|
 Canada Day
Formerly Dominion Day
Commemorating
national confederation under the terms of the British North America
Act of July 1, 1867, today is a national holiday in
Canada.
Today celebrates
the creation of a Canadian
Confederation through the British
North America Act, which was proclaimed in force effective on
July 1, 1867, uniting the Province of
Canada (Ontario and Quebec)
with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
The holiday itself was formally established
in 1879
and was originally called Dominion Day.
The name was changed to Canada Day on October 27, 1982.
It is a mandatory holiday across Canada for
all federal institutions. It is also celebrated by all provincial
governments and businesses across Canada. The Quebec provincial
government formerly refused to recognize the celebration.
Hi Pip
I just thought I would comment on the teeny tiny role of Canada Day
in your July 1st almanac. Firstly, tradition states that you wear
red and white on Canada Day and we have huge mass gatherings to
celebrate. Music festivals everywhere and fireworks galore! We do
not traditionally eat pumpkin pie on this day (shakes head in
embarrassment) that is generally reserved for Christmas day, and for
Thanksgiving. A traditional dessert would be a square cake with our
flag in icing or strawberries on it (that's two red stripes
parallel on a white field with a maple leaf in the center) Also you
failed to mention that it was Queen Victoria that granted us our
emancipation. Anyways :o) I hope that next year you can pay more
attention to this important day. (at least for us Canadians haha)
Thanks!
Nicole
Inti Raymi, Incan Winter Solstice
Festival of the Sun, Sacsayhuaman, Cuzco, Peru (Jun 24 - Jul 2)
The kalends of July, ancient Rome
Feast day of St Arnulf
Feast day of St Carilefus
(Calais; Carilephus), Abbot of Anille
Feast day of St Castus
Feast day of St Cewydd
Feast day of St Cybar
(Cybard)
Feast day of St Domitian
Feast day of St Eparchius
Feast day of St Felix of
Como
Feast day of St Gall
(Gal), Bishop of Clermont
Feast day of Ss Julius
and Anron,
martyrs
(Agrimony, Agrionia eupatoria,
is
today's plant, dedicated to
Saints Julius and Anron.)
Feast day of St Junipero
Serra
Feast day of St Juthware
Feast day of St Leonorus, or Lunaire,
bishop
Feast day of St Martin of
Vienne
Feast day of St Nazju
Falzon
Feast of St Oliver Plunkett,
Archbishop of Armaagh, martyr
Born in 1629, Oliver Plunkett was the last Catholic martyr to be
hanged at Tyburn,
London, England. An Irishman, he had to go into hiding as
the persecution of Catholics under King
Charles II increased. After the
famous Titus Oates Plot in England was discovered, Oliver was
imprisoned in Dublin Castle, later being hanged, disembowelled and
quartered at Tyburn. His head is preserved in St Peter's Church at
Drogheda,
County Louth,
Ireland.
Today there is a pilgrimage
to his shrine at Drogheda.
Feast day of St
Rumbold, bishop and martyr
Feast day of St Secundinus
Feast
day of St Simeon Salus
This eccentric hermit monk lived in the 6th Century. He cared for
society's rejects, such as prostitutes, and deliberately did crazy
things so he would share in his flock's wretchedness. That's why
they called him salus,
meaning crazy.
Feast day of St Servan
Feast day of St Theobald, or Thibault,
confessor
Feast day of St Theodoric
(Thieri; Thierry), abbot of Mont d'Hor
Feast
day of St Veep
Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days Shop saints
Burundi Independence Day
Today is a public holiday
commemorating the proclamation of sovereignty for the African
republic
on July 1, 1962.
Intact Day
Intact day is the
first of July, which is as far as possible from the
Feast of the Circumcision as
is possible. Intact Day is a commemoration in which intactivists
celebrate Genital Integrity.
See also Genital Integrity Awareness Week,
April 1
in the Book of Days.
Independence Day,
Rwanda
On July 1, 1962, Belgium
granted sovereignty to this African nation. Today's public holiday
commemorates this event.
Union Day,
Somali Republic
Today is a public holiday in
Somalia. It commemorates the merger of the Italian Trusteeship of
Somalia and the British Somaliland Protectorate on this day in 1960.
Day of Freedom,
Suriname
The people of this South
American nation celebrate the abolition of slavery in 1863 on this
day with festivals and markets. Why don't we all have a Freedom
Day?
Gettysburg Day, USA
Today throughout the United
States there are commemorative services held on the anniversary of
the commencement of the Civil War's most decisive battle.
American Stamp Day
Today commemorates the beginning of the issue of
adhesive postage stamps in the USA on July 1, 1847.
Republic Day,
Ghana
Beginning of tax year, Australia
Hakata Gion Yamagasa, Japan (Jul 1 - 15)
This festival
of dolls is held at Kushida Shrine,
Fukuoka
and culminates in a parade
on July 15 which has youths shouldering large floats, and goes to
Fukuoka shrine, circles about, then returns to the two temples.
