Tommorrow is the first of May, called May day. Here is what the Infoplease says about May Day: "May 1st, often called May Day, just might have more holidays than any other day of the year. It's a celebration of Spring. It's a day of political protests. It's a neopagan festival, a saint's feast day, and a day for organized labor. In many countries, it is a national holiday."
"Beltane was a Celtic calendar feast ushering in the start of summer. (It also went by a variety of other spellings and names in assorted dialects of Gaelic.)"
"Bonfires, often created by rubbing sticks together, were common features of Beltane celebrations. Related rituals included driving cattle between two fires, dancing around the fires, and burning witches in effigy. Another tradition was Beltane cakes, which would be broken into several pieces, one of which was blackened. They would be drawn by celebrants at random; the person getting the unlucky blackened piece would face a mock execution."
"In medieval England, people would celebrate the start of spring by going out to the country or woods—"going a-maying"—and gathering greenery and flowers, or "bringing in the may.""
"Another English tradition is the maypole. Some towns had permanent maypoles that would stay up all year; others put up a new one each May. In any event, the pole would be hung with greenery and ribbons, brightly painted, and otherwise decorated, and served as a central point for the festivities."
"May Day was also a time for morris dancing and other dances, often around the maypole. In the 19th century, people began to braid the maypole with ribbons by weaving in and out in the course of a dance. Other later traditions include making garlands for children and the crowning of the May Queen."
"In many countries, May Day is also Labor Day....Labor Day is still celebrated on May 1 in countries around the world, and it is still often a day for protests and rallies. In recent years, these have often been targeted against globalization."
For more information see the Infoplease web site at: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mayday.html
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
New Government Documents
The Library at Southeastern has recently acquired a number of books about the military from the Department of Defense. Since Southeastern is a government depository, the library has an excellent collection of military history as well as what’s been going on with the war on terrorism, Iraq and Afghanistan. A majority of the material published by the Department of Defense including those that are listed below are located in the Government Documents room on Floor 2A. Some of the other titles are located on the second floor.
D 1.2:SCO 8
Scouts out!: The development of reconnaissance units in modern armies by John J. McGrath
D 101.2:AF 3/2
Long hard road: NCO experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq
D 114.2:AR 5
The U.S. Army and Irregular Warfare, 1775-2007
D 114.2:T 68/2
Transforming an Army at war: Designing the modular force, 1991-2005 by William M. Donnelly
D 114.2:V 67/3
Field artillery, 1954-1973 by David Ewing Ott
D 208.202:AS 4
Asia eyes America: Regional perspectives on U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy in the twenty-first century by Jonathan D. Pollack
D 214.13:AL 4
U.S. Marines in battle: al-Khafji, 28 January -- 1 February 1991
D 214.13:IR 1/2
U.S. Marines in Iraq, 2003: Basrah, Baghdad and beyond by Nicholas E. Reynolds
D 214.13:IR 1/3
Among the people: U.S. Marines in Iraq by David A. Benhoff
D 221.2:C 88
The world cruise of the Great White Fleet: Honoring 100 years of global partnerships and security by Michael J. Crawford
D 301.26/6:AF 8
Stopping mass killings in Africa: Genocide, airpower, and intervention by Douglas Carl Peifer
D 301.82/7:D 72
General James H. Doolittle : the Air Force's warrior-scholar
D 301.82/7:K 82
Khobar Towers: Tragedy and Response by Perry D. Jamieson
D 301.82/7:L 46
A century of air power leadership: Past, present, and future: Proceedings of a symposium by Jacob Neufeld
D 301.82/7:L 56
United States Air Force 60th anniversary: Lessons learned in airpower throughout the ages
D 301.82/7:R 25/2
Reflections on Air Force independence by Herman S. Wolk
Other titles that have been added to the government documents collection are
HE 1.2:R 53/SPAN.-ENG.
The road to a healthy life: Based on the dietary guidelines for Americans
HE 1.2:W 84/10
The healthy woman: A complete guide for all ages
HE 20.6202:2007
Adolescent health in the United States, 2007
J 1.14/2:C 33/3
The FBI: A centennial history, 1908-2008
LC 1.6/4:AE 8
Aeronautical and astronautical resources of the Library of Congress: A comprehensive guide
NF 3.2: AM 3/8
Picturing America
PREX 3.17:AG 3
The Agency and the Hill: CIA's relationship with Congress, 1946-2004 by L. Britt Snider
Y 1.1/7:108-224
Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007
Y 3.N 21/29:2 H 34
The health benefits of volunteering: A review of recent research
Government CD's and DVD's
Within the Government Documents collection, we have CD's and DVD's.
The Census (C), NASA (NAS) and Homeland Security (HS) CD's and DVD's are located in the Government Documents room on Floor 2A. All other CD's and DVD's that pertain to Education (ED), Environment (EP), Health (HE) and so forth are located on the main floor of the Library. Most of them are on top of the Microfiche cabinets. The rest are at the Circulation Desk. Some of them have statistical information. All of these item can be checked out.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April Fools Day
The origin of April Fools' Day is obscure. One likely theory is that the modern holiday was first celebrated soon after the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar; the term referred to someone still adhering to the Julian Calendar, which it replaced.[2] In many pre-Christian cultures May Day (May 1) was celebrated as the first day of summer, and signalled the start of the spring planting season. An April Fool was someone who did this prematurely. Another origin is that April 1 was counted the first day of the year in France. When King Charles IX changed that to January 1, some people stayed with April 1. Those who did were called "April Fools" and were taunted by their neighbors.[citation needed] In the eighteenth century the festival was often posited as going back to the times of Noah. An English newspaper article published on April 13th, 1789 said that the day had its origins when he sent the raven off too early, before the waters had receded. He did this on the first day of the Hebrew month that corresponds with April.[3] A possible reference to April Fools' Day can be seen in the Canterbury Tales (ca 1400) in the Nun's Priest's tale, a tale of two fools: Chanticleer and the fox, which took place on March 32nd.[4]
[1] KIDPROJ Multi-Cultural Calendar
[2]April Fools' Day Encyclopaedia Brittanica
[3] Olmert, Michael (1996). Milton's Teeth and Ovid's Umbrella: Curiouser & Curiouser Adventures in History, p.186. Simon & Schuster, New York. ISBN 0-684-80164-7.
[4] thirty-two days since March began
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