Just for Fun: Holidays
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Patriotic Quotes to Honor the USA on Memorial Day

Patriotic Quotes to Honor the USA on Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend typically kicks off the start of summer, and it's filled with lots of time spent outdoors and even special Memorial Day activities like cookouts featuring the best Memorial Day recipes. But while you're enjoying a summer barbecue or even visiting a lake on your day off, it's important to pay tribute to those who earned our freedom. These patriotic quotes will help get you in the mood and keep in mind the real meaning and history of Memorial Day: to honor all the men and women who have died while serving our country.

Trying to get yourself in the right mindset for the day? Add some patriotic country songs to your playlist and check out these super patriotic quotes.

Barack Obama
"In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it."


John F. Kennedy
"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

Ronald Reagan
"All great change in America begins at the dinner table."

Theodore Roosevelt
"I am an American; free born and free bred, where I acknowledge no man as my superior, except for his own worth, or as my inferior, except for his own demerit."

Gen. Douglas MacArthur
"Duty, honor, country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be."

Bob Dylan
"I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom."

Gen. George S. Patton
"It's better to fight for something in life than to die for nothing."

Frederick Douglass
"The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous."

Benjamin Disraeli
"The legacy of heroes—the memory of a great name, and the inheritance of a great example."

Franklin D. Roosevelt
"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved."

James Bryce
"Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong."

Henry James
"I think patriotism is like charity—it begins at home."

Peter Marshall
"May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right."

Robert Frost
“Freedom lies in being bold.”

Claudia Pemberton
"America without her soldiers would be like God without his angels."

Benjamin Franklin​
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country."

Harry S. Truman​
"America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand."

Oliver Wendell Holmes
“One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one nation evermore!”

William Faulkner​
"We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it."






Things You Might Not Know About St. Patrick's Day

Things You Might Not Know About St. Patrick's Day

Every March 17 the whole world turns green to celebrate Ireland's beloved patron saint, Patrick. But just how much do you really know about St Patrick's Day?

St. Patrick's Day is traditionally a religious holiday in Ireland. The celebratory nature of the day was created by Irish immigrants to the United States as a way to retain their Irishness and ease the transition into American society.

St. Patrick’s Day observes of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The holiday has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, drinking and a whole lot of green.

Who Was St. Patrick?


Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people.

In the centuries following Patrick’s death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.

Why 17 March?


Simple – the date marks the saint’s death. Patrick died in 461 in Saul, County Down. It was here that he had established his first church in a small and simple barn, after arriving nearby at the mouth of the Slaney River. He is buried in the grounds of Down Cathedral in Downpatrick and a memorial stone, made from local Mourne Mountain granite, marks his grave.

For those who celebrate its intended meaning, St Patrick’s Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal.

St. Patrick's Day Parade


Over the next 35 years, Irish patriotism among American immigrants flourished, prompting the rise of so-called “Irish Aid” societies like the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick and the Hibernian Society. Each group would hold annual parades featuring bagpipes (which actually first became popular in the Scottish and British armies) and drums.

In 1848, several New York Irish Aid societies decided to unite their parades to form one official New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Today, that parade is the world ‘s oldest civilian parade and the largest in the United States, with over 150,000 participants. Each year, nearly 3 million people line the 1.5-mile parade route to watch the procession, which takes more than five hours. Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Savannah also celebrate the day with parades involving between 10,000 and 20,000 participants each.

What Do People Do in St. Patrick's Day?


St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in many parts of the world, especially by Irish communities and organizations. Many people wear an item of green clothing on the day. Parties featuring Irish food and drinks that are dyed in green food color are part of this celebration. It is a time when children can indulge in sweets and adults can enjoy a “pint” of beer at a local pub. Many restaurants and pubs offer Irish food or drink, which include:

  1. Irish brown bread.
  2. Corned beef and cabbage.
  3. Beef and Guinness pie.
  4. Irish cream chocolate mousse cake.
  5. Irish coffee.
  6. Irish potato champ, also known as poundies, cally or pandy.
  7. Irish stew.
  8. Irish potato soup.

Some people plan a pilgrimage to St Patrick’s Purgatory, which is commonly associated with penance and spiritual healing since the early 13th century. It is on Station Island in Lough Derg in County Donegal where St Patrick had a vision promising that all who came to the sanctuary in penitence and faith would receive a pardon for their sins.

Why do people wear green?


Green is a color now synonymous with St Patrick’s Day, as people of Irish descent all over the world wear a piece of green clothing on March 17. But the wearing of green only became a tradition in the 19th century. Up until then, the color most commonly associated with St Patrick was actually blue. Today, it’s all about jade and emerald, moss and olive, so if you’re visiting Ireland on or around March 17, make sure to pack something green.

St. Patrick's Day Symbols


The most common St Patrick's Day symbol is the shamrock. The shamrock is the leaf of the clover plant and a symbol of the Holy Trinity. Many people choose to wear the color green and the flag of the Republic of Ireland is often seen in St Patrick’s Day parades around the world. Irish brands of drinks are popular at St Patrick’s Day events.

Religious symbols include snakes and serpents, as well as the Celtic cross. Some say that Saint Patrick added the Sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross. Other Irish-related symbols seen on St Patrick’s Day include the harp, which was used in Ireland for centuries, as well as a mythological creature known as the leprechaun and a pot of gold that the leprechaun keeps hidden.

The Irish immigrated to the United States beginning in Colonial times, but the largest wave came between 1820 and 1880, when almost 3.5 million Irish arrived, among them my ancestors from County Meath. These millions left their homeland for many reasons including poverty, famine, religious prejudice, and political subordination.

Though the Irish immigrants were materialistically poor, they brought a rich cultural heritage with them. Cultural events such as the St. Patrick’s Day parade, first celebrated in Boston in 1737, were regarded by many Americans as evidence of the separateness of these new immigrants. But the Irish desire for self-expression through parades and the “wearing of the green” in their adopted country helped them to retain their heritage while embracing the freedom at the heart of being American.

In the last several years, the Irish-American secular celebration of St. Patrick’s Day has made its way back to Ireland. The national holiday honoring Ireland's patron saint is now marked by a multi-day festival of parades, concerts and fireworks.
How to Decorate a Beach Themed Christmas Tree

How to Decorate a Beach Themed Christmas Tree

I use an indoor artificial palm tree as my Christmas tree. It is about 6 feet in height with a brown base, brown trunk and green "palms" coming off of the top. I decorate it with beach themed ornaments and it fits in with my theme.

I travel quite a bit so I try to pick up a beach themed souvenir ornament from each city I visit. This way not only am I bringing back a little something to remember my trip by, I can decorate my Christmas tree in a beach theme as well.

If you don't travel much to collect ornaments from different cities you can make them for really cheap. I have bought clear balls, poured beach sand and small shells in them and hung them on my tree. You can purchase starfish and sand dollars at your local craft store or online, drill a hole through them and stick raffia through the hole and hang them on your tree.




I recently purchased starfish garland from a local beach shop. I could have made it but it was so cheap it would have cost the same to make it. It is about a dozen smaller (approx 2") starfish that are on a string of raffia. I will hang this around my tree as garland. You could also make the same garland using seashells or sand dollars. A small drill and some raffia and you are set.

For lighting my tree, I wrap flip flop lights around the palms. Other choices that you could use are surfboard lights, blue lights, tropical shirt lights or palm tree shaped lights.

I will go to the fabric store and purchase some kind of tropical fabric to wrap around the bottom for a tree skirt. Sometimes finding tropical Christmas fabric is a little hard to find in a local craft store so I would recommend using Ebay. They always have many choices and it is inexpensive as well.
Creating a Nutcracker Theme With Outdoor Christmas Lights

Creating a Nutcracker Theme With Outdoor Christmas Lights

Some people love to decorate their yard elaborately for Halloween. For others, the season for total lawn decorating comes with the Christmas season. Of course, outdoor Christmas lights are a natural choice for any Christmas theme. However, if you're looking to do something different, like the Nutcracker theme, it can be more complicated. A few things to consider are:

o Staying away from traditional Christmas decorations
o Using theater props
o Having imagination and creativity

Outdoor Christmas Lights For Theater Props

The basic scene that most people try to recreate is the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy." This immediately draws certain ideas to mind. In particular, the picture in people's minds is of sparkling white. Of course, it is a natural choice to use white outdoor Christmas lights to recreate a sparkling white and frosty backdrop for your nutcracker decorations.

