I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Events and Celebrations

GOOD FRIDAY is also known as Holy Friday or Black Friday.  After Christ was taken away, he was put on trial six times where He was spit on, beaten, flogged, had the crown of thorns thrust upon His head and found guilty on false charges.  Since it was Passover, the custom was for the Romans (who were in charge) to release one prisoner back to the people and on this day, they were given a choice – either Jesus, whom they had hailed as king less than a week ago, or Barabbas, a murderer.  The chief priests went through the crowd inciting the people against Christ and Barabbas was freed while Jesus was led away to be crucified.  He hung on the cross for 6 hours from about 9:00am to 3:00pm.  Around noon, darkness came over the land and He was heard to say, “Lord, Lord, why have you forsaken me?” I believe the last three hours was when God visited His punishment for all of our sins upon Christ.  Afterward He stated “It is finished” and then “Into your hands I commit my spirit” and died.  One of the soldiers, then thrust his spear into Christ’s chest so that blood and water flowed out of the wound.  He was taken down and buried in a tomb.  Guards were put at the tomb to make sure no one would come move the body.  They were prepared for someone trying to get in – they were not ready for someone coming out.

PASSOVER is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt.  The Passover Seder, consisting of bread without yeast and bitter herbs is eaten while the “Haggadah” is read.  This tells the story of how the Jewish people were released and how the Seder should be conducted.  The Israelites had come to live in the land of Egypt during the days of Joseph and over the years their numbers grew.  The Egyptians were afraid they would take over so they enslaved them.  Suffering from harsh treatment they prayed to the L-RD who sent the 10 plagues on Egypt.  The tenth plague was the killing of the first born.  The Israelites were to prepare a dinner of bread without yeast, lamb and bitters and eat standing up in preparation for leaving.  They were also to smear their door frames with the blood of the lamb so that when the L-RD came to take the first born, the blood would be a sign for Him to pass over that house.  The next morning, all of Egypt was grief stricken and Pharaoh did indeed let the Jewish people go.

Today is PURPLE UP DAY.  Purple is worn to show support for all of the children of the military.  Like the soldiers and their spouses, the kids are heroes as well.  Having to move around, being anxious about their parents and all that goes with that life can take its toll.  We thank each and every one of you for your service as well.

It is because of Harry J. Hoenselaar that we celebrate NATIONAL GLAZED SPIRAL HAM DAY.  From his basement in Detroit, Harry invented the device that would slice the ham in one continuous swirl and created the glaze that would give the ham its incredible taste.  He would go on to found Honey Baked Ham.  Sounds good to me.

NATIONAL TITANIC REMEMBRANCE DAY honors the more than 1500 souls who perished after the “Unsinkable” RMS Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank beneath the icy waters.  Much investigation has taken place into this event and even today there is a lot of speculation into what happened.  Today is about remembering those who lost their lives. 

On this day…

 1770 – Joseph Priestly came up with a gum to erase pencil marks.  He called it “rubber”.  Kinda funny it’s on Tax Day.

1865 – President Abraham Lincoln dies from his head wound.  VP Andrew Johnson assumes the Presidency

1924 – Rand McNally puts out his first road atlas

1947 – Jackie Robinson plays his first Major League game – breaking the racial barrier in baseball

1955 – Ray Kroc opens the first McDonalds franchise

2013 – The Boston Marathon is tragically halted when two bombs go off killing three people

2019 – The Notre Dame Cathedral caught on fire destroying most of the roof

 Happy Birthday…

 Leonardo da Vinci – 1452 – Artist, scientist, inventor and mathematician – this guy had it going on

Henry James – 1843 – Awarded the Order of Merit for his writings, including “Turn of the Screw”

Bessie Smith – 1894 – Known as “the Blues Empress”, she sang with the greats

Norma Merrick Sklarek – 1928 – Architect whiz who designed the Mall of America

Emma Thompson – 1959 – Wonderful actress

Enjoy the day and make it your own

 Dear Heavenly Father, your ways are not our ways and your thoughts are higher than ours.  Thank you for who you are and for your love and blessings.  Watch over all these wonderful people and please keep them safe from harm. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Thank you to National Day Calendar; National Today; History.com; Britannica.com;