Sunday, June 21, 2009

HISTORY OF FATHER'S DAY

HAPPY FATHER DAY to all the Dad's, I give all the father’s my love for taken on a job that no one can do, if it’s done right and with LOVE. I would like to share the history of Father’s Day and how being a real father is so very importune to your child or children lives.


A BRIEF HISTORY OF FATHER’S DAY
Sonora Dodd, of Washington, first had the idea of a “father’s day”. The idea came to her when she was listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Sonora want a special day to honor her father. William Smart
Her father was a Civil War veteran and was widowed when his wife was giving birth to their sixth child. This left Mr. Smart to raise a newborn and his other five children, on a rural farm in eastern Washington State. After Sonora became an adult she realized the selflessness her father had shown in raising his children has a single parent. It was her father that made the all the parental sacrifices and in her eyes he had show courageous, selfless, and loving man Sonora father was born in June so she chose o hold the first
Father’s Day celebration on the 19th June in 1910 in Spokane Washington.
President Calvin Coolidge, in 1924, supported the idea of a national Father’s Day. Then in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father’s Day. President Richard Nixon signed the law, which finally made it permanent in 1972.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

HISTORY OF JUNETEENTH

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the
ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation which had become official January 1. One of General Granger’s first orders of business was to read to the people of Texas, General Order Number 3 which began most significantly with: The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.
Later attempts to explain this two and a half year delay in the receipt of this important news have yielded several versions that have been handed down through the years. The story often was the messenger who was murdered on his way to Texas with the news of freedom. Another is that the news was deliberately withheld by the enslavers to maintain the labor force on the plantations. A range of activities were provided to entertain the masses, many of continue a tradition today. Rodeos, fishing, barbecuing and baseball are a few of the typical Juneteenth activities. Certain foods became popular and Synonymous with Juneteenth celebrations such as
Strawberry soda pop.Today the most popular traditional is barbecuing.
On January 1, 1980, Juneteenth became an official Texas states holiday.

WHAT'S COOKIN' IN JUNE

What a year we are moving right along can you believe we are half way through the year. June doesn’t have a major holiday but my family celebrates June 19 with a big Juneteenth picnic. This month I will share some of my family favorite Juneteenth recipes. I would love to share the story of Juneteenth with you, it one of those story every African American should know.