When the Founding Fathers came up with the Constitution of the United States, they knew better than to think that it was a perfect document. They left room for improvement and those came in 1791 when the first ten amendments, or the Bill of Rights, was enacted. President Franklin D. Roosevelt recognized the importance of these rights on Dec. 15, 1941 when he declared the 150th anniversary of the ratification “Bill of Rights Day”.

The Bill of Rights are a guarantee of the “rights of free men against tyrants.” The first ten amendments to our Constitution are concerned with the following topics:

Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, petition.
Right to keep and bear arms
Rights regarding the quartering of soldiers
Regulation of search and seizure
Protection of persons and their property
Rights of persons accused of crime
Right of trial by jury
Protection against excessive fines, bail, punishment
Guarantee of unspecified rights
Powers reserved to states and the people

Originals of the Bill of Rights and other documents pertaining to the founding of the United States are kept in the National Archives in Washington DC. They have a great website were you can view the images of the papers and their transcripts.

November 1 is World Vegan Day and before all you carnivores start booing, think about the health benefits of eating vegan style. Vegans enjoy all kinds of plant foods, fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and mushrooms. They do not eat any animal products, meat and dairy, eggs or cheese or honey. So even if you don;t want to adopt vegan eating on a permanent basis, choosing to do you a few meals a week can make significant improvements to you health.

World Vegan Day was chosen as the anniversary of the founding of the Vegan Society, a group formed in 1944 to promote the vegan lifestyle. In addition to not eating animals or animal by-products, they also do not wear animal skins or furs, or purchase anything made with these things. The society has lots of information on products that directly or indirectly use animals in their manufacturing process.
The theme for Word Vegan Day 2008 is “Vegan Catering for All”. The group hopes to encourages restaurants to include vegan selections on their menus. And the food is no different than many mainstream dishes, though things may be tweeked to eliminate eggs and milk. Think pasta casseroles soy milk and cheese, or meatless chili with god fresh tomatoes. Of course vegetable soup is a common vegan recipe that we all love on a cold winter’s night. For thanksgiving, try this Praline Sweet Potato Casserole.

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

4 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (or yams)
3 tablespoon melted soy butter
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoon brandy
1/2 ts ground ginger (1 tablespoon fresh grated)
1 ts salt
1/8 ts pepper
1/4 ts allspice
1 ts grated orange peel
1/2 ts cinnamon

Directions:

Combine all ingredients. Mix well with an electric beater. Pour into a well-buttered 2 qt. shallow casserole. Spread with praline topping.

TOPPING: 1/3 cup brown vegan sugar, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, and 1/2 ts cinnamon.

Combine ingredients and mix until well blended.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Smack dab in the middle of Chemistry Week (Oct. 18 - 24) is Mole Day, a holiday set aside not to honor the ground dwelling creature, but a measurement of mass. I take it that mole is short for molecule, because one mole is a mass (in grams) whose number is equal to the atomic mass of the molecule. This relationship was first discovered by Amadeo Avogadro (1776-1858), who received credit for the discovery after his death.

Chemist are a crazy bunch and they celebrate their holiday with a wacky spirit. Every year the Mole Day Foundation creates a theme and poster for the event. This year’s theme is “Mole of Fortune” complete with a mole Pat and Vanna. I hope someone sends them this poster!

There are creative ways to celebrate this holiday with family or in the classroom. This is a great holiday for fun and of course food. Last year I included a mole sauce recipe, this year try my favorite guaca-mole.

Ingredients
2 really ripe Haas avocados
1 clove minced garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp cumin
1 T fresh cilantro
1/2 chopped tomato

Cut avocados in half and dish out the insides. Mash the avocados and then mix in other ingredients.

If you want a super quick way to do this, add about 2 T or more to your taste of a really good salsa to the avocados. Let site for about 20 minutes so the flavors combine.

For the first time ever, the world will celebrate Global Handwashing Day on Oct. 15, 2008. The event is part of the United Nations International Year of Sanitation, which highlights the importance of hygiene. Activities for Global Handwashing Day 2008 will revolve around schools and children, with developing nations being the main focal point. According to the holiday’s website, “Handwashing with soap is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and acute respiratory infections, which take the lives of millions of children in developing countries every year.” If it’s not a custom in a culture to use soap, introducing the idea can be a challenge.

Even for those of us in a more industrial area, handwashing needs to be emphasized. Cold and flu germs as well as intestinal afflictions can be seriously curtailed with vigilant washing.

