Monthly Archives: April 2015
HISTORIC CELEBRATION: SHOWA DAY
This Japanese holiday originally honoured the Showa emperor Hirohito (born April 29th, 1901), who was Japan’s emperor from 1926 to 1989. Since his death it still constitutes a day off, but is not as widely celebrated as the other three national spring holidays that fall close together and make up Japan’s Golden Week.
HISTORIC CELEBRATION: SECHSELÄUTEN
Sechseläuten is a spring festival in which the people of Zurich, Switzerland chase away winter and welcome spring. Originating with the medieval guilds, Sechseläuten means, ‘the six o’clock ringing of the bells’, and harks back to when labour laws were controlled by the guilds. During winter, people worked as long as there was light, but […]
HISTORY CARTOON FOR SHAKESPEARE’S BIRTHDAY
* Authorized Reproduction, Rex May: http://baloocartoons.com/
HISTORIC ‘WHAT-IF?’: TWO SOLDIERS
There is some disagreement as to exactly where, when, and for some, even if, this incident actually happened, but the two major participants both said it did. The Place: France. The Time: The last days of WW I. The Scene: As British troops were putting the German army into retreat, a 27-year-old British private named […]
HISTORIC MOVIE IDEAS FOR APRIL
April’s historic viewing suggestions: Boys Town (1938) (Early 20th Century) The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) (WW II Holocaust) Hans Christian Andersen (1952) (19th Century Denmark) Johnny Shiloh (Disney, 1963) (American Civil War) Man Hunt (1941) (WW II) Shenandoah (1965) (American Civil War) Valkyrie (2008) (WW II)
DON’T FORGET THE ‘STORY’
Here are some historic and/or April-born author book suggestions. Ages 3-7 Boxes For Katje by Candace Fleming (Post WW II) Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco (Heritage) A Hat For The Queen by Joan Chase Bacon (Medieval) Ages 7-9 Clara & Davie by Patricia Polacco (Clara Barton, Founder of the Red Cross) I Survived The San […]
HAPPY NATIONAL SIBLINGS DAY
Siblings. Those annoying children you have to share your parents with and whose arrival you did not necessarily welcome, even though you eventually got used to them. (Since I’m the youngest, mine came with the house.) Observed in some parts of the United States of America, Siblings Day was started in 1998 by Claudia Evart, […]
HISTORY TIDBIT: HISTORIC TOOTH EXCHANGES
Most children start to lose their baby teeth between the ages of five and seven, and most cultures acknowledge the loss of those teeth by exchanging them for coins or small presents. How far back does this custom go? Well, even the Vikings presented children with some kind of ‘tooth fee’ for each lost tooth […]
HISTORY LURE: HISTORIC RE-ENACTMENTS
Kids who like action might be drawn to history though historical re-enactments put on by fans of bygone eras. The re-enacting of battles is especially popular, and even more popular if there’s a significant anniversary coming up. The 2012 re-enactments for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh drew in thousands of spectators, but […]
