Event Calendar

New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar also used in ancient Rome. In countries using the Gregorian calendar as their main calendar, it is a public holiday, often celebrated with fireworks at the stroke of midnight as the new year starts.

In Native American and early Colonial times, the Full Moon for January was called the Full Wolf Moon. It appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages.Traditionally, the January Moon is also known as the Old Moon.

The day is a United States holiday marking the birthdate of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., observed on the third Monday of January each year. It is one of four United States federal holidays to commemorate an individual person. King was the chief spokesman of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. He was assassinated in 1968.

Sometimes a compliment really goes a long way. To celebrate Compliment Day, simply launch sincere flattery attacks on random people throughout the day, especially those who wouldn't expect it. To give yourself a challenge, find compliments for people that you don't like. The key, of course, is sincerity. Complimentday.com suggests that you try to compliment 2-5 people and provides a list of sample compliments for those who struggle with the art of flattery.

There are thousands of spoken languages in the world, but what unites everyone? Laughter! Even the title of the day can bring a smile to your face! We all know how good it feels to laugh, but exactly why does it make us so healthy and happy? Having a good chuckle causes the tissue lining our blood vessels to expand increase blood flow. This makes us feel more positive, boosts our immune systems, increases pain tolerance, and generally just makes us feel happier and more energetic! So, on Global Belly Laugh Day, throw your arms up in the air and laugh out loud to celebrate the gift of laughter!

The term blue moon is commonly used metaphorically to describe a rare event, as in the saying "once in a blue moon." This year it brings the only eclipse for North America just before dawn. It's total phase can be seen from west of the Mississippi and in western Canada. It will also be considered a "Supermoon." A blue moon is actually a name given to an irregularly timed full moon. Most years have twelve full moons which occur approximately monthly, but each calendar year contains those twelve full lunar cycles plus about eleven days to spare. The extra days accumulate so that every two or three years there is an extra full moon (this happens every 2.72 years). Different definitions place the extra moon at different times - the extra moon is called a "blue moon." The moon has also literally had a visible blue coloring on rare occasions, caused by atmospheric disturbances.

The Full Snow Moon usually falls in February, but, this year missed it by one day. Because the heaviest snows usually fall in during this time, hunting becomes very difficult, and so some Native American tribes called this the Hunger Moon. Full moon is a lunar phase that occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun. At this time, as seen by viewers on Earth, the hemisphere of the Moon that is facing the earth (the near side) is fully illuminated by the Sun and appears round. Only during a full moon is the opposite hemisphere of the Moon, which is not visible from Earth (the far side), completely unilluminated. As a lunar month is about 29.531, the period between full moons can be either 29 or 30 days.