"Dear Old Uncle Sam"

James Montgomery Flagg 1917 poster: "Boys and girls!
 You can help your Uncle Sam win the war -
 save your quarters, buy War Savings Stamps" /
 James Montgomery Flagg .

      Uncle Sam (initials U.S.) is a common national personification of the American government that, according to legend, came into use during the War of 1812 and was supposedly named for Samuel Wilson. The first use of Uncle Sam in literature was in the 1816 allegorical book "The Adventures of Uncle Sam in Search After His Lost Honor" by Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, Esq. An Uncle Sam is mentioned as early as 1775, in the original "Yankee Doodle" lyrics of the Revolutionary War. It is not clear whether this reference is to Uncle Sam as a metaphor for the United States, or to an actual person named Sam. The lyrics as a whole clearly deride the military efforts of the young nation, besieging the British at Boston. The 13th stanza is:

"Old Uncle Sam come there to change

Some pancakes and some onions,

For 'lasses cakes, to carry home

To give his wife and young ones."

      The term Uncle Sam is reputedly derived from a Samuel Wilson, a meat packer from Troy, New York, who supplied rations for the soldiers. There was a requirement at the time for contractors to stamp onto the food they were sending, their name and where the rations came from. Wilson's packages were labeled “E.A – US.” When someone asked what that stood for, a coworker joked and said “Elbert Anderson (the contractor) and Uncle Sam,” referring to Sam Wilson, though it actually stood for United States.

      As early as 1835 Brother Jonathan made a reference to Uncle Sam implying that they symbolized different things: Brother Jonathan was the country itself while Uncle Sam was the government and its power.

      By the 1850s the name Brother Jonathan and Uncle Sam were being used nearly interchangeably to the point that images of what had been called "Brother Jonathan" were now being called Uncle Sam. Similarly, appearance of both personifications varied wildly. For example, one depiction of Uncle Sam in 1860 depicted him looking like Benjamin Franklin, (an appearance echoed in Harper's Weekly's June 3, 1865 "Checkmate" political cartoon) while the depiction of Brother Jonathan on page 32 of the January 11, 1862 edition Harper's Weekly looks more like the modern version of Uncle Sam (except for the lack of a goatee).

      However, even with the effective abandonment of Brother Jonathan (i.e. Johnny Reb) near the end of the Civil War, Uncle Sam didn't get a standard appearance until the well-known "recruitment" image of Uncle Sam was created by James Montgomery Flagg (inspired by a British recruitment poster showing Lord Kitchener in a similar pose). It was this image more than any other that set the appearance of Uncle Sam as the elderly man with white hair and a goatee wearing a white top hat with white stars on a blue band, a blue tail coat and red and white striped trousers.

      The image of Uncle Sam was shown publicly for the first time, according to some, in a picture by Flagg on the cover of the magazine Leslie's Weekly, on July 6, 1916, with the caption "What Are You Doing for Preparedness?" More than four million copies of this image were printed between 1917 and 1918.

     While Columbia had appeared with either Brother Jonathan or Uncle Sam, her use as personification for the U.S. had declined in favor of liberty, and once she became the mascot of Columbia Pictures in the 1920s, she was effectively abandoned.

      Flagg's image also was used extensively during World War II during which the U.S. was codenamed 'Samland' by the German intelligence agency Abwehr. The term was central in the song "The Yankee Doodle Boy", which in 1942 was featured in the musical Yankee Doodle Dandy.

 "The Yankee Doodle Boy" from Yankee Doodle Dandy

 

      There are two memorials to Uncle Sam, both of which commemorate the life of Samuel Wilson: the Uncle Sam Memorial Statue in Arlington, Massachusetts, his birthplace; and a memorial near his long-term residence in Riverfront Park, Troy, New York. Wilson's boyhood home can still be visited in Mason, New Hampshire. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Troy, New York.

      In 1989, "Uncle Sam Day" became official. A Congressional joint resolution designated September 13, 1989 as "Uncle Sam Day" (birthday of Samuel Wilson).

