Days to Celebrate

Again, I missed an important holiday.

Thursday, August 10, was National Lazy Day in the US.

I spent the day putting more plants in the garden that I had found in the wild (ladies’ tresses) and bought at $1 clearance (mostly hydrangeas) and then drove to Cincinnati to spend the weekend busting butt on garden projects with my daughter.

I think I will celebrate Lazy Day today.

How did you spend August 10 this year?

I'm in my pre-school conservative mood! Since school begins next week, I'm "conserving" my energy and only doing "one" big thing per day. Normally I clean the house from top to bottom on Thursday/Friday. On August 10th I just washed the windows on the sliding glass door-inside and out. That was my "one" thing! Spent the rest of the day piddling or reading!

Today - August 15 - was National Back to School Prep Day. It was also National Relaxation Day. I can see that these two holidays are in conflict. However, as a former teacher, I always started back to school prep on August 1. It is also National Lemon Meringue Pie Day. I really need to start investigating and celebrating food-related holidays!

I see that August 16 is National Rum Day. I think I can celebrate that one!

Let's see - 13 August was National Left Handers Day - Being left handed it was nice to be able to do things without having every Tom, Dick, and Harry right hander glaring at me muttering things like "incorrigibly sinistral" behind my back. :-)

>4 alco261: Though I didn’t realize why, I too noticed a lack of rudeness while I was out front with my gardening tools on Sunday.

World Mosquito Day is Sunday. How will you celebrate?

>6 2wonderY:

I shan't be doing anything special as we live at an altitude of 1,900 metres and we rarely get a mosquito up here, and even if we do, they are not considered to be malarial at this altitude. Next month I'll be in South Sudan for a week and there I will be taking all the normal precautions, particularly sleeping under a net.

August 19th National Potato Day! I think every day should be potato day!

>8 Tess_W:

For our generation of British and Irish I think every day already is potato day! When I was growing up virtually every meal included spuds.

Librarythingofficial on Instagram tells me today is World Folklore Day.

Scanning through my catalog, I see I favor illustrated stories, because there are just so many wonderful illustrators. But how about picking up Mother Goose in Prose, by L. Frank Baum? Plenty of chuckles there.

>10 2wonderY: Today is World Folklore Day? Rubbish - that's just an old wives tale. :-)

Today is National Waffle Day! I bought one of those mini Dash's (wafflemaker) and I really like it. Have only made waffles once, but use it to make Chaffles (or whatever you call them) eggs with cheese (Keto) and you can also add pepperoni if you like. I like to put sour cream on them!

Today is International Repair Day. Begun in 2017 to encourage repair of electronic goods, but celebrating a fix and re-use culture overall.

My project this week was to repair a stand originally made to hold smoking equipment. The platform originally was cast iron and held four containers for cigarettes, lighter and ash.

Decades ago, I replaced the platform with a wooden disk I made in a woodworking class.
It was splitting in the center on the top surface, so I glued, clamped and then sanded it. Good as old.

If I repair something today, I will post again.
Happy day.

Today I successfully repaired a model railway locomotive which had an electrical fault. I had contacted the manufacturers, who told me what the problem was likely to be, and this morning I dismantled the little beast, fixed it, and even managed to put it back together again!

I play dumb when it comes to repairs, for I hate to repair ANYTHING! I lived in a house full of testosterone, so never have fixed a thing! I feign not even to know what the simplest tools are!;) Also, I'm 5'3" and can't reach a lot of things. My sons ranged in height from 6' to 6'4" with my husband also 6'4"; so I also never used a step stool, just called for a tall body! And can you believe, I have never mowed a yard! I offered to drive the tractor numerous times, but my help was never needed.

>15 Tess_W:

I used to love driving tractors, but it's many years (decades, in fact) since I've had the opportunity. Mind you, driving my 41 year old Series 3 Land Rover often feels a bit like driving a tractor, and indeed Land Rovers were first developed as an agricultural vehicle, a cross between a tractor and a light truck.

Today is national pasta day! I'm going to celebrate with Chicken Parmesan and a side of spaghetti.

Durn. Missed World Toilet Day, which was Sunday.

https://www.un.org/en/observances/toilet-day

I’ve actually read a few books on world sanitation issues. And I used a bucket humanure set up at my cabin. Substituting sawdust or other plant mulch eliminates odors.

