National American Indian Heritage Month.  The term "American Indian" incorporates hundreds of different tribes and approximately 250 languages. Starting in 1976 as Native American Awareness Week, the period was expanded by Congress and approved by President Bush in August 1990 by designating the month of November as National American Indian Heritage Month. In his proclamation for 1996, President Clinton noted, "Throughout our history, American Indian and Alaska Native peoples have been an integral part of the American character. Against all odds, America's first peoples have endured, and they remain a vital cultural, political, social, and moral presence." For more information, contact the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 202-208-3710. (Also see discussion under Notes on Calendar Entries.)

 Children's Day : Panama.  Public holiday.

 All Saints Day : Christian.  Catholic and Orthodox Christians celebrate the memory of the Christian saints and martyrs, and also of family members who have died. In many countries, including Spain, Mexico and Poland it is a public holiday. People visit family graves. Russians often take vodka and snacks with them, making the occasion joyful as well as solemn. In Mexico, the holiday is called Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, It is one of the most important and dramatic holidays of the year. It is a Roman Catholic holy day of obligation.

 Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) : Mexico.  Beginning on the evening of October 31 and celebrated through November 2 by Mexicans and Mexican Americans, this holiday has its roots in two traditions: the Christian observance of All Saints and All Souls Day, and two Aztec festivals in which the souls of the dead were welcomed back to visit those who remembered them. Central to the observance is the creation of an ofrenda, or altar, in the home, with flowers, foods, and favorite possessions to honor the memory of deceased loved ones and to welcome their visiting souls. The holiday is celebrated with family and community gatherings, music, and feasting, and the festivity of its observance acknowledges death as an integral part of life.

Recognizing the Festival/Holiday: In Mexico, candy sculls and skeletons are popular treats, along with pan de muerto, a sweet bread decorated with bones and skulls and colored sprinkles. In southern Italy, children receive baskets filled with nuts, pomegranates, and martorana, colored marzipan fruit, and are told it is a gift from their ancestors. Also popular throughout Italy are skull- or bone-shaped cookies made from ground almonds and eggs, sometimes flavored with cocoa, called osso da mordere, or dead man’s bones, and butter cookies flavored with rum or brandy called fave dei morti, or dead man’s beans, both of which are hidden as a present to the children from the departed ones. In Balkan countries, kolivo or zhito, a wheat porridge with raisins and honey, is topped with silver dragees or almonds to make a cross and the initials of the dead.

 Samhain : Pagan and Wiccan.  Samhain, the most important of the major sabbats, marks the end of the third and final harvest in the Wheel of the Year. It is a time to remember the dead and to celebrate the cycle of life. Since the new Celtic year began at dusk on October 31, the Eve of Samhain (Oidhche Shamhna) was the most important part of the ancient Celtic holiday. The fruits of the harvest were gathered for a feast and each village had a great bonfire. Oidhche Shamhna was a holy time when it was believed that the veil between the mortal world and the otherworld was at its thinnest during the gap in time between the old and new years. During this time, people would perform rituals to contact their ancestors in the otherworld. It was thought that the spirits of the dead would revisit their earthly homes, so food and drink were left out for them. Turnips carved with spirit guardians were set outside people’s doors to protect them from unfriendly spirits, while young people, dressed in disguises, pretended to be the returning dead or spirits from the otherworld. Since it was believed that this break in time loosened the structure of society, people flouted convention and played tricks on one another. Divination rituals were also performed because the veil between present and future was then at its most transparent. The newly established Christian religion found many of the Celtic beliefs to be compatible with their own, such as the belief in the importance of family and showing respect for the dead. Christians incorporated Pagan customs into their holidays so that those who converted to Christianity could continue to celebrate their old festivals. Samhain was given a Christian blessing in A.D. 837, at which time November 1 was designated the Feast of All Saints, or Hallow Tide, and Oidhche Shamhna became Hallow E’en. A number of the customs of Samhain, such as carving turnips (later, pumpkins), wearing costumes, and playing pranks, have been retained in the evolution of Halloween. Neo-Pagans continue the ancient Celtic practices of divination and performing rituals to contact deceased loved ones in modern day celebrations of Samhain.

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 All Souls Day : Christian.  This is a Christian holiday to remember those who have died.

 Anniversary of the Crowning of Haile Selassie : Rastafarian.  Rastafarian. This sacred holiday for the Rastafarians commemorates the coronation of Ras (Prince) Tafari Makonnen as Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia on November 2, 1930. The name “Haile Selassie” means “Power of the Trinity” in Amharic, and to his followers Emperor Haile Selassie was known as the King of Kings, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Zion, and the 225th restorer of the Solomonic Dynasty. Although the Rastafarians hailed him as their messiah, Emperor Haile Selassie was a devout Christian and did not share the Rastafarian beliefs. (See entry for Birthday of Haile Selassie.)

