Memorial Day, which falls on the last Monday of May, commemorates the men and women who died while serving in the American military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, at least, it marks the beginning of summer.

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation’s Civil War dead by decorating their graves. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. On May 5, 1868, Logan declared in General Order No. 11 that:

The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

During the first celebration of Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery.

This 1868 celebration was inspired by local observances of the day in several towns throughout America that had taken place in the three years since the Civil War. In fact, several Northern and Southern cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, including Columbus, Miss.; Macon, Ga.; Richmond, Va.; Boalsburg, Pa.; and Carbondale, Ill.

In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, N.Y., the official birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo—which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—because the town had made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.

By the late 1800s, many communities across the country had begun to celebrate Memorial Day and, after World War I, observances also began to honor those who had died in all of America’s wars. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May. (Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor all veterans, living and dead, is celebrated each year on November 11.)

Today, Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Also, it is customary for the president or vice-president to give a speech honoring the contributions of the dead and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.

Several Southern states continue to set aside a special day for honoring the Confederate dead, which is usually called Confederate Memorial Day.

Here is a great article I found at http://www.insiderreports.com/storypage.asp?StoryID=20008231

8 Ways Small Businesses Can Generate Good Publicity

by  Isabel  M  Isidro

Small businesses today cannot afford to be isolated; competition has become so fierce that entrepreneurs must constantly seek attention from outsiders. These outsiders include the media, consumer or advocacy group, or even the government. Especially with the advent of e-commerce, change now comes at a lightning speed that small businesses need to struggle harder just to be heard from the noise of the crowd.

Why should your small or home-based business worry about getting good publicity? Is it really worth all the time and hassle? There are a number of very good reasons why you should generate as much favorable publicity for your business, agency, or group as you possibly can:

1. Promoting your organization is simply smart investment. Promoting your business name, products and activities are critical for the survival of any business. You cannot simply open a store (whether online or traditional) and wait for customers to come in droves! You need to get the word out that you exist, and that only you could fill out their business needs. Side-by-side with an advertising strategy, make sure that your business has an aggressive promotional strategy. Every positive article or photo published in the daily newspaper, every favorable one-minute clip on the early evening news, every complimentary mention in some specialty newsletter or magazine is FREE! Sure, it may cost a bit of staff time for the preparation of press materials, or communication expenses to help you get to know the appropriate contact persons. But it did not cost you anywhere near the big bucks that the same number of column inches in the newspaper or the same amount of airtime on the TV news would have cost if you’d paid for it as advertising! That’s not a bad return on investment.

2. You get more audience attention with editorial coverage. Aside from being able to save advertising dollars, you gain more viewer or reader attention with every free mention in the print media and coverage on electronic media. Paid ads can be glossed over, skipped or even totally ignored. But if your business is the focus of an article, or gets mentioned favorably in a business column, you are able to capture the attention of the readers and engage them in your news story. You’ll get far more reader or viewer attention from free editorial space or time than you will from an equal amount of paid ad space or time.

3. It is free! For some organizations the free publicity that is available through the media may be the only way they can afford to reach the public. This is especially true some small start-up businesses and home-based entrepreneurs that may have lots of marketing energy but little or no marketing budget. Raise continuous public awareness for your business. You can achieve this by constant press releases, or even submission of articles to industry publications. Get your organization’s name printed or mentioned as often as possible in the media!

4. It is more credible. It is a fact: news is more believable than advertising. People have more faith in what they read in newspapers or magazine and in what they hear from radio or TV commentators than they have in paid advertising. For the audience, a third-party comment implies objectivity. And for the media to run it in their print or electronic publications, it simply means that they have faith in the story and know that it is not pure drivel.

5. You can sell products through publicity. Sales pitches are by no means limited to paid advertising. Publicity can be effectively used as a sales tool and a come-on for potential customers. Writing about the benefits of a technology that your company developed surely will lead to greater awareness for your product, and ringing cash registers. In travel and hospitality industry, those ‘rah rah’ feature articles about fun places to go and all those favorable restaurant reviews in the newspapers and magazines are most certainly “selling’ you on those spots as somewhere you should visit. A feature article from Wall Street Journal, for example, can cause your phone to ring off the hook and clog your emails with inquiries.

6. Publicity can even generate revenue, make money for you. Taking publicity a step higher, your organization can produce a free-distribution newsletter as a public relations tool, disseminated to media, industry specialists and target market. As more people find your newsletter valuable, you can now convert it into paid subscriptions. Several industries have successfully used this approach, from the health and fitness industry, to travel industry. Or another approach may be to put together a collection of articles you’ve generated into a pamphlet or booklet and marketing it. For example, this might work well for a how-to business, such as a hardware store or home center. Finally, sometimes you can even get paid for writing an article for a magazine or journal, especially if you have some unique expertise to offer.

7. Your increase your organization’s credibility. Regular (positive) exposure in the media legitimizes your business in the eyes of the community. Media appearances greatly boost the perceived value of whatever you offer the public. You will be giving out the message that not only does your business exist; but also it must be important to warrant the attention of the media. People have this perception, further fueled by media itself, that if something’s in the paper or on TV, then it must be significant and valuable. If your organization or name constantly gets media attention or coverage, doors can easily open for you; including that previously elusive bank loan. It could also help make hiring employees easier. Regular mentions in the media say to the community, ‘We’re here to stay. We’re not some fly-by-night outfit that’s here today and gone tomorrow. We’re neighbors, part of the community.”