While October 12 is traditionally celebrated as Columbus Day in the United States, it also marks an important turn of events in colonial history. On October 12, 1692, Governor William Phipps of the Colony of Massachusetts made a decision that brought to an end the horrendous Salem Witch trials. The trials had been a black time in America, when gossip and misunderstandings led to the execution of dozens of innocent people. Gov. Phipps declared that spectral evidence (supernaturalism) would no longer be admissible in court, ending the trials for lack of evidence. Though popular belief was that black magic was real and a threat, Phipps went with his heart and decided that only physical evidence, not gossip, could be admitted in a trial. He saved lives with that decision and put an end to a terrible time in his colony.

To honor Phipps and all of those who think for themselves, Oct. 12 was designated Freethought Day. The city of Sacramento, CA has an annual Freethought Day celebration, which is “a tribute to freethought, liberty of conscience, naturalistic ethics, secular government, and civic values. ” The holiday can be celebrated in your area by the community coming together for a common goal, such as a clean-up day or a youth event. The important thing is to act in a way to benefit all humanity, no matter what beliefs or religion inspire you.

It seems incredible that in these days of “Dirty, Sexy, Money” on a national television we could still be talking about banning books, but the issue is alive and well. Every year the American Library Association and other related agencies receive demands for various books to be banned from libraries. The issues range from the religious viewpoint in “The Golden Compass” (Philip Pullman) to racism portrayed in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain.

To highlight the importance of books and the need to fight censorship, Banned Books Week is held the last week of September. This year’s celebration is from Sept. 27 to Oct. 4 and includes events at libraries throughout the country. Here’s a really great set-up at a the Twin Hickory Public Library, Glen Allen, VA, as featured in Boing Boing.

Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores. Banned Books Week is also endorsed by the Center for the Book of the Library of Congress.

It was first holiday to highlight the plight of endangered species, but World Animal Day has since evolved into a true celebration of all animals. October 4 was chosen because it is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. It is said that St. Francis was so connected to the animal world that he could preach to them and they would understand. The supporters of World Animal Day hope that people throughout the world will tune into the animals around them with understanding and respect.

While the holiday was first introduced in 1931, it really took off in 2003 with the launch of their website. The holiday is not centered on any one organization, rather the supporters look for animal-loving groups to use the day as a way to highlight their individual message. Many clubs, animal shelters and pet groups hold activities on World Animal Day to raise money for their organizations. Everything from animal shelter to ferret groups are represented in the events listing. Check it out to find one near you.

International Day of Non-Violence is a very new holiday, first celebrated in 2007. It was designated by the United Nations to mark the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the Hindu leader who believed in a non-violent response to the world’s oppressions. His work was centered on using boycotts and civil disobedience to gain a political advantage, tactics he used during India’s struggle to become independent from Britain. After battling for almost 50 years, India was granted freedom from British rule on Aug. 15, 1947. Unfortunately Gandhi was shot and killed while having his nightly public walk on the grounds of the Birla Bhavan in New Delhi in the January of 1948, two years before the Constitution of India would come into affect (January 26, 1950). Today is birthday is celebrated as a national holiday in India and the world pauses to reflect on his non-violent beliefs.

In the same week that we had European Day of Languages comes International Translation Day, dedicated to those smart folks who have the difficult job of taking words from one language and putting them into another. The theme this year, as chosen by the sponsoring organization, The International Federation of Translators , is “Terminology: Words Matter” highlighting the fact that professional translators should know precisely the correct term for a given word. Conferences will features speakers from all types of business, such as doctors and lawyers, to talk about terms specific to their field of expertise.

Last year’s theme was Don’t Shoot the Messenger!, a great idea aimed at educating those that use translators not to get angry when they don’t like what is said. They’re translating words, not coming up with them!

Traveling is one of the best way to understand the world and international issues that affect us all. To promote traveling and exploration the World Tourism Organization established World Tourism Day in 1980. Each year the organization selects and issue to highlight and a country to host the holiday. In 2008 Peru and the environment will take center stage, with a theme of “Tourism Responding to the Challenge of Climate Change - A call for action to a climate neutral planet”.

A component of the holiday is a photography contest sponsored by the organization. Last year’s winner focused on the 2007 theme “Tourism Opens Doors for Women”. The conference was held in Sri Lanka.

Students of tourism management school paints tattoo during Tourism Fair. Recent boom in travel and tourism sector opens new avenues for aspiring young women, which is a good sign in developing countries like India.INDIA.Photographer: Sudipto Das