AUGUST 21

On this date in 1959, I was getting ready to start high school and President Dwight David Eisenhower signed the documents making Hawaii the 50th state of the Union.  Hawaiians choose to celebrate their 'statehood day' on the third Friday of August.

The State of Hawaii is made up of the Hawaiian Islands.  The state includes eight main islands and many small islands.  Hawaii is just one of those islands.  The capital of the State is Honolulu which is located on the Island of Oahu (not the Island of Hawaii).

Parts of Hawaii are the most southern of any State.  Surprisingly, the most western points in the U.S. are in Alaska - the Aleutian Islands.

One of my favorite names in all of history is the last reigning monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom.  It was Queen Liliuokalani (lee lee oh ku lan y).  She and her government were overthrown in 1893 with the help of American troops.  The U.S. effectively annexed the country and made it a territory.  In 1993, President William Jefferson Clinton signed an official apology to Hawaii admitting the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and annexation of the islands.

Hawaiian and English are the official languages of the State.  Here is some Hawaiian you should know:  "Aloha"  = hello or goodbye, showing love.  "Hoaloha" = friend.  "Hula" = the native dance.  
"Kala" = money.  "Keiki" = child, children.  "Kulikuli" = shut up!  "Lei" = the flowered necklace. "Lolo" = idiot.  "Mahalo" = thank you.  "Maholo nui loa" = thank you very much.  "Nani" = pretty.
"Mele Kalikimaka" = Merry Christmas.   "Pehea 'oe?" = How are you?   "Pakalolo" = marijuana.  "Wai" = water.  "Wikiwiki" = fast.

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