Holidays

Hello, it is nice to reflect with you once again. As I promised in "Confirmation and How it Works," I will give a sequel to Confirmation. You may think, “Why is the title Pentecost if you’re going to talk about Confirmation?” But this is because forty days after Easter, at the Ascension, when Jesus left Earth and ascended into heaven, He told the Apostles to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost happened nine days after that when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and Mary, confirming them into the Catholic Church that Jesus had founded. The nine days were called the novena in Latin. This was also the day the Catholic Apostolic Church was started with its Apostolic succession that continues to this day, as the line of bishops succeeds down the apostolic line from the original Apostles.

Jesus played an essential role in this because he had to gather followers on Earth, die for our sins, free the souls in Abraham’s Bosom, come back from the dead, teach his apostles how to form the Catholic Church and about the meaning of Sacred Scripture. Before ascending into Heaven, Scripture tells us:

" And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, buto wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 

The Holy Spirit confirmed them nine days later at Pentecost [50 days after the Resurrection]:

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren."  (Acts 1:14, 2:1-4). 

Nice to reflect again, goodbye.

Corpus Christi is a Christian Holiday where people celebrate the change of the Eucharist from wine to blood and from bread to body and reflect on this amazing spiritual event that happens at every Mass. 

Corpus Christi is traditionally celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, sixty days after Easter. This year, it occurred on May 30. 

Corpus Christi is a term in Latin where "Corpus" is body and "Christi" is Christ. So Corpus Christi means Body of Christ. We celebrate the Body of Christ that held all our sins and saved us from eternal hell after death. His body becomes spiritual food for us at every Mass, which we receive as the Eucharist.

Corpus Christi started in 1246 when Robert de Torote was coaxed into ordering the fest by a Saint named Saint Juliana. Although she only lived 36 years, her feast day is February 16, and she is the patron saint of sickness, bodily ills, and sick people.

Soon enough, it turned into pageant wagons where men would do plays to show the following:

• The Creation of the World

• The Stories of the Old Testament

• Birth of Christ

• The Ministry Passion of Jesus Christ

• The Resurrection of Jesus

     As well as:

• The Harrowing of Hell (The Revelation) & Day of Judgement (A sequel to Revelation)

These shows were used to promote the Eucharist, and they could have easily worked due to the fear of Hell because they acted out the suffering, and it showed what Jesus had to go through for our sins to be taken away.

Corpus Christi also began more theatre, considering there were all these commercials to watch these plays. Soon, it spread to other topics, creating more theatre after theatre was generally banned in medieval times. It came back from only jesters, who weren't as interesting as the theatre shows that filled the audience with wonder and soon converted them.

The wagon shows started in York, England, in 1376 and ended by King Henry VIII due to hate and superstition to catholicism during the English Reformation 1534 -1603. It ended the year Queen Elizabeth died because she even saw the shows as "popery," in her words. It is no surprise, though, due to her problems in religion, politics, and foreign policy.

And that's an introduction to the holiday of Corpus Christi!

Limerick Day is a day to celebrate the birthday of Edward Lear and all limerick poems. It is always celebrated on May 12. A limerick poem is a poem with five lines in which the first and second lines rhyme with the fifth and the third and fourth lines rhyme. On this day, read as many limericks as you can! You can even create some of your own! Unfortunately, Limerick Day is not a “ national” holiday. But at least someone brought it up, and now it's a day to recognize. 

Here is an example of a limerick poem:

Once, there was a man named Nantucket,

Who kept his cash in a bucket,

But his daughter Nan,

 ran away with a man,

And as for the bucket, Nantucket.

This is another example of a limerick poem:

There was a small boy from Quebec,

Who was buried in snow to his neck,

When they said, “ Are you friz?”

He replied, “ Yes, it is-

But we don’t call this cold in Quebec.

Here is a last limerick poem to read:

A dozen, a gross, and a score,

Plus, three times the square root of four,

Divide by seven,

Plus, five times eleven,

It is nine square and not a bit more.

The book made by Edward Lear, which is very well known and celebrated, is  Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense.

Ways  to celebrate Limerick Day

-Read limerick poems

-Read poems to others

                   -Give a poem as an unexpected gift to someone

Mother’s Day is a day to appreciate everything your mother has done for you. It is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. However, it changes every year. This year, it will be celebrated on May 12, the same day as Limerick Day! This is not a local or federal holiday, which means that businesses will not be closed on this day.

What Is The History Of Mother’s Day?

The history of Mother's Day starts like this. In ancient times, they would make festivals to honor mothers and goddesses. These goddesses were often related to birth, maternity, and growth. The people of Greece did this. Even the Romans!

What Can We Do On Mother’s Day?

On Mother’s Day, we can offer gifts, poems, and love. An important thing to know is that it is not just about celebrating your mother but all mothers. For example, we could offer flowers, cards, or… a meal!

