“PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE DAY”

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE DAY – December 28

Pledge of Allegiance Day on December 28th commemorates the date Congress adopted the “The Pledge” into the United States Flag Code. 

Congress formally gave recognition for the Pledge of Allegiance on December 28, 1945. Francis Bellamy receives credit for writing the Pledge of Allegiance. The Youth’s Companion, a magazine for young people, first published it anonymously on September 8, 1892, under the title “The Pledge.” It was written in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America.

In 1923 and 1924, the National Flag Conference inserted text of the pledge into legislation. Though modifications were made, the pledge remained nearly the same. At the same time, the conference didn’t designate it as the official pledge. In its original form, it read:

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

The small changes resulted in this version:

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

On Flag Day in 1954, Congress added the words “under God” in response to the anti-Communist opinion sweeping the country during the Cold War.

HOW TO OBSERVE #PledgeOfAllegianceDay

Learn more about the Pledge of Allegiance, its history and what it means. Recite the pledge. Use #PledgeOfAllegianceDay to post on social media.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE DAY HISTORY

Over the years, various attempts to create a national day honoring the Pledge of Allegiance have reached Congress. Others have failed. Around the country, Pledge Days, large and small, focused on the history of the pledge, the flag, and the Nation as a whole. We recount some of those efforts below. Interestingly, none of the exercises in patriotism point to a holiday taking place on December 28th.

Grade School Movement

In the 1970s, a movement took root aimed to set Pledge of Allegiance Day on April 30th. The significance of the date points to President George Washington’s inauguration on April 30, 1789. The third-grade students and their teacher, Mrs. Priore from Cleveland Hill School in Cheektowaga, NY, launched the campaign. Their campaign gained some ground with editorials and articles published across the country. However, their efforts never resulted in any continuing observance.

Congressional Designations

In 1982, Congress received a submission for National Pledge of Allegiance Day, but they took no action.

That same decade, the House reviewed a Joint Resolution to designate September 8, 1988, as Francis Bellamy Pledge of Allegiance Day. While they referred the document to the Post Office and Civil Service Committee for review, no further action resulted.

The following year, National Pledge of Allegiance Day returned. The House passed H.J.Res. 253 designating September 8, 1989, as National Pledge of Allegiance Day in commemoration of the first day “The Pledge” appeared in print. The resolution also called for the Pledge of Allegiance to be included in the 500th anniversary commemorative activities celebrating the discovery of America. The anniversary took place in 1992. That year, a commemorative stamp was issued.

In 2004, the Senate passed Resolution 378 designating June 14, 2004, as National Pledge of Allegiance as a way to reaffirm the United States flag as a unique symbol of the United States and its ideals.


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“This Kitten Lost Her Mittens – Meow Meow”

         “It is “Freezing COLD”…outside!”

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I feel so good …that I have this “OLD BOOT” …to keep WARM in!    Early this morning… as I was looking out the glass doors… saw a wild animal… something like a “Groundhog”… he was running back to his old hole in the far end of our grounds…disappearing for a few minutes…and then he scampered so fast back up the incline to where I could see him… and then he hid on the other side of the deck???

After awhile, he ran right back to his underground hole and I could  just watch forever, but  from where he was getting something,  and maybe something that he had hid in another  one of  his underground holes,  near  to our house, might  or even  maybe, some kind of special food stuff, for his family.

He was very careful with his stash of food stuffs, it may have been a LIFE or DEATH situation for his family!  Some of the family,  some of them old  or injured and  those  that could not dig, into the hard ground, he sure was working hard and fast!

No matter, that I was watching, as  YOU can see…I look too little, so no matter how I would try to stop him, his need was greater than mine.

We  “small” animals, have to learn that in this  COLD weather…we all need help,  in the getting  of food to our hungry family…and so, we all should help.  As I look out the glass doors, I wish that I could give  to some of those animals  some of these  old boots, that I make  for my  extra special  little place to keep  nice and WARM!   D.V.


