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Pip Wilson

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Today is

By us … the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia are now frequented … How much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians.
Tertullian, on the observance by Christians, in about the year 230, of Roman festivals; De Idolatria, Ch. 14, in Hislop, The Two Babylons, p. 93

I Martius am! Once first, and now the third!
To lead the Year was my appointed place;
A mortal dispossessed me by a word,
And set there Janus with the double face.
Hence I make war on all the human race;
I shake the cities with my hurricanes;
I flood the rivers and their banks efface,
And drown the farms and hamlets with my rains.
HW Longfellow (1807 - '82); The Poet's Calendar for March

One of the miracles alleged of St David is, that at the anti-Pelagian synod he restored a child to life, ordered it to spread a napkin under his feet, and made an oration; that a snow white dove descended from heaven and sat on his shoulders; and that the ground whereon he stood rose under him till it became a hill, "on the top of which hill a church was afterwards built, which remains to this day."
William Hone, The Every-Day Book, or a Guide to the Year, Vol., 1, William Tegg and Co., London, 1878

Fluellen: Your majesty says very true: if your majesties is remembered of it, the Welchmen did goot service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps; which, your majesty knows, is an honourable padge of the service: and, I do believe, your majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy's day.
King Henry: I wear it for a memorable honour: for I am a Welch, you know, good countryman.
Shakespeare (Henry V); William Hone, ibid

Pistol: Qui va lá?
King Henry: A friend.
P: What's thy name?
KH: Harry le Roy.
P: Le Roy! a Cornish name: art thou of Cornish crew?
KH: No, I am a Welchman.
P: Knowest thou Fluellen?
KH: Yes.
P: Tell him, I'll knock his leek about his pate
Upon St David's day.
Shakespeare, ibid

Gower: Why wear you your leek today? St David's day is past.
Fluellen: There is occasions and causes why and wherefore in all things.—The rascally, scald, peggarly, pragging knave, Pistol, a fellow look you now of no merits, he is come to me with pread and salt yesterday, look you, and pid me eat my leek. [I]t was in a place where I could not preed no contentions with him, but I will be so pold as to wear it in my cap till I see him once again, and then—(Enter Pistol)—Got pless you, ancient Pistol! you scurvy knave, Got pless you!
P: Hence! I am qualmish at the smell of leek.
G: I peseech you heartily scurvy knave, at my desires, and my requests, and my petitions, to eat, look you, this leek
P: Not for Cadwallader, and all his goats.
F: There is one goat for you. (strikes him.) Will you be so goot, scald knave, as eat it?
P: Base Trojan, thou shalt die.
F: I desire you to live in the mean time, and eat your victuals; come there is sauce for it.— (strikes him.) If you can mock a leek, you can eat a leek.
Shakespeare, ibid

He (a Welshman) is pretious [sic] in his own conceit, and upon St David's day without comparison.
A wife, now the widdow of sir Thomas Overburye, being a most exquisite and singular poem of the choice of a wife, whereunto are added many witty characters, &c, London, printed for Lawrence Lisle, 4to. 1614   Source

David and Chad
Sow pease good or bad. (Weather good or bad.)
English traditional proverb; "An old proverb meaning that one should sow peas by the saints' days on the first and second of March regardless of weather conditions."  (Evans, Ivor H, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Cassell, London, 1988)  

Sow beans and peas on David and Chad
Be the weather good or bad.
English traditional proverb  

First comes David, next comes Chad,
Then comes Winnold, as though he was mad.
English traditional proverb

Upon St David's day
Put oats and barley in the clay.
English traditional proverb

The first of this month some do keep,
For honest Taff to wear his leek;
Who patron was, they say, of Wales,
And since that time, cuts-plutter-a nails,
Along the street this day doth strut
With hur green leek stuck in hur hat,
And if hur meet a shentleman
Salutes in Welch; and if hur can
Discourse in Welch, then hur shall be
Amongst the green-horned Taffy's free.
Poor Robin's Almanac, March 1757  

Tradition's tale
Recounting tells how famed Meneva's priest
Marshalled his Britons, and the Saxon host
Discomfited; how the green leek his bands
Distinguished, since by Britons annual worn,
Commemorates their tutelary saint.
Cambria of Rolt, 1759

Why, on St David's Day, do Welshmen seek
To beautify their hat with verdant leek
Of nauseating smell? For honour 'tis, hur say,
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria" –
Right, Sir, to die or fight it is, I think,
But how is't Dulce, when you for it stink?
Diverting Post, 1705

