Shavuot begins at sundown on this day. Called the Feast of the Weeks in the Jewish calendar, Shavuot is a two-day holiday that was originally a harvest festival. It’s also a thanksgiving day to commemorate the Giving of the Law, the Torah, recalling when Moses and the Israelites received the Ten Commandments from God at Mount Sinai. Shavuot, which means weeks, always begins exactly seven weeks after Passover. Shavuot is known also as Yom Habikkurim, or “The Day of the First Fruits,” because Israel’s farmers would bring a bundle from their first harvest to the temple in Jerusalem as a token of thanksgiving to God. Spring harvests in Israel began with the barley crop at Passover. Each farmer would set aside the first of each type of fruit to ripen, tie it in ribbon, and all would be brought to the city, accompanied by a joyful, musical celebration.
Daily Calendar for Sunday, June 1, 2025
Born
- Francis Edgar Stanley (American inventor) –
- Freelan Oscar Stanley (American inventor) –
- Marilyn Monroe (actress) –
- Andy Griffith (actor) –
- Pat Boone (singer) –
- Morgan Freeman (actor) –
- Teri Polo (actress) –
- Heidi Klum (model) –
- Alanis Morissette (singer & songwriter) –
Died
- James Buchanan (15th U.S. president) –
- Leslie Howard (actor) –
- Helen Keller (blind, deaf, and mute author) –
- Yves Saint Laurent (fashion designer) –
- Julian and Adrian Riester (92-year-old identical twin friars died hours apart, each from heart failure) –
- Ann B. Davis (actress) –
Events
- Earthquake shook Plymouth, MA –
- Kentucky admitted into the Union as the 15th state –
- Tennessee admitted into the Union as the 16th state –
- Captain James Lawrence ordered crew, Don’t give up the ship! –
- A lake appeared this month in Salton Sink, Colorado Desert, California –
- Corning Glass Works in N.Y. announced the invention of photosensitive glass –
- The Cable News Network (CNN) made its debut –
- Thirteen-year old Katharine Close spelled “ursprache” correctly to win the 79th Annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. She was the first champion ever from New Jersey –
Weather
- Hail up to four inches in diameter fell in parts of Maine during a series of severe thunderstorms across central and northern New England –
- Thirty-nine degrees F in Springfield, Illinois –
- An EF-3 tornado caused extensive damage from Westfield to Charlton, Massachusetts –
- 1” snow, Delta Junction, Alaska –
