today’s holiday: Svenskarnas Dag

Svenskarnas Dag

Svenskarnas Dag honors the Swedish heritage of the people of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the longest day of the year. When the festival first started in 1934, it was observed in August, but in 1941 the day was changed to the fourth Sunday in June so that it would coincide with midsummer observances in Sweden. The festival includes a band concert, Swedish folk dancing, choral group performances, and the crowning of a Midsummer Queen. A national celebrity of Swedish descent is often asked to officiate at this one-day event, which attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year. More… Discuss

Saint of the Day for Tuesday, May 12th, 2015: Sts. Nereus & Achilleus

Saint of the Day for Tuesday, May 12th, 2015

Sts. Nereus & Achilleus

So often we hear people or even ourselves excuse an action by saying “I was only following orders.” But for Nereus and Achilleus this excuse could not stand in the face of the cross. … continue reading

More Saints of the Day

Sts. Nereus & Achilleus St. Diomma St. Dionysius St. Dominic de la Calzada St. Epiphanius of Salamis St. Etheihard St. Flavia Domitilla

Bl. Francis Patrizzi St. Leopold Mandic St. Modoaldus St. Nereus and Achilleus St. Pancras St. Philip of Agirone St. Richrudis

today’s holiday: Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck (2015)

Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck (2015)

This feast is a commemoration in Malta of the shipwreck of St. Paul on the island in 60 CE, an event described in the New Testament. Paul was a prisoner on a ship, and when storms drove the ship aground, Paul was welcomed by the “barbarous people” (meaning they were not Greco-Romans). According to legend, he got their attention when a snake bit him on the hand but did him no harm, and he then healed people of diseases. Paul is the patron saint of Malta and snakebite victims. The day is a public holiday observed with family gatherings and religious ceremonies and processions. More… Discuss

today’s holiday: Festival of the Cow (2015)

Festival of the Cow (2015)

The Fiesta de la Vaca takes place in the village of San Pablo de los Montes, in the Spanish province of Toledo, on St. Paul‘s Day. While the religious procession and mass for the feast of San Pablo are going on, a group of young men form a counter-procession in the opposite direction. One of them plays the role of the cow, La Vaca, while another is dressed as Mother Sow, Madre Cochina. A third is dressed as a shepherd, and there are others ringing cow bells. Every time the group passes the image of the saint, they call out, “Here goes the cow!” More… Discuss

Merry Christmas from euzicasa! Post Card: Saddle-back Mountain from Huntington Beach Municipal Pier – December 2011-2014©

Merry Christmas from euzicasa!  Post Card: Saddle-back Mountain from Huntington Beach Municipal Pier – December 2011-2014©

Via YouTube National Geographic Channel Injured D.C. Snowy Owl Gets “New” Wing

[youtube.com/watch?v=Lg8q-8g7PiU&list=PLivjPDlt6ApQ8vBgHkeEjeRJjzqUGv9dV]
A snowy owl that got hit by a bus and burned, possibly by a chimney, in Washington, D.C., has been fitted with new feathers on its damaged wing. The operation, called imping, was performed at the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota.

Read more about the owl and the operation:
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.c…

VIDEOGRAPHER: Phil Ladisa, The University of Minnesota Raptor Center
EDITOR: Gabriella Garcia-Pardo
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TODAY’S HOLIDAY: ST. PAUL WINTER CARNIVAL

St. Paul Winter Carnival

This 10-day winter festival was established in 1886 in response to a newspaper story that described St. Paul, Minnesota, as “another Siberia, unfit for human habitation.” A group of local businessmen set out to publicize the area’s winter attractions, and the first winter carnival featured an Ice Palace in St. Paul’s Central Park. Since that time, an entire legend has developed about the founding of St. Paul and is reenacted each year. Other highlights include ice golf, skating, skiing, sled dog races, softball on ice, ice carving and snow sculpture contests, and a parade. More… Discuss

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THIS DAY IN THE YESTERYEAR: LARGEST MASS EXECUTION IN US HISTORY (1862)

Largest Mass Execution in US History (1862)

Though the US government and the Sioux concluded several treaties during the first half of the 19th century, relations had deteriorated by 1862 when a Sioux uprising killed more than 800 white settlers and soldiers in Minnesota. Military tribunals convicted 303 Sioux prisoners of murder and rape and sentenced them to death. US President Abraham Lincoln commuted most sentences, but the public hanging of 38 prisoners was still the largest mass execution in US history. What became of the bodies? More… Discuss