Innaddition to being called “Decoration Day,” today’s holiday in thenAfrican nation of Liberia is also called “Memorial Day.” Thisngives you a good hint of just what Liberians will be decorating:
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| Do you see any similarities between the Liberian flag and the U.S. flag? |
nLiberianhas a unique history. While most nations in Africa were colonized bynEuropean countries, Liberia was settled by freed slaves from thenUnited States and never had a colonial master. These freed slaves hadnties to the U.S., spoke English, and considered themselvesnChristians, and the culture they set up in Africa had many featuresnin common with the American south that was the only life they hadnknown. The official language of the nation remains English, and morenthan 85% of the population are Christian. The nation’s capital,nMonrovia, was named after James Monroe, the fifth U.S. president, andnthe government structure was patterned after the United Statesngovernment.
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| Leymah Gbowee was an influential leader in creating the peace talks that finally ended the civil wars that had torn apart Liberia. |
nHowever,nin 1980 a military coup overthrew the Americo-Liberian leadership,nand twelve years of civil war devastated the country economically.nPeace was declared again in 2003, and democratic elections began tonbe held again in 2005, but the enormous amount of poverty is anreminder of those harsh years.
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nCheckn out this earlier post.
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nReadn a Liberian folk tale.n There are also links to recipes, clip art, and a lesson aboutn Liberia.
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- Checkn out Philip Martin’s text-mapn about living in Liberia.
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Donald Duck’s birthday
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nLooknUp at the Night Sky Day
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nScientistnJoseph Priestly’s birthday (he “discovered” oxygen!)
