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Post by Hunny on Feb 27, 2013 0:08:37 GMT
_____________________________________________________________ _______________________________________ Things you need to know! __ ~Every day is a holiday somewhere.~Some days we'll learn the history of our holidays, or about the holidays of other countries, and other days we'll just turn to Hallmark's list (they have a "day" for every day of the year). So come here each morning to find out what day it is! February 27 is...National Kahlua DayLikely created by the company that makes and sells Kahlua, if you are 21 or older, crack open a bottle today. In fact, go here ( click) for a delicious recipe. And go here for more ( click). Recommendation: use a tad more alcohol than they recommend, and go ahead and drink 3 or 4 of these. You'll be rocked! ___________________ Philosoraptor wonders...___________________ HOW TO DO STUFF!No caption required. Look at the cat's expression! COME BACK DAILY FOR...The DAILY BUZZ!
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Post by sadie1263 on Feb 27, 2013 2:04:57 GMT
Wow........that cat is going to kill that man in his sleep and make it look like an accident.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2013 7:06:02 GMT
Wow........that cat is going to kill that man in his sleep and make it look like an accident. No jury would convict it.
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Post by Hunny on Feb 27, 2013 14:37:30 GMT
Wow........that cat is going to kill that man in his sleep and make it look like an accident. No way. He's protected by the tin foil hat!
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Post by Hunny on Feb 27, 2013 19:43:32 GMT
THE KALEVALA is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology. It is regarded as the national epic of Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature. The Kalevala played an instrumental role in the development of the Finnish national identity, the intensification of Finland's language strife and the growing sense of nationality that ultimately led to Finland's independence from Russia in 1917. The version most commonly known today was first published in 1849 and consists of 22,795 verses, divided into fifty songs (Finnish: runot). The title can be interpreted as "The land of Kaleva" or "Kalevia". HISTORY Before the 18th century the Kalevala poetry was common throughout Finland and Karelia but in the 18th century it began to disappear in Finland, first in western Finland, because European rhymed poetry became more common in Finland. Finnish folk poetry was first written down in the 17th century and collected by hobbyists and scholars through the following centuries. Despite this, the majority of Finnish poetry remained only in the oral tradition. Finnish born nationalist and linguist Karl Gottlund (1796–1875) expressed his desire for a Finnish epic in a similar vein to The Iliad, Beowulf and the Nibelungenlied compiled from the various poems and songs spread over most of Finland. He hoped that such an endeavour would incite a sense of nationality and independence in the native Finnish people.. INTERPRETATIONS The Kalevala, as the important work of national literature it is, has of course attracted many scholars and enthusiasts to interpret its contents in a historical context. Many interpretations of the themes in The Kalevala have been tabled. Some parts of the epic have been perceived as ancient conflicts between the early Finns and the Samis. In this context, the country of Kalevala could be understood as Southern Finland and Pohjola as Lapland. However, the place names in Kalevala seem to transfer the Kalevala further south, which has been interpreted as reflecting the Finnic settlement expansion from the South that came to push the Samis further to the north. Some scholars locate the lands of Kalevala to East Karelia, where most of the Kalevala stories were written down. In 1961 a small town of Uhtua in the then Soviet Republic of Karelia was renamed Kalevala, perhaps to promote that theory. Finnish politician and linguist Eemil Setälä rejected the idea that the heroes of Kalevala are historical in nature and suggested they are personifications of natural phænomena. He interprets Pohjola as the northern heavens and the Sampo as the pillar of the world. Setälä suggests that the journey to regain the Sampo is a purely imaginary one with the heroes riding a mythological boat or magical steed to the heavens The practice of bear-worship, arctolatry, was once very common in Finland and there are strong echoes of this in The Kalevala. The old Finnish word väinä (a strait of deep water with a slow current) appears to be the origin of the name Väinämöinen; one of Väinämöinen's other names is Suvantolainen, suvanto being the modern word for väinä. Consequently it is possible that the Saari (Island) might be the island of Saaremaa in Estonia and Kalevala the Estonian mainland. Finnish folklorists Matti Kuusi and Pertti Anttonen state that terms such as the people of Kalevala or the tribe of Kalevala are created of the whole cloth by Elias Lönnrot. Moreover, they contend that the word Kalevala is very rare in traditional poetry and that by emphasizing dualism (Kalevala vs. Pohjola) Elias Lönnrot created the required tension that made The Kalevala dramatically successful and thus fit for a national epic of the time. READ MORE...