>18 2wonderY: I didn't know about that day but I observed it anyhow - too much fiber in my diet, I think. 😏

Today, in the U.S., it is officially Thanksgiving Eve. Unofficially, it is National Order Pizza Day. It is the busiest day of the year for pizza shops. Households are too busy with Thanksgiving preparations that they order pizzas for dinner. Wolf it down and get back to work.

Tuesday, December 5th, was World Soil Day. I missed it! But I marked it on my calendar so I will be sure to celebrate abundantly next year.
I did spend a couple of hours in the Agriculture building; walked past the Soils lab twice.

>21 2wonderY: What a dirty shame! Maybe next year. :-)

>22 alco261: Ha!

Today, December 8, is National Brownie Day and National Lard Day! Indulge!

Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate.

>23 Tess_W: I had three brownies earlier in the week. But that doesn’t count, does it?

>24 2wonderY: No, I think you will have to have more today

>23 Tess_W:

I don't really care for Brownies, but I wish I had some lard. I like using it for frying, and also to spread on toast - bread and dripping, as we used to call it when we were growing up, with the bread toasted in front of the open coal fire in the living room.

>26 John5918: I do use it for frying meats and also for making pie crusts. Since we buy a freezer pig every 2-3 years, I elect to get the lard. The butcher said most people opt not to get it, and then he sells it for $10.98 a pound!

My father, who lived through the depression told me that when they ran out of meat, they would eat lard sandwiches. His mother would just spread lard on bread and he would take it school. Then at home, his mother would make gravy from the lard and they would put that over toast. Amazingly, my grandparent lived to be in their 80's and died of causes not related to the heart!

>25 Tess_W: Opportunity presented itself at the college farm store yesterday. They had brownies filled with walnuts and covered with toasted coconut. Nah. I passed.
But! Cleaning my tote bag more thoroughly this morning, I discovered a ziplock from our Appalachian meal last week. Persimmon bread, honey cake, and a brownie! Breakfast!
That’ll have to do.

Yesterday was the anniversary of barbed wire being patented.
Some Texans seem to have a fetish about the stuff; can't seem to be able to put out enough to keep them satisfied.
Not me. I've lived in the Austin area for a few years shy of half my life now. Texas pride is entirely misplaced.

>29 WholeHouseLibrary: Texas pride is entirely misplaced.

As is much pride!

>30 librorumamans: Well said.

Today is Library Shelfie Day. I think we all might enjoy this one.

https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/library-shelfie-day-fourth-wedn...

I'm happy to see a teapot on that shelf!

>33 John5918: Well of course! But this is my everyday teapot:

https://pics.cdn.librarything.com//picsizes/e4/06/e40642d18dfc873637344703651426...

>32 2wonderY: My shelves were organized and I had a list of each book on which shelf. Now, after books are added I have not kept up with the list so not so organized.
I also like the teapot. Tea and reading go together.

>33 John5918: and >34 2wonderY:...here's my teapot...actually, as John5918 will tell you, this should really be called my tea kettle. Live steam Bing toy locomotive from 1906 - :-)

>36 alco261: Beautiful!

>36 alco261: That is really nice.

A little library humor for Valentine’s Day

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3Vv26zSzSz/?igsh=MXQxNDBtb2tld2dmbA==

Yesterday was World Water Day. I celebrated by shopping for a new sink faucet for my bathroom.
I had my hot water heater replaced last week, and apparently, shutting off the water supply can clog the canisters inside the faucet handles and they aren’t made to open and clean in the cheap models. So, no water pressure.

Choices, choices!!

National Cocktail Day
National Cheesesteak Day
National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day

This is International Dark Sky Week. I no longer have access to a dark sky and it makes me sad.

>41 2wonderY: One of each, please and thank you!

>42 2wonderY: I went outside last night to see what all the fuss was about...I couldn't see a thing :-)

We're blessed to live somewhere where there is very little light pollution. In our immediate vicinity there are no lights at all. If we look out across the Great Rift Valley we can see for up to 80 km in a 180 degree arc, and we just see a few pinpricks of light where someone has a small domestic solar system, although we've noticed over the last ten years that it has risen from a handful to maybe two or three dozen or so. And as we're at an altitude of 1,900 metres, we're often blanketed by clouds/fog. The other night when I went outside I could see absolutely nothing - no stars, no lights, no outline of our trees or outbuildings - pitch dark.

