HAPPY EOSTRE!
Ever wonder why a sacred Christian holiday is celebrated with candy, baskets, and a bunny? Here are some Easter trivia facts to help you sort it out.
Holidays
7 Weird April Holidays You Ought to Celebrate
April Fool’s Day. Easter. Cosmonaut Day? Here are a few amazing April holidays to celebrate this month.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Here are a couple of stories about St. Patrick’s Day from Uncle John’s bottomless archives.
>Erin go bragh!
The first St. Patrick’s Day Parade was held in New York City in 1762 or 1766. Given the rather “fluid” nature of postparade celebrations, confusion over the exact date is no surprise. The 1766 date sticks out for officialdom, though, because it was the first of the parades when a military unit led off. Today, more than 150,000 participants march down Fifth Avenue every March 17. The Ancient Order of Hibernians is there and, marching along with them to the cadence of drums and bagpipes, are 30 Irish county societies and Irish nationalist groups of almost every stripe. The pride, the pageantry, and the color—who needs floats?
6 Weird March Holidays You Ought to Celebrate
March comes in like a strange lion, and out like an odd lamb. Here are a few weird March holidays to mark on your calendar.
8 Interesting Facts About the Times Square Ball
With new year celebrations behind us, we dug a little deeper and learned some interesting facts about the world famous New York City’s New Year’s Eve tradition.
7 Random Facts About the North Pole
Just because Christmas is over doesn’t mean Santa Claus’ native land fades into non-existence. Do you know these random facts, or frosty factoids if you will, about what really goes on at the top of the globe?
6 Weird January Holidays You Ought to Celebrate
Make it your New Years resolution to observe more ridiculous made-up holidays.
5 Interesting Facts About Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a seven-day celebration of African-American culture and heritage. How much do you know about it? Here are some interesting facts about Kwanzaa to get you started.
A Look at SantaCon
Have you spotted any roaming hordes of drunken Santas in your town this holiday season? If so, then you’ve witnessed one of the newest and strangest holiday traditions: SantaCon.
St. Patrick’s Day Trivia: True or False
How much do you know about the history of St. Patrick’s Day traditions? Here’s some St. Patrick’s Day trivia to pass on to your friends today.
Sergeant Gander, the Newfoundland
Reader Tasha McGee has kindly sent along a story related to one we did in our brand new Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Plunges Into Canda, Eh, and also related to her own family history:
I was just reading “Plunges Into Canada” (love it, but the way), and I came accross the story about Gander the dog. Well, I was in Ottawa in August ’09 for the Hong Kong Veterans Memorial Wall unveiling (my grandpa was a P.O.W) and there was a bunch of… memorabilia, I guess you’d call it, about the war time. I took the following pictures that I thought I would share.
Really appreciate it, Tasha, must have been quite a trip. Here’s that photo of Sergeant Gander:
That is one good looking dog. And from Plunges Into Canada (page 37)—here’s the truly amazing story of Sergeant Gander:
