January 16: Religious Freedom Day Each year, since 1993, the President declares January 16th to be Religious Freedom Day. The day is the anniversary of the passage, in 1786, of the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom. Thomas Jefferson drafted the legislation and considered it one of his greatest achievements. It stopped the practice of taxing people to pay for the support of the local clergy, and it protected the civil rights of people to express their religious beliefs without suffering discrimination.

January 16: Martin Luther King Day

January 17: Benjamin Franklin was born on this day in 1706.

January 21: National Hugging Day Here is an excuse to give and receive hugs. It’s National Hugging Day. A hug will make you feel good and appreciated so give away as many as you can on this day. National Hugging Day was created in 1986 by Rev Kevin Zaborney from Caro, Michigan.

January 23: National Handwriting Day The purpose of this holiday is to make people realize the importance of handwriting. With computers everywhere, people are less inclined to use writing tools like pens, pencils and other stationery. This holiday was created by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association in 1977. They of course wanted to promote the sales of pens, pencils and other writing instruments. This date was chosen because it was the birthday of John Hancock who was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.

23rd January, 1986: The first ten musicians are inducted into Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame including James Brown, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.

And, January 23, 2012 is the deadline for news, photos, and ads for the next Dolphin Talk!