Using Your Imagination and Creativity

Of course, the Nutcracker is a ballet. With that in mind, you have an opportunity to use fabrics in a very creative way. In order to recreate the Nutcracker theater theme, a combination of outdoor Christmas lights and ballerina tulle can be used. This is especially beautiful when decorating trees or porches.

Nutcracker Decoration Caution

Following this theme requires one word of caution. The Nutcracker theme immediately makes everyone think about ballerinas. One of the things that is amazing about dancing is the ability to float in the air. It can be a real temptation to buy a mannequin or make a giant doll and dress it to look like a Nutcracker ballerina. Of course, this doll is decorated much like an angel or ballerina with lots of fluffy white materials.

Everything seems like a good idea until it comes time to display your ballerina. Suddenly, you realize that you've made a terrible mistake. Unfortunately, one of the few ways that you could display your ballerina would be to hang it up. This can be a shocking sight for many people to see. They might think that someone has committed suicide in your yard.

Galleries Image for Outdoor Christmas Lights





A human size figure that is out of place is a big distraction for people in oncoming traffic. Unlike the ghost that hangs in a tree during Halloween, people will turn their heads to see what you have going on in your yard. It is a natural response of human beings to want to take care of other human beings. They will look in your yard to make sure your ballerina is not human because of instinct. If you want to display a large decorated ballerina, choose someplace like a front porch rocking chair. You can use outdoor Christmas lights to draw emphasis to the ballerina.
Creating a Winterland Theme With Outdoor Christmas Lights

Creating a Winterland Theme With Outdoor Christmas Lights

When it comes time to decorate your front yard, many people are looking for a subdued yet festive scene. After all, it is important to be welcoming and celebrate the holiday season. This is true even if you're not very religious. After all, in places where there are large Hispanic populations, it is not uncommon for non-Hispanics to display Cinco De Mayo decorations on the outside of their home during the Cinco De Mayo season.

A common idea for people who do not want to focus on cartoon characters is using outdoor Christmas lights. The lights create a winter land theme without being garish. In addition to the Christmas season, winter is celebrated by celebrating snow. Simulating snow or snowflakes is always an appropriate way to decorate the yard during the Christmas season. Outdoor Christmas lights are a natural choice for these kinds of holiday festivity.

Choosing the Right Outdoor Christmas Lights

In general, to create a winter land theme, the idea is to simulate sparkling snow in the moonlight. There are a few ways that this can be accomplished. Namely, it means focusing more on the outdoor Christmas lights than other iconic decorations. The most popular things to buy for winter land theme are:

o White lights
o Blue lights
o Snowflake shapes

Areas to Decorate

The house is not the only place to include your outdoor Christmas lights. In order to create a full winter land theme, don't forget to include bushes and trees. Net lights are perfect for this solution. Unlike other outdoor Christmas lights, net lights are specifically designed for trees and bushes. This takes a lot less time to decorate and creates a beautiful affect.

Choosing Winter Land Colors

Of course, you do not want to use a lot of multicolored lights when decorating for a winter land theme.

Winterland Theme With Outdoor Christmas Lights Photos


Although it may be a temptation, you should stick to three basic colors for your outdoor Christmas lights. Besides white, blue and yellow will produce the effect you're looking for.

Just be sure to use the same color with the same object. At night, the shape of the tree, bush, or house is defined by the color of lights.

The only exception to that rule can be the roof. You can have a lot of fun using the colors to create a snowdrift affect on the roof. Your neighbors will appreciate your classic and beautiful decorations.

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