Celebrations of the month
Mother Goose Day, as well as Mother's Day
May
Solo piano works by this man include 1846's Opus 60 "Barcarolle" & 17 Polish songs
(Frederic) Chopin
Idiomatically, it
"is believing"
seeing
This historic American document was addressed to King George III of Great Britain
The Declaration of Independence
This nursery rhyme about a rodent & a timepiece has been called an ancestor of the limerick
Hickory Dickory Dock
Black History Month
February
"Die Zauberflöte" in German, this Mozart opera premiered in 1791, just months before the composer's death
The Magic Flute
Someone who is not quite a friend, but more than a stranger
acquaintance
Dits & dahs were the keys to this system devised in the 1830s that revolutionized communication
Morse code
In Ranjit Bolt's book "A Lion Was Learning to" do this, the title Limerick continues, "in the Alps just outside Chamonix"
Ski
Pi Day,
on the 14th
March
Compositions by Bach include "Toccata &" this "in D minor" as well as "The Art of the" this
He's the Old Testament prophet most quoted in the New Testament
Isaiah
FDR's first inaugural address introduced this policy of treating Latin American nations with respect
The Good Neighbor Policy
A Lewis Carroll girl "grew...thinner & thinner / The reason was plain / She slept out in the rain / & was never allowed any" this
dinner
National Humor Month & in New England, Patriots' Day
April
Handel's 5-movement orchestral suite, "Music for the Royal" these, premiered in 1749 & naturally preceded a display
Fireworks
This adjective means emitting ionizing particles, perhaps as part of decay
radioactive
John Winthrop led many followers to this colony in 1630 & gave us the image of the "city upon a hill"
Massachusetts Bay Colony
This prolific sci-fi & sci writer also produced "Lecherous Limericks" & a "Grossery" of limericks--we'll quote neither
Isaac Asimov
National Native American Heritage Month & in England, Guy Fawkes Day
November
One of Gabriel Faure's most famous pieces is his pavane, a centuries-old dance that gets its name from this Italian "P" city
Padua
Meaning "made up", it also refers in legal terms to any business name that's not the official incorporated one
fictitious
Established to help 4 million African Americans transition out of slavery, this bureau lasted from 1865 to 1872
The Freedmen's Bureau
19th century first & last lines often ended with the same word, as in this nonsense master's "There was an old man with a beard"
Lear