There’s a proverb that says “March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.” It starts with cold, wintry weather, but usually ends with much nicer spring-like weather. At least here in the greater Boston area, the month of March has certainly come in like a lion.
Until the middle of the 1970s, February 22, the birthday of George Washington who was the first president of the United States, was a national holiday. Also, February 12, the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the president during the Civil War, was a holiday in most states. In the 1970s, Congress declared a single holiday, to be called Presidents’ Day, would be observed on the third Monday in February (Monday February 19th this year) to honor all past presidents.
Here’s a video rap to help you remember their names.
Here’s information about what places are open or closed on this national holiday…
Town/City Hall and other government offices and courts: Closed
Public Schools: Closed (Part of February vacation week)
Senior Center: Closed
Public Library: Closed
Supermarkets: Open
Retail stores: Most are open
No Mail Delivery
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born on February 12th, 1809. He led the United States through its Civil War in the 1860s, which abolished slavery in the country. He was assassinated (killed)
in 1865 – only a few days after the war ended.
At the site of a large battle in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (where 23,000 soldiers died in just one day), President Lincoln gave a 3-minute speech (now known as The Gettysburg Address) that has become the most famous in American history…
February 2nd is a small, fun/silly holiday called Groundhog Day. You may see it mentioned on the news – especially during the weather report. According to legend:
Did he see his shadow this year? Yes! He saw his shadow. Here’s the ceremony – in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania…
There’s also a popular romantic comedy movie called Groundhog Day that you might enjoy watching.
Monday January 15th, is the Martin Luther King Day holiday. Martin Luther King spent his life working for equal rights for African Americans, and all Americans. He was an important civil rights leader and minister whose work helped lead to new laws against racial discrimination.
King’s most famous speech was at a protest rally for equal rights – in front of 250,000 people in Washington DC in 1963, which became known as the “I Have a Dream” speech.
Here’s a link to the entire 17 minute speech on YouTube.
This weekend, there will be a large number of special events in Boston to celebrate the new year. Most of them are part of First Night Boston. Here’s a Full Schedule
The Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco is 3,000 miles away from MetroWest, but you can see some artwork from their collection on your phone – plus practice your English a little in a fun way.
The museum has a feature called “Send Me“. Just send a text message to 57251 and ask for a picture of something – and you will usually quickly receive a text with a related photograph, painting, etc. from the museum. You can even ask for art using an emoticon.
For example, you can try sending a text to 57251 like this: