November

November


November Holidays and Observances

Daylight Saving Time ends the first Sunday in November, this year we will turn our clocks back on November 1st at 2am. While Daylight Saving Time has a long and interesting past, the current Daylight Saving Laws were signed into law as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Energy Policy Act shifted the beginning of Daylight Saving Time to the second Sunday in March and the end to the first Sunday in November, both at 2am.

Next up is Election Day which falls on November 3rd. Election Day is the Tuesday after the first Monday of November - this means it can only fall between November 2nd-8th. Originally, Congress had Election Day slated to be the first Tuesday in November. But depending on the calendar, the first Tuesday didn’t always fall within 34 days of the Electoral College meeting, which was the law at the time. So an amendment was passed to specify that voting would happen on the first Tuesday after the first Monday.

November 11th is Veterans Day. Veterans Day is an official United States holiday which honors people who have served in the armed forces. It marks the anniversary of the end of World War I which formally ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. Military veterans and should not be confused with Memorial Day which is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.

Finally, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. 155 years ago, in 1863, even though the Civil War was to continue for two more years, Sarah Josepha Hale, featured in our 2020 edition, wrote to President Abraham Lincoln and asked that the final Thursday of November that year be set aside for Thanksgiving, and so it was. This year we celebrate Thanksgiving on November 26th.

 

Historical Events

Have you ever heard of Nellie Bly?

Nellie Bly began her career as an investigative journalist in the 1880's. Nellie was known for throwing herself into her work. In 1887 she presented herself as mentally ill and was committed to the asylum in New York. After staying there for 10 days she wrote a 6 piece series for the New York World detailing the things she encountered, bringing about major changes in patient care.

While looking for her next big piece, Nellie was inspired by the book Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne and on November 14, 1889 Nellie set off from New York to travel around the world in less than 80 days. Following the same route as the book protagonist, Phileas Fogg, Nellie completed her journey in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 14 seconds. Even stopping to meet Jules Verne along the way.

Nellie's success on her travels lead to her writing the book Around the World in 72 Days, detailing her travels and even board games being created.

From the Almanac


We hope you are enjoying your 2021 Almanac!

The following are the ways you can order:

Online:  By visiting our Country Store
Phone:  1-800-776-2586
By Mail:  Blum’s Almanac, 3301 Healy Drive
               Winston-Salem, NC 27103

You can also use those ways to order any of the following:

We’ll look forward to hearing from you soon!