July 4th, less known history

In 1776, as every child has learned from school the Continental Congress drafted, edited and then signed the Declaration of independence.

Here's what they didn't tell you:

It was actually July 2, 1776 that the Continental Congress actually voted on freedom from Britain. The Declaration of Independence was a formality.

It was read out loud to the public in three locations: Philadelphia, PA; Trenton, NJ; Easton, PA on July 8, 1776.

The document was approved and went into effect on July 4th, but wasn't fully signed by all members of congress until August 2, 1776. The dispute arise from the fact that certain members weren't all present. Jefferson, Adams and Franklin recall it differently.

There were thought to be 200 copies of the Declaration of Independence. Today only 25 copies are known to exist.

Sources: Fourth of July Celebrations Database, US History.org.

Hurricane Season

According to NOAA the 2009 hurricane season officially started June 1. They are predicting 7-14 named hurricanes in the Atlantic. They estimate that 35 million people will be affected by hurricanes this year.

How to cope? Be prepared (seehttp://nhc.boulder.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/intro.shtml) and buy a book:

A Saving Hurricane
http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Hurricane-Bernadette-Sukley/dp/1601454104/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244808835&sr=8-1

Irony: the NOAA is headquartered in Boulder, CO far away from any hurricanes. They predict them--you live through them.

pulitzer prizes for writing

Elizabeth Strout of Queens University of Charlotte won the 2009 Pulitzer prize for her book "Olive Kitteridge." A novel about a woman struggling through day-to-day life in a small town in Maine.

Strout's writing is very compelling, it cannot compare to Annie Dillard's "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek." Dillard wrote the book as a way to help her recover from a near-fatal bout of pneumonia. She won the Pulitzer for the book in 1975. The book is a diary of sorts that details her encounters with the animals and environment in a tiny nook of Virginia.

both books are worth the read.
Amazon.com

The history behind the revolt

The trouble started December 16, 1773 when poorly disguised colonists dumped large crates of tea into Boston Harbor. The act was direct protest of taxation without representation.
Here's what happened:
Tea was one of the most commonly consumed beverages in the colonial era. The major importer of tea, the East India Company was taxed by Great Britain which jacked up the price of tea. Colonists found it cheaper to drink smuggled tea from Holland, as Dutch tea was not taxed. Needless to say the East India Company and the Crown lost money.
In a major "get-back" move the British government sought to impose taxes on the colonies to collect lost revenue. The Stamp Act 1765--which did not tax stamps, but paper, skins or anything the colonist used to write upon (writs, warrants, notices, letters and even planting calendars).
The Townshend Act 1767 was yet another tax imposed upon the colonies to pay for the French & Indian War. The war was fought, argued Britain, on behalf of the colonists--they should pay for it. The fact that many colonists did not fight in the war was overlooked.
In 1768 Britain sent troops to enforce the payment of taxes (Quartering Act forced colonists to allow British troops in their homes). Tensions mounted and in 1770, five civilians were killed by British troops after being unable to withstand insults and snow balls being thrown at them. The event was called The Boston Massacre by Samuel Adams.
As the relationship between Britain and the colonies became more and more strained, protests shot up from Massachusetts to Virginia. And one December night over 300 casks of East India Tea were tossed overboard. Tea washed up on the shores of Boston Harbor for weeks.

Tax Day Tea Party

Currently planning Tax Day Tea Party
April 15, 2009
Noon
Location TBA
(Allentown/Bethlehem/Reading)

Keep watching these posts!

For the new year...

"Life can't ever really defeat a writer who is in love with writing, for life itself is a writer's lover until death - fascinating, cruel,
lavish, warm, cold, treacherous, constant."

-- Edna Ferber, American novelist, author, and playwright

Christmas: Ever wonder why...?

The season is here, but did you ever wonder why...

...people write merry X-mas?
X is the Greek letter that is the ancient symbol for Christos or Christ.

...the celebration is on December 25...when was Christ really born?
The twenty-fifth was officially declared as a holy day until the 4th century AD. scholars believe that the "star" was an alignment of 3 planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars) that occurred in March of 4BC. but this collides with Easter which was firmly established prior to 400AD, so the 25th was kept as the beginning of the church liturgical (calendar) year.

...people sing about birds in the 12 days of christmas carol?
there's tremendous controversy about the song as to whether it was from England or France, or if the song was simply a child's rhyme or a secret code for outlawed Catholics to safely sing when they were being persecuted in England during the late 1500s. birds are especially meaningful as they were game and highly prized in any feast. "four calling birds" is actually a corruption of "colly birds" which refers to any black bird or perhaps cawing birds like crows. the five rings are thought to be ring neck pheasants, which were naturalized in Europe from China.

...don't Christians light more candles?
technically they light candles all year long, but at Christmas they only light 4 on an Advent Wreath. The candles symbolize each week of the period of Advent (the 4 weeks prior to Christmas Day). The practice of lighting candles on the Christmas tree was discouraged due to the number of house fires that occurred around Christmas.

...do people put up Christmas trees?
first a German then later an English tradition, immigrants brought over the tradition to the U.S. and it stuck. the decorated tree was credited to Martin Luther, but chances are he borrowed the centuries-old tradition from Latvia. ancient pagan rituals celebrated trees and large boulders as living (though non-mobile) creatures.


Merry Christmas

Source: NovaReinna.com