Famous poem on mothers:

MOTHER

The Most Important Person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral -a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body. . . The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God's creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation. .. What on God's good earth is more glorious than this: to be a mother?

-Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty

International Nurses is a day to celebrate nurses. A lot of people think that doctors equal medical help. This is partly true. Although doctors may do surgery, without nurses, it would not work. Nurses are found almost everywhere, while doctors are found only in hospitals. Nurses are found in schools. They help us if we have a bruise or paper cut. International Nurses Day is celebrated on May 12! The same day as Mother’s Day and Limerick Day! 

History Of International Nurses Day

The history of International Nurses Day starts with this: In 1953, a U.S. Department of Health official, Dorothy Sutherland, proposed this day to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He did not accept his proposal, though. The Council of Nurses liked this and celebrated this day on May 12, 1965. May 12 was a very important day for nurses.

Finally, in 1974, this day became International Nurses Day. Every year, the ICM gives out an International Nurses Day Kit. It contains educational and public information materials. Now everybody recognizes this day.

  How To Celebrate International Nurses Day

You can celebrate this day by showing how thankful and grateful you are to them. For example, you could give them a thank you card. You could also help them clean up their materials. Think about the things school nurses and other nurses have done for you.    

Juneteenth is one of the most well-known holidays in the United States. It celebrates the ending of slavery. Some say the incredible holiday is like the second Independence Day. But the history of this celebration is complicated and is usually misunderstood. 

    Juneteenth didn't necessarily improve the lives of many African Americans for about another ten years. Dating back to the year 1865, the great holiday remembers the day when 250,000 slaves in Texas were freed from slavery. This became the last bastion for slavery during the final days of the Civil War. At the end of the war, all the slaves were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation.

    The following year, festivities were organized in African American towns and communities to celebrate and remember the greatness of that day.  The celebrations continued year after year.  According to Texas Rep. Albert Ely Edwards (1937–2020), sponsor of Texas House Bill 1016 (1979), which made Emancipation Day (“Juneteenth”) a statewide paid holiday, this annual celebration is important because “Every year, we must remind successive generations that this event triggered a series of events that one by one define the challenges and responsibilities of successive generations. That’s why we need this holiday.” 

Juneteenth was called Emancipation Day when Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation officially freed all slaves in the United States. In Texas, former slaves, African American ministers, and businessmen gathered their money to buy a ten-acre piece of land that would become “Emancipation Park,” where many early Emancipation Day celebrations occurred. 

     This land purchase was necessary because although the African-American slaves were freed from slavery, they still were not allowed to gather together in public spaces, such as parks. Because they owned Emancipation Park, former slaves were allowed to gather there. Some of the ways that they celebrated what would become Juneteenth. On this annual day of celebration, kids often had the day off from school, and newly freed African Americans often marched in parades, “openly rejoicing their new status as citizens.”

    Today, Emancipation Day is called Juneteenth. This year’s Juneteenth celebrations include “The Kissimmee Juneteenth Festival in Florida,” “Creative Suitland’s Juneteenth Arts and Cultural Festival in Maryland,” and “Juneteenth on Manhattan Beach, Manhattan.” Those are just some of the awesome Juneteenth celebrations in our nation.

In 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd came up with the idea, while listening to a sermon on Mother's Day, to create a Holiday celebrating fathers in America. On June 19, 1910, in Washington state, the first Father's Day in America was celebrated, and ever since has been widely celebrated by families nationwide.

One of the ways that Father's Day has been celebrated over the years is by giving special Father's Day gifts to fathers. Over the decades, popular Father's gifts have included:

1910s- White and red roses were trending when Father's Day became popular.

1920s-  Pipe tobacco and socks.

1930s- Tobacco, socks, neckties, and hats.

1940s- Tobacco, neckties, and electric shavers.

1950s- Cigarettes, tobacco, pajamas, slippers, electric razors, grooming products, menswear, and sporting goods (particularly golf).

1960s & 1970s—Cigarettes, tobacco, pajamas, slippers, electric razors, grooming products, menswear, and sporting goods (particularly golf) were the same as in the 1950s and 1970s, but popularity was growing.

The 1980s didn't change much either, but whiskey was brought to the list.

Father's Day is annually celebrated on the third Sunday of June, which this year falls on June 16th. Fathers are an important part of our lives. God gave us fathers to look over us during our childhood and throughout our lives. There are a lot of ideas in the world about what it means to be a great father. However, I had the opportunity to speak to a virtuous father whose second child is due to be born on June 7, 2024, our school principal, Dr. Kristiansen. He said that St. Joseph is a great model of fatherhood for him.

 Saint Joseph was the foster father of Jesus, whom God chose to take care of the Holy Family.