A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tradition of cultural or religious significance. Holidays may be designated by governments, religious institutions, or other groups or organizations. The degree to which normal activities are reduced by a holiday may depend on local laws, customs, the type of job being held or even personal choices.
The concept of holidays has most often originated in connection with religious observances. The intention of a holiday was typically to allow individuals to tend to religious duties associated with important dates on the calendar. In most modern societies, however, holidays serve as much of a recreational function as any other weekend days or activities.
In many societies there are important distinctions between holidays designated by governments and holidays designated by religious institutions. For example, in many predominantly Christian nations, government-designed holidays may center on Christian holidays, though non-Christians may instead observe religious holidays associated with their faith. In some cases, a holiday may only be nominally observed. For example, many Jews in the Americas and Europe treat the relatively minor Jewish holiday of Hanukkah as a "working holiday", changing very little of their daily routines for this day.
Say It is the debut album from Britt Nicole. It was released May 22, 2007 and features the hit songs, "You", "Believe" and "Set the World On Fire".
About.com's Kim Jones said "bottom line ... Britt Nicole has a winner going with Say It. This girl has it all: talent, drive and a huge heart for ministry. This is one of those faces that you will be seeing a lot more of in the future."
CCM Magazine's Meredith Ball wrote "Musically and vocally, this album is solid. The melodies are infectious, and her voice is appropriately raspy without sacrificing vocal flexibility. Say It is a good listen the entire way through."
Cross Rhythms' Tony Cummings said "this is the debut from 2007 which established this precocious pop talent on the US CCM scene but somehow missed the Cross Rhythms reviewing process. Not that that omission stopped your favourite media organisation from selecting five tracks for its radio stations and all of them - "Holiday", "Good Day", "Don't Worry Now", "Say It" and "World That Breaks" - are as catchy confections as you're likely to hear anywhere." In addition, they said the album "all in all, this is still pure pop put together with considerable skill."
Holiday is the fourth original studio album by American folk rock band America, released by Warner Bros. Records in June 1974 (see 1974 in music). The album was produced in London by noted Beatles producer George Martin.
The album was a big hit in the US, reaching number 3 on the Billboard album chart and being certified gold by the RIAA. It produced two hit singles: "Tin Man" reached number 4 on the Billboard singles chart and went to number 1 on both the adult contemporary chart as well as the Radio & Records chart; and "Lonely People" which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard singles chart and also hit number 1 on the adult contemporary chart. Several other songs received radio airplay on FM stations playing album tracks, including "Baby It's Up To You" and "Another Try".
Bandmember Dewey Bunnell was thrilled at the prospect of working with Martin as producer. He was quoted as saying that it "was great working with George. It was like we knew each other. We were familiar with the Beatles, of course, and we had that British sense of humor." In a separate interview, Dan Peek recalled to Circus magazine: "Gerry (Beckley) had been in England, and we'd talked about using George Martin as our producer. He's such a hot arranger, thinking about all the stuff he's done. There were several other people we wanted to use, but that idea sort of flashed and George was available."
Coffea is a genus of flowering plants whose seeds, called coffee beans, are used to make coffee. It is a member of the family Rubiaceae. They are shrubs or small trees native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia. Coffee ranks as one of the world's most valuable and widely traded commodity crops and is an important export product of several countries, including those in Central and South America, the Caribbean and Africa.
Several species of Coffea may be grown for the seeds. Coffea arabica accounts for 75-80 percent of the world's coffee production, while Coffea canephora accounts for about 20 percent.
The trees produce edible red or purple fruits called "cherries" that are described either as epigynous berries or as indehiscent drupes. The cherries contain two seeds, the so-called "coffee beans", which—despite their name—are not true beans. In about 5-10% of any crop of coffee cherries, only a single bean, rather than the usual two, is found. This is called a peaberry, which is smaller and rounder than a normal coffee bean. It is often removed from the yield and either sold separately (as in New Guinea peaberry), or discarded.
Greasy spoon is a colloquial term for a small, cheap restaurant or diner typically specialising in fried foods. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term originated in the United States and is now used in various English-speaking countries.
The name "greasy spoon" is a reference to the typically high-fat, high-calorie menu items such as eggs and bacon. The term has been used to refer to a "small cheap restaurant" since at least the 1920s.
Many typical American greasy spoons focus on fried or grilled food, such as fried eggs, bacon, burgers, hash browns, waffles, pancakes, omelettes, deep fried chicken, and sausages. These are often accompanied by baked beans, french fries, coleslaw, or toast. Soups and chili con carne are generally available.
Since the 1970s, many Greek immigrants have entered the business. As a result, gyro and souvlaki meats are now a common part of the repertoire, often served as a side dish with breakfast and as a replacement for bacon or sausage.
Café is the stage name of Edson Aparecido da Silva, sometimes credited as Edson da Silva or Café da Silva, a percussionist, singer, composer, and music producer born in Villa Maria, São Paulo, Brazil. He moved to the U.S. in 1985.
He has recorded with Chuck Mangione, Steve Winwood, Jon Lucien, Dave Liebman, Eliane Elias, Rob Mounsey's Flying Monkey Orchestra, Edu Lobo, Batacoto, Gilberto Gil with Ernie Watts, Paquito d'Rivera, David Byrne, Steve Khan, Baden Powell, Tom Harrell, Richard Stoltzman, Joyce Moreno, Judy Niemack, Danny Gottlieb, Herbie Mann, Ana Caram, Bireli Lagrene, James Taylor, Djavan with Stevie Wonder, Sérgio Mendes, Randy Brecker, Nilson Matta, Roni Ben-Hur, and Rachel Portman.
He has appeared with Chico Buarque, Milton Nascimento, Simone, James Last, Phillippe Saisse, Sadao Watanabe, The New York Samba Band, Roberta Flack, David Byrne, Tania Maria, Herbie Mann, Larry Coryell, Morthiam, Gato Barbieri, Vinx, Pepeu Gomes, Michael Franks, Harry Belafonte, Mick Jagger, Margareth Menezes, Ashford & Simpson with Maya Angelou, Michael Brecker, Paul Winter, Astrud Gilberto, Jose Neto, Betty Buckley, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Alex Foster, Lew Soloff, Manfredo Fest, David Kikoski, Aydin Essen, Vinicius Cantuaria, Claudio Roditi, Tony Cedras, and Dianne Reeves, among others.