Bastille Day

Bastille Day is a National holiday in France. It is very much like Independence Day in the United States because it is a celebration of the beginning of a new form of government.

At one time in France, kings and queens ruled. Many people were very angry with the decisions made by the kings and queens.

The Bastille was a prison in France that the kings and queens often used to lock up the people that did not agree with their decisions. To many, it was a symbol of all the bad things done by the kings and queens. So, on July 14, 1789, a large number of French citizens gathered together and stormed the Bastille.

Just as the people in the United States celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence as the beginning of the American Revolution, so the people in France celebrate the storming of the Bastille as the beginning of the French Revolution. Both Revolutions brought great changes. Kings and queens no longer rule. The people rule themselves and make their own decisions.

Bastille Day The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly, believed that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man were the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments.

As a result, they determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members of the Social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties. Therefore the National Assembly recognizes and proclaims, in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the citizen:

1 Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.

2 The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.

3. The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any authoritywhich does not proceed directly from the nation.

4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law.

Bastille Day 5. Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society.Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law.

6. Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents.

7. No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law. Any one soliciting, transmitting, executing, or causing to be executed, any arbitrary order, shall be punished. But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of the law shall submit without delay, as resistance constitutes an offense.

Bierborse (Beer Festival)

The Bierborse is an open-air event devoted to the art of brewing throughout the world. It is composed of two thirds beer-serving businesses and one third accompanying snack specialities. The range is supplemented by participants offering products typical of beer. That may be not only the local beer club but also the beer-mat seller or a tankard stand.

The German Munchener Oktoberfest goes back to an event in October 1810 and then developed into an annual event organised by the breweries and entertainment businesses in Munich. The German Munchener Oktoberfest very quickly acquired the reputation of being the largest public festival on Earth and, as a result of imitators all over the globe, became a festival form welcome everywhere. In 1810, nobody could have anticipated this meteoric development.

The Opladener Bierborse goes back to 1987, i.e. 177 years later, when Herbert Sondermann, a native of Opladen, had the idea of introducing a beer event and put this into effect in the form of a small event with seven beer stands in the pedestrian precinct in Opladen. At that time as well, nobody anticipated what a wonderful event was to develop from these beginnings. Today, Herbert Sondermann wears the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit) of the Federal Republic of Germany for his services to Opladen; because the small beer event in the pedestrian precinct in Opladen has now become the largest open-air event in the history of the city of Leverkusen and the largest event of this kind anywhere in the world.
Bierborse
Only the large number of beer types from all over the world allow the visitors to sample even unusual varieties.

In more than ten years of development work, the Bierborse has been developed, according to stringent rules and numerous selection criteria, into one of the most successful German public festivals without any blending with other types of event such as funfairs or even junk markets. This also illustrates how it differs from the Munchener Oktoberfest.

Only the large number of beer types from all over the world allow the visitors to sample even unusual varieties. These include, for example, San Miguel from Spain, Efes from Turkey or Corona from Mexico which revive memories of past holiday trips.

The small house breweries whose beers are not often offered on draught outside their brewing locations are also regular guests at the BIERBORSE events. The range on offer is rounded off by the well-known German brands which form the foundation of the Bierborse. This is presented in a cosy beer-garden atmosphere.

The Feast of the Assumption

The Feast of the Assumption is an important day in the Catholic religion. It is the principal feast of the Blessed Virgin, the mother of Jesus Christ. This feast commemorates two events: the departure of Mary from the soul life and the assumption of her body into heaven.

In 1950, Pope Pius XⅡdefined that Mary "after the completion of her earthly life...was assumed body and soul into the glory of Heaven." Her body wasn't allowed to corrupt nor was it allowed to remain in a tomb.

The Feast of the Assumption In the early Christian centuries relics  of saints and those who gave their lives for the faith were jealously guarded and highly prized. Many cities claim the mortal remains of saints, both famous and little-known. But there are no records of Mary's bodily remains being venerated  anywhere.

In the Celtic lands, mid August was harvest time. The festival of Lughnasa was the harvest celebration in honor of  the God of the harvest Lugh who was responsible for the bounties of the harvest. There was singing and drinking and dancing and story telling in gratitude for the harvest and the promise of food to eat during the winter months. In Christian times it became the festival of Mary at Harvest Time because Mary reflected the life giving, life nurturing love of God.

As the Feast of the Immaculate Conception  proclaims the grace of Christ in Mary before he was born, so the Feast of the Assumption points to the fulfillment of that grace, when Mary was taken, body and soul, into heaven to share in the glory of her Son's Resurrection .

Like the mystery of her Immaculate Conception, the Assumption of Mary is significant for all humanity, since she anticipates our resurrection with Christ in glory.