More Related Content to Uncle Sam:

• Civil War Harper's Weekly newspapers
• Historical Uncle Sam pictures
• James Montgomery Flagg's 1917 "I Want You" Poster and other works at the Wayback Machine (archived October 28, 2004)
• What's the origin of Uncle Sam? The Straight Dope
• Images of a modern Uncle Sam promoting peace
• The Most Famous Poster

Top left, the first recorded caricature of Uncle Sam as it appeared in Punch, the London paper,
in 1844; lower left, first American cartoon showing Uncle Sam with striped trousers, published in
 1852; right, Thomas Nast's Uncle Sam, the first with whiskers, starred vest and striped trousers;
 center, Uncle Sam as drawn by Robert William Satterfield, The Day Book's famous cartoonist.

Advertisement from The Washington Times, March 1, 1918 depicting Uncle Sam

Sheriff Uncle Sam by Satterfield.

Craft an entire school of "Rainbow Fish" from paper plates!

"The Rainbow Fish" by Pfister.

      The Rainbow Fish is an award-winning children's book drawn and written by Marcus Pfister, Swiss author and illustrator, and translated into English by J. Alison James. The book is best known for its morals about the value of being an individual and for the distinctive shiny foil scales of Rainbow Fish. Decode Entertainment turned the story into an animated television series of the same name, which has aired on the HBO Family television channel in the United States since 1999. Read more...

      I designed my own versions of rainbow fish for my preschoolers from extra thick, large, white paper plates. Because I am working with preschoolers, I will need to assemble the project up to the point of coloring for these little ones.  However, 1rst and 2nd grade teachers may choose to teach every step to their students over a period of two to three sessions.     

Supply List Per Student

• scissors
• white school glue
• magic markers
• stapler
• glitter or metallic paper for scales
• pattern (below)
• two large white paper plates
• white typing paper
• white string

Step-by-step Instructions:

1. Print and cut out the pattern. Cut the body first and then trace it onto the inside of a large, white, paper plate. Then flip the pattern over and trace it again to the inside of an additional large, white, paper plate. Cut out these two fish and staple them together with the fins facing fan out.
2. Cut out the face pattern and trace around it twice onto a piece of white typing paper. Then cut these two faces out and staple them both to the correct position on top of each side of the paper fish.
3. Draw both the fins, eyes, and mouth onto each side of the dimensional paper fish.
4. Paint or color the fish on both sides
5. Cut additional fins (circles) from metallic paper and glue these between the fish face and body. 
6. Then paste down the edge of the fish face to the paper fish body where the scales meet the fishy cheeks.
7. Staple a long string between the two fish bodies to hang your school of rainbow fish from the ceiling.

Left, I cut and traced my xerox paper pattern onto a paper plate and cut this first fish to trace around for all of my other fish. Don't forget to trace this same fish in the reverse also in order to have both a front and a back fish. Center, See how the fish fits easily into the large paper plate so that students or teachers can duplicate this version's shape. Right, Students may then draw their own fins and face onto the assembled pattern. The face of the fish must be traced twice and cut from white typing paper. You will need to staple one on each side of the fish body.

I stapled two paper fish plates together to give my rainbow fish a bit of dimension and strength. In fact, this paper plate version could stand up to paint if teachers should prefer to use it. I took care not to staple the face onto the body near the edges of the fins. This will make it simpler to glue in the metallic fins.

The blue side of my teacher's sample.

This is the back side, orange version of my teacher's sample.

Print, cut and trace the fish body template and head both. Remember to reverse and cut/trace the body on a second paper plate. You will need to cut and trace two fish heads on regular paper in order to make both the front and back side of this rainbow fish craft. Because teachers will likely hang these paper fish from the ceiling, both sides of the fish should be colored.

More "Rainbow Fish" Crafts:

• Kid's Craft-Rainbow Fish
• Ocean Theme - Tissue Paper & Foil Rainbow Fish Craft
• Make razzle-dazzle fish!
• Raindrop/Rainbow Fish
• Recycled rainbow fish from old CDs
• Rainbow Fish Coffee Filter Craft

By Marcus Pfister. Read by Ernest Borgnine.
"The Rainbow Fish is an award-winning book about a beautiful fish who finds friendship and happiness when he learns to share. The book is best known for its morals about the value of being an individual and for the distinctive shiny foil scales of the Rainbow Fish." Visit Storyline Online for more videos.

