Anniversaries, Holidays, & Observances for January 1, 2022

Many days there are far too many anniversaries, holidays, and observances to post about individually on social media, so in an effort to have more of them available, LLPHP is going to experiment with posting them daily here. If there are other items you feel should be included, please email contact@llphp.org and share!


Please note all holidays and observances listed as “National” days are American holidays and observances unless it is stated otherwise.

On This Day

• Ellis Island Day
• New Years Day
• Commitment Day
• Global Family Day
• World Day of Peace
• 1430: The Jews of Sicily were no longer required to attend conversionist services
• 1515: Jews were expelled from Laibach, Austria
• 1788: Quakers in Pennsylvania emancipated their slaves
• 1798: Russia appointed the first Jewish Censor to censor Hebrew books
• 1804: Haiti gained independence from France, making it the only country ever founded by former slaves and without slavery
• 1808: The US Congress prohibited the importation of slaves
• 1846: Yucatan declared independence from Mexico
• 1847: Michigan became the first US state to abolish capital punishment
• 1862: The first US income tax was levied
• 1863: The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by US President Abraham Lincoln to free slaves in Confederate states
• 1871: Belgium removed its salt tax
• 1900: Compulsory education went into effect in the Netherlands
• 1906: Dutch law made driver’s licenses mandatory
• 1906: A poll tax went into effect all adult male inhabitants of Natal, South Africa, except indentured Indians, and married Blacks
• 1911: Belgian Mining law introduced a 9½ hour work day
• 1915: The Jews of Laibach, Austria were expelled
• 1920: The Belorussian Communist Organisation was founded as a separate party
• 1923: The Union of Socialist Soviet Republics was established
• 1926: Flooding of the Rhine inundated Cologne
• 1941: The Netherlands began taxing wages
• 1947: Britain nationalized its coal industry
• 1948: The Transport Act of 1947 went into effect in the UK, nationalizing the British rail system under the name British Railways
• 1956: Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan) declared independence from Egypt and the UK
• 1959: Chad became an autonomous republic within the French Community
• 1960: Cameroon (French Cameroon) gained independence from France
• 1962: Rwanda was granted internal self-government by Belgium
• 1962: Western Samoa gained independence from New Zealand
• 1966: All US cigarette packs were mandated to carry the warning “Caution: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health”
• 1969: People’s Democracy (PD) began a march from Belfast to Derry, inspired by MLK’s Selma to Montgomery march
• 1970: The Netherlands’ Christian Workers Union (NCW) formed
• 1971: A ban on cigarette advertisements on TV went into effect in the US
• 1976: Venezuela nationalized its oil fields
• 1977: Jacqueline Means became the first woman formally ordained an Episcopal priest
• 1981: Palau became self-governing
• 1984: Brunei became independent of the UK
• 1986: Aruba became independent from neighboring island Curacao
• 1991: A 5% sales tax on consumer goods and services went into effect in the USSR
• 1992: Curacao became first in the Dutch Antilles to have compulsory education
• 1993: Cigarette advertisements were banned in NYC’s public transit system
• 1993: Czechoslovakia separated into the Czech Republic (Bohemia) and Slovakia
• 2002: The Open Skies Mutual Surveillance Treaty went into effect
• 2008: A New Hampshire law legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples went into effect
• 2016: Floods along the Mississippi River killed 31 people, leading Exxon Mobil to close a plant in Memphis
• 2018: California became the largest US state to legalize cannabis for recreational use
• 2019: Same-sex marriage became legal in Austria
• 2019: Qatar introduced a 100% “Sin Tax” on alcohol and other “health-damaging goods”, doubling the price of alcohol, tobacco, energy drinks and pork
  
  

Weekly Holidays and Observances including January 1, 2022

• Kwanzaa (December 26-January 1, 2022)
• New Years’ Resolution Week (January 1-8)
• Celebration of Life Week (January 1-7)
  
  

January Monthly Holidays and Observances

• Bath Safety Month
• Celebration of Life Month
• Cervical Cancer Screening Month/Cervical Health Awareness Month
• Eye Care Month
• Financial Wellness Month
• Get a Balanced Life Month
• Get Organized Month
• International Creativity Month
• International Quality of Life Month
• International Wealth Mentality Month
• National Be On-Purpose Month
• National Mentoring Month
• National Glaucoma Awareness Month
• National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month
• National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month
• National Stalking Awareness Month
• National Thank You Month
• Self-Help Group Awareness Month
• Self-Love Month
• Thyroid Disease Awareness Month