Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) is celebrated in May to commemorate the contributions of people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in the United States. Congress passed a joint Congressional Resolution in 1978 to commemorate Asian American Heritage Week during the first week of May. This date was chosen because two important anniversaries occurred during this time: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in America on May 7, 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad (by many Chinese laborers) on May 10, 1869. Congress later voted to expand it from a week long to a month long celebration.

[ Asian Pacific American Heritage Month - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]

Try to do something quintessentially Asian or Pacific Islander this month!

Update: Local celebration for those in the DC area!

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the Northern hemisphere’s winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or the choice to not practice secular or religious traditions at all…and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contribution to society have helped made our country great (not to imply that our country is necessarily greater than any other), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform or sexual orientation of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration of the original greeting. It implies no promise from the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and it is void where prohibited by law and it is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher.

This wish is expected to perform as expected within the usual application of good tiding for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish a sole discretion of the wisher.

[ Anon ]

Props to my Dad, spelling corrected from his email forward from British to American...

Ramadan Yjm3na, originally uploaded by o0()^SmSm^()0o.

Welcome Ramadhan!

May this be a blessed, productive, and fulfilling Ramadhan for us all.

The astronomical New Moon is on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 12:44 Universal Time (3:44 pm Makkah time). Sunset at Makkah on September 11 is 6:28 pm local time, while moonset at Makkah is at 6:24 pm local time (4 minutes before sunset). This does not meet the new criteria adopted by Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) and European Council of Fatwa and Research (ECFR). On Wednesday, September 12, 2007, sunset at Makkah is 6:27 pm local time, while moonset is at 6:55 pm local time. Therefore, first day of Ramadan is Thursday, September 13, insha'Allah.

[ Announcement Detail About Ramadan 1428 AH ]

And if you don't believe me, just ask Crayola, American Greetings, Blue Mountain, or Wikipedia. It wasn't so long ago that my blog was one of the few places you could see this announcement; what a long way we've come.

Update: I am actually surprised by the Crayola page. It is clear that they've done their research and actually understand the holy month. They have activities to share with children to impress important lessons upon them, not just stupid coloring activities based on trite symbolism, but actual activities and exercises designed to educate and enrich. Kudos Crayola, and color me impressed.

`Tis come upon us once again, International Talk Like a Swashbuckler Tide. An' until th' Wii get`s here, 'tis th' most fun ye`re goin' t' be havin'.

Update: T' be fair, I ought give proper respect t' Darius an' Andrew fer bringin' this most delicious holiday t' me attention. Most voyages I dasn't notice until a tides too late.

Over on the Slashfood there is an article about Hershey's kisses that starts with this:

The house that gave out Hershey's kisses on Halloween was inevitably considered to be the "cheap" house, the one that wouldn't spend the extra dollar to upgrade from the tiny chocolates to miniature candy bars.

[ Hershey's Kisses for Halloween - Slashfood ]

I don't know if it is age, or the neighborhood where I grew up, but Kisses are more than welcome. Cheap is the house with bags of stale popcorn...

Based on what I'd read, and the assertions of groups like ISNA, I've been saying for years that if you don't sight the moon, it just doesn't count. Apparently that's not the case any more:

The Fiqh Council of North America after careful research, deliberations and discussion has adopted a new position regarding the determination of the beginning of the Islamic lunar months

[ Read News: ISNA.net ]

In reality I've just followed the guidance of ISNA, and I guess if they've taken a new stance, then I'm all for it. This certainly helps for scheduling things. Maybe some day I'll be less busy and can investigate the jurisprudence behind this.

So, based on the new ruling, and fancy schmancy mathematical calculations:

According to the calculation criteria for determining the Islamic Lunar dates adopted by the Fiqh Council of North America, following are the dates for Ramadan and Eidul Fitr for the year 1427.

Ramadan 1427 - First of Fasting September 23, 2006
Eidul Fitr 1427 - First of Shawwal October 23, 2006

To all of my Thai, Cambodia, Laosian, Burmese, and Sri Lankan visitors!

The Thai New Year (Southeast Asian New Year) (สงกรานต์ = Songkran in Thai language) is celebrated every year on April 13 to April 15. It is also celebrated in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma). Sri Lanka also celebrates a similar festival called Sinhalese and Tamil new year on the same dates.

[ Thai New Year - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]

Spring in DC has arrived!

The 2006 festival marks the 94th celebration of the original gift of the 3,000 cherry trees from the city of Tokyo to the people of Washington, DC in 1912. Come and enjoy the spirit of the season.

[ Official Website of the National Cherry Blossom Festival - Washington, DC ]

This year I hope to see some of it.

