Lent

Conventionally, it is described as being forty days long, though different denominations calculate the forty days differently. The forty days represent the time that, according to the Bible, Jesus spent in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan.^[1]

This practice was virtually universal in Christendom until the Protestant Reformation.^[2] Some Protestant churches do not observe Lent, but most, such as Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Anglicans, andEpiscopalians, do.

Read more: Wikipedia

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival celebrated primarily in Canada and the United States. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. While perhaps religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.

The date and location of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. The traditional “first Thanksgiving” is the celebration that occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621. The Plymouth celebration occurred early in the history of what would become one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States. The celebration became an important part of the American myth by the 1800s.^{[citation needed]} This Thanksgiving, modeled after celebrations that were commonplace in contemporary Europe, is generally regarded as America’s first. Elementary school teacher Robyn Gioia has argued that the earliest attested “thanksgiving” celebration in what is now the United States was celebrated by the Spanish on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida.^[1][2] Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends.

Read more: Thanksgiving at Wikipedia
Image: Wikipedia

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Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

Read more at Wikipedia. (Photo: http://www.history.com)

By Katherine Evangelista, Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 08:05:00 04/20/2009

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines—(UPDATE 2) Twin explosions rocked a bridge here before dawn Monday, causing heavy damage to the bridge and nearby establishments, a police official said.

Chief Superintendent Danilo Empedrad, northern Mindanao regional police director, said the incident occurred around 2 a.m. at the left side of Agus Bridge in Barangay (village) Maria Cristina.

A minute later, another bomb exploded at the right side of the same bridge, which connects the city to Lanao Del Norte.

The military suspects that members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front were behind the two explosions in Iligan City early Monday.

Colonel Benito De Leon, Army 104th Brigade chief, said the attack occurred amid threats of bombings in the city.

Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman of the Eastern Mindanao Command, said the bridge has been declared not passable.

“Nobody (else) specializes in such a terrorist operation (other) than the LMGs (lawless MILF groups). Initially their involvement is being looked into by PNP investigators,” said Cabangbang.

However, he did not specify which MILF command the military suspects to be behind the latest bombing.

He added that PNP and the Philippine Army Explosives and Ordnance Teams have been deployed to the crime scene to investigate.

The incident caused heavy damage to the bridge, adjacent houses, and the Napocor (National Power Corporation) warehouse.

The bridge is now cordoned by members of police and Armed Forces of the Philippines to conduct post-blast investigation.

Traffic has already been diverted, Empedrad said.

Mayor Lawrence Cruz said authorities could not say yet if the explosion caused serious structural damage to the bridge that would compromise public safety.

Cruz urged citizens to be vigilant in the wake of the explosion.

In 2008, three people died and more than 40 were wounded when suspected Moro rebels bombed a shopping mall here.

———-

Photo: http://www.bworldonline.com/

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

(Psalm 100:1-5 RSV)

Park benches are strewn about in downtown Houston Saturday during Hurricane Ike.

As of Saturday afternoon, the Galveston Fire Department had taken 27 people to a shelter in a high school on the coastal island, which was without electricity or water pressure.

No casualties had been discovered so far in the search and rescue efforts, which have been hampered by heavy flooding and scattered debris.

Galveston had ordered evacuation of the island, but Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc said about 40 percent of the city’s 57,523 residents chose to stay.

LeBlanc said the island would be closed while authorities assess damages, including to the causeway, which was in “bad shape” because of debris and road damage.

“The road buckled in a number of places,” LeBlanc said. “Even if we opened it up you couldn’t get through.”

Read more Ike wears itself out beating up on Texas

BEULAH, N.D. – Oscar Stohler was raised in a sod house in western North Dakota and ranched there for nearly seven decades. He never gave much thought to what lay below the grass that fattened his cattle.

When oilmen wanted to drill there last year, Stohler, 83, doubted oil would be found two miles underground on his property. He even joked about it.

“I told them if they hit oil, I was going to buy a Cadillac convertible and put those big horns on the front and wear a 10-gallon hat,” Stohler recalled.

He still drives his old pickup and wears a mesh farm cap — but it’s by choice.

Read more of: Oil is making millionaires in North Dakota
(AP Photo/James MacPherson)