When March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb.
English traditional proverb

March, various, fierce, and wild, with wind-crack'd cheeks
By wilder Welchman led, and crown'd with leeks!
Charles Churchill, 'Gotham' iii 101

A dry March never begs its bread.
A peck of March dust is worth a king's ransom.
(Both these proverbs refer to the fact that in England, dry weather is required at this time of sowing and planting)

Whan that the month in which the world bigan,
That highte March, whan God first maked man.
Geoffrey Chaucer, English poet, c. 1343 - 1400, The Canterbury Tales, 'The Nun's Priest's Tale', l. 3341  

Sturdy March, with brows full sternly bent,
And armed strongly, rode upon a ram,
The same which over Hellespontus swam,
Yet in his hand a spade he also bent
And in a bag all sorts of weeds, y same
Which on the earth he strewed as he went,
And filled her womb with fruitful hope of nourishment.
Edmund Spenser (c. 1552 - January 13, 1599), English poet; Faerie Queen, 'The Cantos of Mutabilitie'

March, various, fierce, and wild, with wind-crack'd cheeks
By wilder Welchman led, and crown'd with leeks!
Charles Churchill; Gotham, iii, 101

So many mists in March you see
So many frosts in May will be.
English traditional proverb

The March sun lets snow stand on a stone.
English traditional proverb

Better to be bitten by a snake than to feel the sun in March.
English traditional proverb

In March much snow,
To plants and trees much woe.
English traditional proverb

A wet March makes a sad harvest.
English traditional proverb

A peck of March dust and a shower in May
Make the corn green and the meadows gay.
English traditional proverb

And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.
Geoffrey Chaucer; Canterbury Tales, 'Prologue', Line 310. On March 1, 1360, King Edward III of England paid 16 pounds to ransom Chaucer from French captivity

Ther n' is no werkman whatever he be,
That may both werken wel and hastily. 
This wol be done at leisure parfitly.
Geoffrey Chaucer; ibid, 'The Marchantes Tale', Line 585

The desired resultant from the execution of this plan would be to place the United States in the apparent position of suffering defensible grievances from a rash and irresponsible government . . . and to develop an image of a threat to peace in the Western Hemisphere … In as much as the objective is overt military intervention … both overt and covert operations [should] be assigned [to] the Joint Chiefs of Staff … Harassment and deceptive actions to convince the Cubans of imminent invasion would be emphasized. Our posture throughout execution of the plan will allow rapid change from exercise to intervention … We could develop a Cuban terror campaign … in Washington … Hijacking attempts against civil air and surface craft should appear to continue … It is possible to create an incident which will demonstrate that a Cuban aircraft has shot down a chartered civil airliner en route from the US to Jamaica, Guatemala, Panama or Venezuela … It is possible to create an incident which will make it appear that Communist Cuban MIGs have destroyed a USAF aircraft over international waters in an unprovoked attack … It is understood the Department of State also is preparing suggested courses of action to develop justification for US military intervention in Cuba.
[Emphasis mine.]
In March, 1962, Operation Northwoods, with the written approval of all of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, was presented to President Kennedy's defence secretary, Robert McNamara. The Joint Chiefs of Staff were calling for a campaign of terror in the USA to be manufactured and blamed on Cuba.  More  More

March 1 is the 60^th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61^st in leap years), with 305 days remaining.
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March birthstones: Bloodstone (red jasper) and aquamarine: signifying courage and optimism.

Who on this world of ours their eyes
In March first o'en shall be wise,
In days of peril, firm and brave,
And wear a Bloodstone to their grave.
Traditional birthstone rhyme

March

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia.

March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days. It was named for Mars, the Roman god of war.

Mars was the son of Juno and either Jupiter or a magical flower. As the word Mars has no Indo-European derivation, it is most likely the Latinized form of the agricultural Etruscan god Maris. Initially the Roman god of fertility and vegetation and a protector of cattle, fields and boundaries, Mars later became associated with battle and identified with the Greek god Ares. He was also a tutelary god of Rome, and as the legendary father of its founder, Romulus, Mars was considered the ancestor of the Roman people.

In ancient Rome, March was called Martius. It was named after the war god (Mars) and was considered a lucky time to begin a war. In ancient Hellenic civilization, March was called Anthesterion.