8. Publicity can help you rise above your competition. The more media appearances you make, the more your organization’s name will come up when they think “leather goods” or “restaurant.” Publicity can give you a three-fold effect: you earn publicity by setting yourself apart from the competition; then it gives you a higher profile; then feeling better about yourself, you become more visible.

In today’s hypercompetitive environment, aiming for free media coverage makes good business sense. Publicity will cost you nothing but time and energy; but it will allow you to reach results that maybe you yourself never imagined. And don’t get too busy to celebrate any sort of publicity coup. The glow of passing the word to the public about you or your organization can be warm and sweet. Enjoy it!

Success Architects, an interactive online marketing company and, Strategic Management Think Tank.  The company, located in Orange County, FL., provides “smart and sticky” websites, ecommerce integration, membership websites and coaching in Social Networking.  The company is spearheaded by infrastructure guru Paul Bonnallie.  He has assembled a powerful and unique group of talented experts that provide a coaching program for business professionals who would like to leverage Social Networking and the power of internet marketing.

Paul Bonnallie has worked with hundreds of business owners across the nation helping them leverage Social Networking. His simple marketing solutions and “Influence with Integrity” methods have helped companies immediately increase their sales.  Paul experienced a variety of sales and marketing positions before starting his own company in 2000. He has been able to prove his techniques and methods by taking startup companies to million dollar sales levels in a short amount of time. In his 18 years of management experience he has worked with small business owners, startup companies, and America’s top entrepreneurs.

Having worked in the Internet space for over 18 years, He has mastered online tools and taught individuals and companies how to leverage their expertise into million dollar results.  He personally owns and manages 4 membership websites. His knowledge comes from hands on experience not made up theories.  He is noted for being one of “The World’s Foremost Authorities on Membership Websites” and has helped propel companies to the Inc 500’s list of fasted growing private companies. He is highly acclaimed as a brilliant innovator and marketer.

Many clients have been quoted as saying, “I had more ideas in 1 week from Paul then I did in my entire 25 years in business”. Another client said, “Paul Bonnallie… His energy and passion is contagious!”  Paul is the author of the eBook “Internet Sales… The wave of the Future”, which gives users a simple step by step process to effortlessly grow their business.

Technology and how to effectively use it in business, is what Paul has dedicated over 20 years of his life to.  He recognized early that success in the technology industry would depend on more than great engineers who could build anything and great business people who could sell anything. It is also necessary for the two groups to be able to communicate.  To that end, Mr. Bonnallie pursued an educational background in both technical (Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering) and non-technical (International Business) areas as well as acquiring industry certification.

Whether it was working in Large Scale Program Management, in Network Engineering, or as a Technical Business Consultant, Paul has been in the position of having to understand the latest technologies, communicate with “hard core” engineers, and, at the same time, be able to relate this to corporations and Service Providers.

Paul Bonnallie is known to be a modern day “Rain Maker” propelling business onto the internet and launching aggressive marketing campaigns and leveraging ecommerce platforms.  His unique ability to understand and use both new and traditional technologies while maintaining the motto “Ride the Wave, not the Bleeding Edge” brings an invaluable asset to any organization and its goal to use the best technology to provide the best quality product at the best price.  He is consistently involved in shaping strategic direction; and operates with a straightforward, result oriented management style, which is backed with a philosophy of “influence with integrity”. These strong facets are further complemented by his uncompromising standard of excellence.

“Do some sort of check of yourself in which you re-evaluate what exactly it is that you are working for. If it is fun and relaxation that you are after, maybe you are actually passing it by without even realizing it.  “The fun you seek is right there in front of your face, and it would be best if you take advantage of it now instead of waiting until some magic hour at which point you feel you have earned it.  Remember to live in the Moment.”  “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, I would  rather to skid in broadside thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming…. Wow what a ride!”

Easter and Spring from http://www.theholidayspot.com/easter/history/easter_history.htm

Come March. And the world around you gets geared up to go ga ga on a festive spree. Some skeptics might shrug off the March madness fray, but can’t beat the freak it rolls out of its season of rejuvenation, rejoice and renewal that ushers in with a basketful of new promises and gifts in galore. The nature discards its weary look to don a brand new outfit. The shining sun showers its blissful warmth, as if, to thwart the frosted blanket which the winter wraps around us. The brook turns bubbly. The blooming tulips, the crocuses and the daffodils – all swayed by the cool southie breeze, bring back the vibe on earth.

What else can be a better day for fun and fiesta? To have your family reunited? Friendship and love renewed? And feelings shared? Perhaps all these traits have made spring and celebrations almost synonymous. That too from the dawn of human history.

Even in the Greek mythology, Demeter and Persephone, convey the idea of a goddess returning seasonally from the nether regions to the light of the day. This is in conjunction with the vernal equinox, March 21, when nature is in resurrection after the winter.

Even Easter – the grand occasion that reminds you of the golden and crimson eggs and chocolate bunnies, the ho’cross buns, is also a spring time festival. As if the Almighty had chosen this glorious season for the death-resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ, the son of God.

History Of Easter

Easter, the principal festival of the Christian church year, celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion. The origins of Easter date to the beginnings of Christianity, and it is probably the oldest Christian observance after the Sabbath (observed on Saturday). Later, the Sabbath subsequently came to be regarded as the weekly celebration of the Resurrection.

Meanwhile, many of the cultural historians find, in the celebration of Easter, a convergence of the three traditions – Pagan, Hebrew and Christian.   According to St. Bede, an English historian of the early 8th century, Easter owes its origin to the old Teutonic mythology. It was derived from the name Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom the month of April was dedicated. The festival of Eostre was celebrated at the vernal equinox, when the day and night gets an equal share of the day.

The English name “Easter” is much newer. When the early English Christians wanted others to accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter for this holiday so that it would match the name of the old spring celebration. This made it more comfortable for other people to accept Christianity.

But it is pointed out by some that the Easter festival, as celebrated today, is related with the Hebrew tradition, the Jewish Passover. This is being celebrated during Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew lunar year. The Jewish Passover under Moses commemorates Israel’s deliverance from about 300 years of bondage in Egypt.

It was in during this Passover in 30 AD Christ was crucified under the order of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate as the then Jewish high priests accused Jesus of “blasphemy”. The resurrection came three days later, on the Easter Sunday. The early Christians, many of them being brought up in Jewish tradition regarded Easter as a new feature of the Pascha (Passover). It was observed in memory of the advent of the Messiah, as foretold by the prophets. And it is equanimous with the proclamation of the resurrection. Thus the early Christian Passover turned out to be a unitive celebration in memory of the passion-death-resurrection of Jesus. However, by the 4th century, Good Friday came to be observed as a separate occasion. And the Pascha Sunday had been devoted exclusively to the honor of the glorious resurrection.

Throughout the Christendom the Sunday of Pascha had become a holiday to honor Christ. At the same time many of the pagan spring rites came to be a part of its celebration. May be it was the increasing number of new converts who could not totally break free of the influence of pagan culture of their forefathers.

But despite all the influence there was an important shift in the spirit. No more glorification of the physical return of the Sun God. Instead the emphasis was shifted to the Sun of Righteousness who had won banishing the horrors of death for ever.

The Feast of Easter was well established by the second century. But there had been dispute over the exact date of the Easter observance between the Eastern and Western Churches. The East wanted to have it on a weekday because early Christians observed Passover every year on the 14th of Nisan, the month based on the lunar calendar. But, the West wanted that Easter should always be a Sunday regardless of the date.

To solve this problem the emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea in 325. The question of the date of Easter was one of its main concerns. The council decided that Easter should fall on Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. But fixing up the date of the Equinox was still a problem. The Alexandrians, noted for their rich knowledge in astronomical calculations were given the task. And March 21 was made out to be the perfect date for spring equinox.

The dating of Easter today follows the same. Accordingly, churches in the West observe it on the first day of the full moon that occurs on or following the Spring equinox on March 21., it became a movable feast between March 21 and April 25.

Still some churches in the East observe Easter according to the date of the Passover festival.

The preparation takes off as early as on the Ash Wednesday from which the period of penitence in the Lent begins. The Lent and the Holy week end on the Easter Sunday, the day of resurrection.

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Bunny

Origins

The Easter Bunny (or Easter Hare) is a character depicted as rabbit  bringing Easter eggs, who sometimes is depicted in an anthropomorphic way (eg. with clothes). In legend, the creature brings baskets filled with colored eggs, candy and sometimes also toys to the homes of children on the night before Easter. The Easter Bunny will either put the baskets in a designated place or hide them somewhere in the house or garden for the children to find when they wake up in the morning.

The Easter Bunny is very similar in trait to its Christmas holiday counterpart, Santa Claus, as they both bring gifts to good children on the night before their respective holiday. It was first mentioned in Georg Franck von Frankenau’s De ovis paschalibus (About the Easter Egg) referring to an Alsace tradition of an Easter Hare bringing Easter Eggs (and the negative impact of too much egg consumption).

The Easter Bunny as an Easter symbol bringing Easter eggs seems to have its origins in Alsace and the Upper Rhineland, both then in the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, and southwestern Germany, where it was first recorded in a German publication in the early 1600s. The first edible Easter Bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s and were made of pastry and sugar.

The Easter Bunny was introduced to America by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s.[1] The arrival of the “O_ster Haws_e” (a phonetic transcription of a dialectal pronunciation of the German Osterhase) was considered one of “childhood’s greatest pleasures,” similar to the arrival of Kriist Kindle (from the German Christkindl) on Christmas Eve.

According to the tradition, children would build brightly colored nests, often out of caps and bonnets, in secluded areas of their homes. The “O_ster Haws_e” would, if the children had been good, lay brightly colored eggs in the nest. As the tradition spread, the nest has become the manufactured, modern Easter basket, and the placing of the nest in a secluded area has become the tradition of hiding baskets.[2]

Eggs, like rabbits and hares, are fertility symbols of extreme antiquity. Since birds lay eggs and rabbits and hares give birth to large litters in the early spring, these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the Vernal Equinox.

The saying “mad as a March hare” refers to the wild caperings of hares as the males fight over the females in the early spring, then attempt to mate with them. Since the females often rebuff the males’ advances before finally submitting, the mating behavior often looks like a crazy dance; these fights led early observers to believe that the advent of spring made the hares “mad.”[3] This bold behavior makes the hares, normally timid and retiring animals, much more conspicuous to human observation in the spring.

Rabbits and hares are both prolific breeders. The females can conceive a second litter of offspring while still pregnant with the first. This phenomenon is known as superfetation. Lagomorphs mature sexually at an early age and can give birth to several litters a year (hence the sayings, “to breed like bunnies” or “multiply like rabbits”). It is therefore not surprising that rabbits and hares should become fertility symbols, or that their springtime mating antics should enter into Easter folklore.

Easter is a perfect time to Reflect, Remember and Rejoice

Regards,   Paul

———— A Success Architects $189 website is a “business start-up” resource site system created by Internet Guru Paul Bonnallie to help individuals earn money online with their own lucrative website. Whether you’re just thinking about the opportunity, ready to get started or trying to grow your existing business, Paul’s teaching resources and business expertise will show you how you can easily gain exposure on the Internet. Success Architects services, software, and personal training programs follow a proven system that has helped thousands start and build online business exposure that consistently earn significant income. Personal website start at low as just $189-Paul Bonnallie, Success Architects League, paul@corp-success.com,  http://www.corp-success.com/helpdesk —–

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, his religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over a thousand years. On St. Patrick’s Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast—on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage

According to http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day

The First Parade

The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland but in the United States. Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City on March 17, 1762. Along with their music, the parade helped the soldiers reconnect with their Irish roots, as well as fellow Irishmen serving in the English army.

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 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 three 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.

No Irish Need Apply

Up until the mid-19th century, most Irish immigrants in America were members of the Protestant middle class. When the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland in 1845, close to a million poor and uneducated Irish Catholics began pouring into America to escape starvation. Despised for their religious beliefs and funny accents by the American Protestant majority, the immigrants had trouble finding even menial jobs. When Irish Americans in the country’s cities took to the streets on St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate their heritage, newspapers portrayed them in cartoons as drunk, violent monkeys.

However, the Irish soon began to realize that their great numbers endowed them with a political power that had yet to be exploited. They started to organize, and their voting block, known as the “green machine,” became an important swing vote for political hopefuls. Suddenly, annual St. Patrick’s Day parades became a show of strength for Irish Americans, as well as a must-attend event for a slew of political candidates. In 1948, President Truman attended New York City ‘s St. Patrick’s Day parade, a proud moment for the many Irish whose ancestors had to fight stereotypes and racial prejudice to find acceptance in America.

Wearing of the Green Goes Global

Today, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by people of all backgrounds in the United States, Canada and Australia. Although North America is home to the largest productions, St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in other locations far from Ireland, including Japan, Singapore and Russia.

In modern-day Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day has traditionally been a religious occasion. In fact, up until the 1970s, Irish laws mandated that pubs be closed on March 17. Beginning in 1995, however, the Irish government began a national campaign to use St. Patrick’s Day as an opportunity to drive tourism and showcase Ireland to the rest of the world. Last year, close to one million people took part in Ireland ‘s St. Patrick’s Festival in Dublin, a multi-day celebration featuring parades, concerts, outdoor theater productions and fireworks shows.

The Chicago River

Chicago is famous for a somewhat peculiar annual event: dyeing the Chicago River green. The tradition started in 1962, when city pollution-control workers used dyes to trace illegal sewage discharges and realized that the green dye might provide a unique way to celebrate the holiday. That year, they released 100 pounds of green vegetable dye into the river—enough to keep it green for a week!

Today, in order to minimize environmental damage, only 40 pounds of dye are used, making the river green for only several hours. Although Chicago historians claim their city’s idea for a river of green was original, some Savannah natives believe the idea originated in their town. They point out that, in 1961, Savannah mayor Tom Woolley had plans for a green river. Due to rough waters on March 17, the experiment failed, and Savannah never attempted to dye its river again.

http://holidays.kaboose.com/patrick-history.html reports, Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year on March 17th.

Note for 2008: For 2008, the Catholic Church has officially moved St. Patrick’s Day to Saturday, March 15th to avoid a conflict with the Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday. Most secular establishments in the US and Canada, such as restaurants and bars, will continue to celebrate the holiday on March 17th, and the 17th will remain a national day off from work in Ireland.

Who Was Saint Patrick?

Even though Saint Patrick the patron saint of Ireland and one of the most celebrated religious figures around the world, the factual information about his life and times is quite vague. Most information about St. Patrick has been twisted, embellished, or simply made up over centuries by storytellers, causing much ambiguity about the real life of St. Patrick. However, there are a some elements of his story about which most scholars accept to be true.

According to Coilin Owens, Irish literature expert and Professor Emeritus of English at George Mason University, Saint Patrick is traditionally thought to have lived “between 432-461 A.D., but more recent scholarship moves the dates up a bit.” At the age of sixteen he was kidnapped from his native land of the Roman British Isles by a band pirates, and sold into slavery in Ireland. Saint Patrick worked as a shepherd and turned to religion for solace. After six years of slavery he escaped to the Irish coast and fled home to Britain.

While back in his homeland, Patrick decided to become a priest and then decided to return to Ireland after dreaming that the voices of the Irish people were calling him to convert them to Christianity.

After studying and preparing for several years, Patrick traveled back to Ireland as a Christian missionary. Although there were already some Christians living in Ireland, St. Patrick was able to bring upon a massive religious shift to Christianity by converting people of power. Says Prof. Owens, “[St. Patrick] is credited with converting the nobles; who set an example which the people followed.”

But Patrick’s desire to spread of Christianity was not met without mighty opposition. Prof. Owens explains, “Patrick ran into trouble with the local pagan priesthood, the druids: and there are many stories about his arguments with them as well as his survival of plots against them.” He laid the groundwork for the establishment of hundreds of monasteries and churches that eventually popped up across the Irish country to promote Christianity.

