On this day… March 25
CEBU, Philippines – In 1944, a man fell 18,000-feet without a parachute and lived. He was 21-year-old gunner Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade, who bailed out of a blazing Lancaster bomber that was badly shot up over Germany. Faced with burning or jumping, he dived out and plummeted earthwards, head first, at 120 miles per hour. He woke up in thick snow, and saw above him the trees that had broken his fall. “Jesus Christ,” he said aloud, “I’m alive.” Apart from minor burns, a splinter wound, and a twisted knee, he was all in one piece – though he’d lost his boots. The only trouble was, his German captors wouldn’t believe his story!
¦ In 1752, it wasn’t New Year’s Day anymore. It had been for Britain and her colonies up to and including 1751, when it was finally decided to drop the old Julian calendar – which was falling behind by three days every 400 years – and adopt the Gregorian alternative. The result was absolute chaos. The New Year now began on January 1; eleven days were lost in September; and in 1753, not only was today no longer New Year, it also became April 5!
— from Today’s the Day! By Jeremy Beadle
In Christian history —
In 1634, the Roman Catholic Church gained permanent foothold in the American colonies when 128 Catholic immigrants arrived on the Potomac River from England. They settled in the colony of Maryland, founded by Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore.
— from This Day in Christian History By William D. Blake
In the Philippines —
In1936, Philippine Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon issued Executive Order No. 23 which prescribed the technical description and specifications of the national flag.The then existing design of the national flag was prescribed by General Emilio Aguinaldo who, during his exile in Hong Kong, requested Marcela Agoncillo to sew it. She was assisted by her daughter Lorenza and Delfina Herbosa de Natividad in the task. When the flag was finished, it was raised during the proclamation of Philippine Independence in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. Its last public display was made during the death of President Aguinaldo in 1964. The banner was sewn with the triangle of the Masonry; three stars representing the main island groups of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao; and the mythical sun with a face and eight rays representing the first eight provinces that revolted against the Spanish rule. These provinces were Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Manila, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Tarlac. During the 1998 Centennial of the proclamation of Philippine Independence, the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 8491, was passed, changing the shade of blue to royal blue.
In Cebu — ¦ In 1898, Spanish soldiers massacred many Visayan sailors in Camba Street, Manila. This was cited as a contributory factor to the April 3 anti-Spanish uprising in Cebu.
¦ In 1932, Cebuano writer, editor and elected Cebu Vice-Mayor (in 1907) Francisco V. Arias (1885-1932) died.
— from Cebuano Studies Center, University of San Carlos
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