Are there such things are real rainbow fish? The rainbowfish are a family (Melanotaeniidae) of small, colourful, freshwater fish found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea, islands in Cenderawasih Bay, and the Raja Ampat Islands. The largest rainbowfish genus, Melanotaenia, derives from the ancient Greek melano (black) and taenia (banded). Translated, it means "black-banded", and is a reference to the often striking lateral black bands that run along the bodies of those in the Melanotaenia genus. Read more...

More activities and lessons used with "The Rainbow Fish"

• "The Rainbow Fish" Lesson
• Friendship Activities for  The Rainbow Fish
• Rainbow fish theme unit
• Rainbow Fish Activities
• Alabama Learning Exchange "The Rainbow Fish"

Design and Craft a Sailor's Valentine

My "hybrid" sailor's Valentine craft for young students includes both real
 and drawn seashells. I needed to develop a method for producing this
craft on a very limited budget for my classroom. This is the solution that
I came up with for next year's ocean unit.

      A sailor's valentine is a form of shellcraft, a type of mostly antique souvenir, or sentimental gift made using large numbers of small seashells. These were originally made between 1830 and 1890 and they were designed to be brought home from a sailor's voyage at sea and given to the sailor's loved one or loved ones. Sailor valentines are typically octagonal, glass fronted, hinged wooden boxes ranging from 8" to 15" in width, displaying intricate symmetrical designs composed entirely of small sea shells of various colors glued onto a backing. Patterns often feature a centerpiece such as a compass rose or a heart design, hence the name, and in some cases the small shells are used to spell out a sentimental message.

      Although the name seems to suggest that the sailors themselves made these objects, a large number of them originated in the island of Barbados, which was an important seaport during this period. Historians believe that the women there made the valentines using local shells, or in some cases using shells imported from Indonesia, and then the finished products were sold to the sailors.

      In his book Sailors' Valentines, John Fondas concludes that the primary source for sailors' valentines was the New Curiosity Shop, located in McGregor Street, Bridgetown, Barbados, and a popular shop where sailors would purchase souvenirs. The shop was owned by the English brothers B.H. and George Belgrave. Fondas' research tells of a sailors' valentine reconstruction, during which the reconstructing artist found pieces of a Barbados newspaper inside the backing.

      Today, antique sailors' valentines are collectibles, valued for their beauty and unusual qualities. Collector interest has sparked a resurgence in sailors' valentines as an art form, and shell kits and patterns are now sold at craft shops. Many sailors' valentines, both new and old, can be found on Nantucket, Massachusetts. Wikipedia

      I adapted this paper sailor's valentine project for very young students by printing small black and white shells in advance for them to cut, color and then glue down into a pattern of their own choosing during our craft time for next year. My budget is very limited; I estimate that I will spend approximately 5 cents per student on this craft by the time it is finished. Teachers may, of course, glue real seashells to heavy weight paper plate alternatives if they live in areas where seashells are free and plentiful. I will glue a handful of scallop shells that I collected during a beach vacation to the middle of each child's plate to give them something from the sea to touch and view.
      If your students are much older than my own, first, second, third or even fourth; you may teach a similar project using larger paper plates, more real shells and a chart displaying types of seashells. In fact, this would be a nice project to incorporate into a unit about sea life/ oceans in a regular classroom. My teacher's sample on this post was drawn free hand. Students in fourth grade would certainly be able to create this kind of "doodle" challenge without the aid of cut and pasted design elements.

Craft Supplies:

• small white paper plates
• one real scallop shell per project
• tacky white glue
• a variety of magic markers
• sheet of black and white seashells and scissors for young students (optional and included below)

My teacher's sample Sailor's Valentine drawn in black and white prior to coloring.

Left, I pasted a scallop shell down with white tacky glue before drawing my seashell design. I've estimated that I will not have more than twenty children to teach this project to next year, so I have already completed this step in advance for my own resources. Center, I drew my shell design first in black ink. Right, I then used pastel colored magic markers to color the shell design.

A few close up shots of the completed paper Sailor's Valentines. I will staple a black ribbon to the back side of the paper plate in order to hang this project on the wall.

Small seashells for pattern making. I will print and cut these out in bulk for my preschool
students to paste into their Sailor's Valentines. Teachers may wish to do likewise for
their younger students.

