I will start off with a brief story. A medical doctor friend of mine in Dallas, recently met a young man from Venezuela, Franklyn Miguel. He had passed through the USA and was going back to Mexico to try and complete his medical school. As of the time of typing this, my doctor friend had launched a Go Fund Me for him, to assist him to realize his goal of $5,000. So far, $1,275 has been raised.
Please click on https:/gofund.me/9255db3f . You can read more about him and if you have the ability, kindly help him. I don’t have enough space to go into details but thank you very much for that.
I have done a little research on the history of January. Celebrating the New Year is typically the first holiday on the calendar, but it has not always been this way. Around 700 B.C. January replaced March as the first month of the year. Numa Pompilius, a Roman King, is credited with revising this and adding two months. Many religions continued to celebrate the new year on either March 25th or December 25th, according to their church calendars. In 1582, Pope Gregory developed the Gregorian calendar and most of the world came around to observing January 1, as the beginning of the New Year. January takes its name from Janu, the Roman deity of beginnings and endings. January is the second month of winter in the Northern Hemisphere but in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s summer.
As we get ready to start 2023, let us prepare for the challenges it will bring. This year, I would like you to commit to doing a lot more reading on global issues and national issues.
We are in for a challenge in 2023. I have been following with interest, the developments in the Netherlands with farmers. The Netherlands plans to halve nitrogen emissions by 2030, To this end, the government there is trying to shut down 3,000 farms, to meet climate goals. The government there are plans by the government there to conduct forced buyouts of 3, 000 farms, which is hoped will help in cutting down nitrogen emissions in half, to meet the country’s climate goals. The government has allocated 24.3 billion Euros, to finance these agricultural reforms. The protests are characterized by Dutch livestock farmers using tractors to block roads and occupy spaces. Do a google search to read up more about this and how it will impact the food supply chain in Europe.
Now for something interesting, I discovered recently, that every day is a celebration of one event or another. A google search of ‘National Day Calendar’ will turn up some interesting details. January is designated National Soup Month, National Slow Cooking Month, and National Braille Literacy Month.
February is National Cancer Prevention Month, National Embroidery Month, and National Weddings Month.
In March, we got Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, National Brain Injury Awareness Month, and more.
There is an option when you click on the National Calendar link to narrow down the search by days and weeks. Have fun doing this research and see how much of this you can share on your individual social media platforms.
As I prepare to wrap up, thank you for being with us this year. Please take time during this festive season to remember the less fortunate. Help somebody where you can, donate to a soup kitchen or see how you can help. Get a small pot and plant a seed or two of some herbs or vegetables and enjoy the pride of eating something you grow and nurture, especially if you have never done this before. Enjoy your holidays and have a blessed and prosperous 2023.