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“To the DAY After Christmas – Play Music”

     “Now I KNOW”… “CASE SOLVED”

“PUT this… with the following and … you will know WHO is Doing WHAT!”

 

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My Mother’s favorite piece of music … and she did have six (6) children so with this…  important  “CLUE”   on the above evidence…  T-SHIRT message and with music  to skate quickly too…  we all… can be  put together again… just by putting all of the  “Puzzle pieces” together like right… NOW!

   ******      “The  McClarren’s  – – WIN – again!”       ******

“Now that we all have musical instruments – Let’s get together and start making some some real good music together”     D.V.


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“CHRISTMAS DAY”

 

CHRISTMAS DAY – December 25Every year on December 25th, over 2 billion people around the world celebrate Christmas Day. Traditionally, Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Nonreligious people and those of different faiths celebrate the day as a cultural event. 

Also known as Christmas Day, this holiday is derived from the Old English Crīstesmæsse which means Christ’s Mass. Today, Christmas is a public holiday in most countries. Only about a dozen countries do not recognize Christmas as a public holiday. Christmas traditions vary around the world and have evolved over time. They borrow from other traditions and cultures, too. Over time, beliefs and customs blended as peoples migrated and attitudes changed.

One of the most popular Christmas customs is gift-giving. This custom has its roots in the Magi who brought gifts to Jesus shortly after his birth. Unfortunately, the gift-giving aspect of Christmas has led to its commercialization. On average, Americans spend $700 on Christmas gifts and goodies. Altogether, this equals $465 billion. In recent years, there has been a call to simplify the holiday and to get back to the “reason for the season.”

Christmas Traditions

  • Candy canes

    While plain, unflavored candy sticks and canes existed as early as the 1600s, it wasn’t until 1920 that the hooked version became exceptionally popular. Bob McCormack of Albany, Georgia took the peppermint candy, gave it a red and white striped twist. His handmade candies were given a manufacturing boost when his brother-in-law and priest, Gregory Keller, invented the machine that launched Bob’s Candies into mass production. However, Keller’s invention wasn’t the first of its kind.

  • Poinsettia

    Another tradition that blossomed in the United States during the 1920s, the poinsettia’s legend takes place in Mexico. According to the legend, a girl wanted desperately to celebrate Jesus’s birthday. Worried, the girl feared she would have no gift to offer because she was so poor. An angel tells her to give any gift with love. After gathering weeds from alongside the road, the young girl placed them in the manger. Miraculously the weeds bloomed into beautiful red stars.

  • Christmas trees

    Evergreens, fir trees, and other plants have been a part of the winter festivals and traditions since ancient times. The first person to place a tree in a house for the purposes of Christmas may have been the German preacher Martin Luther in the 16th century.

  • St. Nicholas

    Legendary stories about the third century St. Nicholas later become part of the inspiration for the modern-day Santa Claus.

  • Mailing cards

    In Victorian England, sending Penny Post was inexpensive and frequent. Not responding to it was equally inexcusable. Being popular and busy led Sir Henry Cole to invent a holiday card nearly out of necessity. In 1843, he asked his friend, J.C. Horsley to illustrate a design he had in mind. Soon, Cole was off to the printer and the first Christmas card mailed in the Penny Post.

  • Caroling

    Wassailing and caroling history go hand in hand. Originally, wassail referred to a mulled, sweet drink. It came to be known as going from house to house during winter months and eventually as caroling. The carolers are often given hot beverages to drink to keep them warm as they travel.

  • A Christmas Carol 

    A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was published on December 19, 1843, and tells the story of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. So popular was the novella, the first theatre production took place within weeks of its publication. Since then, films, stage, and novels have presented a variety of adaptations much to the audiences’ delight.

  • Fruitcake

    The American tradition of eating – or giving – fruitcake at Christmas is somehow connected to the Victorian tradition of serving Christmas pudding. Both are molded, but that’s about where the similarities end.

