~ Days in History ~

[MysteRy]

VALENTINE'S DAY










Every year millions of people around the world celebrate Valentine's Day by exchanging flowers, greetings, chocolate boxes and expensive gifts.
However, not many of us are aware of the story of St. Valentine and how Valentine's Day originated several centuries ago.
The tales surrounding this particular day has many versions.

Some believe that it is the day on which the Roman Emperor Claudius II beheaded Saint Valentine for marrying off couples secretly.
 Another story states that the Roman festival, Lupercalia is celebrated to ward off evil spirits in the city of Rome in order to maintain good health and fertility.
 
Yet another narrative suggests that Valentine was a beloved saint who was locked away in a cell by the Roman king for disobeying the Gods.
Children would send him handwritten notes since they loved this person so much.

• The funny part about this event is that there is no confirmed story because there were three different Saint Valentines and all of them were martyred!
  Some suggest that this day owes its origin to the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Claudius II.
   This ruler felt that married men turned out to be poor soldiers and thus he was against the very idea of marriage of young couples.
  But when Saint Valentine defied him and secretly encouraged lovers to get together, the emperor announced his execution.
• This day happened to be 14 February 270 A.D., when the great Saint Valentine died.
  Infact, there are a couple of stories suggesting that this man protected the Christians against any harsh Roman punishments.
• A large part of the population maintained that Valentine himself initiated the concept of sending love messages due to the fact that he had once ended a note with the words: ‘from your valentine'.
  The tale behind this is that during the time of his imprisonment, the saint fell in love with the jailor's daughter.
  He expressed his feelings for her in the most romantic manner i.e. by writing her a love letter.
• One of the most prominent beliefs was that St. Valentine was a very romantic person who laid the foundation for lovers to come forward and express feelings to their loved ones.

No matter what is the history behind Valentine's Day, this day continues to hold great importance among lovers and is celebrated with great vigor and gaiety all over the world.

[MysteRy]

MOTHER'S DAY










Mother's Day is celebrated at different dates across the world, but some dates are more preferred than others.
The most common date of Mother's day is the second Sunday of May.
The modern Mother's Day is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in March, April, or May as a day to honor mothers and motherhood.





Mother's Day is celebrated to honor all mothers and express gratitude for the hardships they bear in bringing up a child.
 Mothers Day came into being due to the efforts made by Ms Julia Ward Howe and Ms Anna Jarvis. The Resolution for having a dedicated Mother's Day was signed by US President Woodrow Wilson on May 8, 1914.
Since then people across the world have been celebrating Mothers Day with joy and devotion.



Mother’s Day has been celebrated worldwide for many centuries.
Historians and archaeologists have found ancient scriptures describing people from the ancient Greek era congregating to pay their reverences to the Greek goddess Rhea, who was in Greek mythology the “mother” of all gods.
In 15th century Europe, Christian followers would get together on “Mothering Day”, which specifically recognized the Virgin Mary and the birth of Jesus Christ.
When the English colonists first arrived to the United States, they stopped celebrating the European tradition “Mothering Day” as a result from separating themselves from England’s rule, and also due to the increased focus on protecting one another from the hidden dangers of the New World.
Subsequently after the Civil War, “Mothering Day” became a continued tradition but was renamed to “Mother’s Day.”



As Mother’s Day grew to become a popular national holiday, the act of family members giving their mother’s, grandmothers, and new mother’s gifts had become an essential fabric interwoven into the tradition of Mother’s Day.
Giving gifts of remembrance, such as personalized gifts, has grown to be one of the most popular kinds of gifts to give on Mother’s Day.
 For a mom, seeing a sentimental personalized message monogrammed from her children is the extra mile that makes her Mother’s Day gift that much more of a true representation of the love and admiration that her family shares for her.
Coffee mugs, grocery tote bags, and mom picture frames became the staples of popular personalized Mothers Day gifts that are given to moms worldwide.