I’m just now discovering that Sunday was National Gardening Day. Luckily, I was appropriately digging in the plants that I acquired Saturday.

National Haiku
Poetry Day is today!
Try your hand at it.

Haiku not for you?
Well, try a sonnet instead.
All poetry rocks!

(Just as an aside,
Attempting the pattern helps
Keep grey cells alive!)

April 25th is the perfect date. It’s not too hot and not too cold.
All you need is a light jacket.

Hmmmm…. Silk, I think.

>48 2wonderY:...so are you saying April 25th is a free air day? Free Air: Definition - air that isn't too cold so you don't have to pay to heat it and air that isn't too hot so you don't have to pay to cool it.

>48 2wonderY: Ah, Miss Congeniality I think !

25 April is Anzac Day, a very important public holiday in Australia and New Zealand. But traditionally it's also the day on which things start getting cooler for what passes for winer in Australia.

Also, 28 April is Terry Prqatchett Day.

Missed it this year, but never again, as I note it’s on my birthday!

The International Day for Biodiversity (IDB) is celebrated every year on 22 May. This universal observance commemorates the adoption of the text of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 22 May 1992.

Myself, I do my small part by adding more plants to my gardens. After the first year, there was a marked increase in insect varieties coming around.

We seem to have missed pi day (3.14) and Thtar Wars day (May the fourth be with you). Although I have a friend who insists that 5/4 should be Dave Brubeck Day.

>53 Jim53: 5/4 should be Dave Brubeck Day... Or 7/4. Now either of those I could celebrate. (Of course I'm using the European convention here: 7/4 is 7 April for me). For those who don't get the second reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yExwkQYcp0. For those who don't get either one, I'm just so, so sorry.

Happy World Environment Day!

This year’s theme is “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience.”

Have you been introduced to Earth smiles?

https://justdiggit.org/what-we-do/landscape-restoration/water-bunds/

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7yUa2mI0yk/?igsh=MWEzNHJjMGM5ZDk2

Today is the 80th anniversary of D-Day. We can remember the courage and self-sacrifice of many individuals, and the ability of many nations to pull together to implement a vast and complex enterprise when they choose to do so, but it is also a day to remember the absolute horror and futility of war and violence. As wars continue in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar and elsewhere, and as militarism and preparations for war increase globally, it seems the world has not yet learned that lesson. Maybe one day the hope that emerged after World War I with the slogan "Never Again!" will be taken seriously, and then we will truly have something to celebrate.

The first Friday in June is National Donut Day.

“In 1938, the first-ever National Donut Day was celebrated in Chicago, and the history of The Salvation Army’s Donut Lassies was officially immortalized. In 1917, these women were sent to France to establish field bases near the front lines. In makeshift huts, thousands of soldiers would come to stock up on essential goods and grab a sweet treat baked by the Lassies.”

International Plastic Bag Free Day

https://oakfnd.org/international-plastic-bag-free-day/

How will you celebrate?

How did we ever manage without plastic bags and plastic wraps and plastic containers?

>58 2wonderY: How did we ever manage without plastic bags and plastic wraps and plastic containers?

We wrapped things in old newspapers (fish and chips still tastes best like that!), or in waxed paper or greaseproof paper, we carried things in brown paper bags or carboard cartons or thin wooden crates, we stored foodstuffs in glass jars or in/on china bowls/plates with tin foil or more greasproof paper tied on top...

>58 2wonderY:
Frozen vegetables and fruits came in waxed cardboard boxes.

Pop/soda was shipped by two dozens (?) in sturdy reusable wooden crates called shells in reusable glass bottles for which you paid a deposit.

The branded collapsible, returnable wooden boxes that stores used for delivering groceries now fetch a pretty penny in antique stores.

Bread was wrapped in waxed paper. As a kid I loved watching freshly baked bread moving through the automatic slicing machine and then being mechanically wrapped before passing between heated metal plates to melt the wax into a seal. One of the joys of family-owned bakeries in small towns. My mother, wisely, didn't buy sliced bread, but it was fun to watch it being made.

You could buy the whole, plucked chicken. No need for nasty Styrofoam trays with those gross absorbent pads. Of course you had to deal with the entrails, which could be gross in its own way.

I see that paper sandwich bags have reappeared on store shelves after a fifty-year absence.

I am from a small West Texas town, Monahans. and we had a Coca-Cola plant in town. I remember the man sitting and watching the Coke bottles go by on a belt. His job was to throw away the bad bottles. There was a big window in front of the building so people could watch him.

July 30 is World Embroidery Day.

>62 librorumamans: A good reason for me to start embroidering the dishtowels for gifts at Christmas.

August 1 through 7 is International Clown Week! (They thought it was only worth a day, but more and more of them kept coming out of that little car, so they made it for a week. 🤡 )

Tatsuya Tanaka celebrates World Pasta Day

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBi90VPskPA/?igsh=Nmo3Nnh3M2lxNW5x

Today is National Make a Difference Day!

Donate, volunteer, perform an act of random kindness, make someone smile.

If you are US citizen - Thank you for VOTING!

>66 nrmay: Yesterday my son had a float in a local parade. He won Best in Spirit. My great grandkids rode on the float, full of skeletons and threw candy. He had a creepy creature hanging out the back window where I sat. My daughter said to move his arm and so I did. The smiles and waves I got from the little kids was priceless. I was a happy grandmother and worth leaving my home before 7AM.
I will vote on Tuesday at my local place. I am rural so usually not a a line.

>63 mnleona: I have finished and now to wash and iron them.

>67 mnleona:
What a grand family occasion! Lucky you to have your family nearby.
I have one son and two little granddaughters far, far away in California.

Happy Black Cat Day!
I've always wanted a black cat.

>69 nrmay: Black cats deserve their own special day. I too wanted a black cat; at least I got a tabby and some calicos.

We had a black cat. She ended up a a neighbors and since their son was allergic, we took her. My son named her Clover because she was lucky that she now had a family. When she had a litter, we kept the white one the kids called Trouble because she was always into something. Trouble lived to be 21 years old. Clover did not live that long

OMGosh!
Today is National Chocolate Day.
Hooray!!

>72 nrmay: And half the day is gone! Working on it!

>72 nrmay: I did have a small Hersheys.

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

In Britain we celebrate Guy Fawkes Night (or Fireworks Night or Bonfire Night) every 5th November, to remember a plot to blow up the houses of parliament in 1605, of which Guy Fawkes was one of the ringleaders. In my youth almost every household used to have its own fireworks, and its own bonfire, where an effigy of Guy Fawkes would be burned while potatoes and chestnuts were roasted. In the days beforehand, children would make their own Guy out of stuffed old clothes and push him around the streets in a handcart or an old pram, collecting money to buy fireworks with the familiar cry of, "Penny for the Guy!" In those days there wasn't much in the way of health and safety, so fireworks were readily available, but nowadays it's more common to have a communal bonfire and public firework display, which is more spectacular but not as much fun. Nowadays the commercialised Americanised version of Hallowe'en seems to have taken over as the main Autumn celebration, but there are still some big Guy Fawkes celebrations. The town of Lewes in southern England famously has a major carnival and at least one huge bonfire where instead of burning Guy Fawkes they burn an effigy of the pope; 1605 was an era of religious conflict in Britain, and Fawkes was part of a Catholic faction.

>75 John5918: Not sure if I have heard of him but sounds like a good history read.

>75 John5918: >76 mnleona:
Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth was written less than a year after the Gunpowder Plot and there are details in the play that are may have been born from the incident. The detailed description of the torture and death of Macdonald, the traitor killed in act I, is quite close to the actual torture and death Guy Fawkes underwent, being hung, drawn and quartered.

Additionally, Shakespeare's father was good friends with the father of the lead conspirator of the Gunpowder Plot, Robert Catesby.

Also, supposedly, Shakespeare and his acting troupe are rumored to have hung out in the same tavern, The Mermaid, in Cheapside, as did the Gunpowder plotters.

Crowds line streets for Lewes bonfire celebrations (BBC)

This gives a sense of the modern celebration in Lewes.

Within the Catholic Church next Sunday, 17th November, is observed as the World Day of the Poor, not a day to "celebrate" but certainly a day to remember and take action against poverty. The World Day of the Poor encourages the Church to "step outside" its walls and engage with poverty in its many forms in today's world, noting also the systemic and political causes of poverty. Pope Francis will be sharing a lunch with about 1,300 guests from amongst "those who are most in need: the poor, the marginalised, the suffering, and the forgotten."