Saint Patrick is also credited with bringing written word to Ireland through the promotion of the study of legal texts and the Bible, says Prof. Owens. Previous to Patrick, storytelling and history were reliant on memory and orally passing down stories.

Patrick’s mission in Ireland is said to have lasted for thirty years. It is believe he died in the 5th century on March 17, which is the day St. Patrick’s Day is commemorated each year.

The first year St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated in America in 1737 in Boston, Massachusetts. The first official St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York City in 1766. As the saying goes, on this day “everybody is Irish!” Over 100 U.S. cities now hold Saint Patrick’s Day parades.

Below you will find a list of fun facts we’ve assembled about the Irish holiday St. Patrick’s Day. Test your knowledge with our St. Patrick’s Day IQ quiz or create your own “True or False” quiz using the information below.

Want even more info on St. Pat’s Day? Go to our main St. Patrick’s Day holiday page for more Paddy’s Day fun. You’ll find festive recipes, crafts, books, games, clip art, printables and more!

Facts about St. Patrick’s Day Holiday

* St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17 because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is believed that he died on March 17 in the year 461 AD. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history. St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland, and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

* In Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, people traditionally wear a small bunch of shamrocks on their jackets or caps. Children wear orange, white and green badges, and women and girls wear green ribbons in their hair.

* Many cities have a St. Patrick’s Day parade. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, has a huge St. Patrick’s Day festival from March 15-19, that features a parade, family carnivals, treasure hunt, dance, theatre and more. In North American, parades are often held on the Sunday before March 17. Some paint the yellow street lines green for the day! In Chicago, the Chicago River is dyed green with a special dye that only lasts a few hours. There has been a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston, Massachusetts since 1737. Montreal is home to Canada’s longest running St. Patrick’s Day parade, which began in 1824.

Facts about Saint Patrick

* St. Patrick was born in 385 AD somewhere along the west coast of Britain, possibly in the Welsh town of Banwen. At age 16, he was captured and sold into slavery to a sheep farmer. He escaped when he was 22 and spent the next 12 years in a monastery. In his 30s he returned to Ireland as a Christian missionary. He died at Saul in 461 AD and is buried at Downpatrick.

Facts about the Irish

* 34 million Americans have Irish ancestry, according to the 2003 US Census. That’s almost nine times the population of Ireland, which has 4.1 million people.

* Some American towns have “Irish” names. You could visit: Mount Gay-Shamrock, West Virginia; Shamrock Lakes, Indiana; Shamrock, Oklahoma; Shamrock, Texas; Dublin, California and Dublin, Ohio.

* The harp is the symbol of Ireland. The color green is also commonly associated with Ireland, also known as “the Emerald Isle.”

* The Irish flag is green, white and orange. The green symbolizes the people of the south, and orange, the people of the north. White represents the peace that brings them together as a nation.

* The name “lephrechaun” has several origins. It could be from the Irish Gaelic word “leipreachan,” which means “a kind of aqueous sprite.” Or, it could be from “leath bhrogan,” which means “shoemaker.”

Facts about Clovers

* According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the highest number of leaves found on a clover is 14!

* One estimate suggests that there are about 10 000 regular three-leaf clovers for every lucky four-leaf clover.

* Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.

http://www.theholidayspot.com/patrick/shamrock.htm provides the following tidbits

History of Shamrock, Leprechaun, and the Blarney’s Stone

Welcome to the tidbits page of Patty’s day. Here you will find interesting notes on Shamrock, Blarney’s Stone, and of course, the Leprechaun. There are options too, to send a free greetings for patty’s day.

Please refer our site to your friends. Happy Patty’s Day!

In written English, the first reference to the Shamrock dates from 1571, andin written Irish, as seamrog, from 1707. As a badge to be worn on the lapel on the Saint’s feast day, it is referred to for the first time as late as 1681. The

Shamrock was used as an emblem by the Irish Volunteers in the era of Grattan’s Parliament in the 1770′s, before ’98 and The Act of Union. So rebellious did the wearing of the Shamrock eventually appear, that in Queen

Victoria’s time Irish regiments were forbidden to display it. At that time it became the custom for civilians to wear a little paper cross colored red and green.

As a symbol of Ireland it has long been integrated into the symbol of the United Kingdom, along with the Rose, the Thistle and the Leek of England, Scotland and Wales. So today, on St. Patrick’s Day, a member of the British Royal Family presents Shamrock to the Irish Guards regiment of the British Army.

THE MAGIC SHAMROCK

Three is Ireland’s magic number. Hence the Shamrock. Crone, Mother and Virgin. Love, Valour and Wit.. Faith, Hope and Charity. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Numbers played an important role in Celtic symbolism. Three was the most sacred and magical number. It multiplies to nine, which is sacred to Brigit. Three may have signified totality: past, present and future OR behind, before and here OR sky, earth and underworld. Everything good in Ireland comes in threes. The rhythm of story telling in the Irish tradition is based on threefold repetition. This achieves both intensification and exaggeration. Even today in quality pub talk, a raconteur can rarely resist a third adjective, especially if it means stretching a point. “Three accomplishments well regarded in Ireland: a clever verse, music on the harp, the art of shaving faces.”

THE LEPRECHAUN

The Leprechaun is an Irish fairy. He looks like a small, old man (about 2 feet tall), often dressed like a shoemaker, with a cocked hat and a leather apron. According to legend, leprechauns are aloof and unfriendly, live alone, and pass the time making shoes. They also possess a hidden pot of gold

. Treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker’s hammer. If caught, he can be forced (with the threat of bodily violence) to reveal the whereabouts of his treasure, but the captor must keep their eyes on him every second. If the captor’s eyes leave the leprechaun (and he often tricks them into looking away), he vanishes and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost.

