good night for a cup of mocha, a fire in the fireplace and a holiday movie!

Movie facts on the holiday movie, White Christmas

 

Today marks the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for the Abolition of Slavery is annually observed on December 2 to remind people that modern slavery works against human rights.

This holiday is not to be confused with the UN’s International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

The focus of this day is on eradicating contemporary forms of slavery, such as trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, forced marriage, and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.

Source:  un.org, timeanddate.com
Photo credit: timeanddate.com 

More info

National Fritters Day!

1665 is the first mention of fritters made out of meat. 

Later, they evolved to fruit which is the most popular now.

December 2, 2011 is

National Fritters Day

Today is National Fritters Day! Fritters are delicious fried cakes filled with fruit or meat. They can be served as a snack, side dish, dessert, or even the main course!

There's actually not much difference between pancake and fritter batter. They are both made with the same ingredients. It is only once fruit or meat is dipped into the raw batter and then fried that it actually becomes a fritter.

The first historical record of the fritter dates back to 1665. Samuel Pepys, an Englishman who served as a Member of Parliament during the English Restoration period, noted in his diary that he would be enjoying some fritters before Lent!

To celebrate National Fritter Day, try making your own tasty fritters to enjoy!

Source: Ultimate Holiday site, punchbowl.com

Thank you Rosa!

 

Today is Rosa Parks Day. On December 1st, 56 years ago, a very tired Rosa Parks made a decision that would change her life and affect the civil rights movement.

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African American civil rights activist and seamstress whom the U.S. Congress dubbed the "Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement".

 Parks on a Montgomery bus on December 21, 1956, the day Montgomery's public transportation system 

was legally integrated. Behind Parks is Nicholas C. Chriss, a UPI reporter covering the event.

Parks is famous for her refusal on December 1, 1955 to obey bus driver James Blake's demand that she relinquish her seat to a white man. Her subsequent arrest and trial for this act of civil disobedience triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott, one of the largest and most successful mass movements against racial segregation in history, and launched Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the organizers of the boycott, to the forefront of the civil rights movement. Her role in American history earned her an iconic status in American culture, and her actions have left an enduring legacy for civil rights movements around the world.

 The No. 2857 bus on which Parks was riding before she was arrested (a GM "old-look" transit bus, 

serial number 1132), is now a museum exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum.

Source: Wikipedia, Biography online

Photo credit: Wikipedia, Biography online

More Info:

Rosa's official website

got apples?

December 1, 2011 is

Eat a Red Apple Day

It’s Eat a Red Apple Day! You know the saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away?” It's true! Apples have high nutritional value and make for an extremely healthy snack. The peel alone contains antioxidants that help reduce damaged cells and fight diseases. Apples are also fat, sodium, and cholesterol free.

Did you know that there are 7,500 varieties of apples grown throughout the world? They can come in a variety of shapes, flavors, and colors including all shades of red, green, and yellow.

The apple can be eaten raw, cooked, baked, or juiced. Snack on your favorite variety (Red Delicious or Macintosh, perhaps?) and celebrate Eat a Red Apple Day!

punchbowl.com

got pie?

There are many "National Pie Days" across the year and today is just one of them. But just another reason to think about, cook and eat pie! 

Not to be confused with "Pi Day" which is always March 14th each year due to the numerical association to the mathematical constant π (pi): corresponding to 3.141592653

More info: http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/12/01/breakfast-buffet-national-pie-day/

December 1st is World AIDS Day

The first World AIDS Day was on December 1, 1988 and every year since it's served as an opportunity to increase awareness, educate, raise money, and fight prejudice. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an official proclamation on World AIDS Day. 

It's estimated that over 40 million people are currently living with HIV and countless others are affected by it. More than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007 have died from the virus, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

Keep an eye out today for everyone wearing red ribbons in support of this cause.

Source: Ultimate holidays, Wikipedia
Photo credit: Wikipedia

More info:  

World's AIDS Day

Progress on AIDS 

20/ 20: Visioning an AIDS-Free World is an initiative of the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund 

2015 Quilt