Happy World Soils Day!

I plan to watch Roots So Deep (you can see the devil down there)

Winter has begun.

>81 mnleona: I was just thinking about how dark it is for this time of morning. It gets better from today on.

Meanwhile, my daughter is celebrating full sun on Antarctica.

>82 2wonderY: Is your daughter living there? My daughter is looking at one of the destinations for a family trip.

>84 mnleona: She’s there on a two month assignment, helping to build a new dormitory at McMurdo Station.

>85 2wonderY: What a great project. Good for her and also those working there.

Celebrating World Arabic Language Day: A Linguistic Marvel (the medialine)

The historical depth of the language underscores Arabic's pivotal role in connecting past civilizations. From its roots in the Arabian Peninsula, Arabic has grown into a global linguistic powerhouse. World Arabic Language Day, celebrated annually on December 18, honors the profound cultural, scientific, and historical contributions of the Arabic language. Established by UNESCO in 2010, the date commemorates the day in 1973 when Arabic was adopted as one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Spoken by over 400 million people and cherished as the liturgical language of Islam, Arabic has shaped centuries of cultural, scientific, and literary achievements...

I missed this on 18th, but well worth remembering.

>87 John5918: I did not realize so many spoke the language. Thanks for the post.

Silent Letter Day, English version:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDr60BIoI67/?igsh=ejBzM2NsbHZiOWE2

>89 2wonderY:

By chance I watched that same Michael McIntyre sketch on YouTube recently. He really is good and it prompted me to re-watch a few more of his old sketches. He's my wife's favourite British comedian. He's funny, he comments on recognisable situations, but generally he stays safely away from controversial "edgy" issues.

Merry Christmas.

Join me in drinking a toast to J.R.R. Tolkien on his birthday.

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/society/events/toast/

>92 2wonderY:

Cheers! Waes hael, drinc hael!

>92 2wonderY: I am late. Happy Birthday. I won a set of his books from my local library challenge.

Today (Tuesday, January 21) is National Hugging Day™, (frequently shortened to Hug Day, National Hug Day, International or Global or World Hug Day). It was first widely celebrated in 1986 (39 Years ago!) after being published in “Chase’s Calendar of Annual Events.” Since that time, National Hugging Day™ has continued to grow internationally (USA, Canada, Brazil, Australia, UK and Ireland, Germany, Georgia, India, Sweden, Spain, Italy, France, Russia, South Africa, and 2023 promoted in Shanghai China as verified examples). National Hugging Day™ was created to encourage family and friends to hug more often (and consensually) with one another. Reasonable care should be taken with those who are either uncomfortable with public affection or their reaction to a hug is unknown. In those situations, it is advised to ask first before hugging and exchange consent. There is an abundance of past and current research available that finds positive touch, such as hugging, improves one’s physical, emotional and spiritual health. Embrace National Hugging Day™ every day!

See natiionalhuggingday.com for more information.

>95 TempleCat: Perfect timing for me. Son-in-law brought grandbaby (age 6, but she will forever be so designated, being the last.). I got my hugs! And SIL shoveled my driveway, bless him.

>96 2wonderY: Ah, a twofer!

I understand today is National Procrastinators Day but if you are too busy to celebrate you can schedule some time to do so later in the week.

>98 alco261: I need that dispensation. Tomorrow, maybe.🤹🏻‍♀️

>98 alco261: That is great. Thanks for telling us.

It's Robert Burns Day (January 25th) and wouldn't you know it, I'm fresh out of haggis.

It so happens that last year on this day, I acquired (from a free shelf at the library) The Adventures of Hamish The Wee Sleekit Mouse.

You can have it read to you here:

https://www.kinlochlovin.org.uk/blog/2018/the-adventures-of-hamish-the-wee-sleek...

>102 2wonderY: Just guessing, but would it be about the best-laid plans of a wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie?

>103 TempleCat: Good guess!

Pi Day/Pie Day! - Are you heading for pizza or a dessert-type pie? Think I may have one of each!

If you really want to make sure you celebrate pi day you should make it a point to have that first piece of whatever on 3/14/1/59/26 which would mean you could celebrate it twice - 1:59 AM at the 26th second or 1:59 PM also at the 26th second.