Near a misty stream in Ireland in the hollow of a tree

Live mystical, magical leprechauns

who are clever as can be

With their pointed ears, and turned up toes and little coats of green

The leprechauns busily make their shoes and try hard not to be seen.

Only those who really believe have seen these little elves

And if we are all believers

We can surely see for ourselves.

THE BLARNEY STONE

The Blarney Stone is a stone set in the wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of Blarney. Kissing the stone is supposed to bring the kisser the gift of persuasive eloquence (blarney). The castle was built in 1446 by Cormac Laidhiv McCarthy (Lord of Muskerry) — its walls are 18 feet thick (necessary to thwart attacks by Cromwellians and William III’s troops). Thousands of tourists a year still visit the castle. The origins of the Blarney Stone’s magical properties aren’t clear, but one legend says that an old woman cast a spell on the stone to reward a king who had saved her from drowning. Kissing the stone while under the spell gave the king the ability to speak sweetly and convincingly. It’s tough to reach the stone — it’s between the main castle wall and the parapet. Kissers have to stretch to their back and bend backward (and downward), holding iron bars for support

———— A Success Architects $189 website is a “business start-up” resource site system created by Internet Guru Paul Bonnallie to help individuals earn money online with their own lucrative website. Whether you’re just thinking about the opportunity, ready to get started or trying to grow your existing business, Paul’s teaching resources and business expertise will show you how you can easily gain exposure on the Internet. Success Architects services, software, and personal training programs follow a proven system that has helped thousands start and build online business exposure that consistently earn significant income. Personal website start at low as just $189-Paul Bonnallie, Success Architects League, paul@corp-success.com, http://corp-success.com/helpdesk

10 New Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know

Originally Posted by Nick O’Neill on http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/12/facebook-privacy-new/

Last December Facebook rolled out a new version of their privacy settings to all users. Privacy settings are something that many Facebook users are regularly confused about. That’s why we published our original Facebook privacy guide back in February. After millions of people visited our privacy guide, we realized how important privacy is to Facebook users. With the new settings rolled out, we thought that now would be a great time to update the guide with the latest changes.

In this guide we present a thorough overview of the most important privacy settings which includes previous settings that are still relevant as well as new privacy settings that have been added by Facebook. The majority of the old privacy settings are still relevant, however there’s a chance that you may now be sharing much more information with the whole world. Make it through our new Facebook privacy guide and you’re guaranteed to be safe.

1. Understand Your Friend Lists

As we described in our previous Facebook Privacy guide, Facebook friend lists are the cornerstone of privacy on Facebook. While you don’t need to take advantage of friend lists, understanding this feature will instantly turn you into a “Facebook power user”. Understand that friend lists can take time to configure so don’t expect to breeze through this step. The concept behind friend lists is simple: it’s a way of organizing your friends into various affiliation groups. If you aren’t clear with our explanation, here’s how Facebook describes friend lists:

Friend Lists provide organized groupings of your friends on Facebook. For example, you can create a Friend List for your friends that meet for weekly book club meetings. You can filter your view of each list’s stream of activity separately on the home page. Friend Lists are easy to manage and allow you to send messages and invites to these groups of people all at once.

As I previously wrote, there are a few key things to understand about friend lists:

• You can add each friend to more than one Friend List
• Friend Lists should be used like “tags” as used elsewhere around the web
• Friend Lists can have specific privacy policies applied to them

The most common lists that many privacy experts will refer to are “Friends”, “Family”, and “Professional” however there’s a limitless combination of lists that you can create. Truthfully, it doesn’t matter how many friend lists you create, although I prefer to simplify things as much as possible. The key thing to understand is that your friends’ privacy settings will always default to the most restrictive friend list they’ve been placed in.

For example, let’s say your friend John is someone you met at work but continue to hang out with outside of work. You may have placed them in your “Work Contacts” Friend List and your “Local Friends” Friend List. If your “Work Contacts” cannot see photos you’ve been tagged in and your “Local Friends” can, John will not be able to see photos you’ve been tagged in.

You can configure your Friend Lists by visiting the friends area of your Facebook.

2. Remove Yourself From Facebook Search Results

My mom is a teacher and one of the first things she asked me when she joined Facebook is how she could make sure her students couldn’t see that she was on the site. Understandably my mom doesn’t want her middle school students to know what she’s up to in her personal life. There are numerous reasons that individuals don’t want their information to show up in search results on Facebook, and it’s simple to turn off your public visibility.

Within the new search privacy settings page, Facebook has made things extremely straight forward. There are now two settings: one for those people who can find you when searching on Facebook, and one for those searching within search engines (which the next section describes). In order to prevent others from finding you in Facebook’s search results, it’s two quick steps:

1. Visit your search privacy settings page.
2. Click on “Edit Settings” and enter your password.
3. Next to “Facebook Search Results” select the “Only Friends” privacy setting.

Strangely enough, Facebook doesn’t require you to click on “Save Changes” anymore, however these new settings should now be set.

3. Remove Yourself From Google

Facebook continues to receive A TON of traffic from displaying user profiles in search engines. Not all of your profile is displayed though. As was the case in our previous Facebook Privacy guide, the information displayed in the search profile is limited to: your profile picture, a list of your friends, and a list of up to approximately 20 Facebook Pages that you have become a fan of.

