Entry bubble Flag Day and Father's Day, A Busy Weekend

By: Nicole | June 13, 2008 | Category: General

Wow, we have a lot to celebrate this weekend. Saturday, June 14, is Flag Day. And of course, Sunday, June 15, is Father's Day.

U.S. FlagFlag Day recognizes the day in 1777 when a Congressional resolution officially adopted our beloved stars and stripes as the U.S flag. However, celebration of this day didn’t begin until nearly a century later. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are at least three different claims for the origin of Flag Day. Some believe the tradition began in predominantly immigrant communities in Hartford, CT; others say it originated in a school in New York; still others say the Colonial Dames in Philadelphia are responsible. Pennsylvania does hold the honor of being the only state that recognizes Flag Day as a legal holiday. If you want to know more about our flag, check out our publication on the subject.

The origin of Father’s Day is a little more straight forward. Sonora Dodd proposed the idea of Father’s Day to honor her father, a Civil War veteran who raised Sonora and her five siblings after his wife passed away. Father’s Day was first celebrated on June 19, 1910 and was made a permanent holiday in 1972. Since then, Father’s Day has become a time to recognize the many different father figures in our lives.

Family Cook-OutFor my family, that will mean a good ole fashioned cook-out, topped off by a rich slice of white chocolate-raspberry cheesecake. What are your Father’s Day customs?




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Entry bubble Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

By: Jake | January 21, 2008 | Category: General

Today federal and state governments recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so their offices will be closed (along with banks and some other private enterprises).

Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King's birthday is on January 15th and after much debate nationally, President Ronald Reagan signed a law in 1983 designating the third Monday in January as the official federal holiday. This is consistent with Washington's Birthday, which is February 22nd, but has an official federal holiday on the third Monday of February because of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.

In 1994, after Coretta Scott King testified before congress in support of making the King Holiday an official national day of humanitarian service, President Bill Clinton signed the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday and Service Act. The Act expanded the mission of the holiday as a day of community service, interracial cooperation and youth anti-violence initiatives.

The Corporation for National and Community Service says participation in the King Day for Service is increasing every year. The MLKDay.gov website has ways for you to get involved with volunteer opportunities all over the country.

So if you have the day off, go and help live out Dr. King's dream.

| Comments [2] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: community   holidays   jake   jr.   king   luther   martin   service   volunteering  

 

Entry bubble Federal Holiday Closings

By: Jake | December 10, 2007 | Category: General

If you have business with the federal government that you were planning to take care of on Christmas Eve Day, you may want to avoid some holiday blues and check to see if the federal office will be open.

Last Thursday, President Bush issued an executive order declaring all federal executive branch agencies be closed on Monday, December 24th. The President does state in the order that certain offices and installations of the federal government may remain open where it is deemed necessary in the interest of national security, defense or other public need.

The Santas of the federal government, the U.S. Postal Service, will be making regular deliveries on Christmas Eve Day and delivering Express Mail in most major cities on Christmas Day. Don't expect to mail something on Christmas Eve and have it there on Christmas Day though.

The USPS recommends that all First-Class Mail and Priority Mail be sent by Dec. 20 and that Express Mail be sent by Dec. 22. Mail sent by Parcel Post, the cheapest service, should be in the mail by Dec. 15. You can visit the holiday section of their website for more information.

Since a lot of other federal agencies websites I looked at do not state their holiday hours, but instead link to the Office of Personnel Management's federal holiday calendar,  I emailed some agencies to see if they would be open on Christmas Eve Day.

The Social Security Administration said all of its local offices will be closed. I have not heard from the Internal Revenue Service or Department of State, but will update this blog when I do.

The Federal Citizen Information Center will be closed, which means the National Contact Center phone lines (1-800-FED INFO, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of State Overseas Citizen Services) will all be closed and USA.gov web chat will not be available. Remember that you can find answers 24/7 on any government question you have by search our government information knowledgebase, also known as our FAQs. I will be off Christmas Eve Day, but I will be posting a blog.

| Comments [9] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: cards   holidays   packages  

 

Entry bubble 'Tis the Season...to Shop Online.

By: Colleen | October 16, 2007 | Category: General

While my fellow bloggers are reveling in the autumnal atmosphere, I felt like I got hit by a ton of bricks this weekend when I walked into the drugstore. Intermixed with Halloween candy and goblin displays I could hear echoes of Christmas carols and see the twinkling of tree lights. October 13th and we're already being bombarded by the "holiday season." (Poor Thanksgiving. The red-headed stepchild of holidays-always gets the shaft.)

Bah-humbug to it all. At the ripe old age of 24, I'm already totally Scrooged. What used to be an exciting season filled with festivities and cartoon specials has turned into a hectic, guilt-ridden, spending-spree that I enjoy about as much as I do advanced calculus.

Driving around aimlessly in mall parking lots in order to do holiday shopping has become the bane of my existence. That's why last year I decided to spare my sanity, and did the majority of my purchasing online. Shipping fee? Totally worth the mental anguish spared by not having to deal with those people walking to their cars to just "drop off" packages- a complete tease to all potential parkers on lap 82 of the parking-spot derby.

Shopping online is fabulous. No parking involved. No women with quad strollers standing in the middle of the aisle. No cashier asking me to sign my life away for a "preferred customer card" and then failing to remove the security tag from my garments.

As with anything else, online purchasing does have its risks. To keep your personal and credit card information private, always shop on sites with secure servers. You'll know it's secure when the URL starts with "https://". Never give anybody your account passwords. Read the company's online privacy policy. Be sure your computer is equipped with firewall or anti-spyware software to prevent hacking.

The government has lots of information available to help you safely shop the 'net:

 Now sit back, relax, and rid yourself of the hassle! Put some Bing Crosby on in the background- presto! "Two very enthusiastic thumbs up- fine holiday fun!" (Who can name that movie?) 

| Comments [5] | envelope Email This Entry | Tags: colleen   holidays   online   safety   shopping