Today is a day meant for me - National Coconut Cream Pie Day!!! (It's also National Have a Coke Day, but I'd rather have milk, or coffee, or even a Pepsi. LOL!)

Today is Nakba Day, ذكرى النكبة or 'Memory of the Catastrophe'. Not a day for celebration, but a commemoration of the destruction of Palestinian society and homeland in 1948, and the permanent displacement of a majority of the Palestinian people. The fruits of that catastrophe are still with us today.

Being an Okie, I should be proud of the fact that today is National Oklahoma Day, as today commemorates my state's admission to the Union. I think, however, I will, instead celebrate National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, also today!

>109 blakelylaw: I have just the thing in my freezer right now - fudge bars and ice cream sandwiches with chocolate ice cream. Yes!

>110 2wonderY: I'm on my way over! YUM!

>110 2wonderY: Hope you still have some of those fudge bars left because today, June 16, is National Fudge Day!

>112 blakelylaw: Time to run to the store then! Thanks for the heads up!

OK, it's June 19, so most in the US recognize it as Juneteenth (The day in 1865 when when the slaves in Galveston, Texas, were informed of their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation, more than two years after it had been issued.), BUT did you also know that today is:

World Tapas Day
Real Food Day
World Sickle Cell Day AND
National Garfield the Cat Day?! - So have some lasagna & pizza tonight!

Happy National Coconut Day!

Is this a good reason to go out for a big chunk of coconut cake?😃
Coconut cake is a Southern specialty and the best one I’ve had lately was from a cafe/bakery right here in my village. I should really try to make one myself some time. .

Pinã coladas! Perfect weather too!

>116 2wonderY:
Haven’t had one of those in years! 🥥🍍

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, when an atomic bomb was dropped on a city killing between 80 and 150 thousand civilians, a war crime for which there has still been no accountability. Not a day to celebrate, but certainly a day to remember with sadness and with a renewed resolution to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction, particularly at a time when a number of nations are threatening to use them.

>118 John5918: Well, John I guess we will just have to agree to disagree on this one. If you are going to insist the Hiroshima bombing was a war crime then you will have to insist the entire US air war firebombing effort against all of Japan was also a war crime. Based on what I've read about World War II, Hiroshima was a city in an enemy country that was at war with the US and it was bombed along with 68 other major Japanese cities. The bomb might have been different but the results, in terms of destruction of the physical plant, was similar. The book Blankets of Fire has a good summary of the firebombing effort on page 146. The median percentage of city area destroyed for the 69 major cities was 48.2%. For comparison Hiroshima - 41.8% (city size of Seattle), Nagasaki - 35.6% (city size of Akron), and Tokyo - 39.9% (city size of New York).

The fact of the 80-150 thousand dead is, of course, tragic but it pales into insignificance when compared to the brutal Japanese slaughter of just Chinese civilians alone - those estimates range all the way to 30 million +, with many of the estimates falling above 10 million. There were millions more civilians in the Asia-Pacific area who were also ruthlessly butchered and tortured by the Japanese...and there is nary a mention of this when the subject of the Hiroshima dead is discussed.

If one wants accountability for Hiroshima then one must also demand accountability for what the Japanese nation did and the emperor should be labeled a war criminal and vilified the same way we vilify Hitler. As for the physical suffering of those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki - yes it was different, but when you consider the kinds of suffering the Japanese visited on the Chinese (see The Rape of Nanking for some of the more interesting descriptions) and others it amounts to little more than quibbling over degrees of gruesomeness.

>119 alco261:

I hope that we can agree that there is validity in commemorating an event that profoundly changed the world — the whole world, not only the human world.

I hope that we can also agree that war is, in Thomas Mann's words, a "blasphemy, a cosmic catastrophe, an irreconcilable horror."

>119 alco261:

Thanks for this. Where we might agree is that the indiscriminate bombing of civilian population centres is a war crime no matter who does it, whatever their reasoning, and whatever form the bombing took - the Blitz, fire bombing, carpet bombing, atomic bombs. Britain, the USA, Germany and Japan were all equally guilty in this regard. The Nuremberg and Tokyo trials provided some degree of accountability for German and Japanese leaders (although it was "victors' justice" rather than truly objective and independent tribunals), but no such standard has been applied to Allied leaders. And as you say, there were many other war crimes, such as the Rape of Nanking. But war crimes do not "pale into insignificance" simply because someone else committed a bigger one. There is no justification for responding to a war crime with another war crime, as we see today where the world is finally recognising that Israel's response to Hamas' war crime is itself a war crime.

