The History of remembrance Day In Canada, Remembrance Day is a public holiday and federal statutory holiday, as well as a statutory holiday in all three territories and in eight of the ten provinces (Ontario and Quebec being the exceptions).[8][9][10][11] From 1921 to 1930, the Armistice Day Act provided that Thanksgiving would be observed on Armistice Day, which was fixed by statute on the Monday of the week in which November 11 fell. In 1931, the federal parliament adopted an act to amend the Armistice Day Act, providing that the day should be observed on November 11 and that the day should be known as "Remembrance Day".[12] The federal department of Veterans Affairs Canada states that the date is of "remembrance for the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace"; specifically, the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and all conflicts since then in which members of the Canadian Forces have participated.[13] The department runs a program called Canada Remembers with the mission of helping young and new Canadians, most of whom have never known war, "come to understand and appreciate what those who have served Canada in times of war, armed conflict and peace stand for and what they have sacrificed for their country."[14]

Poppies are laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Remembrance Day in Ottawa The official national ceremonies are held at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, presided over by the Governor General of Canada, any members of the Royal Family (such as Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, in 2009),[15] the Prime Minister, and other dignitaries, observed by the public. Typically, these events begin with the tolling of the Carillon in the Peace Tower, during which current members of the Canadian Forces (CF) arrive at Confederation Square, followed by the Ottawa diplomatic corps, ministers of the Crown, special guests, the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL), the royal party (if present), and the viceregal party. Before the start of the ceremony, four armed sentries and three sentinels (two flag sentinels and one nursing sister) are posted at the foot of the cenotaph.

The Guard of Honour (a member from the Royal Canadian Navy at left and from the Royal Canadian Air Force at right) at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Remembrance Day, 2010 The arrival of the governor general is announced by a trumpeter sounding the "Alert", whereupon the viceroy is met by the Dominion President of the RCL and escorted to a dais to receive the Viceregal Salute, after which the national anthem, "O Canada", is played. The moment of remembrance begins with the bugling of "Last Post" immediately before 11:00 a.m., at which time the gun salute fires and the bells of the Peace Tower toll the hour. Another gun salute signals the end of the two minutes of silence, and cues the playing of a lament, the bugling of "The Rouse," and the reading of the Act of Remembrance. A flypast of Royal Canadian Air Force craft then occurs at the start of a 21-gun salute, upon the completion of which a choir sings "In Flanders Fields". The various parties then lay their wreaths at the base of the memorial; one wreath is set by the Silver Cross Mother, a recent recipient of the Memorial Cross, on behalf of all mothers whose children died in conflicts in which Canada participated. The viceregal and/or royal group return to the dais to receive the playing of the Royal Anthem of Canada, "God Save the Queen", prior to the assembled Armed Forces personnel and veterans performing a march past in front of the viceroy, bringing about the end of the official ceremonies.[16] A tradition of paying more personal tribute has emerged since erection of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the War Memorial in 2000: after the official ceremony the general public place their poppies atop the tomb. Similar ceremonies take place in provincial capitals across the country, officiated by the relevant lieutenant governor, as well as in other cities, towns, and even hotels or corporate headquarters. Schools will usually hold special assemblies for the first half of the day, or on the school day prior, with various presentations concerning the remembrance of the war dead. The largest indoor ceremony in Canada is usually held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with over 9,000 gathering in Credit Union Centre in 2010;[17] the ceremony participants include old guard (veterans), new guard (current members of the CF), and sea, army, and air cadet units.

