Tag: The Thing About Today

The Thing About Today – December 21

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December 21, 2020
Day 356 of 366

December 21st is the 356th day of the year. This year, today is the solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is the shortest day of the year, typically regarded as the first day of winter. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the longest day of the year.

Related observances include Blue Christmas (typically among modern American liberal Protestant groups), the Dongzhi Festival in Asia, Sanghamitta Day in Theravada Buddhism, Yule for neopagans in the Northern Hemisphere, and Ziemassvētki in ancient Latvia.

There are ten days remaining in the year.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as Crossword Puzzle Day, Humbug Day, National Maine Day, Phileas Fogg Win A Wager Day, National Flashlight Day (typically observed on the day of the Winter Solstice), National French Fried Shrimp Day, National Homeless Persons’ Remembrance Day (typically observed on the first day of winter), and Anne & Samantha Day (typically observed every solstice to honor Anne Frank and Samantha Smith).

Historical items of note:

  • In 1861, Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. This was the first establishment of the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest military award. The Department of the Army would establish their Medal of Honor on July 12, 1862, and the Department of the Air Force would follow on April 14, 1965.
  • In 1879, Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark.
  • In 1883, The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, the first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army, were formed.
  • In 1892, English journalist and author Rebecca West was born.
  • In 1913, Arthur Wynne’s “word-cross”, the first crossword puzzle, was published in the New York World.
  • In 1914, Tillie’s Punctured Romance, the first feature-length silent film comedy, was released.
  • In 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world’s first full-length animated feature, premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood.
  • In 1948, actor and producer Samuel L. Jackson was born.
  • In 1950, screenwriter and producer Jeffrey Katzenberg was born. He co-founded Dreamworks Animation.
  • In 1966, British-Canadian actor, director, and producer Kiefer Sutherland was born.
  • In 1968, Apollo 8 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew of Frank F. Borman II, James A. Lovell Jr., and William A. Anderson on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans.
  • In 1983, actor Steven Yeun was born.

In 1620, the Mayflower Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts after their voyage from England.

Forefathers’ Day was established in 1769 as a local annual holiday to commemorate the event, and is celebrated on either December 21st or December 22nd. The good-hearted dispute between the Old Colony Club and the Mayflower Society comes from the adjustment to the Gregorian calendar. This erroneously established the anniversary on both days. As a result, members of both societies participate in both celebrations.

The Old Colony Club begins the celebration at 6:00 AM with a march by members to the top of Cole’s Hill next to the statue of Massasoit, the leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. This is followed by a reading of a proclamation honoring the forefathers and a ritual firing of the club’s cannon. Both organizations include a succotash dinner to close out the celebrations.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 20

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 20, 2020
Day 355 of 366

December 20th is the 355th day of the year. It is Abolition of Slavery Day, also known as Fête des Cafres, in Réunion, French Guiana.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Sangria Day and Mudd Day.

Historical items of note:

  • In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.
  • In 1808, the original Garden Theatre in London was destroyed by a fire, along with most of the scenery, costumes, and scripts.
  • In 1939, actress Kathryn Joosten was born. She was the absolutely magnificent Mrs. Landingham in The West Wing.
  • In 1946, the popular Christmas film It’s a Wonderful Life was first released in New York City.
  • Also in 1946, director, producer, and screenwriter Dick Wolf was born. Among other properties, he is best known for the immense Law & Order franchise.
  • In 1950, Harvey premiered.
  • In 1951, the EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho became the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs. (Captain Jean-Luc Picard could not be reached for comment.)
  • In 1952, actress Jenny Agutter was born.
  • In 1955, Cardiff was proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.
  • In 1970, actress Nicole de Boer was born.
  • In 1989, the United States invasion of Panama deposed Manuel Noriega.
  • In 2007, Elizabeth II became the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years and 243 days.

December 20th is International Human Solidarity Day, an international annual unity day of the United Nations.

The observance was established under the influence of the U.N. Millennium Declaration that determines the civil and political rights of an individual in the modern era by establishing the foreign relations between the member states and the United Nations. It promotes the importance of sharing and the culture of solidarity to combat poverty and to encourage governments, NGOs, and almost every individual to organize programs and debates, on either a national or international level, so that poverty can be reduced by spreading the awareness.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 19

Michael Falkner1 Comment

December 19, 2020
Day 354 of 366

December 19th is the 354th day of the year. It is Goa Liberation Day, commemorating the Indian Army’s invasion of Portuguese territories on the Indian subcontinent that they refused to surrender after India gained independence from British rule in 1947. On December 19, 1961, Operation Vijay resulted in the annexation of Goa and of the Daman and Diu islands into the Indian union. On May 30, 1987, the union territory was split, and Goa was made India’s twenty-fifth state, with Daman and Diu remaining a union territory.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Hard Candy Day, National Oatmeal Muffin Day, and National Wreaths Across America Day (an observation that shifts dates annually).

