15 | December | 2013 | M'chelsMusings

Bill of Rights Day
December 15, 2013 in the World

A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term “bill of rights” originates from England, where it refers to the Bill of Rights enacted by Parliament in 1689, following the Glorious Revolution, asserting the supremacy of Parliament over the monarch, and listing a number of fundamental rights and liberties.

Bills of rights may be entrenched or unentrenched. An entrenched bill of rights cannot be modified or repealed by a country’s legislature through normal procedure, instead requiring a supermajority or referendum; often it is part of a country’s constitution and therefore subject to special procedures applicable to constitutional amendments. A not entrenched bill of rights is a normal statute law and as such can be modified or repealed by the legislature at will. In practice, not every jurisdiction enforces the protection of the rights articulated in its bill of rights.

Bill of Rights: (Info)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_rights

Where is Bill of Rights Day?
Worldwide

Esperanto Day 2013
December 15, 2013 in the World

Esperanto Day, also called Zamenhof Day, is celebrated on December 15, 2013. The 15th December is the birthday of Esperanto creator L. L. Zamenhof. It is the most widely celebrated day in Esperanto culture. Esperanto is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. The first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, was published on July 26, 1887.

Estimates of Esperanto speakers range from 10,000 to 2,000,000 active or fluent speakers, as well as perhaps a thousand native speakers, that is, people who learned Esperanto from birth as one of their native languages. Many Esperanto speakers buy an extra Esperanto book around Zamenhof’s birthday. There are also special Esperanto gatherings and parties throughout the world to celebrate the occasion, which is used as a reason for Esperantists to get together during the holiday season.

Some Esperanto speakers, not wanting to over-celebrate the achievements of a single man, have suggested celebrating 15 December as Esperanto Literature Day instead Zamenhof Day. Thus they encourage Esperanto organizations that hold gatherings on that day to add a book review or poetry reading to the program or to announce the publication of a new book. On an individual level, one can buy or start reading a new book or in some other way celebrate Esperanto literature.

Where is Esperanto Day?
Worldwide

Koninkrijksdag
December 15, 2013 in Netherlands

Koninkrijksdag is observed on December 15, 2013. Koninkrijksdag is the commemoration of the signing of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 15 December 1954 in Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten. When 15 December falls on a Sunday, the commemoration takes place on Monday 16 December. Kingdom Day is, unlike Koninginnedag, not an official national holiday, but government buildings are instructed to fly the flag of the Netherlands without pennant.

Where is Koninkrijksdag?
Nationwide Netherlands

Remembrance Day of Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty
December 15, 2013 in Russia

Remembrance Day of Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty is observed on December 15, 2013. The day was established by the Union of Journalists of Russia in 1991, following the deaths of journalist Viktor Nogin and cameraman Gennadi Kurennoy in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in September that year. In Moscow the day is observed at Nikitsky Boulevard. According to representatives of the Union of Journalists of Russia, between 10 and 20 journalists are killed each year in Russia under various circumstances.

Where is Remembrance Day of Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty?
Nationwide Russia

Lemon Cupcake Day
December 15, 2013 in the USA

National Lemon Cupcake Day is celebrated on December 15th each year.

A cupcake (British English: fairy cake; Australian English: patty cake or cup cake) is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations, such as sprinkles, are common on cupcakes. Lemon cupcakes should have a nice warm lemony flavor; not too tart, not too sweet, but just right.

Where is National Lemon Cupcake Day?
Nationwide USA

Historical Events:

533 – Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Ticameron.

1256 – Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran as part of the Mongol offensive on Islamic southwest Asia.

1593 – State of Holland grants patent on windmill with crankshaft

1612 – Simon Marius, is 1st to observe Andromeda galaxy through a telescope

1680 – Tax revolt on Terschelling due to tax on cereal

1791 – Bill of Rights ratified when Virginia gave its approval

1859 – GR Kirchoff describes chemical composition of Sun

1877 – Thomas Edison patents phonograph

1891 – James Naismith invents basketball (Canada)

1939 – “Gone With the Wind” premieres in Atlanta

1939 – 1st commercial manufacture of nylon yarn, Seaford, Delaware

1942 – Massachusetts issues 1st US vehicular license plate tabs

1944 – Bandleader, Major Glenn Miller, lost over English Channel

1952 – Christine Jorgenson is 1st person to undergo a sex-change operation