Trivia

• In March the Sun passes through zodiac constellations Aquarius and Pisces.
• March begins on the same day of the week as November in all years and as February on regular years.
• The signs of the zodiac within the month of March are Pisces and Aries.

Roman festivals and notable days in the Book of Days    Deities of many cultures in the Book of Days

Mars in Roman Religion    March poems and folklore

Old New Year

Historically, March 1 was considered to be the beginning of the year. The names of some months reflect this. (September = Seventh, October = Eighth, November = Ninth, December = Tenth). (see New Year) If the days of the year were counted from March 1, till the next March 1, each date of the year would have the same number every year, unlike counting from January 1.

Old names for March

March is named after the Roman God of War, Mars, as is the Red Planet. The old Dutch name for it was Lent-maand; the old Saxon name was Hreth-monath (rough-month, from its boisterous winds, or some say from Hertha, or Nerthus, Earth Mother goddess), subsequently changed to Length-monath (lengthening-month); it was also called Hlyd-monath (boisterous month). In the French Revolutionary Calendar it was Ventôse (windy month, February 19 to March 20).

"Dr Sayer says the Saxons likewise called it Rhed-monath, a word derived by some for one of their deities, named Rheda, to whom sacrifices were offered in March; others derive it from raed, the Saxon word for council, March being the month wherein wars or expeditions were usually undertaken by the Gothic tribes. The Saxons also called it Hlyd-monath, from hlyd, which means stormy ..."
William Hone, The Every-Day Book, or a Guide to the Year, Vol., 1, William Tegg and Co., London, 1878

Today was a big day in ancient Rome: it was New Year and

also the Matronalia, Festival of Juno, Goddess of Womanhood

New Year

Hestia, in all dwellings of men and immortals
Yours is the highest honour, the sweet wine offered
First and last at the feast, poured out to you duly.
Never without you can gods or mortals hold banquet.

The Vestal Virgins rekindled the sacred fire of the Temple of Vesta on this day. The Roman goddess Vesta (virgin daughter of Saturn and Ops; analogous to Hestia in Greek mythology) and her sacred fire were considered tightly bound to the fortunes of the city, and failure to show proper respect for either was punishable by death. Vesta's fire could only be rekindled by a burning glass, or by friction on a piece of wood from a fruit tree. In Roman homes, a small cake would be thrown on the fire for Vesta, and it was considered a good omen if it burnt with a crackle.

It was a New Year custom, as with today's Christmas, for the Romans to present gifts (strenae) with accompanying good wishes. The word is connected with the name of a Sabine tutelary goddess, Strenia. From her precinct beside the Via Sacra at Rome consecrated branches were carried up to the Capitoline today. The strenae consisted of branches of bay and palm, sweetmeats made of honey, and figs or dates, and these were supposed to bring joy and happiness in the forthcoming year. The fruits were covered in gold leaf as they are today in Germany – the word as well as the custom, survives in the French word etrennes.

The pontifex maximus (head of the Roman religion, from where the current Roman Catholic Pontiff, or Pope, gets his title – read more) today had the privilege of choosing the priest known as flamen dialis, from a list of three candidates nominated by the college of pontificates or pontiffs. Today, also, the old laurel branches around the doors of the regia (home of the pontifex maximus), rex sacrorum, the great flamines, the curiae, and the temple of Vesta were replaced by new branches, bringing to mind the Christian custom of taking down Christmas trees, holly and other decorations at Epiphany.

The Salii ('leapers') processed today in honour of the war god Mars, carrying special shields known as ancilia. They were dressed up in armour and helmets of ancient design and would then jump, leap and bound through the streets, beating their ancilia with their swords, shouting and chanting. Frazer (Frazer, Sir James George, 1854 - 1941, The Golden Bough, 1922) says the leaping was originally meant to show the plants in the fields how to grow in the coming Spring. Frazer also tells us that a Roman custom of expelling the old god Mars at the beginning of the new year in Spring is identical with the Slavonic custom of 'carrying out Death'. The festival of Mars lasted from March 1 to 19.

 

Temple of Vesta and house of the Vestals

"The House of the Vestal Virgins, (Atrium Vestae), was the residence of the Vestal Virgins, the high priestesses of the cult of Vesta. The cult of Vesta is very ancient, and the Vestal Virgins had their residence in the same location from the 6th century BCE to the end of the 4th century CE. It is located on the Forum Romanum, just behind the Temple of Vesta, between the Regia and the Palatine Hill.

