On This Day January 15th

 OTD

January 15th is the Fifteenth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 350 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for spreading the "Holy Catholic faith."

1559 – Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England and Ireland in Westminster Abbey, London.

1759 – The British Museum opens to the public.

1782 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addresses the U.S. Congress to recommend establishing a national mint and decimal coinage.

1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.

1892 – James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.

1919 – Great Molasses Flood: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150.

1947 – The Black Dahlia murder: The dismembered corpse of Elizabeth Short was found in Los Angeles.

1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.

1991 – as Queen of Australia, Elizabeth II signed a letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth realm to institute its own Victoria Cross in its honors system.

Birthdays

1622 – Molière, French actor and playwright (d. 1673)

1754 – Richard Martin, Irish activist and politician, co-founded the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (d. 1834)

1850 – Leonard Darwin, English soldier, eugenicist, and politician (d. 1943)

1895 – Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)

1909 – Gene Krupa, American drummer, composer, and actor (d. 1973)

1924 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 2013)

1929 – Martin Luther King Jr., American minister and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)

1984 – Ben Shapiro is an American author and commentator.

 

Holiday Spotlight

 MAKAR SANKRANTI

  Hindus have celebrated this festival since ancient times. Details of this festival are also mentioned in Hindu religious texts and documents.

 According to one popular legend, this festival originated because people celebrated a demon’s downfall. As the story goes, a particularly murderous demon named Sankarasur would torture and kill humans for no reason. Hearing this, a goddess named Sankranti came down to Earth and vanquished him. Ever since then, Hindus have held this festival in her name.

 People also worship the Sun god, Surya, on this day since the sun has much to do with the changing season. From this day on, the sun starts moving northwards.

 The festivities themselves have multiple traditions and legends attached to them. One prominent tradition centers around kite-flying under the sun. People believe this practice cleanses bodies of infections and germs after a long winter.

 Traditional sweet dishes are consumed today, a tradition with a legend attached to it. The Sun god Surya never quite got along with his son, Shani. On this day, however, they decide to let bygones be bygones, and Surya visits Shani’s home, carrying sweets as a mark of forgiveness. And so, Hindus eat and distribute sweets to loved ones.

 Another tradition for which this festival is famous is the spiritual element. People believe that holy waters — and a cleansing dip in them — are essential to Makar Sankranti celebrations. On mass pilgrimages, they visit sacred rivers like the Ganga and Yamuna in India.

 Across many parts of India, this season means the early stages of the agricultural cycle, when crops have been sown, and the hard work in the fields is almost complete. Therefore, this time signifies a period of socializing and families enjoying each other’s company.

 

Other Include

Alpha Kappa Alpha Day

Blue Monday

Civil Rights Day

Elementary School Teacher Day

Hat Day

Humanitarian Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

National Bagel Day

National Booch Day

National Crowd Feed Day

National Fresh Squeezed Juice Day

Robert E. Lee Day

Strawberry Ice Cream Day

Wikipedia Day

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