Welcome to 2025!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/32844100

Finnish independence day ritual - the shaking of hands.

Picture of a widely shared ritual in modern Finland: people gathering to family homes on Finlands independence day December 6, to watch in TV how our president and his/her's spouse shake hands with all the people invited to their official independence day party.

It takes about 2-4 hours, people drink and eat while discussing the outfits and persons shaking hands.

It starts on December 2nd and goes until December 8th. If you know someone who's grieving, now is a good time to check in on them. Even if it feels awkward, it's generally appreciated, though everyone is different.

You can see more at https://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/observances/national-grief-awareness-week

Here are a few of the images from that page:

Here's more information from the organization that organizes it:

https://www.thegoodgrieft

Goes from November 18th to 22nd this year. More info:

https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/conferences-events/events/american-education-week-november-18-22-2024

Fun fact: America got its name from a pickle merchant:

Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci was once a ship chandler, supplying merchants and sailors with supplies for their voyages, including preserved meats and vegetables. His nickname, the pickle merchant, likely arose from his former trade, although writer Ralph Waldo Emerson derisively referred to Vespucci as a “pickle-dealer” in his book English Traits.

ID: what is intersex?

The term "intersex" is used to describe an individual whose chromosomes, hormones, or sexual organs are not in line with the perceived male/female sex binary.

SEX is not binary.

SEX is a spectrum.

Sex is determined by a doctor upon birth using the following guidelines: (according to the infant's genitals):

Bellow is a graphic of a ruler, labelled "Phall-O-Meter", from left to right:

The first, slim section is pink and marked with a female symbol, to the left it says: "it's a girl! (under 3/8 inch)"

The second section, 3 times larger than the first, is purple and marked with an X, underneath it says: "unacceptable! Babies with "ambiguous genitals" often undergo inhumane, dangerous, and un- necessary surgeries to "normalize" their genitals, many times without parental consent!"

The final and largest section is 6 times larger than the first, is blue and marked with a male symbol, to the right it says: "it's a boy! (over 1 inch)"

Under the graphic the text c