Sunday, the 14th of December, 2014 is the 348th day in 2014 and in the 50th calendar week.
Halcyon Days 2014 (Always 7 days before and 7 days after the shortest day of the year)
December 14–28, 2014 in the World
In Greek mythology, Alcyone was the daughter of Aeolus, either by Enarete or Aegiale. She married Ceyx, son of Eosphorus, the Morning Star. They were very happy together in Trachis, and according to Pseudo-Apollodorus’s account, often sacrilegiously called each other “Zeus” and “Hera”. This angered Zeus, so while Ceyx was at sea (going to consult an oracle according to Ovid’s account), the god threw a thunderbolt at his ship. Soon after, Morpheus (god of dreams) disguised as Ceyx appeared to Alcyone as an apparition to tell her of his fate, and she threw herself into the sea in her grief. Out of compassion, the gods changed them both into halcyon birds, named after her.
Ovid and Hyginus both also make the metamorphosis the origin of the etymology for “halcyon days”, the seven days in winter when storms never occur. They state that these were originally the 14 days each year (seven days on either side of the shortest day of the year during which Alcyone (as a kingfisher) laid her eggs and made her nest on the beach and during which her father Aeolus, god of the winds, restrained the winds and calmed the waves so she could do so in safety. The phrase has since come to refer to any peaceful time. Its proper meaning, however, is that of a lucky break, or a bright interval set in the midst of adversity; just as the days of calm and mild weather are set in the height of winter for the sake of the kingfishers’ egglaying.
General Events:
Monkey Day 2014
December 14, 2014 in the World
Monkey Day is an unofficial holiday observed on December 14, 2014. The day takes place annually and is celebrated internationally. It was started in 2000 by Casey Sorrow. On December 14th he jokingly scribbled Monkey Day on a friend’s calendar. Lansing residents and students off Michigan State University started to celebrate Monkey Day.
The day gained notoriety when Casey Sorrow and Eric Millikin’s own comic strip began promoting it along with other cartoonists. Monkey Day is celebrated in many different countries around the world, primarily with costume parties. It is intended to help draw attention to issues related to simians, including medical research and animal rights. The holiday cuts across religious boundaries and provides opportunities to share monkey stories and contemplate our simian relatives. Hallmark Cards describes it as the day, when monkey business is encouraged.
Where is the event?
Worldwide
Alabama Day 2014
December 14, 2014 in Alabama
Alabama Day is celebrated on December 14, 2014. It commemorates Alabama’s admittance to the Union as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819. The Alabama Legislature adopted a resolution calling for the observance of the day in 1923, at the urging of the Alabama Department of Education and Alabama Department of Archives and History.
Where is Alabama Day?
Nationwide Alabama
National Bouillabaisse Day
December 14, 2014 in the USA
Today is National Bouillabaisse Day! Bouillabaisse is a tasty fish stew that originated in Marseilles, France around 600 B.C. At that time, Marseilles was a Greek colony so the stew was originally called “kakavia.” Bouillabaisse also appears in Roman mythology as a soup that Venus feeds to Vulcan. Today, bouillabaisse is an extremely popular dish in the Mediterranean region.
Marseille fishermen typically make the dish when they return to port. Rather than using the more expensive fish that they catch, they use common fish like rockfish and shellfish. Different herbs and spices such as garlic, orange peel, basil, saffron, and bay leaf are added to the soup for flavor. Vegetables like tomatoes, onions, celery, and potatoes were added to the recipe during the 17th century.
To celebrate today, try your hand at making your own bouillabaisse stew for your family to enjoy!
Where is National Bouillabaisse Day?
Nationwide USA
Historical Events on 14th December:
1287 – During St. Lucia’s Flood in Northwest Netherlands the Zuiderzee seawall collapses with loss of over 50,000 lives. Fifth largest recorded flood in history
1542 – Princess Mary Stuart succeeds her father James V and becomes Queen Mary I of Scotland at 6 days old
1656 – Artificial pearls 1st manufactured by M Jacquin in Paris made of gypsum pellets covered with fish scales
1702 – The Forty-seven Ronin, under the command of Oishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master
1897 – Emilio Aguinaldo signs the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, to end hostilities and dissolve his government, in exchange for amnesty and “$800,000 (Mexican)” as an indemnity
1900 – Birth of Quantum Physics: Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law.
1900 – France and Italy sign a secret agreement by which Italy recognizes France’s right to exploit Morocco in return for France’s conceding her the same right in Tripoli
1911 – South Pole 1st reached, by Norwegian Roald Amundsen
1927 – Iraq gains independence from Britain, but British troops remain
1937 – Japanese troops conquer/plunder Nanjing
1939 – Soviet Union attacks Finland-League of Nations drops Soviet Union
1946 – UN General Assembly votes to establish UN HQs in NYC
1960 – Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) forms
1967 – DNA created in a test tube
1976 – Oil tanker Argo Merchant runs aground on the Nantucket Shoals, spilling 7.6 million US gallons (29,000 m3) of No. 6 fuel oil
1977 – Egyptian & Israeli representatives gather in Cairo for first formal peace conference
1981 – Israel annexes Golan Heights (seized from Syria in war of 1967)
1987 – Chrysler pleads no contest to selling driven vehicles as new
1990 – Right to Die case permits Nancy Cruzan to have her feeding tube removed, she dies 12 days later
1995 – Yugoslav Wars: The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris by leaders of various governments ending the conflict in former Yugoslavia
2003 – President George W. Bush announces the capture of Saddam Hussein.
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