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Post by Hunny on Feb 28, 2013 23:02:57 GMT
A martenitsa is a small piece of adornment, made of white and red yarn and worn from March 1 until around the end of March (or the first time an individual sees a stork, swallow, or budding tree). The name of the holiday is Baba Marta. "Baba" is the Bulgarian word for "grandmother" and Mart is the Bulgarian word for the month of March. Baba Marta is a Bulgarian tradition related to welcoming the upcoming spring. The month of March, according to Bulgarian folklore, marks the beginning of springtime. Therefore, the first day of March is a traditional holiday associated with sending off winter and welcoming spring. SYMBOLISM: The red and white woven threads symbolize the wish for good health. They are the heralds of the coming of spring in Bulgaria and life in general. While white as a color symbolizes purity, red is a symbol of life and passion, thus some ethnologists have proposed that, in its very origins, the custom might have reminded people of the constant cycle of life and death, the balance of good and evil, and of the sorrow and happiness in human life. TRADITION: On the first day of March and for a few days afterwards, Bulgarians exchange and wear white and red tassels or small dolls called "Пижо и Пенда" (Pizho and Penda). In Bulgarian folklore the name Baba Marta (in Bulgarian баба Марта meaning Grandma March) is related to a grumpy old lady whose mood swings change very rapidly. This is an old pagan tradition that remains almost unchanged today. The common belief is that by wearing the red and white colours of the martenitsa people ask Baba Marta for mercy. They hope that it will make winter pass faster and bring spring. Many people wear more than one martenitsa. They receive them as presents from relatives, close friends and colleagues. Martenitsa is usually worn pinned on the clothes, near the collar, or tied around the wrist. The tradition calls for wearing the martenitsa until the person sees a stork or a blooming tree. The stork is considered a harbinger of spring and as evidence that Baba Marta is in a good mood and is about to retire. The ritual of finally taking off the martenitsa may be different in different parts of Bulgaria. Some people would tie their martenitsa on a branch of a fruit tree, thus giving the tree health and luck, which the person wearing the martenitsa has enjoyed himself while wearing it. Others would put the martenitsa under a stone with the idea that the kind of creature (usually an insect) closest to the token the next day will determine the person's health for the rest of the year. If the creature is a larva or a worm, the coming year will be healthy, and full of success. The same luck is associated with an ant, the difference being that the person will have to work hard to reach success. If the creature near the token is a spider, then the person is in trouble and may not enjoy luck, health, or personal success. The martenitsa is also a stylized symbol of Mother Nature. During early-spring/late-winter, nature seems full of hopes and expectations. The white symbolizes the purity of the melting white snow and the red symbolizes the setting of the sun which becomes more and more intense as spring progresses. These two natural resources are the source of life. They are also associated with the male and female beginnings. Wearing one or more martenitsi is a very popular Bulgarian tradition. The martenitsa symbolises new life, conception, fertility, and spring. The time during which it is worn is meant to be a joyful holiday commemorating health and long life. The colours of the martenitsa are interpreted as symbols of purity and life, as well as the need for harmony in Nature and in people's lives. ORIGIN: Similar tradition is also held by thοse in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as in Northern Greece, Albania, Romania and Moldova. The tradition is related to the ancient pagan history of Balkan Peninsula and to all agricultural cults of nature. Some of the specific features of the ritual and especially tying the twisted white and red woolen thread, are a result of centuries-old tradition and suggest Thracian (paleo-Balkan) Hellenic or even Roman origin USE: Martenitsi are always given as gifts. It is supposed for people never to buy martenitsi for themselves. They are given to loved ones, friends, and those people to whom one feels close. They are worn on clothing, or around the wrist or neck, until the wearer sees a stork or swallow returning from migration, or a blossoming tree, and then removes the Martenitsa and hangs it on a blossoming tree. A martenitsa tied to a blossoming tree, a symbol of approaching spring___________________ Philosoraptor wonders...___________________ HOW TO DO STUFF! ~ COME BACK DAILY FOR...The DAILY BUZZ! ~
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Post by Hunny on Mar 1, 2013 23:29:30 GMT