Background of International Youth Day

Celebrate YOUth! On August 12th, 2006, youth around the world will celebrate their achievements, accomplishments, and aspirations by planning and participating in International Youth Day (IYD) activities. This is a day to stand out and be counted as passionate and energetic youth that are creating a better world for all. Use IYD as an opportunity to remind key decision-makers and influential persons of the key role young global citizens play in affecting global change.

This year's theme is "Tackling Poverty Together", tackling commemorating the contribution youth make in our societies, and highlighting the importance of including youth in decision-making. The World Youth Report 2005 states that over 200 million young people, or 18 percent of all youth, live on less than one dollar a day, and that over 88 million youth are unemployed. Although we have some statistics of young people living in poverty, they are frequently overlooked in national poverty reduction strategies.

Moundville Telephone Selects ADTRAN adds Moundville Telephone to customer list

ADTRAN Inc., (NASDAQ:ADTN) says that Moundville Telephone Co., an independent service provider serving West-Central Alabama, will use a range of ADTRAN broadband equipment, including its Total Access 5000 Multi-Service Access and Aggregation Platform (MSAP), to enhance its triple-play and high-speed Internet access service delivery. Moundville will use the Total Access 5000 to expand both its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and DSL infrastructure. The service provider also will leverage the platform for mobile backhaul applications.

ADTRAN says that Moundville selected the Total Access 5000 for its flexibility and its ability to support an evolution from legacy to next-generation services. The platform’s pseudowire aggregation feature also will aid in the support of mobile backhaul applications, the systems supplier adds.

“The Total Access 5000 offers outstanding efficiency and scalability,” said Larry Taylor, general manager, Moundville Telephone. “As one of the most flexible platforms on the market, we will be able to quickly and continuously redefine our access architecture to meet the demands of our customers for a wide variety of applications such as FTTH, broadband, and mobile backhaul.”

Welcome to Father's Day on the Net A Celebration In Honor of All Fathers

Father's Day is a day of commemoration and celebration of Dad. It is a day to not only honor your father, but all men who have acted as a father figure in your life - whether as Stepfathers, Uncles, Grandfathers, or "Big Brothers."

Here for your entertainment are fun Holiday things for you, your dad and your family. We've got some stories to read, holiday craft gift ideas, pictures for the kids to color, and recipes to make!

Father's Day is celebrated in the US on Sunday, June 19, 2011. Other Countries celebrate throughout the year.

The 15th day of the 8th lunar month

The joyous Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, around the time of the autumn equinox（秋分）. Many referred to it simply as the "Fifteenth of the Eighth Moon".
This day was also considered as a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables and grain had been harvested by this time and food was abundant. Food offerings were placed on an altar set up in the courtyard. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates（石榴）, melons, oranges and pomelos（柚子） might be seen. Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro（芋头）and water caltrope（菱角）, a type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. Of all these foods, it could not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The round moon cakes, measuring about three inches in diameter and one and a half inches in thickness, resembled Western fruitcakes in taste and consistency. These cakes were made with melon seeds（西瓜子）, lotus seeds（莲籽）, almonds（杏仁）, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard（猪油）. A golden yolk（蛋黄） from a salted duck egg was placed at the center of each cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival. Traditionally, thirteen moon cakes were piled in a pyramid to symbolize the thirteen moons of a "complete year," that is, twelve moons plus one intercalary（闰月的） moon.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festivity for both the Han and minority nationalities. The custom of worshipping the moon can be traced back as far as the ancient Xia and Shang Dynasties (2000 B.C.-1066 B.C.). In the Zhou Dynasty(1066 B.C.-221 B.C.), people hold ceremonies to greet winter and worship the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival sets in. It becomes very prevalent in the Tang Dynasty(618-907 A.D.) that people enjoy and worship the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), however, people send round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts in expression of their best wishes of family reunion. When it becomes dark, they look up at the full silver moon or go sightseeing on lakes to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368-1644 A.D. ) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911A.D.), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration becomes unprecedented popular. Together with the celebration there appear some special customs in different parts of the country, such as burning incense（熏香）, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting lanterns on towers and fire dragon dances. However, the custom of playing under the moon is not so popular as it used to be nowadays, but it is not less popular to enjoy the bright silver moon. Whenever the festival sets in, people will look up at the full silver moon, drinking wine to celebrate their happy life or thinking of their relatives and friends far from home, and extending all of their best wishes to them.
Moon Cakes

There is this story about the moon-cake. during the Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to the foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Backed into each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attached and overthrew the government. Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend and was called the Moon Cake.
For generations, moon cakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates（枣子）, wrapped in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of the rich tasting dessert. People compare moon cakes to the plum pudding and fruit cakes which are served in the English holiday seasons.
Nowadays, there are hundreds varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of Moon Festival.