Illustration of a red, blue and gold striped flag on a white background

The flag of Armenia was created after World War I. There are conflicting views on the meaning of the colors, but the most recognized meaning is that red represents the blood of Armenia soldiers, blue represents the sky, and orange represents fertile soil and farmers. Another theory is that red represents the energy of the sun, blue represents the sky, and orange represents wheat.

Illustration of a person their with hands on the sides of their head on a white background

"Stoned Agin!" is a six panel comic created in 1971 by Robert Crumb, an American writer and cartoonist whose work primarily satirizes contemporary American culture. Crumb was integral to the underground comix movement, which typically includes self published comics that are often satirical and feature taboo content. He further assisted the movement by creating and contributing to the publication "Zap Comix," which ran from 1968 to 2014. On par with the underground comix movement, his work often features explicit themes, such as drug use, sexuality, and violence. In 1991, he was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame. In 2011, a "Stoned Agin!" flip book was created, breaking the six panels down further into several images to create the illusion of the comic being animated. 

Illustration of a character with a very long nose and polka dot pants with a empty thought cloud overhead on a background of white and striped rays on a white background

Oat Willie is an Underground comix character that was created by Gilbert Shelton. Oat Willie was initially named “Overly Thoughtful” or “O.T.”. He came to be called “Oat Willie” because his feet would permanently be stuck in a barrel of oats. Accepting this fact, he added wheels for mobility and continued a crusade of social and environmental consciousness.

Illustration of a cartoon cat's head on a white background

Korky is a black male cat from the Korky the Cat comic strip. The comic follows Korky’s adventures as a cat who behaves like a human with his three nephews Nip, Rip and Lip. The comic was created by James Crighton and first appeared in The Dandy, a British children’s comic in 1937. After several different artists took over Korky the Cat, Korky was retired in 2005. Korky was then relaunched in 2010 with Phil Corbett as his new artist.

Black and white peace sign illustration

The peace sign was originally created in 1958 by Gerald Holtom for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Inspired partly by semaphore flag signals for "N" and "D" (Nuclear Disarmament), Holtom sketched the symbol several times in preparation for the upcoming protests. Afterward the symbol was adopted by the American Student Peace Union in the 1960s, it grew to become the iconic symbol that we know today. Holtom passed away in 1985, and his collection of sketches was donated to the Commonweal Collection at the University of Bradford.

Red text on a yellow background

On November 15, 1969 over 500,000 protestors convened on Washington D.C. to protest the Vietnam War. Marches up and down Pennsylvania Avenue took place throughout the protest, which lasted about three days, from Thursday, November 13th to Saturday the 15th. Protestors made anti-war chants, sung songs of peace, and held signs with the names of deceased U.S. troops or destroyed Vietnamese villages. While unsuccessful in ending the war, the march demonstrated the strong organizational power of the anti-war activists. 

Blue text on a white background

On October 22, 1963, a massive boycott took place within Chicago Public Schools to protest against segregation policies. More than 200,000 thousand students did not attend school that day, and tens of thousands of citizens participated in a march to the Chicago Board of Education office. The day became known as Freedom Day. Brown v. Board of Education, which prohibited segregation in schools, passed in 1954, but segregation was not legislated in Chicago until the 1980s.

Green and red text in the middle of an illustration of a wreath with green leaves and red berries on a white background

This holiday-themed button was most likely a promotional souvenir for the Chicago-based sporting goods store, Morrie Mages Sports. Alongside new and popular sporting goods, the store sold a combination of low-cost irregular sports equipment as well as "soon to be discontinued" merchandise. Apparently quite the character, Mages was known as "Chicago's Mr. Sporting Goods" and began his career at a young age hawking sports equipment alongside his father on Chicago's historical Maxwell Street in the 1930s. In 1968, he opened the first Morrie Mages Sports on Chicago Street, which eventually moved to LaSalle Street to become the flagship store after opening three additional stores in the suburbs of Arlington Heights and Woodridge. The year before his death in 1988, Mages sold his four stores to the larger Grand Rapids-based sporting goods chain, MC Sports. The following link is a holiday commericial for Morrie Mages Sports which ran locally in Chicago in 1986: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrE2EgDh4_I 

Red illustration of a heart on a pink background with white block letter text on top

Valentine's Day, also known as Saint Valentine's Day, while not an official public or religious holiday in any country, is recognized and celebrated annually on February 14th. Although the day is named for a Saint Valentine, the Catholic Church recognizes three Valentines who were martyred and it is unclear for which the day is named. One legend states that Valentine was a priest in third century Rome, who performed secret wedding ceremonies for young soldiers who were forbidden to marry. Other stories tell of a Valentine who was killed for helping Christian prisoners escape from being tortured. The day became associated with romantic love in the Middle Ages when the tradition of courtly love flourished. Today, Valentine's Day is recognized throughout the North and Latin America, Asia, and Europe, and is typically celebrated by giving chocolate, flowers, or cards bearing hearts on them to romantic partners. 

Green text outlined in black on a white background

The phrase “happy holidays” is a festive greeting typically used during the winter season. It has been a part of the United States vernacular from as early as the mid-1800s. The phrase was initially used in advertisements and was later embraced as a catch-all phrase for all winter holidays as a way to respect different religious faiths. Controversy has surrounded the phrase starting in the early 21st century as the conservative news outlets led some American Christian conservatives to believe that “happy holidays” was employed by a liberal campaign to censor Christianity and the Christmas holiday. Another way to say “happy holidays” is “season’s greetings.”