June 8, 2009
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW A WORD, IDIOM OR PHRASE ORIGINATED IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE?
The focus for 2009 will be on terms related to health.
As always, I would appreciate your feedback.
1) Did you find the posting informative?
2) How would you improve this posting?
3) Can you provide a better Moment of Zen?
October 7, 2007
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW A WORD, IDIOM OR PHRASE ORIGINATED IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE?
Please read the attached pdf posting on the origin of “Columbus Day” to see the results of my research. As always, I would appreciate your feedback on the attached pdf.
1) Did you find the posting informative?
2) How would you improve this posting?
3) Can you provide a better Moment of Zen
June 29, 2007
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW A WORD, IDIOM OR PHRASE ORIGINATED IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE?
One of the most famous holidays in America is Independence Day, the Fourth of July, when we typically make an effort to join family picnics in a public forum. The standard fare, besides the enormous amounts of food being offered, is the patriotic speeches, traditional music, and capped off by spectacular fireworks.
The initial research into the origin of this national holiday provided the normal information, such as:
After gathering facts from a variety of sources, I wanted develop a certain feel to this posting by using words from the time period. Of course, the use of the “We hold these truths – - ” phrasing was perfect; however, the right image for the top left of the page took some time – it must feature the American flag and remind the reader of fond memories. The picture of some sheet music from the Duke University Library did the trick.
Now, I wanted use the trusty timeline to reflect the gradual steps taken to either distinguish the Fourth of July from other holidays and/or the legislative attempts to actually create the holiday. The capstone at the end of each posting is pretty standard – first, the Conventional Wisdom, which came easy with the Birthday of the USA. The final section (Moment of Zen) is always the toughest, because I want to add some flavor or texture to the posting.
Once again I wanted to create the nostalgia, or the true feeling of what must have been felt in the late 1770s – a line that also reflects real patriotism. I’m happy with the attached posting on the origin of the Fourth of July – it seems right. As always, I hope this stimulates your own research, and I would appreciate your feedback
1) Did you find the posting informative?
2) How would you improve this posting?
3) Can you provide a better Moment of Zen?
May 26, 2007
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW A WORD, IDIOM OR PHRASE ORIGINATED IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE?
It is well known that Southern women decorated the graves of soldiers even before the Civil War’s end. Records show that by 1865, Mississippi, Virginia, and South Carolina all had precedents for Memorial Day.
Although President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966 declared the birthplace of Memorial Day to be Waterloo N.Y., it is more likely that this event had many separate, spontaneous beginnings. What is clearly known is that on May 5, 1868, General John Logan, National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued General Order No. 11:
“The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land.”
This was known as “Decoration Day,” which through time developed into our national Memorial Day holiday.
For more detail, please read the attached pdf posting. As always, I hope this stimulates your own research, and I would appreciate your feedback.
1) Did you find the posting informative?
2) How would you improve this posting?
May 5, 2007
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW A WORD, IDIOM OR PHRASE ORIGINATED IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE?
The first weekend in May provides us with two unique events in 2007 – Cinco de Mayo and the 133rd running of the Kentucky Derby. I normally only have one posting per week (each Monday), but I decided that this was a special case and posted Cinco de Mayo on Friday.
The research into Cinco de Mayo revealed that this event originated to celebrate the historic Battle of Puebla, which occurred on May 5, 1862. This is the date when an ill-equipped Mexican militia of 4,000 lead by General Zaragoza defeated a larger French army.
The second major fact uncovered about this event is that Mexico considers it only the number three holiday for the country. Its celebration is fairly limited in Mexico, but here in America Cinco de Mayo is a major event that focuses Mexican culture rather than an historic battle.
For more detail, please read the attached pdf posting. As always, I hope this stimulates your own research, and I would appreciate your feedback.
1) Did you find the posting informative?
2) How would you improve this posting?
3) Can you provide a better “Moment of Zen?”
January 22, 2007
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW A WORD, IDIOM OR PHRASE ORIGINATED IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE?
Many unique events happened in the month of January. One event that had a significant impact on the State of California was the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill on January 24, 1848.
James Marshall was foreman of a work crew building a saw mill for John Sutter on the American River at Coloma near Sacramento. When Marshall showed his boss a few tiny gold nuggets, they both wanted to keep the discovery quiet.
But word slowly spread from coast to coast and across the globe during 1848, which created a huge gold rush in 1849.
Some say this was the start of one of the largest human migrations in history as people from around the world descended upon California in search of instant wealth.
Please read the attached pdf posting. As always, I hope this stimulates your own research, and I would appreciate your feedback on this posting.
1) Did you find the posting informative?
2) How would you improve this posting?
3) Can you provide a better “Moment of Zen?”
