August 24 – Constitution Day in Georgia

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nToday’s holiday – Constitution Day – has nothing to do with the “Peach State” and is not celebrated in Atlanta. Instead, it’s celebrated in the Eurasian country of Georgia.

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n“Eurasian” means that Georgia is at the eastern end of Eastern Europe and at the western end of Western Asia. If you insist on asking, “Wait – is it in Europe or Asia?” then you are going to get the answer “It depends on who you ask!”

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nThe Republic of Georgia adopted its constitution on this date in 1995. Since the republic broke away from the Soviet Union, in 1991, it had based its government on a Decree on State Power. In those interim years, lawmakers wrote and voted on the constitution. 
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nHere are a few things that make Georgia special:
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• The highest mountains in Europe are not the Alps, but instead the Caucasus Mountains that run along the border between Georgia and Russia.

  These mountains are famous for having dramatic views, dangerous roads with hairpin turns, and hidden villages that are cut off from the rest of the world every winter.

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• Georgians call their nation Sakartvelo. I love this name – and it would end that confusion that Americans have about Georgia the U.S. state vs. Georgia the Eurasian nation – but back in the Middle Ages, crusaders noticed that the people of Sakartvelo had a lot of statues of St. George, and probably those crusaders stuck the name Georgia on the region and people.
  

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• The most famous Georgian who ever lived was Joseph
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  nStalin. He was the strong leader of the Soviet Union who helped to defeat Hitler – but he was also a dictator and a tyrant, a brutal leader responsible for killing many of his own people.
  

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• The Georgian language is very different from other languages of the world except a few languages from very
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  nnearby regions. It has its own writing system that also looks quite different than others.
  

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• Bread filled with cheese – and maybe more good stuff – is a famous Georgian food called khachapuri. It is even more popular than pizza for many Georgians.

  One recipe I found is stuffed with three different kinds of

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  ncheese. Near the end of the baking process, an egg is placed in the center of the cheese filling; when the bread is done, the egg is slightly cooked but still runny. It’s supposed to be really yummy! 

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nAlso on this date:

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nFlag Day in Liberia 

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nWayzgoose Day

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nActress Marlee Matlin’s birthday

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nPluto Demoted Day

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nIndependence Day in the Ukraine

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nAnniversary of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

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nKnife Day

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nPlan ahead:

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Check out my Pinterest boards for:

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• nAugust holidays

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• nAugust birthdays

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• nHistorical anniversaries in August

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nAnd here are my Pinterest boards for:

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• nSeptember holidays

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• nSeptember birthdays

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• nHistorical anniversaries in September

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