Mother’s Day is celebrated worldwide from most cultures and backgrounds, but we all share the universal understanding that cements the diverse lenses of Mother’s Day.
 That is, we dedicate a whole day to the special lady that we proudly call “mom.

[MysteRy]

FATHER'S DAY









Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. It is celebrated on the third Sunday of June in many countries and on other days elsewhere. It complements Mother's Day, the celebration honoring mothers.


Father's Day is a celebration of fathers inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Father's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, special dinners to fathers, and family-oriented activities.

The first observance of Father's Day actually took place in Fairmont, West Virginia on July 5, 1908. It was organized by Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton, who wanted to celebrate the lives of the 210 fathers who had been lost in the Monongah Mining disaster several months earlier in Monongah, West Virginia, on December 6, 1907.

It's possible that Clayton was influenced by the first celebration of Mother's Day that same year, just a few miles away. Clayton chose the Sunday nearest to the birthday of her recently deceased father.Unfortunately, the day was overshadowed by other events in the city, West Virginia did not officially register the holiday, and it was not celebrated again. All the credit for Father's Day went to Sonora Dodd from Spokane, who invented independently her own celebration of Father's Day just two years later, also influenced by Jarvis' Mother's Day.

Clayton's celebration was forgotten until 1972, when one of the attendants to the celebration saw Nixon's proclamation of Father's Day, and worked to recover its legacy. The celebration is now held every year in the Central United Methodist Church – the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was torn down in 1922. Fairmont is now promoted as the "Home of the First Father's Day Service". A bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced in Congress in 1913. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Father's Day celebration and wanted to make it official, but Congress resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized.

US President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that the day be observed by the nation, but stopped short of issuing a national proclamation. Two earlier attempts to formally recognize the holiday had been defeated by Congress. In 1957, Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal accusing Congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus "[singling] out just one of our two parents" .In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.

[MysteRy]

International Nurses Day









International Nurses week (IND) is celebrated around the world every 6–12 May, to mark the contributions nurses make to society.

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has celebrated this day since 1965. In 1953 Dorothy Sutherland, an official with the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, had proposed that then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaim a "Nurses Day," but he did not approve it.

In January 1974, the decision was made to celebrate the day on 12 May as it is the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, who is widely considered the founder of modern nursing. Each year, ICN prepares and distributes the International Nurses' Day Kit. The kit contains educational and public information materials, for use by nurses everywhere.

In 1999 the British public sector union UNISON voted to ask the ICN to transfer this day to another date, saying Nightingale did not represent modern nursing.

As of 1998, 8 May was designated as annual National Student Nurses Day. As of 2003, the Wednesday within National Nurses Week, between 6 and 12 May, is National School Nurse Day.

[MysteRy]

World Animal Day on Oct 4th









World Animal Day is celebrated each year on October 4. It started in Florence, Italy in 1931 at a convention of ecologists.

On this day, animal life in all its forms is celebrated, and special events are planned on locations all over the globe. 4 October was originally chosen for World Animal Day because it is the feast day of Francis of Assisi, a nature lover and patron saint of animals and the environment.

It is intended as a day of celebration for anyone in the world who cares about animals. It is not restricted to any one nationality, creed, religion, political belief or ideology.

[MysteRy]

World Information Society Day/ World Telecommunication Day on May 17th








World Information Society Day was proclaimed to be on 17 May by a United Nations General Assembly resolution, following the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis.



The day had previously been known as World Telecommunication Day to commemorate the founding of the International Telecommunication Union in 17 May 1865. It was instituted by the Plenipotentiary Conference in Malaga-Torremolinos in 1973.

The main objective of the day is to raise global awareness of societal changes brought about by the Internet and new technologies. It also aims to help reduce the Digital divide.

[MysteRy]

World Heart Day






World Heart Day is celebrated annually on the last Sunday of September. World heart day encourages awareness of healthy heart. Heart disease and stroke are the world’s largest causes, claiming millions of lives every year.



