October 21 - Armed Forces Day in Honduras

Posted October 21, 2017

Most nations have some sort of army, and probably a navy and air force as well. Honduras is no exception.

But Honduras has quite the history of the armed forces being very active in the government. Unlike the U.S. and other countries, there have been many military coups - which means that elements in the military took over the government, ousted the president, and put a general or other military leader into the leadership role of the whole country.

On this date in 1956, as a matter of fact, was one such military coup.

Honduras is located in Central America.

Honduras re-established a non-military government (aka civilian government) in 1979, although it continues to be fairly unstable. It's one of the poorest nations in the Americas.

Still, as with all countries, there are some wonderful things about Honduras:

Mayan ruins

Lovely scenery, including beautiful
beaches and waterfalls

Resorts and diving

Wildlife, including the endangered
manatee

Colorful culture and fruit

And of course, the people!

 

Also on this date:

Anniversary of the first Apple Day in the U.K. 

Singer Celia Cruz's birthday

G4G Day

Antilles Day (?)

Reptile Awareness Day

Wear It Pink Day in the U.K.

Bridge Day

Remembrance Day in Serbia

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

• October holidays
• October birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in October

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• November holidays
• November birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in November
  
  
  
  

April 14 – Pan-American Day

Posted on April 14, 2016

 When I was a kid, we sometimes talked about “Pan-American” issues in school.

Since the prefix pan- means “all” or “involving all the members of a group,” Pan-American is an adjective that refers to the all the countries in North America, including Central America and the Caribbean, and South America.

I don't think this word is used as much anymore. When I see the entire two continents' worth of land and peoples referred to, these days, I see “the Americas” or even “the New World.”

Still, there are the Pan-American Games, the Pan-American Highway, and a variety of organizations such as the Pan American Band Instrument Company, the Pan American Health Organization, the Panamerican Karate Foundation, and the now-defunct Pan Am Airlines.

(I think that the super-power status of the U.S. makes any term including the word “American” a bit liable to be misunderstood, because “American” – by itself – almost always refers to something or someone from the United States of America.)

So, supposedly all the nations in the two American continents should be celebrating Pan-American Day today. (Do you know how many nations there are in the Americas? Answer below.) But in most of North and South America, the holiday is barely acknowledged. Honduras does list the day as a public holiday, but this year Día de las Américas is being celebrated on Monday, April 18!

Honduras is one of the poorest nations in Central America, and one of the most violent. Its murder rate is the highest in the world! Still, there are amazing and beautiful things to see there:

Copan Mayan ruins

Chachauate

Roatan Island

Pulhapanzak Waterfall

Diamond Cay

• Learn more about Pan-American Day here. And learn more about Honduras here.

ANSWER: There are 23 independent nations in North America: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States of America. (Islands such as Bonaire, Aruba, and Curacao are dependent territories or countries rather than independent nations.) And there are 12 independent nations in South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

That makes a total of 35 independent Pan-American nations.

Also on this date:

National Dolphin Day  

Author and educator John Holt's birthday

Anniversary of the completion of the Human Genome Project

Archeologist Augustus Pitt-Rivers's birthday

Plan ahead:

Check out my Pinterest boards for:

• April holidays
• April birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in April

And here are my Pinterest boards for:

• May holidays
• May birthdays
• Historical anniversaries in May

May 30, 2012 - Celebrate, Central American Style!

Today three different Central American countries celebrate three different holidays.

Can you find Honduras, Nicaragua, and Trinidad and Tobago on this map?

Indian Arrival Day in Trinidad and Tobago

This holiday marks the anniversary of the May 30, 1845, arrival of a ship full of East Indian people. Although the day used to be called Indian Emigration Day, the early East Indian arrivals were not freely choosing to emigrate to the lovely Caribbean islands—instead, they were brought over as “coolies,” or slaves. Nowadays, the racial mix of people living in Trinidad and Tobago includes around 40% black (many descendants of African slaves) and around 40% Indian (many descendants of “coolies”). It is this sizable Indian group who have encouraged the celebration of their ancestors' arrival on the islands by reveling in music, dance, and food from their Indian heritage.

To learn more about Trinidad and Tobago, see this earlier post. 