Historical items of note:

  • In 1606, the ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery departed England, carrying settlers who founded, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States.
  • In 1714, astronomer and educator John Winthrop was born.
  • In 1825, violinist and composer George Frederick Bristow was born.
  • In 1924, the last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost was sold in London, England.
  • In 1932, BBC World Service began broadcasting as the BBC Empire Service.
  • In 1961, English actor and author Matthew Waterhouse was born. He played Adric in Doctor Who.
  • In 1963, model and actress Jennifer Beals was born.
  • In 1972, actress Alyssa Milano was born.
  • In 1974, the ninth James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun, premiered.
  • In 1975, Canadian composer Jeremy Soule was born.
  • In 1980, actor and producer Jake Gyllenhaal was born.
  • In 1986, Platoon premiered.
  • In 1995, the United States Government restored federal recognition to the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Native American tribe.
  • In 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the United States House of Representatives, becoming the second President of the United States to be impeached. Andrew Johnson was the first, and Donald Trump was the third (and latest).
  • In 2013, spacecraft Gaia was launched by European Space Agency.

December 19th is National Heroes and Heroines Day in Anguilla. It is a day to celebrate and remember all those who have made important contributions to the nation.

As a British overseas territory in the Easter Caribbean, Anguilla was joined to St. Kitts and Nevis as an associated statehood in 1962. Resentment against this political decision festered, and in May 1967, the people of Anguilla marched on the Police Headquarters and evicted the Royal St. Kitts Police Force from the island.

On December 19, 1980, Anguilla fully seceded from the association. This date was marked by a public holiday called Separation Day, but in the years since, the Government of Anguilla has renamed the holiday to National Heroes and Heroines Day. The holiday became a general celebration of the people who have played an important role in the history of Anguilla and made significant sacrifices for the prosperity of this small but proud island nation.

The holiday also honors the revolution in 1967, including memorial services for those involved. The services are accompanied by parades and music performances and the whole day is observed as a joyous celebration rather than solemn remembrance.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 18

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 18, 2020
Day 353 of 366

December 18th is the 353rd day of the year. It is United Nations Arabic Language Day, established by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010 seeking “to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organization”. The date was chosen since it was the “day in 1973 when the General Assembly approved Arabic as an official UN language “.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Twin Day, National Roast Suckling Pig Day, Answer The Telephone Like Buddy The Elf Day, National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, and Underdog Day. The last two are typically observed on the third Friday in December.

Historical items of note:

  • In 1271, Kublai Khan renamed his empire “Yuan” (元 yuán), officially marking the start of the Yuan dynasty of Mongolia and China.
  • In 1499, a rebellion broke out in Alpujarras in response to the forced conversions of Muslims in Spain.
  • In 1734, French conductor and composer Jean-Baptiste Rey was born. He remains the longest-serving conductor of the Paris Opera, with a tenure spanning from the last years of the monarchy to Napoleon’s Empire (1776–1810).
  • In 1777, the United States celebrated its first Thanksgiving, marking the recent victory by the American rebels over British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga in October.
  • In 1833, the national anthem of the Russian Empire, “God Save the Tsar!”, was first performed.
  • In 1865, United States Secretary of State William Seward proclaimed the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, thus prohibiting slavery throughout the country.
  • In 1892, The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky premiered in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
  • In 1898, Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat set the first officially recognized land speed record of 39.245 mph (63.159 kph) in a Jeantaud electric car.
  • In 1938, actor Roger E. Mosley was born.
  • In 1946, director, producer, and screenwriter Steven Spielberg was born. He co-founded Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures, where he has also served as a producer or executive producer for several successful film trilogies, tetralogies and more including the Gremlins, Back to the Future, Men in Black, and the Transformers series.
  • In 1950, movie critic Leonard Maltin was born.
  • In 1958, Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, was launched.
  • In 1963, actor and producer Brad Pitt was born.
  • Also in 1963, the first film in The Pink Panther series premiered.
  • In 1964, The Pink Panther cartoons premiered.
  • In 1966, Saturn’s moon Epimetheus was discovered by astronomer Richard Walker.
  • Also in 1966, Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” aired for the first time on television.
  • In 1968, actor Casper Van Dien was born.
  • In 1969, the sixth James Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, premiered.
  • In 1973, Soyuz 13, crewed by cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev and Pyotr Klimuk, was launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union.
  • In 1974, artist and television personality Kari Byron was born.
  • In 1976, Wonder Woman premiered on television.
  • In 1978, actress Katie Holmes was born.
  • In 1999, NASA launched the Terra platform into orbit. It carried five Earth Observation instruments, including the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES), the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT).
  • In 2006, the United Arab Emirates held its first-ever elections.
  • In 2009, Avatar premiered, eventually becoming the highest-grossing film of all time. It would eventually be pushed into third place by Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

