Nov. 1  Daylight Saving Time Ends

Since 2007, under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. The concept of daylight saving was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. In a pamphlet titled "An Economical Project," he calculated how much money people would save in candle wax, wicks and lamp oil if they shifted an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. Before bedtime on Oct. 31, turn the clocks back, change the batteries in the smoke detectors - and enjoy an hour's extra sleep.

Nov. 1  All Saints' Day

This religious observance dates from early in the seventh century when Pope Boniface IV accepted the Pantheon as a gift from the Emperor Phocas and proclaimed the Feast of All Holy Martyrs. Today, the Feast of All Saints is celebrated in different forms by Roman Catholics, Greek and Russian Orthodox, Anglicans and Lutherans.

Nov. 1  40th Annual New York City Marathon

Everything about the New York City Marathon is enormous. It is one of the world's top races, drawing 39,000 entrants and two million spectators to a course that traverses the Big Apple's five boroughs. See:

http://www.nycmarathon.org/

Nov. 1-2  Los Dias de los Muertos (Days of the Dead)

This traditional holiday is celebrated in cities and villages throughout Mexico to honor the dead. It is celebrated every year at the same time as Halloween and the Christian holy days of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. The holiday is also celebrated by Mexican-American families in the United States. It combines elements of pre-Hispanic and Roman Catholic culture. On Nov. 2, family members gather at the cemetery for graveside reunions more festive than somber. TV stations love this story for its macabre visuals.

Nov. 2  All Souls' Day

All Soul's Day is a Roman Catholic day of remembrance for friends and loved ones who have passed away and are believed to be in purgatory. The theological basis for the feast is the doctrine that souls, on departing from the body, are not perfectly cleansed from venal sins, and that the faithful on earth can help them through prayers and the sacrifice of the Mass.

Nov. 3  Election Day

Many Americans will go to the polls in "off-year" state and local elections. The highest profile races are those for governor in New Jersey and Virginia. In New Jersey, Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine is in a tight race with Republican Chris Christie. In Virginia, the GOP's Robert McDonnell was leading the polls against Democrat Creigh Deeds. Another closely watched contest will be in Maine, where passage of Proposition 1 could overturn a recently passed state law legalizing gay marriage.

Nov. 3-4  Federal Reserve Meets on Interest Rates

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will hold a scheduled meeting -- one of eight each year -- to examine and set interest rates. The Fed has kept interest rates at historical lows during the recession, but chairman Ben Bernanke has signaled that rates may begin to rise as recovery takes hold.

Nov. 6  Bureau of Labor Statistics Monthly Employment Report

The BLS will release its monthly report on the employment situation, including data on the unemployment rate for October. Economists - and the Obama administration - will be hoping for a positive report that helps to dispel predictions of a "jobless recovery."

Nov. 9  20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

A seminal event in 20th century history occurred Nov. 9, 1989 with the destruction of the Berlin Wall, which had divided East and West Berlin for 28 years. The occasion will be cause for media re-examination of the last years of the Cold War -- and for popular celebrations in a reunified Germany and around the world. One great media op will be the toppling of a 2-kilometer chain of giant dominoes along the path of the fallen wall.

Nov. 9  NCAA Men's College Basketball Season Begins

If this is November, then "March Madness" is only four months away. The first games of the new college basketball season will be played Nov. 9 as 16 teams from 16 conferences participate in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic tournament.

Nov. 11  Veterans Day

This annual holiday, created to mark the armistice that ended World War I, provides an opportunity for stories on the military forces. Look for approaches that focus on the status of veterans and their individual stories.

Nov. 12-14  Federalist Society Lawyers Convention

Conservative lawyers will gather in Washington for their 27th annual meeting. Amid economic crisis and intense debate over health care reform, the theme of this year's convention is "The Federal Government's Economic Role in our Constitutional System." See:

http://www.fed-soc.org/

Nov. 13-15  National Council for the Social Studies Meets

More than 3,000 teachers, teacher educators, researchers and school officials will gather in Atlanta for the 89th National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference. Theme of the meeting is "Dreams and Deeds - The Civic Mission of Schools." See:

http://www.socialstudies.org/conference

Nov. 13-16  Realtors Convention

The National Association of Realtors, the nation's largest trade association, will hold its 2009 annual convention in San Diego, Calif. After an exceptionally rough year, the realtors are seeing signs of life in the housing market. See:

http://www.realtor.org

Nov. 14  World Diabetes Day

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization sponsor this observance to raise awareness of the global diabetes epidemic. The IDF estimates the number of people with diabetes will exceed 350 million by 2025. Ethnic minorities, including those of Latino or Hispanic heritage, are at greater risk for type 2 diabetes than the general population. More than 10 percent of Latinos in the United States have diabetes, and one-third of those are undiagnosed. See:

http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/

Nov. 15  Sadie Hawkins Day

This American folk event made its debut in Al Capp's Li'l Abner strip Nov. 15, 1937. The mayor of Dogpatch, desperate to marry off his daughter, ordered a foot race in which the unmarried women pursued the town's bachelors, with matrimony the consequence of defeat. This fictional holiday attracted attention due to its reversal of the traditional gender roles. Sadie Hawkins Day largely died out after 40 years when the cartoon was discontinued, but it is still celebrated on a few college campuses.

