public holiday thread

That picture is of an Emancipation Day (another name for Juneteenth) Celebration in 1900.

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is an annual holiday in fourteen states of the United States. Celebrated on June 19, it commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas. The holiday originated in Galveston, Texas; for more than a century, the state of Texas was the primary home of Juneteenth celebrations. However, one small community in Arkansas (Wilmar) boasts that its celebration, called "June Dinner" has been consistently observed and celebrated, except for one year, since approximately 1870. Since 1980, Juneteenth has been an official state holiday in Texas. It is considered a "partial staffing holiday" meaning that state offices do not close but some employees will be using a floating holiday to take the day off. Thirteen other states list it as an official holiday, including Arkansas, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Alaska, and California where Governor Schwarzenegger proclaimed June 19th "Juneteenth" on June 19, 2005. However, some of these states, such as Connecticut, do not consider it a legal holiday and do not close government offices in observance of the occasion. Its informal observance has spread to some other states including Alabama, with a few celebrations even taking place in other countries.

While Juneteenth is not a recognized holiday in our state, Jergins and I will be recognizing it at the ballpark, as Miguel Batista and the Seattle Mariners take on the Pittsburg Pirates, led by Tom Gorzelanny, in interleague play.

Whoohoo Juneteenth is indeed awesome and we should all get the day OFF! There's usually a celebration in the Central District, but really it deserves more recognition as a holiday.

solstice should be a holiday

Jaaniõhtu: let's have a bonfire

http://www.postimees.ee/foto/2/4/4044244963e907d610_2.jpg

guys, i am proud of you and proud to know you. and proud to live in a place where we are all welcomed.

hearts and flowers to my good friends rr, kf, dh, ap.

ja, thanks for hosting us today.

special to allen remington and ben burnett: i love you, i miss you, i wish you were here.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1263/611805193_936e136f31.jpg?v=0

otm. may the civil rights issue of our time be resolved in our time

Holy Day of Obligation, goddamn it, as if i don't have enough to do already. jesus.

oh, canada. it's your day.

also, hong kong special administrative region establishment day. that's a name, huh? cool fireworks.

not exactly a reason to celebrate, but nevertheless noteworthy:

on this date in 1937 amelia earhart and fred noonan disappeared over the pacific ocean while a attempting a circumnavigational flight. some believe that earhart is now living as a member of a cultish group of hysterics on an magic, invisible island near fiji.

ah so L O S T

Happy Independence Day, Belarus!!

Happy Friends' Day to our good friends in Argentina!

wow, we've really had a dearth of public holidays lately.

apologies to France for not recognizing Bastille Day.

we will celebrate José Celso Barbosa Day by going to portland to visit our friends and see some music. in case you don't know:

Dr. José Celso Barbosa (Bayamón, July 27, 1857 – September 21, 1921) was a medical doctor, sociologist, and political leader of Puerto Rico. He was also the first racially-mixed resident to attend Puerto Rico's prestigious Jesuit Seminary.

Puerto Rico is the Portland of Latin America

Independence Day in Vanuatu AND Father-in-Law's Day

well that makes sense

this is interesting:

Ka Hae Hawaiʻi, or the Flag of Hawaiʻi, is the official standard symbolizing Hawaiʻi as a kingdom, protectorate, republic, territory and state. Ka Hae Hawaiʻi is the only state flag in the United States to have been flown under so many various forms of government and the only one that features the Union Flag, the flag of the United Kingdom.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Flag_of_Hawaii.svg/270px-Flag_of_Hawaii.svg.png
Happy Ka Hae Hawaiʻi Day!

today is the 715th anniversary of the swiss federation?

Flag Day in Ukraine!

also:

Umhlanga Day (Reed Dance Day) is an annual festival in Swaziland when young women gather reeds to protect the windbreak of the Queen Mother's house.

and let's not forget Vulcanalia:

In Roman religion, Vulcan is the god of destructive and devouring fire whether helpful or harmful,[1] including the fire of volcanoes. He is also called Mulciber ("softener") in Roman mythology and Sethlans in Etruscan mythology.

hey happy Raksha Bandhan to my hindu brothers

and sisters

maybe uhh thread material though:

The festival is marked by the tying of a rakhi, or holy thread by the sister on the wrist of her brother. The brother in return offers a gift to his sister and vows to look after her. The brother and sister traditionally feed each other sweets.

happy last moments of International Literacy Day!

so that's why there were fireworks here tonite

?

haha. are you in mukilteo wa? there were fireworks for lighthouse days there.

googling tells me it might have been for "defenders day"

wtf @ fireworks

i wish someone had defended my coat from the fireworks here. got some blue shit all over it on account of a disintigrating plastic chair.

wtf fireworks indeed.

(also wtf me forgetting how to spell disintegrating. jexux.)

careful people. this is the Day of Conception.

(in Ulyanovsk)

CHILE NATIONAL DAY

let's hear it for the little places:

Guinea-Bissau - Independence Day
Trinidad and Tobago - Republic Day
New Caledonia - Territorial Day

"born on the island of T&T
represent brooklyn naturally"

i so want to go to new caledonia. that czech guy who claimed he was from NZ said it was the most beautiful place he'd been. didn't believe that dude about a lot but did believe him on that

Happy European Day of Languages!

The general objectives of the European Day of Languages are to:

-alert the public to the importance of language learning and diversify the range of languages learned in order to increase plurilingualism and intercultural understanding;
-promote the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe;
-encourage lifelong language learning in and out of school.

Happy October!

tip of the hat to bell labs:

H A P P Y

Panama’s Separation from Colombia
Saturday, October 6th

happy UN day

happy halloween, i guess.

contest: predict how many trick-or-treaters will come to our house.

2

3 (so far):

penguin
dinosaur
mummy

they were cute and sweet.

2 more:

both ninjas (teenage boys, of course)

(please see uhh thread)

should have posted yesterday.

here's to the veterans.

haha the neighbors are lighting fireworks.

for veteran's day (celebrated)?

HURRAY IT'S THANKSGIVING EVE!

at least that's how the neighbors igniting fireworks seem to feel.

me, i don't like thanksgiving that much. call me an ingrate.

ingrate

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Selma-March

i live in Kings county!!!

my workplace does not believe in public holidays.

king county was originally named after a white dude

it was named after a king

martin luther kingbert

hello bengladesh happy Shahid Dibosh (International Mother Language Day)