St. Valentine's Day, what to get for "the wife"...

Oh, her own domain!

yatyasir.com

That's not too geeky, is it?

When does Ramadan start?

The crescent moon signals the start of the monthlong holiday, and it will be up to the Plainfield headquarters of the Islamic Society of North America to formally determine for Muslims in this part of the world whether tonight's moon is the real deal.

[ Muslims turn eyes to sky to start Ramadan | IndyStar.com ]

ISNA and the Fiqh Council of North America should be discussing that exact topic this evening. Chances are, based on fancy math, that the Hilal (cresent moon) will not be seen tonight, and Ramadan will start at sunset tomorrow.

If you are itching to find out before everyone else on your block, check out:

• Islamic Society of North America
• Moonsighting.com
• Hilal-Sighting.com

Even more confused by when the days start? Heard that Ramadan starts Tuesday, but your co-worker didn't fast? Keep in mind that days on the Islamic calendar start at sunset, and not midnight. Curious about what is prohibited to a fasting Muslim during Ramadan? Wikipedia to the rescue.

Update: For Northern Virginia, it seems that all of the "big" mosques (or at least the ones with websites that are updated) agree, the first day of fasting is Wednesday:

• Dar Al Hijrah
• ADAMS center

With this indisputable scientific data, it is likely that 30 days of Sha’ban will be completed and the first day of Ramadan will be on Wednesday, October 5, 2005, for North America, insha’Allah.

[ Read News: ISNA.net ]

Shiver me timbers, it's international Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

[ Talk Like A Pirate Day - September 19 ]

Props to Sajous

From 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the capital of England's oldest, largest, richest, and most populous colony and the seat of power in the new nation's most influential state. It was in the shops, taverns, government buildings, homes and streets of Williamsburg that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, George Mason, and other Virginia patriots established the ideals — liberty, independence and personal freedom — that influenced the founding of our nation and have inspired generations of Americans and others around the world.

[ Colonial Williamsburg Media FAQS - Freqently[sic] Asked Questions ]

In September of 2005 it was the site of the celebration of Yaty and David's first Anniversary (God willing). There was revelry, good food, historical lessons, and roller coasters. And the most influential state continued its influence.

Can this possibly work?

This is the day that all fellow System Administrators across the globe, will be showered with expensive sports cars and large piles of cash in appreciation of their diligent work.

[ System Administrator Appreciation Day - Friday July 29th 2005 ]

I'm rather sure that it takes more than a webpage to create a holiday. At least Hallmark or American Greetings has to get on board, right?

Props to Sajous

So your friend sent you a story that you just can't believe, but wait it's 4/1/2005, a quick check of Wikipedia:

April 1, 2005
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ April 1, 2005 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ]

And you discover it is in fact not a hoax at all! Or it is, depending, oh just go to the site...

PR about Googles new offering:

Think a DNA scanner embedded in the lip of your bottle reading all 3 gigabytes of your base pair genetic data in a fraction of a second, fine-tuning your individual hormonal cocktail in real time using our patented Auto-Drink™ technology, and slamming a truckload of electrolytic neurotransmitter smart-drug stimulants past the blood-brain barrier to achieve maximum optimization of your soon-to-be-grateful cerebral cortex.

[ Google Gulp ]

If you need a used cap, let me know I've got 3 more left.

Asjouré thinks this is cute, I have to agree...

Sending a PajamaGram^SM gift is like sending a mini-vacation. She'll receive the softest, most luxurious pajamas, along with a personalized card, lavender bath tea, and a "Do Not Disturb" sign, all wrapped in a beautiful keepsake hatbox.

[ Pajamas from PajamaGram.com - You get all of this with every PajamaGram gift! ]

But no international delivery.

As if it isn't confusing enough having two Earth Days (1, 2), there is also a World Environment Day. Of course since it is the environment, can there truly be too many days to worry about it? I think not. (Of course I am a self proclaimed tree hugger).

World Environment Day can be celebrated in many ways, including street rallies, bicycles parades, green concerts, essay and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, recycling efforts, clean-up campaigns and much more. In many countries, this annual event is used to enhance political attention and action.

[ World Environment Day - 5 June 2004 ]

Props to Yaty for bringing this to my attention.

Doing some holiday shopping? We're right around the corner from Eid 'l Fitr, Chanukkah, Christmas, and Winter Solstice. Get your shopping done early:

• Mad Chicken Town
• One Stop Connection
• Skystone and Silver
• AllBeanies.com
• Chunky Monkey
• Beware of the Monkey
• The Monkey Store
• Sea Monkeys
• PacSun
• Amazon.com