As many users have found out, your friend information is available in your public listings. To block that information from being publicly accessible you can remove yourself from Google’s index and other search engines. Some people enjoy having their information displayed in search engines, as it makes them easy to find. For those that prefer to err on the side of privacy though, it’s often a good idea to remove yourself from the search engines.

To remove yourself from the search engines, visit the search privacy settings page and simply uncheck the box next to “Public Search Results” which says “Allow Indexing”. You’ll need to wait for Google and other search engines to remove your information from their cache, so don’t be surprised if you still show up in the search engines for a few weeks.

4. Avoid The Infamous Photo Tag Mistake

Many users are getting smarter about their privacy settings, however I continue to hear horror stories of users who have their relationships damaged as a result of photos they’ve been tagged in. More than just having their relationships damaged, some users get fired as a result of photos they’ve been tagged in. There are a number of ways to work around this problem. One of the ways is described later in this guide, however there is an extremely easy way to avoid having compromising photos show up to friends.

Head over to the profile privacy settings page and go to the section which says “Photos and Videos of Me”. Then click on the drop down selector, and click on the “Custom” option. You can then select “Only Me” as displayed in the image below. Keep in mind that this will block all people from seeing any images or videos that you’ve been tagged in. Many users want their friends to see photos they’ve been tagged in though.

So how do you work around this issue without putting your job or relationships at risk? The best way is to take advantage of the friend lists that you previously created (in the first setting) and limit specific people from seeing the images and videos you’ve been tagged in. For example, it’s probably not the best idea to have your professional contacts see the images you’ve been tagged in. If you have a professional list, you can simply enter that friend list under “Hide this from” in the custom privacy dialog box which is shown below.

5. Protect Your Albums

As I mentioned in the previous privacy guide, one of the greatest risks on Facebook is that you get tagged in a compromising photo. However it’s important to consider who you really want to have viewing your photo albums. Given Facebook’s custom privacy settings you are able to get as granular as you’d like with the visibility of each album. Thanks to the new publisher privacy settings, you can even get granular with every photo that you post if you really want to have complete control.

What privacy settings you choose for your albums is completely up to you, but if you do want to limit access to your albums, I recommend visiting the photos privacy settings page and limiting the access of each of your albums to “Only Friends” at the least. Unless you are a professional photographer, there probably isn’t much of a reason for making your albums visible so that the whole world can see them.

6. Avoid The Post-Breakup Facebook Effect

I’m seriously sorry to hear that you that you just broke up with your boyfriend. Do all of your contacts really need to hear about that though? Since posting our last Facebook privacy guide, I’ve seen countless people publicly update their relationship status as though everybody needs to hear about it. Relationship status changes have become such a large component of my Facebook news feed that I recently decided to write an entire post on The Post-Breakup Facebook Effect.

Strangely enough, there is a new mating ritual which has evolved on Facebook and often relationship status changes are part of that process. Often times after a female changes her relationship status to “Single”, a whole slew of new “potential suitors” start commenting on the relationship status change and write posts on her wall. Honestly, I see nothing wrong with this process and find it quite entertaining, however it probably is something that you don’t want all of your contacts to know about, especially your professional contacts.

While I’ve chosen to avoid relationship statuses altogether, some users still want to have them displayed. While many people like to let the world know that they are in a relationship, you can avoid having a relationship status change becoming the talk of the town. While Facebook has now removed the feature which lets users control which actions generate news feed stories, you can still protect the visibility of your relationship status.

Simply go to your profile privacy settings page and change the “Family and Relationship” setting to “Only Me”. While it would be great to make that information public, it’s currently impossible to control whether or not a relationship status change creates a news feed story. As such, I believe it’s better to play things safe and block users from seeing your relationship status.

7. Control What Information Applications Can Access

The risk of having applications publish stories without your approval, which we covered in the last Facebook privacy guide, is being eliminated completely. However it’s important to understand what information applications can access. As Facebook writes, when you visit applications, they “may access any information you have made visible to Everyone as well as your publicly available information.” Publicly available information “includes your Name, Profile Picture, Gender, Current City, Networks, Friend List, and Pages.”

The more restrictive you make your profile settings, the less information that’s available to applications. While applications must follow your existing privacy settings, your friends can also share information about you within applications. An example would be a greeting card application which uses your birthday to prompt your friend to send a card. Facebook allows users to control the types of information that applications can access when your friends use an application that you have not previously installed.

You can control that information (as pictured to the right) by visiting this page.

8. Make Contact Information Private

I personally use Facebook for professional and personal use and it can frequently become overwhelming. That’s why I’ve taken the time to outline these ten privacy protection steps. Once I began approving friend requests from people that I hadn’t built strong relationships with, I immediately limited the visibility of my contact information so that only close friends could view things like my email and phone number.

If you post any of your personally identifiable information (phone number, email, or address) on your profile, it makes sense to limit who can see it. There are two ways to limit who can see your contact information. The first is to visit the contact privacy settings page. From there you can customize the contact settings as much as you’d like. As I previously wrote, for each contact item that you have in your profile, you should set custom privacy settings so that contacts who you aren’t close to don’t have access to your email and phone number.

The second way to customize your contact privacy settings is directly from your profile. Click on the “Info” tab in your profile and scroll down to the contact information section. Once you mouse over the contact area, you’ll have the option of editing the content. If you click on “Edit” you will notice little lock icons next to each piece of information (as pictured below). If you click on the lock you will be prompted with a box which says “Who can see this?” from which you can completely customize who your information is visible to.