HOW TO OBSERVE #Christmas

Most Christmas traditions are celebrated in the days leading up to Christmas. In the morning, see what Santa has delivered. Gather with family and open presents around a decorated tree or have a meal together.

Other traditions include:

  • taking pictures with Santa
  • baking cookies and goodies to exchange, such as fudge and gingerbread men
  • hanging lights
  • making ornaments
  • going to holiday concerts
  • watching holiday-themed movies, both old and new
  • opening Advent calendars

No wonder many people call this the most wonderful time of the year! On Christmas Day, many families open their gifts in the morning. A special Christmas dinner follows complete with lots of goodies for dessert. The best thing about Christmas is that you can choose which traditions you want to keep. You can also have fun coming up with new traditions. Share your favorite Christmas Day traditions on social media with #Christmas.

CHRISTMAS HISTORY

It is debatable whether Jesus was born on December 25th. Nowhere does the Bible provide the exact date of his birth. If this is the case, why does the world celebrate Christmas on this day? The first Christmas ever celebrated happened in 336. It was during the time the Roman Empire was ruled by Constantine. He was the first Christian Roman Emperor. Under Constantine, Christianity spread into Northern and Western Europe.

One of the earliest references to celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ is in a homily by John Chrysostom, a 4th-century archbishop. Christmas is a relatively new celebration when considering church holy days. Passover, Lent, and Easter were celebrated long before Christmas.

Winter Solstice

These regions celebrated the Winter Solstice. Christmas adopted many of the customs associated with the Winter Solstice. These customs included decorating with evergreen trees and their boughs. It also included large feasts and a bearded man delivering gifts. In medieval times, Christmas was a solemn observance of the birth of Jesus Christ, and very little feasting, singing, and carousing was going on. The first record of the word “Cristes Maesse” being used was in a book from 1038 from Saxon England.

As Christianity spread into northern and western Europe, Christmas adopted many of the customs associated with the winter solstice. Decorating with evergreen trees and their boughs, holly, and mistletoe, a bearded man delivering gifts and even the large feasts all hearken back to these celebrations.

Caroling, Nativity scenes, and gift-giving (primarily to nobility with hopes of favors in return) began taking hold around the Renaissance period. Royalty and nobility had a considerable influence on this era. The Renaissance period covered a broad expanse of time (1300-1700) and was filled with an influx of inspiration, invention, and art. All of it influenced Christmas. Some Christians, like the Puritans didn’t celebrate Christmas at all. This was largely due to the holiday’s pagan background. Christmas was illegal in Massachusetts between 1659 and 1681.

Christmas in The United States

One hundred years after the founding of the United States, Christmas became a federal holiday.

By the mid to late 1800s, communication and transportation were changing rapidly. Time and distance isolated people causing customs and traditions to be diverse from place to place. Celebrations occurring in Georgia were completely unique from those celebrated in New York. Nearly overnight that began to change. Telegraphs and railroads made the passage of information and people, if not instant, significantly faster than ever before. Longing for the old days, for times when the family was a central theme in American’s lives, Christmas brought those nostalgic feelings under one significant day.

Louis Prang, a German immigrant and printer by trade, introduced the American Christmas card in 1875. The Christmas card gradually replaced customs of personal visits or written Christmas letters.

As the population grew, so did commerce and an increase in both charitable and personal gift giving followed. However, many givers and recipients still valued handmade gifts over store-bought.

Literature such as Clement Moore’s poem An Account of Visit from Saint Nicholas (1823)and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843) influenced the Norman Rockwell vision of the Christmas we celebrate today.


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“TODAY – This is the LOOK of CHRISTMAS”

“When you receive a PHOTO like this one… of my  young Grandson, Alan… you know that you are seeing real happiness shining  and without a word spoken!”

When I look at this PHOTO of  a very  young Alan… I can see the enthusiasm just overflowing  with buckets of happiness of what a truly wonderful day CHRISTMAS is…  when you receive a beautiful “RED” sweater for Christmas!

