Seasonal Sayings

“In the early days of our race, the Almighty said to the first of our race, ‘In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread’; and since then, if we except the light and the air of heaven, no good thing has been, or can be enjoyed by us, without having first cost labor.”

— Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

Wednesday, Sept. 17: Citizenship Day
Citizenship Day commemorates the signing of the Constitution by delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

Saturday, Sept. 27: Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a time of spiritual repentance and renewal. The sounding of the ram’s horn—the shofar—during the New Year’s service, symbolizes a summons to both.

Thursday, Oct. 9: Leif Erikkson Day
Leif Eriksson Day marks the achievement of Viking voyagers commanded by Eriksson who sailed, possibly by mistake, to the coast of North America in the year 1000 A.D., nearly 500 years before Columbus. Eriksson, struck by the lush vegetation, called his discovery Vinland, which means “Wooded Land.” In 1963, the remains of a Viking settlement that may well have been Vinland were found on the northernmost tip of Newfoundland.

Monday, Oct. 13: Columbus Day
“ ... day after day passed with the same monotonous winds driving the ships westward. His crews became frightened. Weeks passed without the promised land. Mutiny was secretly plotted among the men. But Columbus remained master of the situation."

— From The Pageant of America: Adventures In the Wilderness by Wissler, Skinner and Wood

Friday, Oct. 24: United Nations Day
United Nations Day marks the day in 1945 that the U.N. Charter took effect.