Veganuary Month 2022

Every year since 2014, vegans all over the world have been promoting “Veganuary” as a month-long celebration of the vegan lifestyle that focuses on the vegan diet.

Although being vegan entails omitting all animal products, not just those used in food, the main goal of “Veganuary Month” is changing people’s diets, allowing participants to move onto avoiding animal products in other lifestyle products more gradually.

A common misconception about being vegan is that the diet has to be unappealing, boring and consisting of salads and fruits, three meals a day, 7 days a week. That is so far from the truth!

Although the vegan diet does center around plant-based foods (fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts and seeds), which, according to numerous studies, leads towards an optimum health, there are now thousands of alternative vegan versions of animal products, including cheese, meat, milk, and eggs. Therefore vegans can continue to eat all the things they love such as pizza, burgers, mac and cheese and ice-cream without eating animal products.

Aside from avoiding foods that contain meat, dairy, eggs and honey, vegans also try to avoid buying or using products that contain animal ingredients, materials that have been derived from animals or products that have been tested on animals.

To find out more about “Veganuary”, visit the websites linked below:

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/veganuary-month/
https://veganuary.com/about/about-us/
https://www.vegansociety.com/take-action/campaigns/veganuary-2021
https://www.cnet.com/health/nutrition/veganuary-2022-what-to-know-about-the-one-month-vegan-challenge/

Let me know your thoughts about veganism and the “month of Veganuary”.

Human rights month and day

In December of 1948, the United nations General Assembly put forth 30 articles that cover everything from rights to education, freedom, health, and more. Since this event, these articles have served to help protect civilians in time of war or dictatorship, to help bring POW’s home, and to ensure that people everywhere are allowed to live in liberty and safety.

While December is the official Universal Human Rights Month, the 10th of December is Human Rights Day.

2021’s Human Rights Day theme relates to ‘Equality’ and Article 1 of the UDHR – “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

Click the links below to find out more about Human Rights Day and how to celebrate it:

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/human-rights-day/
https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-rights-day
https://www.ohchr.org/en/aboutus/pages/humanrightsday.aspx
https://nationaldaycalendar.com/human-rights-day-december-10/

YouCare.world – transform your online searches into good deeds

I’ve recently discovered a new online project that I really enjoy and would like to tell you about it. It’s a search engine called YouCare (having the url https://www.youcare.world) created with the purpose of transforming your research into good deeds.

YouCare – Turn Your Searches Into Good Deeds

Powered by Microsoft’s search engine, YouCare donates 80% of the money it earns from the advertisements linked to the search results to various charities. Each user is allowed to select whether they want the money earned from his/her searches to be donated to a certain good deed, as well as to choose a specific organization from a list presented by YouCare.

YouCare – Choose Your Good Deed

Learn more about YouCare and see proof of their donations by clicking here. Here’s their Instagram page as well.

I invite you to download their app from Google Play and/or Apple’s App Store.

Let me know what you think about the YouCare project in the comments.

Dwarfism Awareness Month – October, 2021

While International Dwarfism Awareness Day is observed every year on the 25th of October, the entire month of October is Dwarfism Awareness Month. One great way to participate in Dwarfism Awareness Day is by learning more about dwarfism.

In 1957, actor Billy Barty and some of his friends founded an organization for people with dwarfism, called Little People of America (LPA). In 2012, LPA wanted to honor Billy Barty, so they created International Dwarfism Awareness Day, choosing Barty’s birthday (October 25th) as the official date.

Considering the complexity of the topic, I’d rather only list the basics and leave you with a few links to some websites where you can deepen your knowledge.

  1. Dwarfism is a condition characterized by short stature, usually resulting in an adult height of four-feet, 10-inches or shorter. For children, this means being below the height growth curve for their age, which would be less than the 3rd percentile.
  2. The terms usually preferred by people with this condition are “short-statured” or “little person” rather than “​dwarf.” The term “midget” is considered to be offensive by the majority of people.
  3. There are several hundred genetic diseases that can cause dwarfism, but the most frequent ones are listed on this page in alphabetical order.
  4. Achondroplasia makes up 70% of all cases of dwarfism and affects about one of every 25,000 to 30,000 newborns. Achondroplasia is caused by a problem with the gene that allows the body to convert cartilage to bone while growing, especially in the long bones. The word achondroplasia comes from Latin and literally means “without cartilage formation.”.

If you want to learn more, I invite you to explore the following sites:

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/international-dwarfism-awareness-day-october-25/
https://www.lpaonline.org/dwarfism-awareness-month
https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-many-types-of-dwarfism-are-there-2860725
https://www.webmd.com/children/dwarfism-causes-treatments

What is celebrated in September?

I’ve been on hiatus for a while due to health problems, but I haven’t completely abandoned this blog.

This article should have been posted at the beginning of September, so I would like to apologize for its late publication, as the month has already reached its middle.

Regardless, it is still September, and it’s a busy month. Lots of things are being celebrated and/or observed during this second month of Autumn (including my birthday), and I would like to present a brief list of things that have September as their official month.

