This Nakba Day (which means "Day of the Catastrophe") marks the 60th anniversary of the Palestinian people's expulsion and dispossession of their homelands. According to the UN, an estimated 711,000 Palestinians fled their homes and 160,000 stayed behind to become internal refugees in the newly formed state of Israel.



Situated at one of those great crossroads of civilizations, the Palestinian populace reflects the diverse cultural imprint in their ancient ancestors. Genetic evidence shows the Palestinians are descended from Amorites, Anatolians, Arabs, Arameans, Canaanites, Edomites, European crusaders, Hebrews, Jebusites, Lydian Greeks, Philistines and Romans. They practice various faiths like Christianity, Druze, and Islam. When Ahmad Sa'adat, the leader of the PFLP (Popular Front For the Liberation of Palestine) was arrested, the news described his organization as "Islamic Fundamentalists" even though it is secular, Marxist-Leninist and was created by George Habbash, a Palestinian Christian.



In 1919, the First Palestinian Congress issued a statement opposing Zionist immigration but, when speaking of the 10,000 Jews already in Palestine, they stated "they are as we are, and their loyalties are our own."



Even though the Palestinian majority was displaced 60 years ago, the issue remains unresolved. Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter and Nelson Mandela have referred to Israel as an apartheid state.

There are a lot of holidays today, chief among them, May Day.



Also...

• Ascension - Catholicism
• Beltane - Celts/Gaels
• Constitution Day - Latvia & the Marshall Islands
• Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker
• Festival of Bona Dea - Rome
• Kazakh Peoples' Unity Day - Kazakhstan
• Labor Day AKA Labour Day AKA Workers' Day - Worldwide
• Law Day - USA
• Lei Day - Hawaii
• Loyalty Day - USA
• Maharashtra Day (Maharashtra Divas) - Maharastra, India
• National Day of Prayer - USA
• National Love Day - Czech Republic
• Save the Rhino Day - USA
• Taco Truck Night - Los Angeles
• Virgen de Chapi - Peru

May Day celebrations are rooted in the ancient Celtic/Gaelic practice of Beltane and the Anglo-Saxon/ Germanic observances of Walpurgisnacht.  These include crowing the Queen of the May, Morris Dancing, the giving of May Baskets, getting drunk, and the erection of a Maypole.

Saint Walpurga supposedly, was an 8th century nun whose relics were transferred on April 30th and her name was given to the holiday. As frequently happened during Christianity's spread across Europe, this was merely an instance of Christianizing a pre-existing holiday. It was on this day that Odin died attempting to retrieve the knowledge of the runes and, ever since, the barrier between the world of the dead and the living is at its weakest. For this reason, the faithful build bonfires, play drums and (later) shoot off guns tonight to ward off evil. In some German-speaking areas, tonight is known as Hexxenacht because witches mount their broomsticks and fly from near and far to Brocken Mountain and "hold revels with their Gods."

In rural Bavaria, children sometimes play pranks-- wreaking destruction on gardens, TPing, smearing toothpaste in places unintended by the manufacturer, and writing graffiti. In the Rhineland boys bring trees hung with colored streamers to the houses of girls they like. A tree decorated only with white streamers indicates dislike for the recipient. In southern Sweden children gather greenery at twilight and adorn their homes. In Finland, they drink sparkling wine and sima (a mead) and burn strawmen imbued with ill-will and bad luck. In Estonia and  Germany, girls dress as witches and make merry.

ANZAC Day - Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga and Samoa



Armed Forces Day - North Korea



Children's Day - Iceland



Flag Day - The Faroe Islands, Swaziland



Red Hat Society Day - Red Hatters



Freedom Day - Portugal

Robigalia - Rome

 

Liberation of Nazism - Italy

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Happy Eazy-E Day, a holiday observed over in Compton by order of the mayor. I'm not sure what customs are attached to the day so I'll just share my Eazy-E story.



I first heard Eazy-E back in 1988 when I was in junior high. Even before I heard him, I'd heard of him. Back then, new music was still mostly disseminated by word of mouth and the trade of mixtapes. Our computers were Apple ][es and the internet was still just one of Al Gore's fantasies. The only rap they played on the radio was harmless (but fun) stuff like Whodini, UTFO and the Fresh Prince & DJ Jazzy Jeff. But just looking around the school hallways it was obvious that there was more to the hip-hop world than what got played on the air. Kids wore enormous clocks around their necks like Flava Flav of the airplay-denied Public Enemy. When teachers distinguished me from another Eric by referring to me as "Eric B.," the question "where's Rakim?" often followed-- uttered by a savvy classmate. The rap that most people listened to as far as I know (with the exception of Ice-T, Too $hort ) was either from the East or South Coasts. Then, seemingly overnight, kids started wearing Raiders and Kings gear. A wind picked up from the west...



One day around that time, my younger brother Evan and I were out riding bikes down past Bill Wolf's property. Bill Wolf was kind of a big man out in the country who built a lot of homes, owned a lot of land and used to shoot copperheads-- plus he claimed to have seen panthers in the woods behind our house, long before they were officially verified to have returned to the area. I remember the tar on Old Mill Creek Road used to bubble in the heat and pop under my Schwinn's deliberately swerving tires. There was probably the loud buzz of cicadas in the air. Down by Mill Creek (where I used to try to catch crawdads) Evan (riding our sister's orange 3-speed) found a chewed up, discarded cassette by the bridge. He said that the tape was unraveled and draped across some weeds. It was labeled "Eazy Duz It." I got excited at the opportunity suddenly afforded us to listen to something we probably wouldn't otherwise hear. Evan wound the tape back up with his finger and took it back to the house.