Adriana Puckett

Do you think that Father's Day is another Hallmark holiday, created just to sell greeting cards? Not so! In 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd, in Spokane, Washington, was listening to a lecture on Mother's Day, and thinking about her father's incredible accomplishment in raising his six children alone after the death of her mother. Sonora wanted to honor her father in the same way that mothers were already honored, and she worked with local clergy and the YMCA to host its Father's Day celebration on June 19, 1909.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, calculated according to when the crescent moon is sighted.

During this entire month, adult Muslims do not eat from sunup to sundown. This is called fasting. In the evening, the day's fast is broken with a meal called iftar. Before the day's fast begins, Muslims eat a pre-dawn meal called suhoor. When the month is over, Muslims celebrate a three-day holiday with feasting and gift exchanges, called Id-ul-Fitr (the Festival of Breaking the Fast).

One of our family's favorite year-round activities is a day trip to our area's amazing museums. In the Fredericksburg vicinity we have access to the wonderful array of museums in Washington, D.C. and Richmond, as well as more specialized venues close to home. Here are our family's tips for making your visit successful:

  1. Visit the museum's Web site for ideas about special exhibits and programs. Also check on the museum's guidelines about bringing in outside food, stroller use, and other related issues.

There are two types of holiday cookie bakers. First, there are those who faithfully recreate their favorite recipes year after year to the acclaim of gift recipients. Yes, tried and true recipes are successful… but they can get a bit boring! Do their friends really wait each year with gleeful anticipation for the same old pecan sandies and rum balls, or do they secretly yearn for coconut lemon macaroons and double fudge bar cookies? If you are one of these bakers, take a breather from your holiday traditions, and try a fabulous new recipe!