This PHOTO is so full of approval for the day and gifts and joy that only a young child can provide us adults with – that I know that I only wish that I could still muster up all of that  which  our young children have…  when they are celebrating with their LOVE ONES and that they know that they are receiving LOVE … now and forever!

Just looking at his right arm and fist… Alan is holding on to all the many WONDERS of LOVE coming to him this day – and he is holding on tight to this LOVE is his little fist… just because he knows he can have it forever … in his fist… if he keeps it tight and never lets it go!

“This is truly a PHOTO of a very happy young child… when you see a child looking like this… you know that they are truly happy!

and…

This is another of my “top of the LINE of PHOTOS” of young children… I know and can see that “ALAN” is going somewhere… just  look at the concentration and due diligence  in his stand and attention to  detail in doing  and working with an idea in his head… to put on that paper the ideas and full details  that are in his head … a very special idea of something… that no one will be able to distract him… until he has this “ART WORK” completed!

You can see that he knows his name and is completing those necessary items in preparation of performing a true work of “ART” and nothing in this classroom will interfere with what he has set forth…  for his project.

All of the paints, colors and necessary items that Alan will need to use in this project are right there – everything within a reach – so that no temporary looking for something will distract or cause him to lose that overall grand idea… that is working in his brain!

This is one of  those PHOTOS that show me  – that each child has some natural abilities that  they are born with… so natural… that our Almighty Creator had put there for their enjoyment… here on EARTH… and if they will only pay attention to his word  and the thoughts… that HE gives to them… they can do wonderful things all the days of their LIFE! 

This is CHRISTMAS DAY –  and I am grateful and thankful for all of the wonderful gifts that I have received from our Creator – for  all of the most wonderful persons picked out to be in my family  – it is wonderful when our Creator puts us in  just the right place to be… for those of our  travelling years we all share  here on Earth!    D.V.


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“Merry Christmas again, and happy listening! :-)”

Feel free to pick and choose the songs you like best for a holiday playlist of your own creation! 🙂

  1. “Cold December Night” – Michael Bublé
  2. “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas” – Michael Bublé
  3. “Holly Jolly Christmas” – Michael Bublé
  4. “Merry Christmas Darling” – Carpenters
  5. “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” – Carpenters
  6. “White Christmas” – Bing Crosby
  7. “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” – Frank Sinatra
  8. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” – Idina Menzel featuring Michael Bublé
  9. “Grown-Up Christmas List” – Amy Grant
  10. “Mary, Did You Know?” – Pentatonix
  11. “Silent Night” – Kelly Clarkson featuring Reba McEntire & Trisha Yearwood
  12. “Do You Hear What I Hear” – Carrie Underwood
  13. “O Come, All Ye Faithful” – Faith Hill
  14. “Sleigh Ride” – Johnny Mathis
  15. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” – Andy Williams
  16. “Winter Wonderland” – Johnny Mathis
  17. “Christmas Canon” – Trans-Siberian Orchestra
  18. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” – Harry Connick, Jr.
  19. “O Holy Night” – Pentatonix
  20. “Silent Night” – Josh Groban
  21. “Underneath the Tree” – Kelly Clarkson
  22. “Wrapped In Red” – Kelly Clarkson
  23. “Winter Dreams (Brandon’s Song)” – Kelly Clarkson
  24. “This Christmas” – Donny Hathaway
  25. “Last Christmas” – Wham!
  26. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” – Mariah Carey
  27. “What Christmas Means to Me” – Stevie Wonder
  28. “Christmas Time Is Here,” – Vince Guaraldi Trio
  29. “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)” – Nat King Cole
  30. “Cozy Little Christmas” – Katy Perry
  31. “You Make It Feel Like Christmas” – Gwen Stefani featuring Blake Shelton
  32. “All I Want (For Christmas)” – Liam Payne

What’s your favorite Christmas song?

Mom & all 4 001

“Best of Wishes  to all of our friends… forever…  D.V.

from all of us xoxo”


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