❇️ This month in history ➡️ New Year’s in Times Square ~ Happy Days ~ GST ~ Big Celebrations in 2023
❇️ January Mini Bites of History ❇️
CELEBRATION 🎉
JANUARY 1, 1908–
New Years, the first ball was dropped at Times Square in New York City.
This was the fourth year a celebration took place in Times Square. The first three years, fireworks were launched from the roof of One Times Square. The New York Times sponsored the celebrations and decided on something that was less likely to cause a fire. The ball drop was introduced and has been a tradition ever since.
TELEVISION 📺
JANUARY 15, 1974 – Happy Days premiers on television. The half-hour sitcom ran for 11 seasons, with 255 episodes until July 19, 1984.
With a catchy opening song, “Rock Around the Clock”, and “cool” biker named Fonzie, it was a staple TV show in many households.
Ritchie Cunningham, his friends including the Fonze and his parents became one of the biggest hits in television history. From the show, a number of spin-offs were produced, including Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy.
MONEY 💲
JANUARY 24, 1990– The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced by the Canadian Federal Government, with our then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney at the helm.
The value added tax was originally introduced at 7% and has been adjusted twice; currently sitting at 5%. Some provinces combined the tax with their provincial tax and called it a harmonized sales tax (HST). Lucky for us Albertans, we have managed to make it this far with just the GST being collected.
🎁 It is a NEW YEAR! 2023 is there and there are some very notable anniversaries coming up for pop culture and movies. Here are a few for you to go “WOW” at:
- Disney 100 Years of Wonder. The 100th Anniversary of the birth of the Walt Disney Company, which began October 16, 1923.
- Warner brothers will have their big 100th anniversary!
- Toucan Sam from Kellogg’s Fruit Loops turns 60 this year.
- Nerds candy is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
- Star Wars fans…Return of the Jedi turns 40 this year.
- Dinosaur lovers…Jurassic Park is celebrating 30 years.
History is very interesting; tells us where we have been, how the world was and often what mistakes have been made. Memory Monday is based on fun and fascinating bits of history that may not be the big events, but helped shape or bring us to where we are today. If you are interested in this type of history and writing short articles like I've been doing, please contact me at stacey@yourlocalbuzz.ca