View More Sailor's Valentines:

• A Showcase for Seashell Art
• Sailor's Valentines and Shell Art Pinboard by Sharon Pollard
• Sailor's Valentines and Some Good Competition

Octopus Clock Craft

My teacher's sample of the octopus clock made from a paper
plate, magic markers and a bit of industry. The long "hand"
of my clock is one of the octopus tentacles, the smaller
"hand" mimics a piece of kelp or coral. Please pin the
photos only not templates, so that folks will have
 a reason to pay us a visit!

      This little paper plate craft is so easy to assemble.  Simply print, cut and paste the octopus parts as they are seen below. I backed the "arms" of the clock with cardboard so that the project might be crafted with durability. Punch a hole in each clock arm piece and also in the center of the paper plate. I used the pointed tip of my scissors to make a hole in the plate. Then I inserted the brass brad through all three holes and bent back the prongs on the backside of the paper plate. Now my students will be able to spin the "arms" or "hands" of the clock to mimic those of a real clock.

      I have included two options for the project so that teachers may either use my own solution for the coloring of the project or give their students simpler unadorned versions so that they can come up with their own unique interpretations of this paper plate craft.

Craft Supplies:

• large white paper plate
• variety of magic markers 
• printed template of octopus (blank or decorated)
• white glue
• scissors
• hole punch
• printed numbers 1-12
• brass brad

The clock as it appeared in black and white before I colored it. I printed out the numbers 1-12 in
 a classic font and pasted these around the edges of the paper plate to mimic a real clock face.

Here are a few closeup shots of my paper octopus clock craft.

Make sure to click directly on to the templates in order to download the largest versions for printing.

More Octopus Crafts:

• Octopus craft using colorful paper bags
• Craft a yarn octopus
• Sock Octopus Craft for Kids
  

More Time Telling Crafts:

• My Day Timer craft by Ashleigh Slater
• Time: teaching from secondgradeperks
• Routine Clock by thetrophywifestyle

Author Cheryl Block discussing award-winning "You're Blushing,
 Little Octopus," a children's picture book with a heart-warming story
 based on science and packaged with a CD-ROm as entertaining
as it is educational.

Spring Kite Ideas for Classroom Teachers

       Kites are not only interesting playthings, but they were also once used in meteorological observations, in carrying messages, in photographing landscapes and, to a considerable extent - in advertising. Even today, it is not uncommon to see over a large outdoor assembly, a number of kites bearing advertising banners on their strings.

       Kites have been known since earliest times and in certain countries are still a very popular amusement among children and hobbyists. In Japan kites strong enough to lift a man were made over 600 years ago, in order to spy out the force of an enemy in times of war. Not only the youths of Japan but the adults, also, enter into kite-flying with great zest, and some of the kites themselves are beautiful and elaborate productions, decorated with the highest art. In China the kite-flier often has a number of kites in the air at once, all attached to a common string, and the greatest skill and patience are necessary to keep them separate or disentangle them when they have been blown together by a strong wind. Fish, butterflies, dragons and birds are imitated in kites by the skillful Chinese, and many of these peculiar forms have found their way into the hobby and toy stores of the United States.

Artifacts & Art for enhancing kite and flight lesson plans From this blog:

• Craft your very own butterfly kite! - two free patterns by kathy grimm
• How the little kite learned to fly... - poem by Katherine Pyle
• Air Transportation Silhouettes - hot air balloons and early airplanes
• Kites On High by Robert Louis Stevenson - poem
• Color by Number Kite - for little ones learning their numbers and colors

More Kite Crafts for Kids:

• Bust boredom with these mini paper kites
• Contact paper confetti kite
• In the art room: first grade koinobori for children's day!  
• Simple bird kite from construction paper
• brown paper bag kites
• Kite banner craft with drinking straws
• Kid's kite craft tutorial
• DIY Sankranti kite craft
• Olive The Owl Kite Crafts
• Make miniature bird kites
• Kite plans
• Kite kits
• Make your own DIY kite with beautiful Autumn leaves

Kite Bulletin Board Ideas:

• Kite bulletin board at Christian school
• 3D Kites bulletin board from Gloria Weaver
• Escaping kites bulletin board
• Hand print flowers and kites bulletin board
• Flying High With God's Word