9. Avoid Embarrassing Wall Posts

While you may have enjoyed getting wasted with your friends at the holiday party last night, it’s probably not something that you want everybody to know about. Your friends may not use Facebook for connecting with professional contacts, and as a result they don’t think twice about casually posting something that should be kept more private. As such, it makes sense to control what’s visible to others. There are two places where you can configure your wall privacy settings: directly from your profile page and from the profile privacy page.

In order to edit the privacy settings from your profile page, click on the “Options” link directly under the publisher. The image below shows how to control your settings in three easy steps. The most dramatic modification that you can make is unchecking the box which says “Friends may post to my wall”. Most users want to be able to communicate via the wall so disabling this functionality will prevent anyone from communicating publicly with you.

If you don’t want to take the most extreme step by blocking users from writing on your wall, you can customize who can view wall posts made by your friends by clicking on the drop down directly next to “Who can see posts made by my friends?” I recommend preventing all professional contacts from being able to view posts made by your friends.

10. Keep Friendships Private

Yes, I understand that you want the whole world to know that you are popular and have lots of friends! However, not all users want everybody knowing who their friends are and there are clear justifications for blocking others from seeing your Facebook friends. I’ve had a number of individuals visit my profile and then selectively pick off friends that are relevant to them for marketing purposes, or other reasons.

Voyeurism is a key component of Facebook and one of the most frequent activities of users is to browse through other users’ friends. Whatever the reason is, just know that users are doing it. While your friendships can show up in search engines, we’ve already highlighted how to make your profile invisible to search engines in number 3 above. If you want to take things one step further and prevent others from viewing your friends, you can follow these steps:

1. Go to your profile page
2. Click on the pencil icon in the top right corner of your “Friends” box
3. Uncheck the box which says “Show my friends on my profile”

Now you’ve successfully hidden others from viewing your friends. Keep in mind that your friends list is accessible to any Facebook applications you use. It’s also possible for users to view your friends list if they have access to your username (Mark Zuckerberg’s friends list for example). My guess is that Facebook will eventually provide functionality to block users from seeing your friends completely.

Understand The New Privacy Settings

The New Publisher Settings

Yes, last night’s holiday party was a lot of fun but when you post on your friends walls (or your own) you can limit the visibility to just your friends. Configuring your privacy settings effectively is important, but even more important is the ability to use Facebook’s features in a way which avoids any negative repercussions. One of the most important features to roll out with the new privacy settings is the ability to publish content which is only visible to specific friends.

Rather than posting a status update that everybody can view, limit those friends who can access your information. The new content visibility settings are as follows: Everyone, Friends and Networks, Friends of Friends, Only Friends, and Customize. Understanding the new publisher settings is key to protecting your privacy on Facebook.

Note that the image below doesn’t include “Friends and Networks” as not all users have this option. You must be a member of a university or professional network in order to see the “Friends and Networks” setting.

Everyone Literally Means Everyone In The World

Yes, when you select “Everyone” on content that you publish, anybody on the internet will be able to view that content. When Facebook released the new privacy transition tool, the purpose was to get you to share more information with Facebook users, primarily the status updates and links that you are posting. If you are like most users, then you probably just accepted Facebook’s recommendations without thinking about it (if you didn’t accept, congratulations as you clearly understand Facebook privacy). The result of blindly going through the new privacy transition tool is that your status updates and other information is now publicly accessible by everyone on the internet.

If you don’t mind having your content published to everyone in the world by default, then you don’t need to worry about changing anything. I have a feeling that most users don’t prefer to have all their information publicly shared by default however. Instead, users want complete control over their privacy and they want to start their Facebook experience in a protected environment. While it’s possible to debate Facebook’s privacy philosophy, reading through this guide should help ensure that you continue to feel protected while using Facebook.

————

A Success Architects $189 website is a “business start-up” resource site system created by Internet Guru Paul Bonnallie to help individuals earn money online with their own lucrative website. Whether you’re just thinking about the opportunity, ready to get started or trying to grow your existing business, Paul’s teaching resources and business expertise will show you how you can easily gain exposure on the Internet. Success Architects services, software, and personal training programs follow a proven system that has helped thousands start and build online business exposure that consistently earn significant income.

Personal website start at low as just $189-Paul Bonnallie, Success Architects League, paul@corp-success.com, http://corp-success.com/helpdesk

1 : the quality or state of being reciprocal : mutual dependence, action, or influence 2 : a mutual exchange of privileges; specifically : a recognition by one of two countries or institutions of the validity of licenses or privileges granted by the other The Karma concept is simple, you have to first help others to help yourself … Who have you helped today?

www.OperationPromisedland.com — www.opl.Bring2Help2.com — Groups are forming now.

———— A Success Architects $189 website is a “business start-up” resource site system created by Internet Guru Paul Bonnallie to help individuals earn money online with their own lucrative website. Whether you’re just thinking about the opportunity, ready to get started or trying to grow your existing business, Paul’s teaching resources and business expertise will show you how you can easily gain exposure on the Internet. Success Architects services, software, and personal training programs follow a proven system that has helped thousands start and build online business exposure that consistently earn significant income. Personal website start at low as just $189-Paul Bonnallie, Success Architects League, paul@corp-success.com, http://corp-success.com/helpdesk