Being bombed by holidays

Valentine's Day was probably imported into North America in the 19th century by British settlers. In the United States, the first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828-1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts. Her father operated a large book and stationery store, and she took her inspiration from an English valentine she had received. Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary."

In the second half of the 20th century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manners of gifts in the United States, usually from a man to a woman. Such gifts typically include roses and chocolates. In the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for giving jewelry.

The day has come to be associated with a generic platonic greeting of "Happy Valentine's Day."

In some North American elementary schools, students are asked to give a Valentine card or small gift to everyone in the class. The greeting cards of these students often mention what they appreciate about each other.

In Chinese Culture, there is a similar counterpart of the Valentine's Day. It is called "The Night of Sevens" (七夕 - 农历七月初七的晚上), according to legend the Cowherd and the Weaver Maid meet in Heaven on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar (神话传说天上的牛郎、织女每年在这个晚上相会). The last "Night of Sevens" was on August 30, 2006. A slightly different version of this day is celebrated in Japan as Tanabata, on July 7th on the solar calendar.

Today I saw some people lifting heart shaped balloons or flowers or both. In the department, I saw there's a small package of candies in each professor's dropbox.

For me, Today is just a normal busy day. Both homework due day and midterm of E&M are coming. I don't even have time to cook for dinner, and naturally IN-N-OUT cheeseburgers become a solution.

When I open Windows Media Player to play a random playlist, S.H.E.'s "独唱情歌" ("Sing a love song alone", if translate into English) appeared on top of the list. Has the Windows Media Player got intelligence?

Anyway, happy Valentine's Day to all!

I'm going to spend the New Year Eve in Joshua Tree. Before that, I may join the seafood buffet lunch held by CSSA-UCI. Maybe I will also join the authentic Chinese dinner held by ISA tomorrow. But sorry to Hao, I'm not able to join your celebration activities, but I guess I can play poker on President's Day.

Presidents' Day is the common name for the United States federal holiday officially designated as Washington's Birthday. It is celebrated on the third Monday of February.

As the official title of the federal holiday, Washington's Birthday was originally implemented by the federal government in 1880 in the District of Columbia and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices. As the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen, the holiday was celebrated on Washington's actual birthday, February 22. In 1971 the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February.

In the late 1980s, with a push from advertisers (see detail below), the term Presidents' Day began its public appearance. The theme has expanded the focus of the holiday to honor another February President, Abraham Lincoln, and often other Presidents of the United States as well. Although Lincoln's birthday, February 12, was never a federal holiday, approximately a dozen state governments have officially renamed their Washington's Birthday observances as "Presidents' Day", "Washington and Lincoln Day", or other such designations. It is also interesting to note that "Presidents' Day" is not always an all-inclusive term. In Massachusetts, while their state holiday honors "Washington's Birthday", there is also a Presidents' Day Proclamation honoring the Presidents that have come from the New England area. Alabama uniquely observes the day as "Washington and Jefferson Day," even though Jefferson's birthday was in April. In Connecticut, while Presidents' Day is a federal holiday, Abraham Lincoln's birthday is still a state holiday, falling on February 12 regardless of the day of the week.

In Washington's home state of Virginia the holiday is legally known as "George Washington Day."

Possibly I will play poker with Hao on this day.