Kite Themed Displays, Activities Etc For The Classroom:

• Food Group Kites
• Flying High With Poetry
• Narrative Writing Diamond Freebie
• Spring Shapes Kite Glyph for Math and Literacy Fun
• My Kite Booklet
• Kite Fact Families
• Kites Go To School
• National Kite Month (Every April)
• Miniature Kites

Kite Designs and Kites In Flight On Video:

• Sophie's World: Paper Bag Kites
• How to make a paper kite
• Japanese Kite Festival at Seal Beach
• Kite Festival in Cervia, Italy
• How to make a paper kite that flies in five minutes
• How To Make a Paper Kite - from eHowArtsAndCrafts
• How to Make a Kite in 5 Minutes
• How to make a Tetrahedral Kite
• Box Kite Construction
• Sled kite construction
• Dragon kite construction
• Ancient China - Kite Making
• How to make a Tibetan fighter kite
• The coolest kite ever! Kool Kite
• Kite Aerial Photography
• KiteLife Video Archives

Kite History:

• Kite History
• World Kite Museum and Hall of Fame

Kite Organizations:

• List of Kite Clubs (maintained by Troy Gunn)

More Kite Themed Lesson Plans:

• Education World - Kite Lesson
• The names of the parts of a kite

Magazines and Newsletters for Kite Enthusiasts:

• Stunt Kite Quarterly
• For periodic newsletters AKA

The Science and Math of Kites:

• The forces on a kite
• Lift is debated
• Newton's First Law applied to kites
• Interactive kite modeler

How to Properly Fly a Kite:

• Kite Flying 101
• Learn to Fly Kites
• Kite launch and flight
• Dual-line kite tricks

Blogs:

• Gkites blog here

     (I will be restoring and building a new kite index here during the month of September, 2024. Maintaining backlink indexes such as this one requires much time and effort. This listing has needed updating too often in my opinion . . . 

      Since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, many folks have abandoned and/or neglected their webpages. 

       I thought some of you might be curious as to just how many changes have taken place over a brief interval of four years. So I will show my progress as I work to restore what has been lost. 

       There are more young students on the web than ever; if any webmasters are interested in helping to restore this topic for children, please upload materials to your webpages for them!)

Today, I remove dead links... I have lost a total of 74 active links since the last update!

"Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom" in My Classroom

A simple ABC craft using the popular "Chicka, Chicka, Boom Boom" story by Bill Martin Jr.

      I taught this simple craft to three year olds at our school. Although our school is a private one, this would also be an easy craft to assemble and teach at a public nursery/early learning center as well. "Chick, Chicka, Boom, Boom," by Bill Martin Jr. is a very popular book in secular schools. I've listed the directions and supplies below and also have included a palm leaf pattern for those of you who would prefer that your students color their branches instead of cutting these from green construction paper.

      Cutting the palms would be an appropriate task to be included in this little lesson if it were done in a first or second grade classroom. Students in these grades should have been using scissors long enough to be able to cut curves and fringe the edges of paper without cutting them entirely off altogether. 

"Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom" cover

Craft Supplies:

• ABC stickers
• green, black and brown construction paper
• markers
• white school glue
• scissors (optional) 
• palm leaf pattern
• sandpaper (for the cocoanuts!)

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Teachers may download and print the pattern in multiples prior to the lesson. Cut these out in advance for students who have yet to become very familiar with using scissors.
2. Cut also tree trunks from light brown construction paper and round cocoanuts from sandpaper.
3. The students should color their palm leaves first.
4. Then glue these onto their black background paper and then glue the trunk on top.
5. Then students may color their palm tree trunk.
6. Give each student a variety of alphabet and number stickers to peal and stick onto their "chicka, chicka, boom, boom" picture. The pealing of the stickers is an important manipulative skill to teach three year students. This requires young children to practise small motor skills in order to complete the task successfully. Encourage them to peal the stickers by themselves and give them lots of praise when they accomplish it on their own.

Three year old children can easily complete this little craft.

Download and enlarge these palms in a Word Doc before printing.