"The oldest building on the area was much smaller than the present ruins. It was aligned on a E.-W. axis and formed a single complex with the Temple of Vesta, the Regia and the Domus Publica, which encompassed all the religious duties of the king and his family. It is likely that the wife and daughters of the king administered the cult of Vesta in this period. When the king was expelled from Rome a group of young patrician women were appointed to the cult of Vesta.

"The first known house of the vestals was a simple building at the foot of the Palatine Hill. It was within an enclosure that also included the Temple of Vesta, and it consisted of front room in the full width of the house on the N. side towards the temple, and six separate rooms in the back. It is tempting to assume that the rooms are for the six vestals, and hence the house is from after the expulsion of the king."   Source

Claudia Quinta, a Vestal Virgin, and the goddess Cybele, in the Book of Days

 

See also Vestalia

Matronalia

Let us sing now of Hera, the women's goddess.
she who rules from her throne of gold.
Let us sing now of Hera, child of earth,
daughter of that most ancient of goddesses.
Let us sing now of the queen of gods.
Let us sing now of the most beautiful goddess.
There is no one more beloved than you,
womanly Hera, no one we honor more.
There is no one more revered than you,
queenly Hera, no one more blessed.
Above all others, you are the most honored.
Above all others, you are the most beloved.
Homer; Hymn To Hera

Juno was the Roman Mother Goddess, known to the Greeks as Hera, and her original name to the Romans was Junonius. Juno is a counterpart of Janus and the divine watcher over the female sex, so this month is considered the best time to marry. As Juno Moneta, guardian of wealth and money, she had a temple on the Capitoline Hill in Rome where the empire's coins were minted.

Among Juno's attributes, she is queen of heaven, approximating Frigg in the Northern Tradition, and Mary in the Christian. She is ruler of the high point of year, when there is maximum light and minimum darkness (the northern Summer Solstice).

Today, the Matronalia, was sacred to the goddess in her aspect known as Juno Lucina, protectress of women and marriage, and a later representation of Eileithyia, the Greek goddess of childbirth. Matronalia was celebrated at the temple called the Aedes Junonis Lucinae which was built in 375 BCE in a grove that had been consecrated to the goddess from very early times. Livy records that the grove (lucus) on the Esquiline Hill is the origin of the goddess's name. We know from Ovid's Fasti  (iii.247) that the Matronalia was commemorated annually on this day, the day of the temple's consecration.

Women and girls prayed to her and brought offerings where the goddess was represented veiled, with a flower in her right hand, and an infant in swaddling clothes in her left. Prayers for prosperity in marriage were offered.

By the 2^nd Century BCE, this aspect of Juno was associated with childbirth because the name lucina was thought to have come from the Latin word lux (light); thus, when a child was born it was said to have been "brought to light". In this aspect the goddess was a lunar deity, often paired with Diana and depicted as holding a torch. In the worship of Juno Lucina, women had to untie knots and unplait their hair – sympathetic magic to prevent entanglements in the delivery of babies. In Roman homes, prayers were offered for prosperity in marriage, women waited on the slaves, just as the men did at the Saturnalia, and women received presents from men.

The Matronalia was probably instituted in memory of the peace between the Romans and the Sabines, which was brought about by means of the Sabine women. At this festival wives used to receive presents from their husbands, and at a later time girls from their lovers; mistresses also were accustomed to feast their female slaves. Because of this reversal of the established order we find the festival called by Martial the "Saturnalia of women". (Europe continued with such customs in the tradition of the Lord of Misrule.)

Today the people feasted on similla, cakes decorated it with twelve balls of marzipan around the edges. Cakes with a similar name, simnel cakes, are associated with Mid-Lent Sunday (Mothering Sunday) in England from which Mothers' Day is derived.

Some sources refer to this day as the Matralia. However, that festival was on June 11 and associated with the goddess of dawn, Mater Matuta.