World heart day began in 1999 in an effort to create awareness and educate risk factors for heart disease and stroke in the public to promote preventive measures. World heart day activities include public talks, free screenings, walks, runs, fitness events, scientific forums and exhibitions.

The theme of the world heart day is to “Team Up For Healthy Hearts”. The aim of this day is to encourage people to join together and create heart-healthy communities.

Role of heart in daily life is: physically it beats 70 times per minute and plays an important role in body functions and mentally, it shows kindness, generosity and sympathy in nature.

The causes of heart diseases and stroke in people include obesity, cigarette smoking and food habits. Lack of physical activity and improper diet can lead to obesity and it in turn increases the chances of heart disease. Intake of fatty and junk foods in large quantities also increases the risk of heart failures.



Preventive measures can reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends:

• To develop policies that ensures access to screening and counseling services for heart disease and stroke risk factors
• To create worksite, school, and health care facility education programs
• To have access to healthy environments for physical activities and healthy foods

The heart foundation advises all families to team up and talk about how to react when someone starts to experience warning signs of a heart attack.

Adopting a healthy lifestyle helps in maintaining a healthy heart and prevents heart attacks and strokes. Choose a healthy diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, reduce the intake of saturated fats, avoid smoking, alcohol and be physically active.

Follow healthy lifestyle for a Healthy Heart.

[MysteRy]

World Health Day on Apr 7th







World Health Day is celebrated every year on 7 April, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO).



In 1948, the World Health Organization held the First World Health Assembly. The Assembly decided to celebrate 7 April of each year, with effect from 1950, as the World Health Day.
The World Health Day is held to mark WHO's founding, and is seen as an opportunity by the organization to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health each year.
The WHO organizes international, regional and local events on the Day related to a particular theme. Resources provided continue beyond 7 April, that is, the designated day for celebrating the World Health Day.

 WHO’s theme for World Health day  is “Save Lives. Make hospitals safe in emergencies.

[MysteRy]

World Photography Day on Aug 19th








World Photography Day celebrated on August 19 each year is about remembering how special a photo can be.
We may take our photographs for granted but the next time we go through our photographs, we realize that those precious moments cannot again be captured, only shared, and with precious memories and feelings that only photographs can convey.

Early cave paintings show that man has always wanted to record himself, his activities, and the environment around him.
 Painters of great renown have abounded through the centuries and have left remarkable visual histories of our journey through time.
While the camera was not invented until the 19th century, the basic elements of a camera had been known for hundreds of years.
As early as the 1400’s it was documented that inserting a lens in a hole would produce a crisper, clearer image.
The technology which was known as “camera obscura” was used by artists to sketch objects more quickly.
 In 1847, the first ever photograph was taken by Joseph Niepce.
 A few years later, Louis Daguerre, a Frenchman painter for the Opera, experimented with various methods to try and secure a permanent image.

World Photography Day originates from the invention of the Daguerreotype, a photographic process developed by Louis Daguerre.
On January 9, 1839 The French Academy of Sciences announced the Daguerreotype process but a few months later on August 19, 1839 the French government announced the invention as a gift “free to the world.”
 Another photographic process, the Calotype, was also invented in 1839 but later announced in 1841.
 Together, the invention of both the Daguerreotype and Calotype processes mark 1839 as the year that photography was invented.
 On August 19th, celebrate photography and share your world with the world.

[MysteRy]

International Youth Day on Aug 12th









The United Nations’ (UN) International Youth Day is celebrated on August 12 each year to recognize efforts of the world’s youth in enhancing global society.
 It also aims to promote ways to engage them in becoming more actively involved in making positive contributions to their communities.
 

International Youth Day is a time to think about the different problems and challenges that face young people across the globe, such as malnutrition and disease.
 The purpose of this day is to raise awareness about the state of young people in each country.

In 1999, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared August 12th to be International Youth Day through resolution 54/120.
 Their hope was that people would organize activities on this day that would educate the public about issues that involve youth.
 They also wanted to promote the World Programme of Action for Youth, created in 1995 to find solutions to these situations.

[MysteRy]

Parents' Day








On the fourth Sunday of each July —Parents’ Day— we recognize good parenting across the country.

    Parents' Day was established by President Clinton in 1994.
According to the Congressional resolution, Clinton created this day for the purpose of "recognizing, uplifting and supporting the role of parents in the rearing of children."
     
   Today, thank your parents for all of their unconditional love and support!

[MysteRy]

World Population Day on Jul 11th








World Population Day is an annual event, observed on July 11, which seeks to raise awareness of global population issues.
The event was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989.

This day seeks to raise public awareness about global population issues and to empower societies to achieve a better future.

Good trivia questions about the world's population are not hard to come by.
For example, did you know that the Population Reference Bureau estimates that the total number of people who have ever lived is approximately 110 billion?
Or that a new baby is born every 4.2 seconds?

You can celebrate World Population Day by becoming more aware of global issues such as hunger and poverty, or by donating to charities across the world.
Today is a day to think about others.

[MysteRy]

Video Game Day on Jul 8th & National Video Games Day on Sept 12th






Video Games Day celebrates popular video games that stormed onto the market, and changed the way your kids play games.
From Atari to Nintendo to Xbox, video games provide all too many hours of playing time on your television set.
In grandma and grandpa's day, they had stick horses for toys and playtime.
Todays kids (big kids and little kids) have an enormous array of video games to play.
Before you get tired of one game, another one hits the market. 

Our extensive research into this special day discovered two separately distinct dates.
Also, both dates for this special day refer to it as Video Games Day and National Video Games Day.
 Based upon our research results, we give the edge to September 12th as National Video Games Day.
Lucky gamer that you are, you get to celebrate two video games days.
Celebrate  National Video Games Day by playing video games.
If you are off from school (or if you are a big kid off from work), make this a marathon day for video games.
Better still, invite a few friends and hold a competition.
 Just make certain that you have enough controllers.

[MysteRy]

World Water Day on Mar 22nd








The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

[MysteRy]

Engineer’s Day on Sept 15th





In India Engineer’s day is celebrated every year on 15th of September. The day is the birthday of Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, an eminent Indian engineer and statesman. To commemorate his contribution to the society, this day is celebrated as Engineer’s day.



About Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya:
Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born on 15th September 1861 in princely state of Mysore. He was born to Srinivasa Sastry and Venkachamma, a pious Telugu couple from Andhra Pradesh. He did his schooling in Banglore and earned BA from the Madras University. He later did civil engineering at the College of Engineering, Pune.

Sri Visvesvaraya had a thriving career as an engineer. He took up several projects in the Public Works Department of Mumbai. He was innovative in implementing intricate system of irrigation in the Deccan area. He was the first to design and patent automatic weir water floodgates at Khadaksala reservoir near Pune. He became popular as MV.

Sri Visvesvaraya’s fame grew by leaps and bounds with his design of flood protection system for Hyderabad, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. He also supervised the construction of KRS dam. He was instrumental in planning the road between Tirumala and Tirupati. He soon came to be known as “Father of modern Mysore state.” He was awarded with Bharata Ratna, the nation’s highest honour, in 1955.

He died on 14th April 1962.
Many institutions are named in his honor. Some of them are:

1.Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum (many engineering colleges in Karnataka are affiliated to this University)

2.Visvesvaraya Institute of Advanced Technology, Kanivenarayanapura

3.University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, Bangalore

4.Visvesvaraya Polytechnic College

5.Sir MVIT, M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bangalore

6.Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum


He once said:
"Remember, your work may be only to sweep a railway crossing, but it is your duty to keep it so clean that no other crossing in the world is as clean as yours."