 More Lesson Plans, Games and Ideas for "Chicka, Chicka, Boom Boom"

• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom lesson from Hubbard's Cupboard
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom: Learning letters and sounds at a zoom!
• Free alphabet activity to accompany the "Chicka, Chicka, Boom Boom book 
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom More games and a craft!
• Before the ABCs did the Chicka, Chicka, Boom Boom, Carmen Miranda did the Chicka Chicka, Boom Chic! 

A Family Tree Craft for Grandparent's Day

The tissue paper tree collage has yet to be attached to the hand-colored family tree above. In this art project the
grandparent  colors one half of the art project and fills in the child's family tree while his or her grandchild
 crafts the tissue paper tree that will be attached to the top half of the picture with either a narrow
swatch of paste or a brass brad allowing the tree to rotate and reveal the family diagram below.

Teachers will need to collect the following supplies for this art project:

• Green and brown construction paper
• white school glue
• green and yellow tissue paper
• a print of the simple family tree below, one per student
• one copy of the heart tree pattern to create a cardboard stencil from
• scissors
• colored pencils
• brown crayons
• staplers
• brass brads and a hole punch (This is an alternative method of attachment instead of staples.)

Directions:

1. Cut the heart shaped tree and trunk template after sizing it roughly to cover the family tree graph in a Word Document File.
2. Cut the heart shaped foliage from green paper and the trunk from brown. Your students may glue the trunk on the heart after coloring it with crayons or markers and then glue it to the tree. However, I would glue these two together in advance for younger preschool students.
3. The young student may then crumple colored tissue squares and glue these to the surface of their construction paper tree while his or her grandparent fills out the basic family information as shown below in red type. 
4. The grandparent may either color the family tree alone or with the help of their grandchild before stapling together the tissue paper covered tree. Staple the two together to create a flap, just at the upper portion of the tree tops, so that the tree may be lifted up to reveal the graph.

Here you see that the family tree jpg. is enlarged inside of a word document before it is printed out on a
8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of white typing or drawing paper. On the far right, the tree has been filled out
and colored by an adult. This may also be done by the child if they prefer, however, it is important to
give the child lighter colored pencils to color the birds so that the family names will not be fully
 obscured from view.

On the far left, I have cut 150 trunks and heart shaped folia to assemble the trees for young students
ahead of time. All they will need to do is crumple tissue paper and glue it to the tree's surface and
 color the trunk with a brown crayon. Crafts sometimes need to be preassembled a bit in order for
them to be successfully completed within a limited time allotment.

I have stapled the tree on top of the colored print so that the small birds may nest quietly beneath
the student's artwork. Now Henry will have a nice keepsake to remember Grandparent's Day.

A simple Family Tree Graph showing how one child
 is related to both sets of his grandparents.

Print one simple family tree graph per student for grandparent(s) to fill out and color.

The pattern for the heart shaped family tree that will need to be sized to cover the
above drawn graph sufficiently. You will need to "tweek" it a bit and print it out at
different sizes until you are satisfied with the fit.

More Family Tree Lessons:

• my family tree lesson plan from Art Education Daily
• Design Your Own Coat of Arms Lesson Plan
• Celebrate Your Heritage
• Creating Family Timelines

Young students at our school completed a simpler version of
the same project idea with their own parents and grandparents.

After finishing early a little girl views the members
 of her own family tree on a cell phone.

This young girl has so many family members that she
had difficulty pasting them all onto such a little tree.

Look there's no space left to color in the tree!

May Day Festivites

      What a varied and versatile holiday is May Day, meaning of course, the First of May--an occasion which has significance of one kind or another in a number of different countries. For some Americans probably the greatest prestige comes from the circumstances that May Day is also "Dewey Day," meaning the anniversary of that memorable spring morning when navel hero, Commodore George Dewey, took his fleet into Manila Bay and dealt the blow which did more than any other single incident to determine the outcome of the Spanish-American war. To be sure, it was not the custom of the nation to indulge in spectacular observances of "Dewey Day," but there was a general display of the flag on residences and public buildings in honor of the occasion and it was a favorite occasion for banquets and speech-making over 100 years ago.

