Presidents Day!

Did you know?

The 3rd Monday of February in not officially titled "Presidents Day". It is officially titled "Washingtons Birthday", in honor of George Washington which was originally implemented by an Act of Congress in 1880 for government offices in the District of Columbia (20 Stat. 277) and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices (23 Stat. 516).

As the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen, the holiday was celebrated on Washington's actual birthday (February 22), and on January 1, 1971, the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.

This date places it between February 15 and 21, which makes the name "Washington's Birthday" a misnomer, since it never lands on Washington's actual birthday.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidents%27_Day

Valentine's Day!

Did you know?

Historians have traced the origin of Valentine's Day to the ancient Roman Empire. It is said that in the Rome of ancient times people observed a holiday on February 14th to honor Juno - the Queen of Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also regarded Juno as the Goddess of Women and Marriage. On the following day, February 15th began the fertility festival called 'Feast of Lupercalia'. The festival of Lupercalia was celebrated to honor the Gods Lupercus and Faunus - the Roman God of Agriculture besides the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

An interesting custom was followed in the Feast of Lupercalia to bring together young boys and girls who otherwise were strictly separated. On the eve of the festival names of young Roman girls were written on a slip of paper and placed into jars. Each young man drew out a girl's name from the jar and was paired with the girl for the duration of Lupercalia. Sometimes pairing lasted for a year until next year's celebration.

Quite often, the couple would fall in love with each other and later marry. The custom lasted for a long time until people felt that the custom was un-Christian and that mates should be chosen by sight, not luck.

Reference: www.stvalentinesday.org/

Groundhog Day!

Did you know?

Since 1886, Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow 98 times, which according to legend is a predicton of six more weeks of winter weather. It has been documented that Phil has not seen his shadow only 15 times since Groundhog Day was first recognized in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania 124 years ago (most recently in 2007).

There has been a total of 10 years during this long standing tradition where no record was kept on whether Phil did, or did not see his shadow on February 2 of each year (1886, 1889, 1891 - 1897, 1899). But as the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club would say - every documented prediction of continued winter weather based off of Phil seeing his shadow has been 100% accurate.

No bias there I'm sure . . .

Reference: http://www.groundhog.org/

44th Ballut Abyad Shrine Circus

It’s that time again, the Shrine Circus is back in town and as always we encourage all of our Brethren, families and friends to go out and enjoy the Circus!

The Shrine Circus and events will be hosted in Tingley Coliseum at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds in Albuquerque, NM, and you can expect there will be several fun activities.

Show Times:
Feb. 12th - Friday: 4:30pm & 7:30pm
Feb 13th - Saturday: 11:30, 3:30pm, 7:30pm
Feb 14th - Sunday: 11:30, 3:30pm, 7:30pm

As much fun as the Shrine Circus brings to families and their children, it is important to remember that proceeds from this event goes to support the Ballut Abyad Shrine Center, Shrine International and the children who desperately need our support at the Shrine Hospitals. It’s a win/win situation for those individuals who attend the Circus for good times and entertainment, and for the children who receive our specialized care across the country.

Go to http://www.abqshrinecircus.com/ for more information about the Shrine Circus, or to purchase tickets online.

Adults: $13 each
Children: $7 each (Ages 3 - 18)