On This Day February 11th

 OTD

February 11th is the Forty-second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 323 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

660 BC is the traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.

55 – The mysterious death of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman Empire, on the eve of his coming of age clears the way for Nero to become Emperor.

1586 – Sir Francis Drake, with an English force, captures and occupies the Spanish colonial port of Cartagena de Indias for two months, obtaining a ransom and booty.

1794 – The first session of the United States Senate opens to the public.

1823 – Carnival tragedy of 1823: About 110 boys are killed during a stampede at the Convent of the Minori Osservanti in Valletta, Malta.

1889 – The Meiji Constitution of Japan is adopted.

1938 – BBC Television produces the world's first-ever science fiction television program, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Čapek play R.U.R. that coined the term "robot."

1953 – Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower denies all appeals for clemency for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

1963 — The Beatles recorded their first album, Please Please Me

1990 – Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa, after 27 years as a political prisoner.

1990 – Buster Douglas, a 42:1 underdog, knocks out Mike Tyson in ten rounds at Tokyo to win boxing's world Heavyweight title.

2013 – The Vatican confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI would resign from the papacy due to his advanced age.

 

Birthdays

1657 – Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, French poet and playwright (d. 1757)

1800 – Henry Fox Talbot, English photographer and politician, invented the calotype (d. 1877)

1813 – Otto Ludwig, German author, playwright, and critic (d. 1865)

1847 – Thomas Edison, an American engineer and businessman, developed the light bulb and phonograph (d. 1931)

1888 – John Warren Davis, American educator, college administrator, and civil rights leader (d. 1980)

1909 – Max Baer, American boxer and actor (d. 1959)

1934 – Tina Louise was an American actress and singer.

1936 – Burt Reynolds, American actor and director (d. 2018)

1962 – Sheryl Crow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1991 – Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Canadian football player and medical doctor

 

Holiday Spotlight

Fastelavn has been taking place in February every year since Lent started being observed. It is related to the Roman Catholic tradition of Carnival, which takes place before Lent, although the festival has had specific distinctive characteristics since Denmark became a Protestant nation. It occurs the week before the Christian season of Lent, ending on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent.

While it is primarily a Danish celebration, the festivity traditions may vary somewhat across the countries and regions, with some traditions changing over time. The word comes from the Old Danish term ‘fastelaghen,’ which comes from the Middle Low German term ‘vastel-avent’ (‘fast evening’). Its other variants include Dutch Vastenavond, Kölsch Fastelovend, Limburgish Vastelaovend, Scots Fastens-een, and Latvian Vastlāvji.

Similar traditions of the carnival ball celebrations in all countries include children dressing up in costumes and walking door-to-door collecting treats for the feast while singing the Fastelavn song through it all. The song is about sweet buns, specifically Lent buns, or ‘Fastelavnsboller,’ as they call it, but the kids are offered candy or money as they sing. We know what you’re thinking: that sounds like a specific spooky holiday celebrated on the last day of October. You’re right; some people call Fastelavn a hybrid of Halloween and carnival. Another tradition apart from singing kids is called ‘slå katten af tønden’ (hit the cat out of the barrel). Similar to the concept of a piñata, it occurs after the church service of Shrove Sunday in Denmark.

 

Others Include.

Autism Sunday - also known as International Day of Prayer for Autism and Asperger's Syndrome - February 11, 2024 (Second Sunday in February)

Be Electrify Day

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day

Get Out Your Guitar Day

Grandmother Achievement Day

International Day of Women & Girls in Science

Make A Friend's Day

Man Day -                                                                                                          

National Inventor's Day

National Make-a-Friend Day

National Shut-in Visitation Day

Peppermint Patty Day

Pro Sports Wives Day

Promise Day

Satisfied Staying Single Day

Super Bowl Sunday

Super Chicken Wing Day

White T-Shirt Day

World Day of the Sick

World Marriage Day

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