nPostednon December 23, 2014
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nTodaynis the birthday of both Queen Silvia of Sweden AND Emperor Akihito ofnJapan—so today is a holiday in both of those countries.
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nYounmay think, “Germany? I thought she was queen of Sweden!”
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nButnbefore Silvia Sommerlath married King Carl XVI Gustaf, of Sweden, shenlived in Germany and in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She worked at thenArgentine Consulate in Germany, worked as a flight attendant, servednas an educational host during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, andnserved as the Deputy Head of Protocol in the Winter Olympics innInnsbruck, Austria. She is a trained interpreter and knows sixnlanguages. German and Portuguese are her native languages, and shenalso speaks French, Spanish, English, and of course Swedish. She evennknows some Swedish Sign Language!
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nQuitenan accomplished queen!
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nJapan’snEmperor Akihito was born in Tokyo, Japan, on this date in 1933.
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nHenwas born to be emperor; his parents were the Emperor and Empress whonruled Japan during World War II! (Remember, Japan bombed the U.S. atnPearl Harbor and fought bloody battles against the Allies for severalnyears.) During the bombing of Tokyo, Akihito and his brother, bothnprinces, were evacuated from the city, and when Americans occupiednthe country after Japan was beaten, Akihito was tutored in thenEnglish language and Western manners by an American librarian andnauthor, Elizabeth Gray Vining.
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nButnEmperor Akihito tried to bring the Imperial Family closer to thenJapanese people, and he made a historic televised appearance in 2011,nin response to the devastating earthquake and tsunami, urging hisnpeople to not give up hope, and to help one another. They also made anvisit to refugees from the quake and tsunami. Apparently this sort ofnvisit, while common for leaders of some nations, was extremely rarenfor Japanese royals.
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nAkihitonhas managed to follow one of his passions, fish biology. He has donenresearch on fish (which means he is an ichthyologist), and he hasnpublished scholarly papers on his research. In 2007 he earned annhonorary degree from a university.
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nSo…whatndo people do on their royal rulers’ birthday?
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nAlsonon this date:
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nFlight Firsts Day
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nAnniversarynof Benjamin Franklin’s shocking mistake
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nAnniversarynof a man crossing the ocean with no food
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nLinguistnJean-Francois Champollion’s birthday
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nNightnof the Radishes
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nFestivus—thenHoliday for the Rest of Us
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nPlannahead:
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nChecknout my Pinterest pages on:
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nDecembern holidays
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nDecembern birthdays
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- Historicaln anniversaries in December
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nJanuaryn holidays
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nJanuaryn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in January
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