  • Hunger Action Month – established in 2008 in the USA, with the goal of tackling the hunger crisis across the country, Hunger Action Month is celebrated by helping raise awareness of hunger as a problem that needs to be solved. You can learn more about it here: https://www.feedingamerica.org/take-action/hunger-action-month
  • Friendship Month – started about a decade ago, Friendship Month aims to celebrate everything that is great about friendship. From strengthening current friendships to making new ones, to reaching out to old friends you’ve been meaning to reconnect with for a long time, the ways you can celebrate Friendship Month are numerous. Find out what Friendship Month is all about here: https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/oddfellows-friendship-month-2021/
  • Suicide Prevention Month – there is no need to explain why raising awareness and opening the dialogue about suicide is important in today’s society. September is recognized annually as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. As part of that, Sept. 5-11 is recognized as National Suicide Prevention Week and Sept. 10 as World Suicide Prevention Day. Organizations like the National Alliance of Mental Illness work every year to help raise awareness of the difficulty and pain of those who attempt suicide.

For a longer list of monthly observances for the month of September, I invite you to visit the following sites:

https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/2021/09/
https://nationaldaycalendar.com/september-monthly-observances/

Be An Angel Day, 2021

I want to mention from the very beginning that the name of this holiday (Be An Angel Day) is to be understood metaphorically. According to Christian beliefs, humans and angels are two different species and humans cannot become angels (unless God wills it, which is an entirely different topic of discussion).

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s see what Be An Angel Day is about and why it is relevant. Started by Jayne Howard Feldman in 1993 and popularized on social media over the past years, Be An Angel Day is observed every year on August 22nd. Its aim is to encourage good deeds and kindness to others. I think we can never have too many holidays for promoting kindness. By supporting those in need and inspiring others to kindness, we display a behavior characteristic to angels, here on earth.

Be An Angel Day is very similar to the Random Acts Of Kindness Day. People are encouraged to show kindness and do something nice for their fellow humans and have a positive impact in another person’s life for a day.

There are numerous things you can do to observe / celebrate this day. Helping others with their chores, complimenting family members and/or friends, trying to be more polite, patient and compassionate, forgiving those you hold a grudge against, praying for the wellbeing of others, smiling at people and thanking them for their service (the postman, the cashier at the store, the doorman, the police or security officer etc.), helping the homeless, volunteering to work at a soup kitchen or donating to a charity organization… and the list goes on.

If you need more ideas, check out this list of random acts of kindness:

To learn more about Be An Angel Day, check out these websites:
http://www.holiday-favorites.com/be-an-angel-day/
https://dayfinders.com/be-an-angel-day/
https://nationaltoday.com/be-an-angel-day/
https://happydays365.org/national-be-an-angel-day/national-be-an-angel-day-august-22/

What do you say? Will you take this challenge? Will you act like an angel today?

World Honey Bee Day, 2021

Observed every year on the third Sunday of August, World Honey Bee Day aims to celebrate honey bees, beekeepers, honey lovers, and all blooming things.

On this day, people are invited to recognize the contribution that honey bees make to our everyday lives, and to learn about how we can protect this vital species and provide a supportive environment for it.

Beekeepers to celebrate National Honey Bee Day this weekend

To learn more about World Honey Bee Day and about how you can get involved in spreading awareness about this holiday, please visit the following websites:

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/world-honey-bee-day-third-saturday-in-august/
https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/world-honey-bee-day/
http://www.fao.org/world-bee-day/en/
https://honeylove.org/national-honey-bee-day/

Happy World Honey Bee Day to everyone! 🙂

How to help someone who has a panic attack

Here’s a short video I made to offer a few tips on how to help someone who has a panic attack:

@lucianfromearth

#panicattack #panicattaks #panic #anxiety #psychology #tips #therapy #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness #generalizedanxiety

♬ Calm Music – Relaxing Music & Relaxing Piano Music & Calm Music
Lucian Hodoboc – How to help someone who has a panic attack

Hopefully, these pieces of advice will come in handy if you ever have to go through the experience of having to be there for a family member, friend or even stranger who has a panic attack.

Tell An Old Joke Day, 2021

According to various websites, listed below, today, July the 24th, is Tell An Old Joke Day. I’ll leave the following links for you to read more about the history and the meaning of this holiday.

https://nationaltoday.com/national-tell-an-old-joke-day/
https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/tell-an-old-joke-day/
http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/August/tellajokeday.htm

So, without further ado, here’s an old joke. I hope you enjoy it.

What did the kid in first year at Catholic school say when asked why they kept walking next to the same person at school?
“I was told I’m supposed to walk by Faith!”

A brief explanation of Christianity (the Christian religion)

In this short video I tried to present a brief explanation of Christianity (the Christian religion) in as few words as I could.

@lucianfromearth

#Christianity #Jesus #JesusChrist #God #TheHolySpirit #Messiah #Christ #christiantiktok #christiantok #christian #christianitytiktok #learnontiktok

♬ sunet original – Lucian
Christianity summarized explanation

Would you say that the information I presented is correct? Share your thoughts and feel free to add any information you consider I missed in this explanation of Christianity.