In 1990, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, establishing the foundations for International Migrants Day.

The day highlights the contributions made by the roughly 272 million migrants worldwide, including more than 41 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), and the challenges they face. In 1997, Filipino and other Asian migrant organizations began celebrating and promoting December 18t as the International Day of Solidarity with Migrants. Building on this initiative, with support from Migrant Rights International and the Steering Committee for the Global Campaign for Ratification of the International Convention on Migrants’ Rights and many other organizations, the observation’s supporters began campaigning for an official designation, which was finally proclaimed on December 4, 2000.

That was an important step for the migrant community and a rallying point for all those concerned with the protection of migrants. The United Nations invited all member states and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to observe this day by disseminating information on human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants, sharing experiences, and undertaking action to ensure the protection of migrants.

International Migrants Day is seen as an opportunity to recognize the contributions made by millions of migrants to the economies of their host and home countries promotes respect for their basic human rights.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 17

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 17, 2020
Day 352 of 366

December 17th is the 352nd day of the year. It is International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Originally conceived as a memorial and vigil for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle, Washington, the event has since evolved into a call to attention against hate crimes committed against sex workers worldwide, as well as the need to remove the social stigma and discrimination that have contributed to violence against sex workers, indifference from the communities they are part of, and the customs and prohibitionist laws that perpetuate such violence.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Maple Syrup Day, Wright Brothers Day, and National Re-Gifting Day (typically observed on the Thursday before Christmas).

Historical items of note:

  • In 497 BC, the first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome. Saturnalia was a festival in honor of the god Saturn. It was held on December 17th of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to December 23rd, with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, a public banquet, private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms complete with gambling and masters providing table service for their slaves. It was seen as a time of liberty for both slaves and freedmen alike, and is believed to have influenced the later western European traditions associated with Christmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and Epiphany.
  • In 1777, France formally recognizes the United States during the American Revolution.
  • In 1862, during the American Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant issued General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. Grant issued the anti-Semitic order in an effort to reduce Union military corruption and to stop an illicit trade of Southern cotton, which Grant thought was being run “mostly by Jews and other unprincipled traders.” Jewish community leaders protested, and there was an outcry by members of Congress and the press. President Abraham Lincoln countermanded the General Order on January 4, 1863.
  • In 1865, the first performance of the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert was conducted.
  • In 1892, the first issue of Vogue was published.
  • In 1903, the Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
  • In 1908, chemist and academic Willard Libby was born. He was noted for his role in the 1949 development of radiocarbon dating, a process which revolutionized archaeology and paleontology. For his contributions to the team that developed this process, Libby was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1960.
  • In 1938, Otto Hahn discovered the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.
  • In 1940, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter María Elena Velasco was born.
  • In 1944, English actor Bernard Hill was born.
  • In 1945, actor Ernie Hudson was born.
  • In 1946, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter Eugene Levy was born.
  • In 1953, actor Bill Pullman was born.
  • In 1957, the United States successfully launched the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
  • In 1964, the third James Bond film, Goldfinger, premiered.
  • In 1971, the seventh James Bond film, Diamonds are Forever, premiered.
  • In 1973, director, producer, and screenwriter Rian Johnson was born.
  • In 1974, actress Sarah Paulson was born.
  • In 1975, Ukrainian-American actress Milla Jovovich was born.
  • In 1989, The Simpsons premiered on television with the episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”.
  • In 2014, the United States and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.

December 17th is Pan American Aviation Day, a United States Federal Observance Day that, according to According to 36 USC § 134, calls on “all officials of the United States Government, the chief executive offices of the States, territories, and possessions of the United States, and all citizens to participate in the observance of Pan American Aviation Day to further, and stimulate interest in, aviation in the American countries as an important stimulus to the further development of more rapid communications and a cultural development between the countries of the Western Hemisphere.”

