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/

International Day of People with Disability, 2020

This year, on International Disability Day, I want to leave you with this short video created by Australian motivational speaker Tim from AskTim.com.au, about why we should try to find the ability in disability:

https://www.facebook.com/timreplies/posts/2853123825009010

It reminds me of a quote attributed to Mr. Rogers: “It’s not what you can’t do. It’s what you can do that matters.” (or something along those lines)

Happy 102nd Great Union Day, Romania!

On December the 1th 2020, Romania celebrates its 102nd Great Union Day. This national holiday marks the unification of Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bukovina with the Romanian Kingdom in 1918.

To find out more about Great Union Day, I invite you to read last year’s article: https://lucian-hodoboc.com/happy-101th-anniversary-romania/

If you’re interested in finding out some cool facts about Romania, please watch the following video:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=976090446105970

Conflict Resolution Day, 2020

The Bible teaches us to love peace and to live in harmony. In the Beatitudes from The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus blessed the peacemakers and mentioned that they will be called “Sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

This is one of the reasons why I think that everyone, and Christians in particular, should observe Conflict Resolution Day, a global event intended to promote the concept of peaceful conflict resolution.

Each Year, since 2005, the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) celebrates Conflict Resolution Day the third Thursday of October. This year it is held on October 15.

The ACR logo of the tree was designed as a symbol to celebrate growth in Conflict Resolution. The first year, start small, but, just like the tree, the seeds you plant one year, will continue to grow and blossom each year.

Conflict Resolution Day was conceived in 2005 by the ACR to:

  • Promote awareness of mediation, arbitration, conciliation and other creative, peaceful means of resolving conflict;
  • Promote the use of conflict resolution in schools, families, businesses, communities, governments and the legal system;
  • Recognize the significant contributions of (peaceful) conflict resolvers; and
  • Obtain national synergy by having celebrations happen across the country and around the world on the same day.

October has become a time to promote and celebrate peaceful conflict resolution practices worldwide. Dedicated dispute resolution practitioners are helping to educate the public about mediation and other innovative conflict management processes.

The Art of Listening presentation by Don Schapira for the Conflict Resolution Day Planning Committee

World Environment Day, 2020

Established in 1972 by the United Nations General Assembly at the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, World Environment Day is observed every year on the 5th of June.

A holiday aimed to inform people about environmental issues and offer them the opportunity to change the habits they have that are affecting the environment and work towards change, World Environmental Day has grown to become a global platform for discussions about the environment, spreading awareness of the effects of human activity.

Since its creation, World Environmental Day is celebrated in over 100 countries and each year, a theme is chosen to help draw attention to a particular concern.

The theme for 2020 is “Bio Diversity”, and will be hosted in Colombia in partnership with Germany. Colombia is one of the largest “Megadiverse” nations in the world to hold 10% of the planet’s biodiversity. Since it is part of the Amazon rain forest, Colombia ranks first in bird and orchid species diversity and second in plants, butterflies, freshwater fish, and amphibians.

You can make a difference by sharing and discussing about World Environment Day on social media.

UN chief on World Environment Day, 2020

Dragobete – the Romanian love holiday, 2020

Dragobete Romanian love holiday Lord Of The Rings meme

A non-religious version of Valentine’s Day, Dragobete is a festive Romanian holiday, observed on the 24th of February, that is associated with love and the arrival of spring. Dragobete is an observance and not a national public holiday in Romania.

According to myth, Dragobete was the son of Baba Dochia (“baba” means old lady in Romanian), a woman who marks the return of spring. The day is also known as “the time when birds are betrothed” because during this time of year, birds generally build their nests and mate.

In the countryside there is an old tradition with girls and boys going into the woods to pick flowers. When they return home, the traditions says that boys were running after girls to kiss them. If the girl liked the boy she lets him kiss her. There is a saying in Romania that makes a lot of sense regarding this: “Dragobete kisses the girls” (“Dragobete pupă fete”).

Learn more about Dragobete by visiting the sites linked below:

Traditions in Romania: Dragobete and the Celebration of Love
Dragobete in Romania

https://rolandia.eu/en/blog/discover-romania/dragobete-celebrate-love-as-it-s-meant-to-be

http://www.holidayscalendar.com/event/dragobete/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragobete

Merry Christmas, 2019!

It’s Christmas once again, and I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I hope God blesses you, your family, your friends and everything you love.

Let us take a few minutes to remember what Christmas is all about — namely, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Birth of Jesus – Gospel of Luke, Chapters 1 and 2