"Summer
arrives at Hakata with its Gion Yamakasa Festival. In July, big,
beautiful Hakata Doll Kazariyama decorations are placed at many
areas throughout the city. In the early morning of the 15th,
scantly dressed young men compete to carry big floats for a
distance of 5 kilometers from the Kushida Jinja Shrine to the
final destination of the race in Suzaki-machi." Source
"Hakata is one of the largest downtown
areas in Fukuoka City (population about 1.3 million). It has a
long history of domestic and international trade, and is also
noted for its long standing tradition of government by the
merchant residents themselves. The famous Hakata Yamagasa
festival, held annually for 750 years and always organized by
the autonomous citizens' association called Nagare, is but one
example of the long self-government tradition." Source
 Decoration of King William's statue,
Dublin, Ireland
It was once the tradition in
Dublin for the
Protestants to decorate the
equestrian
statue of King William
III
(1650
- 1702),
on July 1,
the anniversary of the Battle of
the Boyne which
decided the fate of the Stuart dynasty.
They decked the statue on
this day and November
14, William's birthday, with orange flowers
and ribbons, while on the other 363 days of the year old Willy was
usually spattered with filth and paint by the Protestants' rivals.
The statue is no longer there.
The statue was erected in 1701, by the
citizens of Dublin, to commemorate the Revolution of 1688.
It would appear from the very first moment of its erection, this
statue has been a source of discontent and ill will.
During the government of the Duke of Wharton, an attack was made
upon it, which called forth the interference of the Irish
government.
On the 25th of June 1700, the Jacobites or Tories very much
defamed it – twisted the sword from one hand and the truncheon
from the other, and daubed the face with some black substance,
which could not be removed without scraping.
The House of Lords, then assembling in College-green, addressed
the Duke of Wharton on the transaction; who, the next day, issued
a proclamation, offering a reward of 100 guineas or pounds for a
discovery of the guilty persons.
The House of Commons was at the time adjourned, but when they
assembled, on the 1st of August following, they also addressed his
Excellency on the same subject.
The authors were never discovered; but the city having caused the
statue to be repaired, the thanks of the House of Commons, without
a dissentient voice were, were given to the Lord Mayor and
citizens for so doing.
In more modern times its annual commemoration was a source of much
exasperation among the lower orders.
This feeling, however, has of late very much died away.
From The Dublin Penny Journal, November 31, 1835
 Mt Fuji climbing, Japan (Jul 1 - Aug 31)
Through
July until the end of
August, the warmest season, it is a Japanese rite of passage to climb to the
summit of Fujiyama (Mt
Fuji), which Shinto
tradition says is the home of gods. A favourite time to climb is through the
night so the eighth and final station can be reached at sunrise. Fuji (Konohansakuyahime no Mikoto;
Konohana Sakuya Hime) is an
ancient fire goddess, grandmother of the indigenous Ainu people of Japan.
The
last recorded eruption of this famous volcano occurred in 1707
during the Edo period (1603 to 1867).
The
climbing tradition also comes from an Edo period climbing cult. A sacred mountain since ancient times, Fujiyama's summit was forbidden
to women until the Meiji Era.
"Long, long ago Mt. Fuji
and Mt. Yatsugatake were the highest mountains in Japan. The
goddess of Mt. Fuji, Konohanasakuyahime, and the goddess of Mt.
Yatsugatake, Oyamazumi began to argue and bicker.
"'I'm the tallest mountain
in Japan!'
"'Oh no, I can see straight
into your crater! I'm much higher than you!'
"This fighting didn't seem
to have an end until finally, an idea struck them: 'Let's use
water!'
"Taking advantage of
gravity, they placed a pipe full of water on the peaks of their
respective mountains. When they opened both ends of the pipe, the
water began to flow rapidly in the direction of Mt.Fuji! Oyamazumi
squealed in delight, but Konohanasakuyahime was so enraged that
she swept up a stick the size of Yamanashi prefecture and bashed
Mt. Yatsugatake on the head over and over again. She hit it so
many times, and with such force, that it broke into the eight
peaks that it is named after today." Source
Getting
to the top in Japan
Volcano myths
and legends of Japan
Japanese
Gods and Goddesses
The climb in
1898 Japanese mythology
Fujiyama live
webcam, July 2 in the Book of Days
National
Cherry Festival, Traverse City, MI, USA (Jul 1 - Jul
8, 2006)
July
Morning, Bulgaria
According to Wikipedia, "in Bulgaria, there is a
tradition called July Morning dating from the hippy
period in 1980s
and maybe as far back as the 1970s.
Young (and not so young) people from all over the country travel
(often hitchhike) to the Black
Sea coast to meet the first sun rays on the 1st of July.
Naturally Uriah
Heep's 'July
Morning' is the main refrain. Although the tradition is linked to
the hippy
movement in America,
it is still popular in Bulgaria.