15 Ingenious Uses for Baking Soda, Beyond the Kitchen!

Baking soda is great for cleaning Ever find yourself searching for secret tricks to get something clean? Well, I do. I found myself wondering a few weeks ago how to get the metal smell off of costume jewelry and how to get the stains off memory foam mattresses. In my searching I ran across secret formulas using baking soda as the cure-all. I gave both recipes a shot and to my surprise my problems were solved. So I hit the world wide web to find out what other uses good ol’ baking soda had. Here are some ingenious uses that have me wanting to load up on baking soda. Here’s the kicker … it’s green! 1. Removing the Metal Smell From Jewelry Add ¼ cup baking soda and hot water to a medium-sized mixing bowl and soak jewelry for 24 hours. Smell is gone and jewelry has a new shine! 2. Removing Urine Stains From Mattresses Add ¼ cup baking soda to 1 quart hydrogen peroxide. Add one squirt of dish soap to a bowl. Mix gently to avoid creating bubbles. Pour mixture into a squirt bottle and spray mattress stains. You don’t need to scrub: as the solution dries, your stains disappear! We tried this trick on our memory foam mattress after failed attempts to scrub with various cleaners. 3. Polish Silver Using three parts baking soda, one part water, and a clean sponge, rub mixture onto your silver and flatware. Rinse and dry thoroughly. 4. Coffee Pots and Tea Pots Use ¼ cup of baking soda in 1 quart warm water. Soak or scrub coffee/tea pots, cups, and machines to remove build up and stains. Nothing like a fresh (and clean) cup of coffee! 5. Remove Crayon From Walls Sprinkle some baking soda on a damp sponge and gently rub on walls. Can also be used on furniture to polish and remove grime … and it’s nonabrasive. 6. Enhance Laundry Detergent Add ½ cup of baking soda to your washing machine along with your normal detergent for an extra boost in cleaning, freshening, and brightening your clothes. 7. Oil Stains on Concrete Remove light oil spots in the garage or driveway by sprinkling baking soda and scrubbing with a wet brush. 8. De-stink the Sports Gear Using ¼ cup baking soda and 1 quart warm water, you can deodorize sports equipment. Rub or squirt mixture on and rinse thoroughly. 9. Deodorize Almost Anything Sprinkle or place open box of baking soda in refrigerator, freezers, lunch boxes, shoes, closets, drains — you name it — to help remove unwanted odors. 10. Carpets Help eliminate the odors and freshen the carpet. Sprinkle liberally and let sit for as long as possible — hours or overnight — then vacuum. Try this on your kids’ mattresses, too. Just sprinkle and vacuum! 11. Toothpaste Boost Sprinkle baking soda on your toothpaste before brushing for an extra boost, or just brush with pure baking soda to help whiten. 12. Body Scrub Use three parts baking soda and one part water for a gentle exfoliator on your face and body in the shower. 13. Hair Cleanser Add a pinch to your shampoo once or twice a week to remove product buildup. 14. Drain Unclogger Pour ½ cup baking soda and ½ cup vinegar down a clogged drain, cover with a wet cloth, and wait five minutes. Then flush with steaming hot water. 15. Linen Closet Freshener Store a box or two of opened baking soda in your linen closet to ward off the mustiness caused by time. These are just a few of the many uses for baking soda beyond the kitchen. I’m always curious to hear about more. What cleaning secrets do you have?

7 Things Parents Say (You’ll Say Them, Too!) You will be surprised at what comes out of your mouth sometimes Before I became a parent, there were so many things I swore I’d never say to my child — many of which I’ve already uttered, even though my child just barely turned two. Below is my list of clichéd things parents say, coming soon to a home near you

1. “Mommy loves/wants/would like you to” etc. Ah, yes — speaking in the third person. It’s not just for Bob Dole anymore. 2. “See, that’s why I told you not to…” Because after-the-fact rationalizations are so effective with a toddler. 3. “Do you want apple juice, orange juice, or grape juice?” This one is a two-fer in that I always swore that a) I wouldn’t give my children oodles of choices about what to eat and drink, and b) I would largely keep them away from the intensive sugar delivery system that is a sippy cup full of juice.

4. “Do you want to pick up your toys now?” Shockingly, the only answer I ever get to this one is “no.” 5. “We don’t hit.” I guess I thought I’d get a perfectly behaved child for whom this admonition wouldn’t be necessary — or maybe that I’d just hypocritically smack her across the bottom if she smacked someone else. Not sure, really, but this statement is part of my repertoire now.