List of Roman festivals and notable days in Wilson's Almanac Book of Days    Deities of many cultures in the Book of Days

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Festival of Idun (Iðunn; Iduna), Norse Goddess of Spring A note on the dating of items in Wilson's Almanac In Norse mythology, Idun (also Iduna, Idunn, Ithun, or Idunnor) was the goddess of youth, fertility, and death. She was the custodian of golden apples which allowed the Aesir gods to maintain their youthfulness, and was the only god allowed to gather them, keeping them in a golden chest. Iduna was the wife of Bragi, god of poetry, and originally a member of the Vanir. She departed the fields and forests of Vanaheim to live with him in Asgard. Iduna was abducted by Thiazi, a storm giant, who wished to have her apples solely to himself. During her absence, the Aesir began to age without the rejuvenating qualities of her apples, prompting them to press Loki the trickster into the task of rescuing her. Borrowing Freya's falcon cloak, he retrieved her from Thrymheim, transforming her into the form of a nut for the flight back. Thiazi, displeased, pursued them in the form of an eagle, but was defeated by having his wings set alight by a bonfire created by the Aesir. Iduna is celebrated with a feast day on the Vernal Equinox. Source: Wikipedia    Source of date    Vikings   Feast day of St David of Wales, or Dewi Saint, Archbishop of Caerleon, patron of Wales (National Holiday of Wales) (Leek, Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.) Saint David is patron saint of Cymru (Wales). He was Bishop of Menevia (now called St David's) in Wales. According to legend, he was the grandson of King Ceredig, uncle of King Arthur of the Round Table. He died in 601 (uncertain) and was canonised in 1120 by Pope Calixtus II. Some state that he was son of Xanthus, son of Ceredig, lord of Ceredigion, and Non, daughter of Gynyr of Caergawh, Pembrokeshire. According to early biographers, he had power to work miracles from even before birth. An angel is said to have attended him constantly after he was born, ministering to his needs and wants. The waters of Bath became warm and healthful through David's action. He healed people, brought the dead back to life. A snow white dove sat on his shoulder, and the earth lifted up to form a pulpit, when he preached. Some say he built the church at Glastonbury (Avalon, seat of King Arthur). David's patronage includes doves and Wales. In art he is represented preaching on a hill; with a dove; as a Celtic bishop with long hair, a beard, and a dove perched on his shoulder; holding his cathedral; leek; or as a man standing on a mound with a dove on his shoulder.   The wearing of the leek on St David's Day Some say this old tradition recalls a victory over the Saxons. The Welshmen, on St David's orders, put leeks in their hats to tell themselves apart from their enemy. Another argument is that leeks were a Druidic symbol in honour of the British deity Ceudven (referred to by the folklorist William Hone; he no doubt refers to the goddess/magician Ceridwen), a cognate of Ceres. Hone maintained that the Druids had sacral connections with the Phoenician priesthood; both worshipped oaks and leeks were exhibited in funeral rites of Adonis at Byblos. Leeks, says Hone, were worshipped at Ascalon (from which comes the alternative term of 'scallions') as they were in Egypt. Leeks and onions were deposited in the sacred chests of the mysteries both of Isis and Ceres. Sometimes leeks are found in Egyptian hieroglyphics; a leek may be found on the head of Osiris or in his hand. An Italian proverb says: Porro che nasce nella mano: 'a leek that grows in the hand', meaning a virtue. The scholar Bryant derived the word sporrus, 'a leek', from Egyptian god Pi-orus, who is the same as Beal Peor of the Phoenicians, and the Bel or Bellinus (Belenus) of the Druids.   St David's Day and the daffodil Leeks (green) and daffodils (white) recall the royal colours of ancient Britain, the folklorist Nigel Pennick tells us (The Pagan Book of Days, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, USA, 1992). But what have daffodils, the large flowered members of the genus Narcissus, to do with it? \Daf"fo*dil\ (d[a^]f"f[-o]*d[i^]l), n. [OE. affodylle, prop., the asphodel, fr. LL. affodillus (cf. D. affodille or OF. asphodile, aphodille, F. asphod[`e]le), L. asphodelus, fr. Gr. 'asfo`delos. The initial d in English is not satisfactorily explained. See {Asphodel}.] (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus {Asphodelus}. (b) A plant of the genus {Narcissus} ({N. Pseudo-narcissus}).     