holiday

In the early 1900s, Anna Jarvis campaigned to make Mother’s Day an official holiday because she wanted to honor her mother after she had passed away and thought others should honor their mothers, present or passed. Anna’s mother, Ann Jarvis, founded Mothers’ Day Work Clubs that focused on sanitation. Anna’s petition was finally successful in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day a national holiday.

Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May) is not Mexico’s independence day, which is celebrated in September, but it is a celebration of freedom. It is a Mexican and Mexican-American celebration honoring the Mexican victory over the French at Puebla in 1862. Today, it has widened into a celebration of Mexican culture. Cinco de Mayo celebrations often include family and food, music and dancing, and the colors of the Mexican flag (green, white, and red). 

The Australian slang word match seems to be a popular doovalacky with my editor cobbers, so here’s one for your  St. Paddy’s Day festivities. (Yes, that’s Paddy, not Patty.)

Order the flowers, buy the chocolates, pick up the card, make the reservation—the holiday devoted to love gestures is less than a week away. The following word game takes you from a sweet Valentine’s treat to a life commitment in just five steps.

Use the clue to complete the word or phrase; the last part of each word or phrase is the first part of the next.

[candy] [_ _ _ _ _]     sweet conversation starter

[_ _ _ _ _][_ _ _ _ _ _ _]     sentimentally encouraging

With slang in the news and Australia Day upon us (and behind some of us), it seemed only fitting to do an Australian slang word game. I’m no bushie, so I’ve turned to a few online sources to help me identify and define truly Aussie slang. How well do you know your Strine? You won’t be stonkered if you can match the slang term with its correct definition.

Word list

The second in a pair of word puzzles for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is being observed this Monday, January 21.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is being observed this Monday, January 21. A powerful speaker and writer, King was one of the most well-known advocates of nonviolent activism and the chief spokesperson for the Civil Rights Movement here in the United States.

Anyone else have resolutions on the brain? Today’s game gets you ready to embrace the upcoming year.  

Use the first clue to find the first three-letter word. For the remaining words (also three letters each), find the word that fits the clue and can be created by changing only one letter of the previous word.

_____       the night before (The deadline for resolutions!)

_____       a contraction for what you own (Resolution: declutter your stuff?)

Match the Christmas-song word with its etymology snippet. 

Word list:

ivy

jingle

faithful   figgy

peaceful   ring   joy

gentlemen   hark   holly   jolly

silent 

Etymologies:

If you haven’t looked in on the OxfordWords blog recently, you’re in for a holiday treat. I’m looking forward to catching up on my holiday reading about Christmas in Spain, German holiday traditions, Chanukah, Christmas cookies, the Nutcracker, the mysteries of mistletoe, and more. But there’s also more than just reading to do. In the latest post, the blog introduces us to a timely bit of text analysis.