Arbor Day in Honduras

Honduras is a sort of tree heaven—also known as a biodiversity hotspot. It has tropical rainforests, “cloud forests” (which are jungles that are almost always covered by low clouds and fog—and which gets little rain but lots of “fog drip”), mangrove forests that grow in a sort of saltwater swamp, and forests of pine and oak trees in the mountains.

Timber is an important product for Honduras, but there are other, even more important, products that don't involve cutting down trees—such as tropical fruit and eco-tourism. Dia del Arbol (“Day of the Tree”) is important in Honduras because so much of it is covered by trees. Kids learn about the importance of caring for the nation's forests, plant trees, and participate in special art projects.

Check out this virtual rainforest tour.

To learn more about Honduras, check out this earlier post. 

Mother's Day in Nicaragua

Many different nations have set aside a day to celebrate mothers, but of course they don't all choose the same day. Today is Mother's Day in Nicaragua; the date was chosen by a president in the 1940s; May 30 was the birthday of his mother-in-law.

Here is a very short tourism video about Nicaragua. 

To find out more about Nicaragua and Honduras, see this earlier post. 

Also on this date:

Anniversary of the eruption of Mount Lassen

Anniversary of the discovery of krypton 

October 3, 2011 - Francisco Morazan Day

 – Honduras

He was a man of ideas and a man of action.

Francisco Morazan (who was born on this day in 1792, in what is now Honduras) wanted Central America to be one large nation. And, for a while, with efforts by Morazan and others, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador united to create the Central American Federation

Morazan put into law important liberties such as freedom of press, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion.

He limited the power of the Catholic church. Before Morazan, the only way to get married was through the church. Also, everyone had to pay tithe (money) to the Catholic church, by law. If Morazan hadn't made these changes, there would have been no true freedom of religion.

He promoted education. He introduced trial by jury.

He wanted unity and held progressive ideals.

Morazan rose to power through military action as well as through speeches and popular vote. His reforms made him some powerful enemies. An uneducated swineherd-turned-highwayman named Rafael Carrera fought his way into power with the help of priests, who played tricks to convince people that miracles had showed Carrera to be a protective angel from heaven. Carrera rallied his troops with the cries, “Long live religion! Death to foreigners!”

The fragile federation was ripped apart into five separate—and often warring—nations, and Morazan was exiled. Later, he was asked to come back and help Central America fight off the British. Still, the in-fighting between the nations ended with an attack against and arrest of Morazan, and in 1842 he was executed.

Morazan is honored on money, stamps, names of cities and streets and parks, and in other ways. Plays and books have been written about him, and there are statues and busts of him in Central America and also Spain, South America, and the U.S. In Honduras, today's holiday celebrates his birthday. (It is also called “Day of the Soldier.”)

Early residents of Honduras included the Maya.

Learn more about Honduras at Mayan Kids and the National Geographic website. 

September 15, 2011 - Central America Celebrates!

Today is Independence Day for Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua!

Yes, almost all of Central America jointly declared independence from Spain on this day in 1821. Spain, exhausted from wars of independence in Mexico and South America, just let Central American colonies go without a fight. For a short period of time, the Central American countries became part of the First Mexican Empire. In 1823, they formed their own government as the Federal Republic of Central America. That government turned out to be quite weak, with the various parts basically functioning on their own, and soon it broke up altogether as each of these nations became truly independent.

What do you know...?

1. Which two countries are considered part of Central America but are not in this list of five nations celebrating independence today? (Hint: one begins with the letter “B,” and one with “P.”
   
   
2. Name a native American culture that dominated this region before the Spaniards began to conquer it in the 1520s. (Initial letters “M” or “A.”)
   
   
3. Central America lies between what two bodies of water? (“P.O.” and “C.S.”)
   
   
4. Match the nation to its capital city:
   a. Costa Rica                z. San Salvador 
   b. El Salvador               y. Tegucigalpa
   c. Guatemala                x. San Jose
   d. Honduras                 w. Guatemala City
   e. Nicaragua                v. Managua
   
   
   
   
   
   

ANSWERS: 1.Belize and Panama – 2.The best-known are the Maya and the Aztecs – 3.The Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea – 4. a-x;    b-z;    c-w;    d-y;    e-v