It has a bulbous root and beautiful flowers, usually of a     yellow hue. Called also {daffodilly}, {daffadilly},     {daffadowndilly}, {daffydowndilly}, etc. Source: HyperDictionary   It's possible that confusion between two Welsh words has made the daffodil another symbol (other than the leek) of St David's Day and the Welsh national Day. The Welsh for leek is cenin, and that for daffodil is cenin pedr or 'St Peter's Leek' – if you have grown either the vegetable or the flower you will know that they are similar in some ways, both growing from bulbs (reminder to Southern Hemisphere readers: it's about time to plant both). However, the change from leek to daffodil probably has rather more to do with Victorian gentility: can you imagine wearing an odorous leek on your lapel or in your hat today? The person most responsible for popularising the flower over the vegie was British Prime Minister David Lloyd George (1863 - 1945), who, wanting to emphasize his patriotic Welshness around parliament, without looking or smelling odd, chose to wear the daffodil rather than the leek.   Anniversary of Society of Ancient Britons, 19th Century William Hone, 1826, says that St David's Day is the Anniversary of 'the most Honourable and Loyal Society of Ancient Britons', established in 1714. "They celebrate it with festivity in behalf of the Welch charity school in Grays-inn-road." Members went in procession to the palace of their patron, the king, wearing artificial leeks in their hair. From there they  go to a church for sermon, and the day ends with a dinner. See William Hone, The Every-Day Book, or a Guide to the Year, Vol., 1, William Tegg and Co., London, 1878   More: Hone online   March hares and rabbits March is the month of the 'mad' hare. According to Waverly Fitzgerald's School of the Seasons, this is because it is the time "when hares breed, and apparently leaping, cavorting, dancing and frolicking are part of their mating ritual". Waverly also refers to a custom that is appropriate to mention in this, the month associated with the hare (and, because of the Easter Bunny, with the rabbit). "It is lucky to say, 'Hares, Hares,' aloud as you go to bed," she writes, "on the last day of the month (any month), and to say 'Rabbits, Rabbits,' as soon as you awaken the following morning." One version uses the expression "Rabbit, Rabbit" – if it is said before one says anything else first thing in the morning on New Year's Day, good luck is assured for the year. The custom is not uncommon in the English-speaking world, particularly in the north of England, but I would not hazard the guess that its origins are to be found in that part of the UK. Sometimes it is the practice to say "White rabbits" to bring good luck with money. One is supposed to say it on the first of every month before saying anything else. Folklore being the changeable thing that it is, the rabbits/hares customs differ from place to place, and over time. Sometimes folklore can even provide mutually contradictory exhortations: Mary-Anne Alvaro writes that a document from 1920 has it that: "…the following belief is common in many parts of Great Britain, with local variants: To secure good luck of some kind, usually a present, one should say 'Rabbits' three times just before going to sleep on the last day of the month, and then 'Hares' three times on waking the next morning." Rabbits and hares have a long association, at least in Europe, with fortune good and bad. A rabbit's foot carried on the person assures good luck, but to see a hare first thing when venturing outdoors, will bring the opposite. Thus, we have an English reference from 1584: "He that receiveth a mischance, wil consider whether he met not a hare, when he first went out of his doores in the morning." Did you know, too, that saying "I hate white rabbits" will make smoke (eg, from a campfire or cigarette) blow away from your direction? Or, so it is said. Mad as a March hare "Hares are unusually shy and wild in March, which is their rutting season. The March Hare will be much the more interesting, and perhaps, as this is May, it won't be raving mad – at least not so mad as it was in March. Lewis Carroll; Alice in Wonderland, Ch. vi "Erasmus in his Aphorisms says 'Mad as a marsh hare', and adds, 'Hares are wilder in marshes from the absence of hedges and cover.'" Ivor H Evans, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Cassell, London, 1988 "To carry a hare's foot is very lucky - but only if it contains jointed bones - and is a sovereign remedy against gout, stomach pains and insomnia." Charles Kightly, The Perpetual Almanack of Folklore, Thames and Hudson, 1987 It is found by Experience that when one keeps a Hare alive and feedeth him, till he have occasion to eat him, if he tells him before he kills him, that he will do so, the hare will thereupon be found dead, having killed himself. John Aubrey, Remains of Gentilism, 1688   Full moon in March or April, spawning of the coral, Western Australia   Good weather and sharp days, Greece In Greece it is said that good weather begins today. A thread left out overnight on a rosebush, then tied around the wrist or big toe, will protect the wearer if worn until Easter. In the twelve Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, off the southwest coast of Turkey, known as the Dodecanese, children carry an effigy of a swallow and sing a song in honour of the bird and the fine weather it brings; they also ask for food offerings. The first three days of March are called the Sharp Days. It is said that one should not wash clothes (because they will wear out), chop wood (as it will rot) nor bathe (as the hair will fall out).   