negotiate a treaty of alliance.

Silas Deane’s son, Jesse Deane, who was 11 or 12 years old, was also on board and bore a letter from his uncle requesting that Adams take care of the child, whose Youth and Helplessness among such bad company would require “some friendly Montior (sic) to caution, and keep him from associating with the common hands on board.”

Adam’s newfound role as pater familias expanded further with the delivery of a letter from William Vernon, Esquire, a member of the Continental Navy Board in Boston. Vernon’s son, a recent college graduate, was also on board the Boston. His father asked John Adams to find a merchant whom he could trust to educate his son in the business. Although sending him to a Catholic nation, the elder Vernon wished to see his son installed with a Protestant family of extensive Business in hopes that he ”would hereafter be usefull (sic) to Society, and in particular to these American States.” He entrusted Adams not only with his son, but also with his money, asking Adams to negotiate a price of approximately £100 sterling for room and board with an eminent merchant to train his son for two to three years.

Once in France, Jesse Deane joined John Quincy Adams and Benjamin Franklin’s grandson, Benjamin Franklin Bache, at a pension in Passy, outside Paris; Vernon remained in Bordeaux. Two of the boys in Passy grew to be among the leaders of the next American generation. Benjamin Franklin Bache inherited his grandfather’s skills as a journalist and founded The Aurora, a newspaper in which he attacked first George Washington’s presidency and then John Adams’. Under the notoriously unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, Bache was imprisoned for his opposition to Federalist Party policy. John Quincy Adams followed in his father’s footsteps, serving as a foreign diplomat, Massachusetts state senator and president of the United States. Jesse Deane, like his father, faded into the backdrop of history.

The flag of the state of Arizona consists of 13 rays of red and weld-yellow on the top half, the colors of the flag of Spain, representing the 13 original states. The red and yellow also symbolize Arizona’s picturesque sunsets. The copper star represents the copper mining industry in Arizona. The rest of the flag is colored blue, representing liberty.

Officially, the State of Arizona website, museum and official materials cite the following origins of the Arizona flag: “Charles Wilfred Harris, Colonel in the Arizona National Guard, served as the captain of the unit’s rifle team in 1910. During the rifle competition at Camp Perry, Ohio, the Arizona team was the only team without an emblem of any kind. Colonel Harris was chiefly responsible for the creation of the rifle team flag that in 1917 became the Arizona State Flag. Blue and gold are the colors of Arizona. Red and gold are the colors carried by Coronado’s Expedition of 1540 to the Seven Cities of Cibola. The blue is “liberty blue” identical to the color in the United States flag field of stars. Since Arizona is a western state the rays of the setting sun seemed appropriate. There are thirteen rays representing the original “thirteen colonies.” The large copper star identifies Arizona as the largest producer of copper in the United States. “On February 27, 1917, the legislature passed the bill to adopt this flag as the official Arizona State Flag despite dissenting votes and Governor Campbell’s refusal to affix his signature to the bill.”

While Colonel Harris is credited with the creation of the Rifle Team flag, several individuals appear to have played a role in the creation of the state’s first official flag. WR Stewart of Mesa was working in conjunction with Colonel Charles W. Harris, who was the Arizona Adjutant General and head of the Arizona National Guard. Stewart, as President of the Mesa Rifle Team, felt compelled to design a flag for competition. WR Stewart’s wife (Mae) sewed the first flag for competition from a sketch that he had made on the back of an envelope. Carl Hayden, Arizona’s first US Senator was reported to have been involved with Colonel Harris in designing the first state flag, and his wife, Nan Hayden was responsible for sewing the first state flag {3}. Rachael Berry, a leader in women’s sufferage and the first woman elected to the State Legislator in Arizona in its first year of statehood in 1912 also is reported to have co-designed the Arizona flag with another woman (likely Nan Hayden) in the years preceeding statehood. It is likely that many individuals were involved in its conception, design and production, rather than one or two individuals working independently, the specific language used in official State of Arizona materials likely has merit.

The Stewart/Harris version of the competition flag’s origin is due to Stewart dropping some copper dye and white material into boiling water and the result was the copper color that is now on the flag we see today. While some sources claim the rising sun of the earlier proposals was thought to resemble the Japanese flag and was therefore changed to the present star, most official sources (including official State documents) cite the Spanish flag and the influence of the early Arizona explorers Conquistadores Cabeza de Vaca and Coronado as they searched unsuccessfully for the lost (gold) City of Cibola as the inspiration for the colors.

The flag was adopted on February 17, 1917, by the third state legislature. It was passed into law without the signature of Governor Thomas Campbell. The governor did not officially state his reasons for taking no action on the bill.

In a 2001 poll conducted by the North American Vexillological Association, the Arizona flag was identified as one of the “10 best flags on the continent,” ranking sixth out of 72 North American flags for overall design quality.^[1]

Article taken from Wikipedia

Martin Luther King Day is a federal holiday held on the third Monday of January. It celebrates the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr., an influential American civil rights leader. He is most well-known for his campaigns to end racial segregation on public transport and for racial equality in the United States. He was an advocate of non-violent protest and became the youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was assassinated in 1968.

His most famous address was the “I Have A Dream” speech. Excerpt below:

 “…Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!…”

This speech, has gone down in history, as one of the most influential speeches of all times. Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. led the revolt against racial injustice, even long after his death.

In 1968, shortly after Martin Luther King died, a campaign was started for his birthday to become a holiday to honor him. After the first bill was introduced, trade unions lead the campaign for the federal holiday. It was endorsed in 1976. Following support from the musician Stevie Wonder with his single “Happy Birthday” and a petition with six million signatures, the bill became law in 1983. Martin Luther King Day was first observed in 1986, although it was not observed in all states until the year 2000

Happy New Year from Eagle Mountain Flag and Flagpole!