Daily Holidays -January 9

National Apricot Day Dreaming of apricots brings good luck, according to English folklore. Try one of these sweet or savory dishes today, and they’re sure to star in your dreams tonight.

Baked Apricots
Amaretto Apricots with Walnuts Teriyaki
Bacon-Apricot Appetizers
Apricot-Citrus Preserves
Asian-Spiced Chicken with Vanilla Apricot Sauce
Apricot Couscous
Apricot Muffins
http://www.food.com/food-holidays/apricot-day-0109

Balloon Ascension Day On January 9, 1793 Jean Pierre Blanchard a noted French aeronaut launched a balloon into the sky in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This was the first first aerial voyage in the new United States.

Blanchard launched in Philadelphia hopeful to make this a successful first aerial voyage. He guided toward New Jersey where after the fog cleared and the winds died down, he enjoyed a bit of wine and bread to calm himself. Once again the wind picking up, he prepared the balloon for landing. Of course putting away all of the things that could break if the landing was rough and landed near the town of Woodbury, New Jersey. This trip was the first successful trip- he flew about 15 miles and was in the air for 46 minutes.

Blanchard was a well known French inventor and is known for his balloon flights. Among them are many firsts flights in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland.

- See more at: http://trionewinery.com/archive/national-balloon-ascension-day/#sthash.MdFf2FpB.dpuf

National Cassoulet Day For some, nothing beats a cassoulet in winter. White beans; confit duck, pork, or goose; and pork sausage go into this hearty French dish from southern France.

It is both fun and serious business, and the Académie Universelle du Cassoulet promotes the dish throughout the world. A cassoulet route was created, from the city of Narbonne to Toulouse, and a merry little hymn even created to sing its praises (see Academie-du-Cassoulet.com). http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1183542-2nd-annual-national-cassoulet-day-in-nyc/

National Static Electricity Day You walk across the rug, reach for the doorknob and..........ZAP!!! You get a static shock. static shock

Or, you come inside from the cold, pull off your hat and......static hair!!
The static electricity makes your hair stand straight out from your head.

What is going on here? And why is static more of a problem in the winter?

To understand static electricity, we have to learn a little bit about the nature of matter. Or in other words, what is all the stuff around us made of? http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/static.html

Panama’s Martyr Day Martyrs' Day is a Panamanian holiday which commemorates the January 9, 1964 riots over sovereignty of the Panama Canal Zone. The riot started after a Panamanian flag was torn during conflict between Panamanian students and Canal Zone Police officers, over the right of the Panamanian flag to be flown alongside the U.S. flag.

U.S. Army units became involved in suppressing the violence after Canal Zone police were overwhelmed, and after three days of fighting, about 21 Panamanians and four U.S. soldiers were killed. The incident is considered to be a significant factor in the U.S. decision to transfer control of the Canal Zone to Panama through the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyrs'_Day_(Panama)

http://www.famousbirthdays.com/january9.html