Navii's Day (Vjunitci), Day of the Dead (Slavic pagan) "On this first of four days, slavic pagans remember their ancestors in prayer. Today, Navii's Day is the 'Day of the Dead'. People bring sacrifices and invite their ancestors to attend their feast with them."   Source   First day of Autumn, Australia Australians call March 1 the first day of Autumn, just as September 1 is first of Spring, December 1 is the first of Summer and June 1 is the beginning of Winter. The custom, which breaks the tradition of starting it at the Autumn Equinox (c. March 20 in Australia)  is said to date back to early colonial times and has to do with the dates on which uniforms were issued to the British guards of the convict colony.   By David Briscoe   Birthday celebrations for Leap Year Day (Feb 29) birthday people And of course, for March 1 birthday people too, like contributing Almaniac David Briscoe. David Briscoe's photographic proverbs, such as this one above,  have often graced Wilson's Almanac ezine. He frequently sends them all the way from Tulsa Oklahoma, sharing them generously with other Almaniacs. Now you can enjoy them online at his site. Thanks, David, for your generosity over the years, and happy birthday on behalf of me and our thousands of readers, many of whom have sent compliments about your work in the Almy. Looks like my card to you is one of your own pix. (A little secret: Although so far we have never met, David and I discovered we share more than a love for Nature, beauty and poetry. We share a birthday as well.)   Feriae Marti, in honour of the god Mars, Roman Empire Kalends of March, ancient Rome Tobi, ancient Egypt Light Snow Moon, Cheyenne Sap Moon, Algonquin Egyptian day (dies egypticus, dies ægypticus or dies mala), unlucky day in Medieval Europe. ("But, notwithstanding, I will trust the Lord" was the associated saying.) Feast day of St Albinus Feast day of St Antonina Feast day of St Bonavita Feast day of St Christopher of Milan  Feast day of St Domnina Feast day of St Hermes Feast day of St Jane Mary Bonomo Feast day of St Jared Feast day of St Leo of Rouen Feast day of St Leolucas Feast day of St Lupercus Feast day of St Monan, of Scotland, martyr From Wikipedia: Monan (fl. 6th-7th Centuries) is a legendary Scottish saint about whom very little is known. He may have lived in the 6th to 7th centuries. The only description of his life comes from the Brevarium Aberdonense, which was published in Edinburgh in 1509 - '10. This account has numerous demonstrable errors, but it claims that St Monan was a companion of Saint Adrian who was with him on the Isle of May when he suffered martyrdom and then went on to Inverey in Fife and set up a chapel. This chapel was rebuilt by David II of Scotland between 1329 and 1371 after he recovered from battle wounds thanks to the intercession of the saint. This place is the modern day St Monans in Fife, Scotland. The only other corroboration for the saint comes from the monks of Ireland who recorded a "Saint Moenenn" for the same feast day as Monan. This Moenenn was a bishop in Ireland. Feast day of St Roger Lefort Feast day of St Rudesind Feast day of St Seth Feast day of St Simplicius of Bourges Feast day of St Swithbert (Swidbert; Swibert), of Northumberland, UK, bishop Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints Anniversary of Society of Ancient Britons, 19th Century Magellan Day, Guam Welsh National Festival Heroes' Day (National Defence Day), Paraguay Constitution Day, Panama (1946) Time of the Old Woman, Morocco (Feb 25 - Mar 4) Chalanda Maz (coming of Spring festivities), Engadine, Switzerland Pinzon Day, Spain Nuclear-Free Pacific Day Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days), Bahá'í Faith (Feb 25 - Mar 1) Sounkyo Ice Festival, Sounkyo Onsen (spa), Hokkaido, Japan (Jan 29 - Mar 5) Malaki, Hawaii Admission Day, Nebraska, USA (1867) Admission Day, Ohio, USA (1803) Independence Movement Day (Samiljeol; Sam Il Chul), Korea (1919) International Day of the Seal Whuppity Scoorie Day, Lanark, Lanarkshire, Scotland This celebration carries on an ancient custom of noisemaking to drive away evil spirits and thus protect the crops of the season.   Baba Dokia, Romania The first 9-12 days of March are called Zilele Babei, Days of the old Woman, during which time Winter might return with ferocity.  March 1 is called Baba Dokia, after an old woman, the personification of Winter, who lived in the mountains.   Martisor, Romania A seasonal holiday in Romania.   