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 Culture Day (Bunka No Hi) : Japan.  This public holiday was established in 1948 to promote the appreciation of peace and culture. The emperor awards Cultural Orders of Merit to those who have made major contributions to Japanese culture.

 Independence from Colombia : Panama.  After the Spanish conquest of Colombia in the fourteenth century, Spain established colonies in Panama, which became part of Colombia. In 1903, Panamanians, supported by the United States which wanted to build a canal across the country, revolted and declared Panama independent of Colombia.

 Independence of Cuenca : Ecuador.  Public holiday.

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 William (Will) Rogers Jr. (1879–1935) : American Indian (Cherokee).  Humorist. Rogers' homespun humor won him national fame and great popularity as a stage and film actor, radio personality, and writer of a syndicated newspaper column. The targets of his barbs ranged across the entire political spectrum.

 Flag Day : Panama.  Public holiday.

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 WWI Victory Day (observed) : Italy.  This marks the end of the war in Italy in 1918. (m)

 Guru Nanak Ji's Birthday (1469–1539) : Sikh.  Nanak was the founder of Sikhism, which comes from the Hindi word sikh, meaning "disciple." Sikhism is one of the three religions most widely practiced in India with approximately 16 million followers, mostly concentrated in the state of Punjab in northern India. Sikhism is based on the revelations of its founder, the mystic guru Nanak. It opposes idolatry and emphasizes the unity of one god and all peoples. Sikhs also celebrate the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1666–1708). (m)

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 John Philip Sousa (1854–1932) : Portuguese American.  Composer and band conductor. Sousa wrote a number of marches that by virtue of their military vigor, tunefulness, and instrumentation brought him the title "The March King." Perhaps the most famous of the marches he composed was "Stars and Stripes Forever." He also invented the sousaphone, a tuba-like instrument named for him.

 Anniversary of the Green March : Morocco.  Public holiday.

 Constitution Day : Dominican Republic.  Public holiday.

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 Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) : Japanese American.  Sculptor and designer. Noguchi was a distinguished sculptor and respected designer whose creations ranged from stage costumes and sets for the modern dance works of Martha Graham to interiors, gardens, lamps, and furniture.

 Marie Sklodowska-Curie (1867–1934) : Polish French.  Scientist. A Polish-born researcher who became the first woman professor at the Sorbonne, Marie Sklodowska-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics (shared with her husband, Pierre Curie, and Henri Becquerel) in 1904 for her studies of radioactivity. In 1911 she won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements radium and polonium, the latter named for her native country.

 Commemoration Day : Tunisia.  Public holiday.

 Day of Accord and Reconciliation (observed) : Russia, Ukraine.  This commemorates the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia that began in October 1917. (m)

 National Revolution Day : Bangladesh.  Public holiday.

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 Benjamin Banneker (1731–1806) : African American.  Astronomer and mathematician. Largely self-taught, Banneker mastered mathematics, mechanical principles, and the use of astronomical and surveying instruments. As a young man he designed and carved an accurate wooden clock; in 1791 he assisted the surveyor of the site where the new national capital city was to be built. After teaching himself to predict eclipses, Banneker published a widely read almanac.

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 Independence Day : Poland.  The kingdom of Poland had been partitioned among Austria, Prussia, and Russia since 1772. After World War I ended in 1918, Poland was declared independent, with Josef Pilsudski as its first head of state.

 Remembrance Day : Canada, Great Britain.  This day is set aside to honor the more than 1,500,000 Canadians who served and 100,000 who died in World Wars I and II and in the Korean War. Canadians observe this day as a public holiday and commemorate it by wearing poppies, the flower of remembrance, and by pausing for two minutes of silence. November 11 is the day in 1918 that fighting stopped on the western front in Europe.

Veterans Day is celebrated as Remembrance Day in Great Britain and also on Remembrance Sunday on the Sunday closest to November 11.

 Veterans Day : Belgium, France, United States.  This day of observance, originally called Armistice Day, was instituted to commemorate the signing of the armistice that ended World War I in 1918. It was meant to honor the millions who had died in the war and to serve as a day of reflection and rededication to world peace. In the United States its name has been changed, and it now honors all who have served in all the nation's wars. Veteran's Day is also celebrated on this day in Belgium and France.