"May Day" - Cartoon depicting Moving Day
 (May 1) in New York City in 1831

      To go at once to the other extreme in cataloguing the functions of May Day it may be noted that May Day is also "moving day," meaning the date on which expire most leases of residential property and when, in consequence, there is a general flitting to and fro of the folk who live in rented houses and in apartments or flats. In some communities April 1 is more generally observed as "moving day" than is May 1, but in most sections of the country the later date is preferred. In more recent years too, custom has given October 1 some significance as a moving day, but for the great majority of our people who move only once a year, at most, May 1 still has the call as a fixed festival for the shifting of household shrines.

May Day Demonstration in 
Stockholm, Sweden, 1899

      May Day is a date marked for its own by organized labor not only in the United States, but pretty much throughout the civilized world. In many cities there are on this day each year monster parades of the union labor organizations, and it has long been accepted as the most auspicious occasion for inaugurating great general strikes in the various trades. Some May Days have been rendered memorable by riotous disturbances, but during the past few years the observances of the holiday has, for the most part, passed of quietly.

      In the early half of the 20th century, American children looked forward the May Day as a holiday event. There were May-pole dances and frolics of various kinds in the parks if the weather permitted and these were so organized as to enlist the participation of the local kindergarteners and preschoolers. When the weather or other conditions prevented the festivities in the open air, special exercises were held in the school rooms. In short, May Day was for the whole body of American young people an occasion of relaxation and jollity, but for all that there were so many frolics, dancing parties and social gatherings on the date, there was one discordant note in the dearth of weddings. May 1, and, indeed every day in May, would seem to be ideal of weddings , but the old superstition that May marriages were unlucky restricted the number of brides on May Day and on the thirty days that followed.

Example of a Ribbon Dance. The larger Maypole in the
 background is used by older children. The main
village maypole is too tall for dancing.

      May Day, although not always, of course, known by that name, is one of the oldest holidays on the calendar. In the church calendar the first of May is the combined day of St. Philip the Apostle and St. James the Less, but the festivities which mark the day in Great Britain, France, Germany and other  countries are what may be termed the direct descendants of the ancient Roman Floralia and the Druidic feasts in honor of the god Bel--the Baal of the Scriptures. Indeed, the origin of the holiday seems to date still farther back in the history of India and Egypt, and in both of those ancient countries the May-pole was a recognized and conspicuous emblem.

• Read more about May Day History at Wikipedia
• Meet Thomas Morton of Merrymount Extensive visual, textual and musical studies of American May Day customs since the first Maypole Revels were held at the Ma-Re Mount or Merrymount plantation on Massachusetts Bay in May 1627, hosted by Englishman Thomas Morton; and, last year the state of Massachusetts' Governor Deval Patrick proclaimed May 1 as Thomas Morton Day.
• Annual listing of May Day events around the world
• London May Day Organising Committee
• May Day classroom resources
• May Day in Cuba, a Retrospective Photos by Bill Hackwell, Havana Times Apr 27 2009
• Pretanic World Holiday Traditions from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland that may pre-date the Christian Era
• "Children Maypole Dancing - Archive Footage"
• English Heathenism - Roots of May Day in English heathenism.
• Mayday in Berlin
• The history of May Day - Radio France Internationale in English
• Round-up of 2009 May Day marches - Radio France Internationale in English
• Website with information on modern Hawaiian Lei Day celebration with information on the lei as a traditional Hawaiian cultural art
• Website on modern Lei Day and May Day celebrations in Hawai`i
• Traditional May Day Songs with references
• Dancing up the Sun - May Day Morris Dancing celebrations in North America

Histories of May Day

• May Day with Heart, Peter Linebaugh, CounterPunch, 2006
• The Incomplete, True, Authentic and Wonderful History of May Day, Peter Linebaugh, Midnight Notes, 2010

Sparky and His Peanuts Gang

Snoopy in Planet Snoopy at Cedar Point

      Charles Monroe Schulz (November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000), nicknamed Sparky, was an American cartoonist, best known for the comic strip Peanuts (which featured the characters Snoopy and Charlie Brown, among others). He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists of all time, cited as a major influence by many later cartoonists. Calvin and Hobbes-creator Bill Watterson wrote in 2007: "Peanuts pretty much defines the modern comic strip, so even now it's hard to see it with fresh eyes. The clean, minimalist drawings, the sarcastic humor, the unflinching emotional honesty, the inner thoughts of a household pet, the serious treatment of children, the wild fantasies, the merchandising on an enormous scale -- in countless ways, Schulz blazed the wide trail that most every cartoonist since has tried to follow."

