October Holidays to Celebrate

October is the tenth month of the year in the and and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus c. 750 BC, October retained its name (from the Latin and Greek ôctō meaning “eight”) after January and February were inserted into the calendar that had originally been created by the Romans. In Ancient Rome, one of three Mundus patet would take place on October 5, Meditrinalia October 11, Augustalia on October 12, October Horse on October 15, and Armilustrium on October 19. These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. Among the Anglo-Saxons, it was known as Ƿinterfylleþ, because at this full moon (fylleþ) winter was supposed to begin.

October is also Health Literacy month. In this time of Covid, with so much conflicting information, we need 20/20 vision to understand what is myth and what is real. On October 1, Donald Trump tweeted that he and Melania both tested positive for COVID.

Health Literacy Month is a time for organizations and individuals to promote the importance of understandable health information. This annual, worldwide, awareness-raising event has been going strong ever since Helen Osborne founded it in 1999.

Greatest wealth is health

October is also Bullying Prevention Month. Anti-bullying activities include STOMP Out Bullying™’s signature campaign World Day of Bullying Prevention™ on the first Monday of every October.

Little Free Library in Norfolk, VA that is filled with anti-bullying books

October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. By working together, we can inspire hope and become a force for good “to get her” access to the care she needs.

Columbus or Indigenous People Day is October 12.

Columbus Day is a U.S. holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492, and Columbus Day 2020 is on Monday, October 12. It was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states as early as the 18th century, but did not become a federal holiday until 1937. For many, the holiday is a way of both honoring Columbus’ achievements and celebrating Italian-American heritage. But throughout its history, Columbus Day and the man who inspired it have generated controversy, and many alternatives to the holiday have proposed since the 1970s including Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Indigenous peoples first proposed the day during a 1977 United Nations conference on discrimination against them. But it wasn’t until 1989 that South Dakota became the first state to switch Columbus Day to Native Americans’ Day, celebrating it for the first time in 1990. It is observed in Maine, New Mexico and South Dakota.

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  Christopher Columbus

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A blue moon will occur on Halloween. It is called a Blue Moon because it is the second full moon in a month. The first full moon is October 1 and 2 and is called the Harvest Moon. There are also seasonal blue moons.

Seasonal Blue Moons first. It’s an older definition for Blue Moons, stemming from old skylore. A year has 12 months, of course. A month – or “moonth” – has a length more or less based on a single orbit of the moon around Earth. What we call a season – winter, spring, summer, fall – typically lasts three months, and typically has three full moons. So this would be a fourth full moon withing a season.