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 Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651–1695) : Mexican.  Poet. Recognized as the greatest poet of the Spanish colonies in America, Inés de la Cruz was an intellectual prodigy who learned to read at the age of three and became famous as a young woman for her beauty and brilliance. After her retirement to a convent, she studied theology, literature, history, science, and music, and corresponded with leading poets and scholars in both America and Europe. Her poetry won acclaim on both continents. When her religious superiors questioned the appropriateness of her secular pursuits, she wrote a passionate defense of women's right to learning.

 Sun Yat-sen's Birthday (1866–1925) : Republic of China (Taiwan).  Revolutionary leader. Sun Yat-sen is honored on his birthday in Taiwan and on March 12, the anniversary of his death, in the People's Republic of China. Sun Yat-sen was the leader of the revolution of 1911, which brought an end to the Ch'ing Dynasty, and founded the Republic of China.

 Birthday of Baha'u'llah (1817–1892) : Baha'i.  This date marks the birthday of the prophet-founder of the Baha'i faith. Baha'u'llah was a member of one of the great aristocratic families of Persia who renounced his wealth and position to embrace the teachings of the Bab. (See entry for October 20.) He was subjected to imprisonment, torture, and exile. During his exile in Baghdad in 1863, he declared that he was the messenger of God predicted by the Bab. He preached the coming unification of all humanity and the emergence of a world civilization.

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 Louis D. Brandeis (1856–1941) : Jewish American.  Lawyer and jurist. Throughout his distinguished career and particularly during his service on the Supreme Court from 1916 to 1939, Brandeis became known for his vigorous defense of civil liberties and of the interests of those threatened by the activities of large corporations, as well as for his insistence that legal issues be viewed in their economic and social context.

 Independence of Cartagena observed : Colombia.  Public holiday.

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 Aaron Copland (1900–1990) : Jewish American.  Composer. One of America's most distinguished composers of orchestral music and a beloved teacher and mentor to younger composers, Copland wrote a number of works that achieved the status of classics in his lifetime. The best known of these are his scores for the ballets "Rodeo," "Billy the Kid," and "Appalachian Spring."

 King Hussein's Birthday : Jordan.  Public holiday.

 Dutch American Heritage Day : United States.  On November 14, 1991, President Bush signed a proclamation later adopted by Congress establishing this day to recognize the contributions made by people of Dutch ancestry to the United States. The Dutch settled in North America in the 1600s, creating in 1625 the colony of New Amsterdam in what is now Manhattan. Approximately 8 million people of Dutch ancestry live in the United States, including many who played an important role in American history, such as both Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, both descendants of Claes Martenszen van Rosenvelt, a farmer who settled in New Amsterdam in the 1640s.

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 Proclamation of the Republic : Brazil.  This commemorates the day in 1889 that Brazil's second Emperor, Dom Pedro II, was deposed and the United States of Brazil was declared.

 Seven, Five, Three Festival (Shichi-go-san) : Japan.  This day is celebrated by children who are seven, five, and three years old. They are dressed in their best clothes. Little girls sometimes have their faces powdered white and their hair dressed in adult styles. The children are given bags of "thousand-year" candy to ensure a long, happy, and healthy life and are taken to shrines by parents to express thanks for good health and to pray for future blessings.

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 W[illiam] C[hristopher] Handy (1873–1958) : African American.  Composer, band leader, and publisher. Handy is known as the "Father of the Blues" for both his work in collecting and popularizing blues and other African American folk music, and his own compositions based on the blues tradition. His best known work is "St. Louis Blues," published in 1916.

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 Jan Ignacy Paderewski (1860–1941) : Polish.  Composer, pianist, and statesman. Paderewski, an internationally known virtuoso, interrupted his concert career to work for Poland's independence from Russia. He headed the Polish government briefly in 1919 and was elected president of the Polish Republic in exile in 1939, after the invasion of his country by the Germans and the fall of independent Poland.

 Independence of Morocco : Morocco.  Public holiday.

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 Discovery of Puerto Rico Day : Puerto Rico.  This holiday commemorates the discovery of Puerto Rico by Christopher Columbus in 1493.

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 Anniversary of the Revolution : Mexico.  This holiday marks the anniversary of the social revolution launched by Francisco Madero against the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz that eventually led to the creation of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the creation of a constitutional democracy.

 Capture of Alcatraz Island (1969) : American Indian.  On this date a group of American Indians led by Richard Oakes took over Alcatraz Island, site of a former federal prison, demanding that it be made available to Indians as a cultural center and declaring that all federal surplus property must by law revert to American Indians. The occupation of Alcatraz, which lasted until June 11, 1971, dramatized the long-standing grievances of American Indians against the federal government and signaled the rise of a new activism among Indians.