You'll no doubt be familiar with US President Franklin D Roosevelt's Appeal to Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, and Poland to Refrain from Air Bombing of Civilians on 1st September 1939. Sadly when the USA became a belligerent it quickly reneged on these fine principles.

The ruthless bombing from the air of civilians in unfortified centers of population during the course of the hostilities which have raged in various quarters of the earth during the past few years, which has resulted in the maiming and in the death of thousands of defenseless men, women and children, has sickened the hearts of every civilized man and woman, and has profoundly shocked the conscience of humanity. If resort is had to this form of inhuman barbarism during the period of the tragic conflagration with which the world is now confronted, hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings who have no responsibility for, and who are not even remotely participating in, the hostilities which have now broken out, will lose their lives. I am therefore addressing this urgent appeal to every Government which may be engaged in hostilities publicly to affirm its determination that its armed forces shall in no event, and under no circumstances, undertake the bombardment from the air of civilian populations or of unfortified cities, upon the understanding that these same rules of warfare will be scrupulously observed by all of their opponents. I request an immediate reply.

Today, August 8, is
National Happiness Happens Day.
Really.

Though these are troubled times, l wish everyone happiness today and everyday. 🌺

Happy National Book Lovers Day!

I’ve finished two books today already.

13 August - Happy National Left Handers Day

>124 alco261: I am newly appreciating my left hand today😁

>124 alco261:

My left hand is clapping. Can you hear it?

Today is/was National Macadamia Nut Day. Who knew?

My thanks to the anonymous lady in the checkout line who was buying some and explained why to the cashier.

>127 librorumamans:

Interesting. Even though I live in a country which is apparently the world's third largest producer of macadamia nuts I didn't know we had a day, and I suspect neither did most Kenyans.

>128 John5918: I didn't know we had a day

You're an nut?   ;-)

>129 librorumamans: Definitely!

I see that today is
National Buy a Book Day!

>131 nrmay:

Isn't every day Buy a Book Day? Or, at least, Want to Buy a Book Day?

>132 librorumamans:
You’re right, of course!

Though I’ve added three books to my wishlist just today, I plan to not buy another one until all my AbeBooks orders from the past week have arrived.
There is a serious piles issue developing - mostly on the floors, but also on furniture surfaces.

>135 2wonderY: To paraphrase an old saying - too many books and not enough space is better than too much space and not enough books. :-)

Today , Oct 28, is

NATIONAL CHOCOLATE DAY‼️

>137 nrmay: Hurray!!!!

Today is also

NATIONAL IMMIGRANTS DAY

As Americans, we are proud of our long history of welcoming immigrants from all parts of the world and value their contributions that add zest to our nation’s blend of cultures, customs, and traditions.

Unless you are Native American
we are all immigrants.

Immigrants are my friends and neighbors.

Embrace and celebrate diversity.

Monday 19th January 2026 is Martin Luther King Day in the USA, a day to celebrate the triumph of nonviolent resistance, common sense and decency over the the forces of violence, hate and bigotry, and to recognise that all human beings are sisters and brothers regardless of their identity groups.

Yesterday, 27th January 2026, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, marked International Holocaust Memorial Day. Not a day to celebrate, but certainly one to remember, particularly in the current international political climate and the tendency to forget or deny relatively recent history.

>141 John5918: I saw that on the news.

Today is May Day, an ancient festival in much of Europe marking the beginning of summer. In England people would traditionally dance around the Maypole. There was a pub named the Maypole near where I grew up, and one can still see Maypoles in some villages.

It's also International Workers' Day or Labour Day, celebrating and honouring workers and the labour movement. In the Catholic Church it's also the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, a hard-working down-to-earth carpenter who had to accept an illegitimate child, born in a shack, and then flee to another country as a refugee in the face of state-sponsored violence.

Yesterday was World Press Freedom Day, highlighting the importance of independent media and honouring journalists killed in the line of duty. It's particularly poignant this year as so many journalists are being killed in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, Sudan and elsewhere. A report last month found that "more journalists have been killed in Gaza than in both world wars, the Vietnam War, the wars in Yugoslavia, and the United States war in Afghanistan combined" (link).