Nov. 16  Sarah Palin on 'Oprah'

Love her or hate her, this looks like must-see TV: Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will appear on "The Oprah Winfree Show." Given her uncomfortable history in on-air interviews, and Winfree's support of the Obama/Biden ticket, Palin's performance no doubt will stir strong passions across the political spectrum. The former Alaska governor will be pushing her book "Going Rogue - An American Life," which will be released the following day.

Nov. 17  Leonids Meteor Shower

Scientists are expecting a fine show at the peak of this meteor shower Nov. 17. More than 500 meteors an hour should be visible, although the best viewing will be in Asia. The Leonids get their name from their apparent point of origin in the sky, the constellation Leo.

Nov. 18  National Book Awards Ceremony

The National Book Foundation will announce the winners of the 60th National Book Awards at a ceremony in New York. The awards, first presented in 1950, honor works in four categories: fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people's literature. See:

http://www.nationalbook.org/nba.html

Nov. 18  GIS Day

The advent of satellite-based geographic information systems (GIS) has transformed thousands of businesses and activities that depend upon determining locations quickly and with great precision. The National Geographic Society, the Association of American Geographers, University Consortium for Geographic Information Science, the U.S. Geological Survey and other organizations are sponsoring events that showcase applications of this technology. See:

http://www.gisday.com/

Nov. 18-20  Republican Governors Association Meeting

The nation's 22 Republican governors will gather in Austin, Texas. They will be planning a big political comeback in 2010, when 37 governorships will be contested. See:

http://www.rga.org/

Nov. 18-22  Gerontological Society of America Annual Meeting

The nation's gerontologists will hold their 62nd annual scientific meeting in Atlanta. Theme of this year's gathering is"Creative Approaches to Healthy Aging." The latest research on aging will be presented. See:

http://www.agingconference.com/

Nov. 19  Great American Smokeout

This annual event to urge smokers to quit the habit had its beginnings in 1971 when a Massachusetts man asked people to give up smoking for a day and donate money that would have gone to cigarettes to the local schools instead. This local effort became a full-fledged campaign in 1976 when the California division of the American Cancer Society convinced more than a million smokers to quit for a day. See:

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/greatamericans/Smokeout.asp

Nov. 21  National Adoption Day

National Adoption Day is an effort to raise awareness of the 129,000 children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families. On this occasion, courts, judges, attorneys, child welfare agencies and advocates in all 50 states will finalize the adoptions of thousands of children from foster care. See:

http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/2009/index.asp

Nov. 22  Anniversary of the Assassination of John F. Kennedy

It has been 46 years since the assassination of JFK. For nearly everyone old enough to remember, Nov. 22, 1963, stands as one of the defining days of their lives. Each anniversary attracts media attention.

Nov. 24  Consumer Confidence Index

The Conference Board will release its monthly Consumer Confidence Index for November. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy, so this index provides an important measure of future conditions. The report will be closely watched as the holiday season begins.

Nov. 24  GDP and Corporate Profits

The Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its preliminary report on the country's Gross Domestic Product for the third quarter of this year - the second of three increasingly refined estimates. The BEA will also issue its revised figures for corporate profits for the third quarter.

Nov. 26-29  World Scrabble Championship

This tournament, held in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, this year, will attract players from around the world. The event, staged every other year, had been dominated by entrants from the United States, Britain and Canada until 2003 when Panupol Sujjayakorn, a 19-year-old fromThailand who speaks little English, shocked the world's best players to win the title. Malaysian resident Nigel Richards is the reigning champ. See:

http://www.wscgames.com/

Nov. 26  Thanksgiving (Federal Holiday)

Thanksgiving is the nation's most widely shared holiday. Despite the uncertainties of an epic economic crisis and two long wars, Americans will sit down to dinner knowing they have much to be thankful for.

Nov. 27  "The Busiest Shopping Day of the Year" (Not!)

For decades the media have been treating the day after Thanksgiving as the busiest shopping day of the year. It just isn't true, however. (That distinction usually belongs to the Saturday before Christmas.) Nevertheless, editors will send reporters to department stores and malls on Nov. 27 to assess the prospects for holiday sales. Every year, journalists seek out experts on retailing to explain what's going on. One day of shopping may not be an adequate barometer for the economy, but that's how it will be portrayed.

Nov. 27  Buy Nothing Day

Consumer and environmental groups started the annual Buy Nothing Day to protest the relentless commercialization of the holiday season. Their advice: Cut up your credit cards, avoid the malls and spend time with family. Buy Nothing Day is intended to emphasize the negative effects of excessive consumption on wildlife and the environment. See:

http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd

Nov. 29  Advent

Advent is the beginning of the Church Year for most churches in the Western tradition. It anticipates and celebrates the coming birthday of Jesus. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day and ends on Christmas Eve.

Nov. 30  Official End of the 2009 Hurricane Season

The hurricane season ends officially on Nov. 30. Experts say the 2009 Atlantic basin season has been quiet thanks in part to El Nino conditions over the Pacific Ocean. But emergency officials continue to stress preparedness against the kind of monster storms that have battered the U.S. coastline in recent years.

Dec. 1  World AIDS Day

Thousands of events will be held around the world to mark World AIDS Day. A project of the World Health Organization, World AIDS Day has the continuing theme: "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise." It calls for leaders at every level - in families, communities, nations and internationally - to honor commitments to control the devastating pandemic. Among the events planned are conferences, church services, vigils and rock concerts. See:

http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/