On This Day January 5th

 OTD

January 5th is the fifth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 360 days remain until the end of the year.

 

 Events

1781 – American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold.

1875 – The Palais Garnier, one of the most famous opera houses in the world, is inaugurated in Paris.

1895 – Dreyfus affair: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.

1914 – The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and minimum daily wage of $5 in salary plus bonuses.

1933 – Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.

1944 – The Daily Mail becomes the first major London newspaper published on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

1972 – US President Richard Nixon announces the Space Shuttle program.

2005 – The dwarf planet Eris is discovered by Palomar Observatory-based astronomers, later motivating the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to define the term planet for the first time.

 

Birthdays

1209 – Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, English prince, nominal King of Germany (d. 1272)

1548 – Francisco Suárez, Spanish priest, philosopher, and theologian (d. 1617)

1767 – Jean-Baptiste Say, French economist and academic (d. 1832)

1779 – Stephen Decatur, American commander (d. 1820)

1855 – King Camp Gillette, American businessman, founded the Gillette Company (d. 1932)

1904 – Jeane Dixon, American astrologer and psychic (d. 1997)

1914 – George Reeves, American actor and director (d. 1959)

1923 – Sam Phillips, American radio host and producer, founded Sun Records (d. 2003)

1928 – Walter Mondale, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 42nd Vice President of the United States (d. 2021)

1932 – Chuck Noll, American football player and coach (d. 2014)

1948 – Ted Lange, American actor, director, and screenwriter

1959 – Clancy Brown, American actor

 

Holiday Spotlight

  The origin of Twelfth Night can be traced to the Eastern Church, where it was first celebrated to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. The Eastern Church, known as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is primarily found in Western Asia, Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Balkans, and the Caucasus. However, as early as the second century, Christ’s birth was celebrated in Rome on December 25.

 A council of priests in Rome declared the twelve days of Christmas in the fourth century, which included Christmas Day and Epiphany. The Epiphany holiday was held to commemorate the three wise men's visit to baby Jesus in the manger. According to historians, one of the motives for this proclamation was to assist the Roman administration in aligning its solar Julian calendar with the lunar calendars of the Eastern provinces.

 In Tudor England, Candlemas (February 2) was traditionally the end of the Christmas season. But that later changed to Epiphany’s eve, also the Twelfth Night. The introduction of Epiphany in England led to the creation of a new season called Epiphanytide that ran from January 5 or 6 to Candlemas. In colonial America, it was a tradition to take down the Christmas decorations at the end of the 12 days of Christmas and eat any edible part of the decorations.

 On February 2, 1602, William Shakespeare performed his play, “Twelfth Night or What You Will,” at Middle Temple Hall. Although the performance was on Candlemas, many believed the play was written as a Twelfth Night entertainment.

 

.Other Include

Carver Day

Monopoly Game Day

National Bird Day

National Keto Day

National Screenwriters Day

National Whipped Cream Day

Twelfth Night

Harbin Ice Festival