On This Day October 31st

 OTD

October 30th is the 304th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 61 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba catches fire and is burned down.

1517 – Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.

1837 – Approximately 300 Muscogee died in the steamboat Monmouth disaster on the Trail of Tears in the United States.

1864 – Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.

1907 – The Parliament of Finland approved the Prohibition Act, but the law was not implemented because Tsar Nicholas II of Russia did not ratify it.

1913 – Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile highway across the United States.

1917 – World War I: Battle of Beersheba: The "last successful cavalry charge in history".

1923 – The first 160 days of 100° Fahrenheit at Marble Bar, Western Australia.

1940 – World War II: The Battle of Britain ends, causing Germany to abandon Operation Sea Lion.

1968 – Vietnam War October surprise: Citing progress with the Paris peace talks, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam," effective November 1.

1999 – Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop, and unassisted.

2011 – The global population of humans reaches seven billion. The United Nations now recognizes this day as the Day of Seven Billion.

 

Birthdays

1472 – Wang Yangming, Chinese Neo-Confucian scholar (d. 1529)

1620 – John Evelyn, English gardener and author (d. 1706)

1711 – Laura Bassi, Italian physician, physicist, and academic (d. 1778)

1795 – John Keats, English poet (d. 1821)

1815 – Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician and academic (d. 1897)

1856 – Charles Leroux, American balloonist and skydiver (d. 1889)

1912 – Ollie Johnston, American animator and voice actor (d. 2008)

1936 – Michael Landon, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1991)

1950 – John Candy, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1994)

1951 – Nick Saban, American football player and coach

1963 – Mikkey Dee, Swedish hard rock drummer and musician.

1966 – Ad-Rock, American rapper, producer, and actor.

 

Holiday Spotlight

Samhain

  For the ancient Celts, Samhain was an agricultural festival that marked when summer ended, and people took stock of the food before winter. With the end of the harvest season, it was also considered a time of supernatural intensity when the forces of darkness walked on Earth.

 Ancient Celtic people used to build large bonfires, hoping to please the gods, who would safeguard their livestock and harvest in return. It is also a festival of separation between summer and winter, the light and the dark. It was believed that the regular order of the universe was suspended during Samhain. The barrier between the physical world and the spirit world ceased to exist during this day, which allowed for communication between humans and spirits.

 To avoid the spirits, Celts disguised themselves in costumes of animal heads, skins, and horns so that souls would consider them fellow supernatural beings, not humans. Animals were sacrificed to please the Celtic deities, and people used to take coal from the central fire of bonfires to light their hearths.

 In the 7th century, Pope Boniface IV created All Saints Day, which a century later was moved to November 11 — it acted as a Christian substitute for Samhain. Before the saintly celebration was observed on the day of All Hallows Eve or Halloween and from Celtic regions, the holiday started to spread to other places. By the 1800s, the fall festival, which marked the seasonal harvest, began to have Halloween elements. Irish immigrants escaping the Potato Famine brought many Halloween traditions to America, popularizing this festival.

 

Others Include

All Hallows Eve

Beggars' Night

Books For Treats Day

Carve a Pumpkin Day

Day of the Seven Billion

Girl Scout Founder's Day

 

Magic Day

National Caramel Apple Day

National Doorbell Day

National Increase Your Psychic Powers Day

National Knock Knock Jokes Day

Reformation Day

Save a Friend Day

Sneak Some of the Candy Yourself Before the Kids Start Knocking Day

Trick or Treat for UNICEF Day

World Cities Day

World Savings Day

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