Sunday, December 6, 2015

This Day in History


This week has not brought much that is new in Garoua Boulai.  The world continues to generate lots of terrible news of shootings, war, bombings, and violence against people, especially women.  I decided to write instead things that make December 6 special – celebrations around the world and things that have happened on this date in history; I picked the ones with a more positive outlook! (Many thanks to the website http://www.onthisday.com for most of these facts and to Wikipedia for the rest.)


December 6 is the 340th day of the year.  This year it is the second Sunday in Advent.  

Celebrated on December 6, 2015

  •  Hanukkah begins (and lasts until the 14th).  Hanukkah which is the Hebrew word for dedication, honors the victory of the Jews over the Greek Syrians in 165 BC. After their victory, the Maccabees, sons of the family that led the revolt, entered the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and dedicated it to the service of their God. When the Maccabees entered the temple, they found only enough lamp oil to last one night, but the oil somehow managed to burn for the whole eight days it took to go in search for more oil. Therefore, Hanukkah is observed over eight days.
  • It is St. Nicholas Day maybe because he died on this date in 343 AD.  Wikipedia reports:
    It is celebrated as a Christian festival with particular regard to his reputation as a bringer of gifts, as well as through the attendance of Mass or worship services.[3][4] In Europe, especially in "Germany and Poland, boys would dress as bishops begging alms for the poor."[5] In Ukraine, children wait for St. Nicholas to come and to put a present under their pillows provided that the children were good during the year. Children who behaved badly may expect to find a twig or a piece of coal under their pillows. In the Netherlands, "Dutch children put out a clog filled with hay and a carrot for Saint Nicholas' horse. On Saint Nicholas' Day, gifts are tagged with personal humorous rhymes written by the sender."[6] In the United States, one custom associated with Saint Nicholas Day is children leaving their shoes in the foyer on Saint Nicholas Eve in hope that Saint Nicholas will place some coins on the soles, for them to awake to.[2]
  • The founding of Quito in Ecuador
  • Constitution Day in Spain
  • Independence Day in Finland


Here are some events throughout history
  963 - Leo VIII elected Pope
1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary
1160 - Jean Bodel’s "Jeu de St Nicholas" premieres in Arras
1196 - Northern Dutch coast flooded, "Saint-Nicolas Flood"
1534 - Quito, Ecuador, founded by Spanish
1631 - 1st predicted transit of Venus (Kepler) is observed
1732 - 1st play in American colonies acted by professional players, NYC
1768 - 1st edition of "Encyclopedia Brittanica" published (Scotland)
1790 - The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1825 - Pres John Adams suggests establishment of a US observatory
1833 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin departs Rio de la Plata
1841 - Robert Schumann's 4th Symphony in D premieres
1845 - Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is founded at Yale College.
1849 - Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery in Maryland for the 2nd and final time

Abolitionist Harriet Tubman
1865 - 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery
1866 - Chicago water supply tunnel 3,227 m into Lake Michigan completed
1870 - Joseph H Rainey, 1st black in House of Reps (SC)
1876 - 1st crematorium in US begins operation, Washington, PA
1877 - First recording made of the human voce - Thomas Edison reciting "Mary had a little lamb"
Inventor Thomas Edison
1897 - London becomes the world's first city to host licensed taxicabs.

1904 - Theodore Roosevelt confirms Monroe-doctrine (Roosevelt Corollary)
26th US President Theodore Roosevelt
1921 - Anglo-Irish Treaty signed; Ireland receives dominion status; partition creates Northern Ireland
1922 - 1st electric power line commercial carrier in US, Utica, NY
1923 - 1st US Presidential address broadcast on radio by President Calvin Coolidge
1929 - Turkey introduces female suffrage
30th US President Calvin Coolidge
1933 - Ban on James Joyce' "Ulysses" in US lifted
1947 - The Everglades National Park in Florida is dedicated.

1963 - Beatles begin a tradition of releasing a Christmas record for fans
1964 - "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" 1st airs on TV
1966 - Polio vaccination becomes obligatory in Belgium
1969 - 300,000 attend Altamont California, rock concert feature Rolling Stones
1980 - NASA launches Intelsat V satellite, no. 502
1981 - Rob de Castella of Australia sets Marathon record at 2:08:18
1991 - "Les Miserables" opens at Circustheater, Scheveningen
1991 - "Star Trek VI-Undiscovered Country" premieres
2012 - A 243 million year old Nyasasaurus fossil is discovered in Tanzania

I hope you are doing something special today so it will be included in future lists of this kind!  May it promote peace, good will to all people.

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