The date commemorates the first successful flight of a mechanically propelled heavier-than-air craft, accomplished on this date in 1903 by the Wright brothers near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 16

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 16, 2020
Day 351 of 366

December 16th is the 351st day of the year. It is National Day, celebrating the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from Bahrain, making Bahrain an independent emirate in 1971.

In Christianity, it is also the beginning of the nine-day celebration, spanning December 16 to December 24, that marks the trials which Mary and Joseph endured before finding a place to stay where Jesus could be born. This includes Las Posadas in Latin America and the Simbang Gabi novena of masses in the Philippines.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Chocolate-covered Anything Day and Barbie and Barney Backlash Day.

Historical items of note:

  • In 1770, composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born.
  • In 1773, members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians dumped hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act. The event became known as the Boston Tea Party.
  • In 1775, English novelist Jane Austen was born.
  • In 1907, the Great White Fleet began its circumnavigation of the world. The fleet, tasked to demonstrate growing American military power and blue-water navy capability, consisted of 16 United States Navy battleships divided into two squadrons along with their escorts. The nickname came from the stark white paint job on the ship’s hulls.
  • In 1913, Charlie Chaplin began his film career at Keystone for $150 a week.
  • In 1917, British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke was born.
  • In 1928, philosopher and author Philip K. Dick was born.
  • In 1929, Egyptian-English actor Nicholas Courtney was born. He was best known as Brigadier General Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart from Doctor Who.
  • In 1937, Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe attempted to escape from the federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. Neither was ever seen again.
  • In 1941, journalist and actress Leslie Stahl was born.
  • In 1943, television producer Steven Bochco was born.
  • In 1944, the Battle of the Bulge during World War II began with the surprise offensive of three German armies through the Ardennes forest. It lasted for approximately one month.
  • In 1947, William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain built the first practical point-contact transistor.
  • Also in 1947, actor Ben Cross was born.
  • In 1950, child star Shirley Temple announced her retirement from films at the age of 22.
  • Also in 1950, actress Caroline Munro was born.
  • In 1963, actor Benjamin Bratt was born.
  • In 1967, actress Miranda Otto was born.
  • In 1971, the ceasefire of the Pakistan Army brought an end to both the Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. This is commemorated annually as Victory Day in Bangladesh and as Vijay Diwas in India.
  • In 1981, actress, musician, and model Krysten Ritter was born.
  • In 1985, Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti were shot dead on the orders of John Gotti, who assumed leadership of New York’s Gambino crime family.
  • Also in 1985, The Color Purple, the film by Steven Spielberg based on the novel by Alice Walker, premiered in New York City.

As mentioned earlier, December 16th is unofficially observed as Barbie and Barney Backlash Day, a day for parents to take a vacation from repetitive sing-a-longs and storytelling of children’s programming.

Of course, Barbie and Barney aren’t the only toys and television show of childhood, but the fashion doll and the sing-song dinosaur were the ones to strike a nerve when this day was created. It gives parents a reminder that turning off the television can be a good thing, replacing them with activities like reading and use of constructive toys.

Where did it come from? Who knows. But someone cared enough to make it a thing.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 15

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 15, 2020
Day 350 of 366

December 15th is the 350th day of the year. It is International Tea Day in tea producing countries like India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Uganda and Tanzania. Not to be confused with the United Nations day of the same name, International Tea Day aims to draw global attention of governments and citizens to the impact of the global tea trade on workers and growers, and has been linked to requests for price supports and fair trade.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Cupcake Day, Bill of Rights Day, Cat Herders Day, and National Wear Your Pearls Day.

Historical items of note:

