Around the World: Confucius Day [Taiwan]

The Republic of China declared Confucius' birthday as "Teacher's Day", as Confucius Day is also known, in 1952 to celebrate the great sage, also dubbed "first and model teacher", and to honor his contributions to China and the world. On this day, teachers are also honored for their virtues, sacrifices and for being the pilars of culture both for their students and for society. Every September 28, Confucius temples around the island of Taiwan hold sacrificial rituals in honor of the highly respected sage. The ceremony of "Shih Tien Li" (display-presentation), as it is known, has its roots as far as the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC to 256 BC).

The core of the Confucius philosophy are displayed above, over Taiwan's flag, and they are (right to left): benevolence-charity; justice-rectitude; politeness-tact; wisdom-knowledge; fidelity-trust. To the far left are the characters for Kongzi, Confucius real name - Confucius is a westernization of Kongzi.

Although many of these concepts may be found in various religions, Confucianism is not a religion but rather a set of values that establish a moral code for what the revered First Teacher considered a proper and civilized society.

About the Republic of China (Taiwan) flag:

Blue signifies liberty, justice, and democracy; red stands for fraternity, sacrifice, and nationalism, white represents equality, frankness, and the people's livelihood; the 12 rays of the sun are those of the months and the twelve traditional Chinese hours (each ray equals two hours). The blue and white design of the canton (symbolizing the sun of progress) dates to 1895; it was later adopted as the flag of the Kuomintang Party.Note: Not to be mistaken for the People's Republic of China (mainland China).

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Around the World: Independence Day [Chile]

The ripples of the Peninsular War (1808-1814) were not just felt in Brazil, but throughout all of South America at the time divided between Portugal and Spain, countries that Napoleon was invading by then.

In Chile, the independent process began as early as 1810 by the establishment of a "Junta" that would in fact take the responsibilities of local government while still recognizing Madrid's royal sovereignty, albeit struck by the french invasion - Carlos IV (Charles the fourth) had recently abdicated in favor of his son Fernando, who took over the Empire as Fernando VII (Ferdinand the seventh), just in time to get imprisoned by the French together with his father who was persuaded by Napoleon to nullify his earlier abdication only to abdicate in favor of the french emperor himself, who then proceeded to name his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, king of Spain. The stage was set for the South American colonies independence.

From the initial "Junta" to the severance of all ties with the Spanish empire Chile had to fight several years, the independence itself being establish as a fact in 1818 after the battle of Maípu, in which Bernardo O'Higgins and José de San Martin coined their place in Chile's history by defeating the remains of the royalist armies.
This process also took place in Argentina, where San Martin had already become famous, and Peru would follow soon after Chile, which combined with the actions of Símon Bolívar in the northern colonies of South America illustrates the ripple effect mentioned above.

Be as it may, the date of establishment of the first "Junta" is the day that symbolizes the independence process and it eventually became Chile's national day of independence, known as "Dieciocho" (Eighteen) or "Fiestas Patrias" (National Holiday). 

About the Chilean flag:
Two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a guide to progress and honor; blue symbolizes the sky, white is for the snow-covered Andes, and red represents the blood spilled to achieve independence.
Note: design was inspired by the United States flag.
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10 years...

Around the World: Independence Day [Brazil]

September 7 is the Brazillian independence day.

Originally a portuguese colony, Brazil was chosen as a safe haven by João VI (John the sixth) and the portuguese royal family and court during the Peninsular War (1808-1814), Napoleon's invasion of Spain and Portugal, which in effect transformed the colony into the Empire's center of government. When events in the homeland demanded the return of the king to Portugal, João VI left his first born, Pedro of Alcântara, as the regent prince of Brazil. As the royals left, most of the money acumulated in the state coffers left with them, along with most of the privileges instituted in brazillian society during the exile period, causing a wave of discontent that would culminate in all out revolt joined and in fact led by Dom Pedro himself. When the portuguese royal court ordered Dom Pedro to return to Lisbon, meaning to replace him by more suitable regents, the brazillian court asked him to consider staying to which he replied "Tell the people (of Brazil) I stay", on January 9, 1822, a date known to this day as "Stay Day" (Dia do Fico).

On September 7, 1822, Dom Pedro received an ultimatum from his father, demanding his immediate return to the homeland and Brazil's total submission to Lisbon. He was on the bank of the Ipiranga river (modern day São Paulo) when he got this message, to which it is said he replied crying "Independence or death!", the turning point in Brazil's emancipation struggle, this has become known as the "the cry of Ipiranga" (o grito do Ipiranga), an expression that became synonymous to revolt and independence in portuguese popular culture.

Reality or myth, this was a seminal moment in the independence process, which would come about on December 1st, 1822, when Dom Pedro was crowned emperor of Brazil, and September 7 is thus considered Independence Day in Brazil, and celebrated as such since then. 

About the Brazillian flag:
Green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress); the current flag was inspired by the banner of the former Empire of Brazil (1822-1889); on the imperial flag, the green represented the House of Braganza of Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil, while the yellow stood for the Habsburg Family of his wife; on the modern flag the green represents the forests of the country and the yellow rhombus its mineral wealth; the blue circle and stars, which replaced the coat of arms of the original flag, depict the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the morning of 15 November 1889 - the day the Republic of Brazil was declared. The number of stars has changed with the creation of new states and has risen from an original 21 to the current 27 (one for each state and the Federal District).
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Around the World: Labor Day [USA]

Set for September 5 this year, Labor Day is celebrated throughout the United States on the first Monday of September. All U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories have made it a statutory holiday. It was first observed in 1882 and became a federal holiday in 1894.

Labor Day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the United States of America. Should not be mistaken by the international labor day, which is celebrated throughout most of the western world on the first of May.

Traditionaly, Labor Day marks the end of Summer and Summer vacations; kids go back to school, new seasons of TV shows will soon start and so will new seasons of the NFL and college football.

About the U.S.A. flag:
The 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; the blue stands for loyalty, devotion, truth, justice, and friendship; red symbolizes courage, zeal, and fervency, while white denotes purity and rectitude of conduct.
Commonly referred to by its nickname of Old Glory.