• A Marriage Blessing Ceremony of 13 American couples is held (February 28, 1969)
• One World Crusade is established (February 28, 1972)
• Dedication of the Yeosu Ocean Hotel (February 28, 2012)
• The March 1^st Korean Independence Movement emerges (March 1, 1919)
• The first 100-day training at the Belvedere Training is held (March 1, 1973)
• The first edition of The Washington Times is published (March 1, 1982)

FEBRUARY 28, 1969

Holy Marriage Blessing of 13 American Couples

Photo credit FFWPU-USA

True Parents after officiating the 13 Couple Holy Marriage Blessing.

On February 28, 1969, at the historic Upshur House in Washington, D.C., True Parents blessed 13 American couples, who according to some interpretations represented the original 13 colonies. This was the first Marriage Blessing Ceremony conducted outside Korea and the first of three that together came to be known as the 43 Couple Blessing. True Parents held a Marriage Blessing of 8 couples in Essen, Germany, on March 28, 1969, and a Marriage Blessing of 22 couples in Tokyo, Japan, on May 1, 1969. The 43 Couple Blessing was conducted on the foundation of the 430 Couple Holy Blessing conducted by True Parents in Korea the previous year and was intended to signify expansion to the worldwide level. True Parents celebrated the Blessing on the 20^th day of their visit to the United States as part of their 1969 World Tour. Miss Young Oon Kim, who directed HSA-UWC America at that time, stated that the Blessing of 13 couples (26 people) “was probably the largest wedding ever celebrated in America.” Those numbers would be eclipsed many times over in subsequent years.