      At its height, Peanuts was published daily in 2,600 papers in 75 countries, in 21 languages. Over the nearly 50 years that Peanuts was published, Schulz drew nearly 18,000 strips. The strips themselves, plus merchandise and product endorsements, produced revenues of more than $1 billion per year, with Schulz earning an estimated $30 million to $40 million annually. During the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997 to celebrate his 75th birthday; reruns of the strip ran during his vacation, the only time reruns occurred while Schulz was alive.

Peanuts animations

      Schulz said that his routine every morning consisted of first eating a jelly donute, and then going through the day's mail with his secretary before sitting down to write and draw the day's strip at his studio. After coming up with an idea (which he said could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours), he began drawing it, which took about an hour for dailies and three hours for Sunday strips. Unlike many other successful cartoonists, Schulz never used assistants in producing the strip; he refused to hire an inker or letterer, saying that "it would be equivalent to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts for him."

      The first book collection of Peanuts strips was published in July 1952 by Rinehart & Company. Many more books followed, and these collections greatly contributed to the increasing popularity of the strip. In 2004, Fantagraphics began their Complete Peanuts series. Peanuts also proved popular in other media; the first animated TV special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, aired in December 1965 and won an Emmy award. Numerous TV specials were to follow, the latest being Happiness Is A Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown in 2011. Until his death, Schulz wrote or cowrote the TV specials and carefully oversaw production of them. Read more...

See these links and many more on one pinboard - "The Peanuts Gang Pinboard" by Kathy Grimm

^{General Links to Sites Specific to Schulz's Legacy:}

1. Schulz's home page
2. Charles Schulz Museum
3. Charles Schulz interview (12 minutes), Fresh Air, National Public Radio, December 1990
4. Works by or about Charles M. Schulz in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
5. "Good Ol' Charles Schulz", American Masters, PBS, October 2007
6. "Happiness is hearing an intellectual laugh!" (mp3) Charles Schulz interviewed in his study by Gail Rudwick and John Whiting (October 30, 1962)

The Peanuts Gang:

1. Good Old Charlie Brown and short clips: ***
2. Peppermint Patty,  Peppermint Patty + Marcie and short clips: ***
3. Snoopy and short clips: ***
4. Linus Van Pelt and short clips: ****
5. Woodstock and short clips: ****

You Can Find Snoopy in the Most Unexpected Places:

1. the funny papers on wheels by isewcute 
2. Retro Space Images: Astronaut Tom Stafford and Snoopy
3. Snoopy at the Nation's Capital
4. Snoopy Transportation
5. A Giant Snoopy Snowdog!
6. Snoopy wrapped on vans
7. Snoopy on coin operated machines in Japan
8. In the shrubbery or more accurately, as shrubbery
9. Snoopy in the Sand
10. As an Ice Sculpture in a Competition
11. As another snow sculpture here and here again
12. Snoopy's dog house as a gingerbread house
13. Creeping through high rise windows!

Peanuts Doin' The Art Scene:

1. Snoopy and Woodstock made from cans
2. The Peanuts gang become high art in Louvre exhibit
3. The Peanuts Sculptures in Saint Paul and more and more

Get Graphic With Peanuts:

• Photo of the Day: The Peanuts Gang as Peanuts

Get Crafty With Peanuts:

• Charlie Brown Christmas Tree: Embroidered Gift
• Snoopy quilts: quilt from WineDiva here * flying ace quilt here **** 

Folks Like to Build Peanuts from Legos:

• Snoopy and Woodstock
• Woodstock on Top of Snoopy

Peanuts in Sweet Treats, Entrees and Coffee Houses:

1. Peanuts in my Latte!
2. Charlie Brown Breakfast
3. Charlie Brown Pumpkin Cookies
4. Snoopy Aviador para o Enzo 
5. Peanuts in my lunch box!
6. Snoopy cake pops
7. photo of Peanuts Character Cookies
8. Peanuts, Snoopy & Woodstock Christmas Cupcake Photo