Strangely, it seems that there is no such tradition in other European
countries."
Moving
Day, Canadian province
of Québec
Memorial
Day, Canadian province of Newfoundland
and Labrador
Establishment Day, Hong
Kong Special
Administrative Region
Keti Koti (Breaking of Chains) Day of
Liberty, Surinam
On July 1, 1863
slavery was abolished in Surinam.
First Saturday in July,
International Day of Cooperatives (UN)
Click for month of
July folklore
On which day of the week were you born? Find out here
 1646 Gottfried Leibniz
(d. November
14, 1716), German philosopher, scientist, mathematician, diplomat, librarian, and lawyer.
One of the
main intellectual shapers of his day, Gottfried was the son of a
professor of jurisprudence at the University of Leipzig, a
precocious child who loved learning. At the age of seven, Leibniz
entered the Nicolai School in Leipzig. His
talents found him patrons, early in life, among the princes of
Europe.
He wanted to join a group of alchemists who
were searching for the philosopher's stone: in order to do so, he
wrote to the society, and his letter was filled with as many long
and difficult words as he could think of, though he didn't know
their meaning. Still, the phoney letter impressed the
'scientists', who did not wish to appear ignorant, and he got
the position. He graduated from Leipzig University with a
bachelors degree in philosophy in 1663, with a thesis De Principio Individui
(On the Principle of the Individual) which "emphasised the
existential value of the individual, who is not to be explained
either by matter alone or by form alone but rather by his whole
being". He graduated with a
doctorate in law at 20.
Leibniz had various grants or pensions,
so was able to follow his mind's exploratory nature. He knew the
classical languages and some half-dozen modern tongues. He constructed the
first mechanical calculator capable of
multiplication and division, and developed the modern form of the binary numeral system, used in digital computers. He also had notions about calculating machines, improved
watches, a universal alphabet, hydraulic engines, fast carriages,
medicine and much more. Leibniz is generally, with Sir
Isaac Newton, jointly credited with the
development of modern calculus; in particular,
with his development of the integral and the product
rule.
On
October 24, 1676, Newton
wrote a polite letter to him suggesting that Leibniz had stolen his
methods; this was an issue that continued for decades.
A genius in many respects, Leibniz boasted that he
could recite the bulk of Virgil's The Aeneid by heart. His statement that "we live in the best of all possible worlds" was
viewed with amusement by Leibniz's contemporaries, notably François
Marie Arouet de Voltaire, who found it so absurd that he satirized him in his novel Candide, where Leibniz was
characterized as a certain Dr
Pangloss. This parody is the
root of the term 'panglossianism',
which refers to people holding such a view.
Newton
was not the first of the age of reason. He was the last of the
magicians.
John
Maynard Keynes; lecture to the Royal Society Club, 1942
See Newton the alchemist, at the Scriptorium
1804 George
Sand (Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin; d. 1876), French
novelist
1818
Ignaz
Semmelweiss, Hungarian obstetrician, pioneer of antiseptic procedures in hospitals
1863 William Stairs (d. 1892), Victorian explorer
1872 Louis Blériot (d. 1936), French
aviator, first man to
fly across the English Channel.
In his youth, Bleriot amassed a fortune
making car headlamps, and by age thirty he was a pioneer in the
manufacture of monoplanes. After the London Daily Mail offered a prize
for the first person to fly the English Channel, Bleriot set off
from France on July
25, 1909, on a rainy day and in pain from a badly
abscessed foot. Despite the handicaps, he arrived at Dover
37 minutes later; in fact, the cooling effect of the rain
on the engine might actually have made the great feat possible.
1885 [Isobel Marion] Dorothea
Mackellar (d. January 14,
1968), Australian
poet, author of what is possibly Australia's best-known poem,
'My Country'
"Dorothea
Mackellar was born on the July 1st at Rose Bay in Sydney 1885. She
was educated privately and also at the University of Sydney.
Dorothea lived with her family in the Allyn River valley and
experienced a drought breaking. This sight enriched her with ideas
to write the poem 'My Country.'
"The
Spectator published this poem in September 1908, while she was
travelling London. 'My Country' quickly became Australia's
best-known lyric poem." Source
'My Country'
By Dorothea MacKellar
The love of field and coppice,
Of green and shaded lanes,
Of ordered woods and gardens
Is running in your veins;
Strong love of grey-blue distance
Brown streams and soft dim skies -
I know but cannot share it,
My love is otherwise.
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror-
This wide brown land for me …
The
complete poem
Lawson
& Co: associations with Henry and Louisa Lawson
Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards
Australia,
My Country audio of a song based on the poem
More
1885 Max
Oppenheimer (d. May 19,
1954), Austrian artist/printmaker, who contributed, along with Oskar Kokoschka and
Egon Schiele, to the development of Austrian Expressionist painting.
He was for a time associated with the Dada movement and Cabaret
Voltaire.
1894 Sir
Bernard
Heinze, | reetings from Australia.
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