Accolades of Pensacola – Fun Fact Friday

Pensacola – A Great Place to Live

White sandy beaches, good food, a thriving downtown – these are just some of the features that make Pensacola great. But it’s not only our personal opinion that determines whether these features are great or not. Other companies and organizations have recognized Pensacola in the form of accolades and awards as a wonderful place to live and play. From our beaches to the National Naval Aviation Museum to West Florida Hospital, Pensacola has proven it has a lot to offer.

Check out some of the accolades Pensacola has won just this year:

  • Trip Advisor – Top Ten Beaches in the US, #7 Best Beach in the World
  • Truvin Health Analytics | IBM Watson Health – Top 100 hospital (West Florida)
  • Luxury Travel Guide – The Wildlife Destination of 2017 (Perdido Key)
  • CNN Travel – Top 12 Military Museums to Visit in the World (NNAM)
  • Thrillist – #2 Most Affordable Beach Town

We may not have needed affirmation to convince us Pensacola is a great city with a lot to offer, but it’s always an honor to see Pensacola recognized! I’m personally intrigued by the “#2 Most Affordable Beach Town” award. Beach house, anyone? I know a great Realtor!

What do you love most about Pensacola? Let us know via comment! Happy Friday!

For the complete list of awards, check out the link below:

Source: Award-Winning Pensacola

Halloween History – Fun Fact Friday

A Look at the Origins of Halloween

Trick or treat! No tricks here, just treats of information. Welcome back to Fun Fact Friday! Since Halloween was earlier this week, let us recall the source of this night of spooky specters and candy consumption.

All Hallows Eve began as a Celtic celebration of the end of summer known as Samhain (sow-in). The Celts started this tradition thousands of years ago as a time to remember the dead. They believed that on the night of October 31st those deceased returned to the land of the living. The celebration usually consisted of bonfires, dressing up in animal hides, and predicting one another’s futures. Apart from dressing up in “costumes”, most of the original traditions from this Celtic holiday have evolved or vanished over the centuries.

When immigrants first arrived in America during the 1600s, Halloween went largely unrecognized due to the large Protestant population and their strict convictions. It wasn’t until the 1800s when the potato famine drove many Irish (Celtic) immigrants to the U.S. that Halloween became more nationally observed. As the holiday became more popular, much of its religious and superstitious roots were done away with in an attempt to make Halloween more community and family-friendly.

The early Celtic traditions of dressing in animal hides to ward off evil spirits and leaving food out for visiting ghosts became what we now call trick-or-treating. In the mid-20th century, trick-or-treating revived as a social activity among the community. Children began dressing in costumes and visiting the neighbors for candy and goodies. Now, Halloween is America’s “second largest commercial holiday after Christmas.” I guess people really like candy or something.

Well, there you have it: a brief overview of Halloween and its origins. Did you already know the history? Was there something I left out? Comment below!

Source: History.com

Welcome to Fun Fact Friday!

Pensacola – The City of Five Flags

Welcome to Fun Fact Friday! I wanted to start something enjoyable and interesting, hence; Fun Fact Friday. Plus, you can’t beat the alliteration, am I right? The purpose of Fun Fact Friday is to give you something to look forward to at the end of the work week – Yay, the weekend! – and to interest you with tidbits of trivial information that you may not have otherwise known. Who knows? Maybe the next time you play Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy the things you’ve read from Fun Fact Friday will prove helpful!

The intent is that the topics covered each Friday will be a range of local (Pensacola) history, national/global history, current events, and whatever I come across that I think others might find interesting. So for the first Fun Fact Friday, because the Mahoney Team is located in Pensacola, I wanted to take a look into Pensacola’s own history.

Pensacola has an extensive history going back over 450 years. During the course of this history, Pensacola has come under leaderships from various governments. It is because of these transitions of power that Pensacola has come to be known as the City of Five Flags. This nickname depicts the banners of those governments that have flown over Pensacola – Spain, France, Britain, the Confederacy, and the United States. Their respective rules are as follows:

  • Spain: 1559 (founding), 1698-1719, 1723-1763, 1781-1821
  • France: 1719-1722
  • Britain: 1763-1781
  • The Confederacy (Civil War): 1861-1862
  • United States: 1821-1861, 1865-present

Pensacola’s unique culture exists largely because of these main five governmental controls. This City of Five Flags radiates character and charm from its Spanish architecture to its Civil War-era forts. Is your city a melting pot like Pensacola? Tell us what you love most about where you’re from!

Source: Pensapedia: City of Five Flags