  • In 1025, Constantine VIII became sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire, 63 years after being crowned co-emperor.
  • In 1791, the United States Bill of Rights became law when ratified by the Virginia General Assembly.
  • In 1832, French architect and engineer Gustave Eiffel was born. He co-designed the Eiffel Tower.
  • In 1852, French physicist and chemist Henri Becquerel was born. He was the first person to discover evidence of radioactivity. For work in this field he, along with Marie Skłodowska-Curie (Marie Curie) and Pierre Curie received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics. The SI unit for radioactivity, the becquerel (Bq), was named after him.
  • In 1906, the London Underground’s Great Northern, Piccadilly, and Brompton Railway opened.
  • In 1923, English-American physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson was born. He was known for his works in quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrices, mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, and engineering.
  • In 1939, Gone with the Wind premiered at Loew’s Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. The theater was extensively damaged as the result of a fire on January 30, 1978, and the Georgia-Pacific Tower now stands on the site. The film is the top-grossing movie in history (when adjusted for inflation) in the United States.
  • In 1948, Australian actress Cassandra Harris was born.
  • In 1949, actor Don Johnson was born.
  • In 1963, actress Helen Slater was born.
  • In 1965, Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, was launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Four orbits later, it achieved the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7.
  • In 1968, actor Garrett Wang was born.
  • In 1970, Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully landed on Venus. It is the first successful soft landing on another planet.
  • Also in 1970, Canadian actor, screenwriter and director Michael Shanks was born.
  • In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association voted 13-0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the DSM-II.
  • In 1981, English actress Michelle Dockery was born.
  • In 1982, English actor Charlie Cox was born.
  • In 1983, English actress Camilla Luddington was born.
  • In 2001, the Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened after 11 years and $27,000,000 spent to stabilize it. The famous lean was maintained.

December 15th is Koninkrijksdag (Kingdom Day), the commemoration of the signing of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands on December 15, 1954 in Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten.

The charter was signed by Queen Juliana and deals with the relation between the Netherlands and the overseas territories, the Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands New Guinea and Suriname. The charter governs the relationships between the Netherlands, Aruba (since 1986), Curaçao (since 2010), and Sint Maarten (since 2010).

Since 2005, the Koninkrijksconcert (Kingdom Concert) is annually held on December 15th to celebrate the relationship between Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba. At the concerts, that were held in respectively Dordrecht, Amersfoort, Nijmegen, and Curaçao, musical artists from all over the kingdom have performed.

In 2008, Naturalisatiedag (Naturalization Day) in the Kingdom of the Netherlands was moved from August 24th, the day on which the Constitution of the Netherlands was signed, to December 15th, which has a symbolic meaning for all constituent countries of the kingdom. On Naturalization Day, newly naturalized citizens officially receive their Dutch citizenship.

When December 15th falls on a Sunday, the commemoration takes place on December 16th.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 14

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 14, 2020
Day 349 of 366

December 14th is the 349th day of the year. It is Monkey Day, an unofficial international holiday celebrating monkeys and “all things simian”, including other non-human primates such as apes, tarsiers, and lemurs.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Bouillabaisse Day and National Alabama Day.

Historical items of note:

  • In 1650, Anne Greene was hanged at Oxford Castle in England for infanticide, having concealed an illegitimate stillbirth. The following day, she revived in the dissection room and, being pardoned, lived until 1659.
  • In 1782, the Montgolfier brothers first tested an unmanned hot air balloon in France. It floated nearly 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).
  • In 1851, novelist and short story writer Mary Tappan Wright was born.
  • In 1896, the Glasgow Underground Railway was opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company.
  • In 1900, Max Planck presented a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law.
  • In 1902, the Commercial Pacific Cable Company laid the first Pacific telegraph cable, spanning from San Francisco to Honolulu.
  • In 1911, Roald Amundsen’s team, comprising of himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, became the first to reach the South Pole.
  • In 1918, the first United Kingdom general election in which women were permitted to vote occurred.
  • In 1940, Plutonium, specifically 238Pu, was first isolated at Berkeley, California.
  • In 1948, Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann were granted a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the earliest known interactive electronic game.
  • Also in 1948, actress Dee Wallace Stone was born.
  • In 1954, actor James Horan was born.
  • In 1962, NASA’s Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.
  • In 1965, actor, director, and screenwriter Ted Raimi was born.
  • In 1969, English-Irish actress Natascha McElhone was born.
  • In 1985, Wilma Mankiller took office as the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
  • In 1988, actress and singer Vanessa Hudgens was born.
  • In 1993, Philadelphia, one of the first mainstream films about AIDS, premiered.
  • In 2012, twenty-eight people, including the gunman, were killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
  • In 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh episode in the Skywalker Saga, premiered.
  • In 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, including the 20th Century Fox movie studio, for $52.4 billion.

December 14th is Forty-seven Rōnin Remembrance Day in Sengaku-ji, Tokyo, Japan.

The revenge of the forty-seven rōnin, also known as the Akō incident or Akō vendetta, is an 18th-century historical event in Japan in which a band of rōnin (leaderless samurai) avenged the death of their master. The incident has since become legendary.