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Post by Hunny on Mar 2, 2013 23:24:28 GMT
Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day - in Japan)
The Japanese Doll Festival Hinamatsuri, or Girls' Day, is held on March 3. Platforms covered with a red carpet are used to display a set of ornamental dolls representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period. The custom of displaying dolls began during the Heian period. Formerly, people believed the dolls possessed the power to contain bad spirits. Hinamatsuri traces its origins to an ancient Japanese custom called hina-nagashi ("doll floating"), in which straw hina dolls are set afloat on a boat and sent down a river to the sea, supposedly taking troubles or bad spirits with them. The Shimogamo Shrine (part of the Kamo Shrine complex in Kyoto) celebrates the Nagashibina by floating these dolls between the Takano and Kamo Rivers to pray for the safety of children. People have stopped doing this now because of fishermen catching the dolls in their nets. They now send them out to sea, and when the spectators are gone they take the boats out of the water and bring them back to the temple and burn them. The customary drink for the festival is shirozake, a sake made from fermented rice. A colored hina-arare, bite-sized crackers flavored with sugar or soy sauce depending on the region, and hishimochi, a diamond-shaped colored rice cake, are served. Chirashizushi (sushi rice flavored with sugar, vinegar, topped with raw fish and a variety of ingredients) is often eaten. A salt-based soup called ushiojiru containing clams still in the shell is also served. Clam shells in food are deemed the symbol of a united and peaceful couple, because a pair of clam shells fits perfectly, and no pair but the original pair can do so. Families generally start to display the dolls in February and take them down immediately after the festival. Superstition says that leaving the dolls past March 4 will result in a late marriage for the daughter. ___________________ Philosoraptor asks...___________________ BAR TRICKS! *HOW THE BAR TRICK WORKS: Oil is hydrophobic, water is hydrophilic and oil has a lower density than water, which causes it to float above the water.
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Post by Hunny on Mar 4, 2013 0:51:30 GMT
Hug a GI DayIt's March fourth, so march forth and find yourself a GI to hug. Though try not to bother them if they look busy. They might be trying to save the world or something. And come to think of it, what are you doing on the base? Who gave you clearance? ___________________ Philosoraptor asks...___________________ HOW TO DO STUFF!
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Post by sadie1263 on Mar 4, 2013 1:36:14 GMT
I have no idea where you come up with some of these......but I'm starting to think your computer is warped!!!
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Post by Hunny on Mar 5, 2013 1:03:01 GMT
National Tree Planting Day (in Iran)Arbor Day (from the Latin arbor, meaning tree) is a holiday in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. It originated in Nebraska City, Nebraska, United States by J. Sterling Morton. The first Arbor Day was held on April 10, 1872 and an estimated one million trees were planted that day. Many countries now observe a similar holiday. ( click for a list) Though usually observed in the spring, the date varies, depending on climate and suitable planting season. ___________________ Philosoraptor asks...___________________ HOW TO DO STUFF!
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Post by Hunny on Mar 5, 2013 23:28:58 GMT
Dentist Day?! Three cheers for the dentists of the world. Hip hip' Hip hip' {crickets, crickets} Uh, guys? This is where you say hooray. Hey, where are you going? Look, we all get a little nervous about visits to the dentist's office, but without their help our teeth would be a mess. You wouldn't want to give up that gorgeous grin of yours, now would you? ___________________ Philosoraptor asks...___________________ HOW TO DO STUFF!
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Post by Hunny on Mar 7, 2013 2:21:30 GMT
Teacher's Day (in Albania)In many countries, Teachers' Days are intended to be special days for the appreciation of teachers, and may include celebrations to honor them for their special contributions in a particular field area, or the community in general. The date on which Teachers' day is celebrated varies from country to country. Teachers' days are distinct from World Teachers' Day which is officially celebrated across the world on October 5. ___________________ Socially Awkward Penguin...___________________ HOW TO DO STUFF!
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Post by Hunny on Mar 7, 2013 23:51:32 GMT
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Post by sadie1263 on Mar 8, 2013 5:34:28 GMT
That's how my pics with the camera timer work out also.....
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