7 Reasons a 1950s Housewife Had it Made Petticoats aside, it was definitely a simpler motherhood

Recently on this very site, a blogger buddy of mine waxed philosophic about how she would have stunk as a 1950s housewife. I totally agree. I definitely am happy to see my husband when he gets home. But as a steeped-in-feminism Gen Xer, the daily lead-up to his arrival, as if he were some combination of George Clooney and the Pope, makes me want to throw up a little. Still, lipstick and petticoats aside, being a housewife back then seems like a far simpler life than now. There are some definite pluses to the 1950s housewife thing. Big ones like these: 1. Letting Yourself Go While I’m sure there was a 1950s-housewife version of letting yourself go, it was nothing like today’s model. If you walked around in a tracksuit the sausage casing industry would envy for its hold and stretch properties, you’d be brought up on indecency charges. 2. Discipline and Spanking Mrs. Fifties Housewife did not agonize over discipline. No poring over the child-rearing literature of the day. No wishing she had a Ph. D. in child psychology. Johnny did something bad. Mommy got pissed off. Johnny got a spanking, either from Mommy, or it was a “wait until your father gets home” kind of deal. All Johnny’s friends got spankings and grew up to be normal men with normal issues. Period, end of report. 3. Simple Food Food was way simpler for our ’50s counterparts. They went to the grocery store and bought food. No worrying about killing the fam with processed food. No need to take out bank loans to eat organic. If they lived a farm-to-table lifestyle, it was because they lived on a FARM, went out back and picked or killed something, and put it on their TABLE. Even the Martha Stewarts of the time didn’t make a home-cooked meal look like something from a Civil War prison camp. 4. Going to Bed Hungry Mrs. Fifties Housewife served her family their simple food. Everyone was expected to eat it (except, presumably, the King of the Castle.) If a child was sent away from the table, he went to bed hungry. If a child refused to eat, she went to bed hungry. No confusion and delay for a 9 p.m. snack. If a kid made his hungry bed, he lay in it. All night long. Because it was that or else he got one of those definitely-not-a-catalyst-for-therapy-in-20-years spankings. 5. Being Honest With Your Child If your kid did something bad, wrong, or stupid, you said it was bad, wrong, or stupid. And while this might have been bad, wrong, and stupid parenting, no one did any differently. You just told your kids the God’s honest and went off to play canasta with your buddies Joyce, Myrtle, and Phyllis. There were things to stress over, but this wasn’t one of them. 6. Men and Housework Back then men and housework were like oil and water — they simply didn’t mix. Men weren’t expected to do much in the way of housework, so most didn’t. No cooking, no cleaning, and very little childcare. Many contemporary women are seething because they expect so much from their husbands. The 1950s housewife knew it was all her show — she wasn’t expecting a co-star. Way easier on the emotions. You can’t be disappointed when you don’t expect anything, right? 7. Supermom Had it Easy To the 1950s housewife, being Supermom would have meant keeping her house clean, and keeping herself, her children, and her husband well-dressed, well-fed, and well-groomed. Supermom led a simpler life. It did not mean keeping a home worthy of HGTV, while rocking the body of a 19-year-old. Nor did it mean having having an income generating “hobby,” and gorgeous, designer-clad, organically-fed, involved-in-a-minimum-of-five-activities kids. That was science fiction.

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The History of Father’s Day It would be interesting to know how Father's Day came into practice and celebrated worldwide with an equal sincerity and respect as any other significant holidays. Here's a short history on the holiday, and meaning of the different colors of roses to be worn that Day. You may even refer the page to others to share the information by clicking on the link given below. About 4,000 years ago a young boy named Elmusu wished his Babylonian father good health and a long life by carving a Father's Day message on a card made out of clay. No one knows what happened to Elmesu or his father, but the tradition of having a special day honoring fathers has continued through the years in countries across the world. The Countries, where the Catholic Church were of significant influence on the culture of the society, Father's Day is celebrated on St. Joseph's Day (March 19). However, a more secular celebration which is not associated with any religion is followed in recent times to highlight the increased diversity among people from all over the globe coexisting together in one place. Father's Day is celebrated popularly on 3rd Sunday in June in many parts of the world. The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. President Nixon, in 1972, established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. So Father's Day was born as a token of love and gratitude that a daughter cherishes for her beloved father. Roses are the Father's Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died.