The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless after their daimyō (feudal lord) Asano Naganori was compelled to perform seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka, whose title was Kōzuke no suke. After waiting and planning for a year, the rōnin avenged their master’s honor by killing Kira. They were then obliged to commit seppuku for the crime of murder.

This true story was popularized in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor that people should display in their daily lives. The popularity of the tale grew during the Meiji era, during which Japan underwent rapid modernization, and the legend became entrenched within discourses of national heritage and identity.

Fictionalized accounts of the tale of the forty-seven rōnin are known as Chūshingura. The story was popularized in numerous plays, including in the genres of bunraku and kabuki. Because of the censorship laws of the shogunate in the Genroku era, which forbade portrayal of current events, the names were changed. While the version given by the playwrights may have come to be accepted as historical fact by some, the first Chūshingura was written some 50 years after the event, and numerous historical records about the actual events that predate the Chūshingura survive.

The bakufu’s censorship laws had relaxed somewhat 75 years after the events in question in the late 18th century when Japanologist Isaac Titsingh first recorded the story of the forty-seven rōnin as one of the significant events of the Genroku era. To this day, the story remains popular in Japan, and each year on December 14th, Sengakuji Temple, where Asano Naganori and the rōnin are buried, holds a festival commemorating the event.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 13

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December 13, 2020
Day 348 of 366

December 13th is the 348th day of the year. It is Martial Law Victims Remembrance Day in Poland and Nanking Massacre Memorial Day in China.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Cocoa Day, National Violin Day, National Day Of The Horse, Pick A Pathologist Pal Day, and National Guard Birthday.

Historical items of note:

  • In 1577, Sir Francis Drake sets sail from Plymouth, England, starting his round-the-world voyage.
  • In 1636, the Massachusetts Bay Colony organized three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. This organization is recognized today as the founding of the National Guard of the United States.
  • In 1769, Dartmouth College was founded by the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, with a royal charter from King George III, on land donated by Royal governor John Wentworth.
  • In 1816, German engineer and businessman Werner von Siemens was born. He was the founder of the Siemens manufacturing company.
  • In 1925, actor, singer, and dancer Dick Van Dyke was born.
  • In 1928, George Gershwin’s An American in Paris was first performed.
  • In 1929, Canadian actor and producer Christopher Plummer was born.
  • In 1934, film producer Richard D. Zanuck was born.
  • In 1958, actress Lynn-Holly Johnson was born.
  • In 1961, English composer, conductor, and producer Harry Gregson-Williams was born.
  • In 1962, NASA launched Relay 1, the first active repeater communications satellite in orbit.
  • In 1972, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt began the third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or “Moonwalk” of Apollo 17. To date they are the last humans to set foot on the Moon.
  • In 1989, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress Taylor Swift was born.

December 13th is Republic Day in Malta.

This public holiday celebrates the anniversary of the creation of the Republic of Malta in 1974. On that day, the constitution of Malta revised, which resulted in the transforming the State of Malta into a republic. This effectively abolishing the role of Reġina ta’ Malta (the Queen of Malta) in the country.

Later that same year, Sir Anthony Mamo was named as the first president of the country. British troops did not leave the country until March 31, 1979.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

The Thing About Today – December 12

Michael FalknerLeave a comment

December 12, 2020
Day 347 of 366

December 12th is the 347th day of the year. It is Constitution Day in Russia.

In the United States, today is “celebrated” as National Ambrosia Day, National Ding-a-Ling Day, Gingerbread House Day, and Poinsettia Day.

Historical items of note:

  • In 1870, Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina became the second black United States congressman.
  • In 1901, Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal – it was the letter “S” in Morse Code – at Signal Hill in St John’s, Newfoundland.
  • In 1915, singer, actor, and producer Frank Sinatra was born.
  • In 1923, game show host Bob Barker was born.
  • In 1927, inventor and businessman Robert Noyce was born. He was the co-founder of the Intel Corporation.
  • In 1949, actor Bill Nighy was born.
  • In 1964, shooting began on the original Star Trek pilot.
  • In 1970, actress Jennifer Connelly was born.
  • Also in 1970, actress Mädchen Amick was born.
  • In 1975, actress, neuroscientist, and author Mayim Bialik was born.

December 12th is the Day of Neutrality (Bitaraplyk baýramy) in Turkmenistan.

Known as the second most important state holiday in the country, it commemorates the 1995 resolution that called on UN to respect and maintain the permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan to contribute to peace and security in the region.

The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.