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 Independence Day : Lebanon.  This holiday is Lebanon's celebration of its gaining independence from France in 1946.

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 Carlos Bulosan (1913–1956) : Filipino American.  Writer and labor organizer. Arriving in the United States at the age of 17, Bulosan worked as a migrant agricultural laborer and eventually became involved in efforts to organize packing-house and cannery workers. After he began to write for a union paper, he discovered writing as his vocation. With the coming of World War II and the involvement of the United States in combat in the Philippines, Bulosan rose to literary prominence, publishing poetry and essays in magazines and volumes of poetry and autobiographies. His most famous work, his memoir America Is in the Heart, speaks eloquently of the economic exploitation and ethnic discrimination suffered by poor Filipinos in his adopted country.

 José Clemente Orozco (1883–1949) : Mexican.  Painter. Along with Diego Rivera and David Siqueiros, Orozco was a leader of the Mexican muralist movement, one of the major creators of large-scale paintings on patriotic themes in the public buildings of the nation. His powerful works embody his own strong belief in the ideals of revolutionary Mexico and his faith in the courage and resilience of the common people. He also worked in the United States, where he painted an important series of frescoes at Dartmouth College. (See entry for December 8.)

 Labor Thanksgiving Day (Keiro Kansha No Hi) : Japan.  This observance began as a harvest festival when Japan was primarily an agricultural society and now is a public holiday celebrating all those who work.

 Thanksgiving Day : United States.  This legal holiday in all territories of the United States is a time for giving thanks for the harvest and for the blessings the year has brought. Although the celebration at Plymouth in 1621 is considered the first American thanksgiving observance, the idea was not a new one; harvest festivals and days of thanksgiving had long been observed in many cultures. The first nationwide observance occurred in 1863, when Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation designating the fourth Thursday of November as a day of national thanksgiving. In 1941 Congress made Thanksgiving Day a federal holiday. (m)

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 Joe DiMaggio (1914–1999) : Italian American.  Baseball player. Joe DiMaggio was one of the greatest baseball players of the century. During his career from 1936 to 1951 playing for the New York Yankees, DiMaggio won three Most Valuable Player awards and led the team to eight World Series championships. In the 1941 season, he had a 56-game hitting streak, a record many believe will never be broken. He retired at 37 with a lifetime batting average of .325. DiMaggio will be remembered by many baseball fans for his complete command of center field, which he covered in graceful, gliding strides that earned him the nickname, "the Yankee Clipper." In 1955, DiMaggio was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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 Sojourner Truth (1797?–1883) : African American.  Evangelist and social reformer. Born a slave, Isabella Baumfree fled her slave master in 1826 and became free in 1828 under the New York State Anti-Slavery Act. In 1843 Isabella experienced what she regarded as a command from God to preach. She changed her name to Sojourner Truth and became a traveling speaker and an eloquent advocate of the abolition of slavery and the granting of civil rights to women. Sojourner Truth visited President Abraham Lincoln in the White House in 1864. After the Civil War, she settled in Washington, D.C., and worked to help impoverished former slaves. She died on this date.

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 Chaim Weizmann (1874–1952) : Jewish German.  Political leader. This German chemist was a leader of the Zionist movement to establish a Jewish state and served as the first president of the State of Israel from 1948 to 1952.

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 (Sir) Grantley Herbert Adams (1898–1971) : Barbadian.  Political leader. Educated in Barbados and England, Adams practiced law before being elected to the Barbados House of Assembly in 1934. An advocate of progressive causes, he achieved an important victory with the electoral reform act of 1944, which gave women the right to vote and lowered the income requirement for voters. In 1950, Adams became the colony's prime minister, an office he held until 1962, when he returned to private law practice. For the last four years of his term he was also prime minister of the West Indian Federation, a group of British Caribbean colonies that dissolved in 1962. This is the anniversary of his death.

 Independence from Spain : Panama.  This day commemorates Panama's gaining independence from Spain in 1821. (See entry for November 3.)

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 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975) : People with Disabilities, United States.  Signed into U.S. law on this date, this act establishes the right of every child with a disability to a free and appropriate public education. It requires states to identify such children and develop individualized education programs for them, and to provide educational services in the least restrictive environment possible. The law also protects the rights of such children and their parents in educational decisions.

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 Bonifacio Day : Philippines.  This holiday commemorates the birth in 1863 of Andres Bonifacio, leader of the Philippine revolt against Spain in 1896.

 Independence Day : Barbados.  This holiday commemorates the independence of this Caribbean island from Great Britain in 1966.

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