Baba Marta (Grandma March) A Bulgarian custom when the Martenitsa is worn for good health and luck symbolizing the beginning of the Spring season in Bulgaria. "Peasant women embark on spring cleaning and give friends martenitsa, red-and-white wool threads with tassels that they wear until they see the first migrating stork—or the first budding bush (in which case, they hang the martenitsa on its branches). "   Source   Witches ride in eggshells, Montenegro The vjeshtitza, witches in Montenegro, ride in the shell of an egg eaten on March 1.    Awashima Jinja Grand Festival, Uto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan (Mar 1 - 3) "At only 30cm tall, the torii gate of this shrine is the smallest in Japan. It is said that women who are able to pass through the gate will deliver children safely and not suffer women's illnesses."   Source Todai-ji Shunie, Tōdai-ji temple, Nara, Japan (Mar 1 - 14) The temple's Great Buddha Hall (Daibutsuden), reputedly the largest wooden building in the world, houses a colossal bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese simply as the Daibutsu. The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon school of Buddhism. "Festival of water and fire. Priests conduct a fire ceremony every evening from 6pm, swinging long torches in the air to ward off evil. At 2am on the 13th, water is drawn from the 1200 year-old well and offered to visitors."   Source Maha Shivaratri (Night of Shiva), Hindu post-harvest festival On the dating of items in the Almanac The most significant practices on this day are offerings of Bael (Bilva) leaves to the god Shiva, fasting and all night long vigil. "… celebrating the Lord Shiva. Devotees fast on this day, making recitations of the rudri or mahimanstrota. A big fair is held at Bhavnath in Junagadh, and farmer folk indulge themselves in its celebration zealously."   Source: EarthMoonandSky Sometime in March, Ougadi, Mauritius Ougadi is the Telegu New Year and is usually celebrated in March. List of Public Holidays in Mauritius World Day of Prayer Last Day (4 or 5) of Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days), Bahá'í Faith Days in the Bahá'í calendar devoted to service and gift giving. Labour day, Western Australia Beer Day, Iceland World Civil Defence Day This Day commemorates the entry into force in 1972 of the ICDO Constitution as an inter-governmental organisation. Self Injury Awareness Day       1474 Angela Merici (d. 1540), founder of the Ursulines 1597 Jean-Charles de la Faille (d. November 4, 1652), Belgian mathematician 1810 Frédéric Chopin (d. 1849), French composer and pianist, born near Warsaw, Poland 1812 Augustus Pugin (AWN Pugin; d. September 14, 1852), English architect, designer and theorist of design now best remembered for his work on churches and on the Houses of Parliament. An industrious, prolific designer who often worked from dawn to midnight, in his short life he was responsible for an incredible number of major buildings in England, including the interior of St Chad's Cathedral, Erdington Abbey, and Oscott College, all in Birmingham. In Australia, St Francis Xavier's Church (picture) in Berrima, New South Wales, is regarded as a fine example of a Pugin church. 1837 William Dean Howells (d. 1920), American writer, historian, editor, politician 1880 Lytton Strachey, English biographer, member of Bloomsbury Group 1886 Oskar Kokoschka (d. 1980), Austrian-born expressionist painter, graphic artist and poet 1904 Glenn Miller (d. 1944), American big band leader. The Bild newspaper (July 1997, Germany) alleged that during research for a book on Germany's intelligence agency it uncovered documents stating that Miller died of a heart attack in a Paris brothel and not in a plane crash.   1909 David Niven (d. 1983), British actor (The Guns of Navarone; The Pink Panther). Niven was a cousin of actor Patrick Macnee; during his war service his batman (valet, or personal assistant) was Private Peter Ustinov. Niven often used to say he was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland. It was only after his birth certificate was checked after his death that this was found to be incorrect. Niven thought it sounded more romantic. He was born in London, England. "After Great Britain declared war in 1939, Niven was one of the first actors to go back and join the army. Although Niven had a reputation for telling good old stories over and over again, he was totally silent about his war experience. He said once: 'I will, however, tell you just one thing about the war, my first story and my last. I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war.'"   Source 1914 Ralph Ellison (d. 1994), African American writer 1917 Robert Lowell (d. 1977), American poet, poet noted for complex texts, was imprisoned as a conscientious objector during World War II and later spent periods in mental hospitals. He married three times. He is known as the father of the confessional poets, a term used to describe among others Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton and John Berryman. History has to live with what was here, clutching and close to fumbling all we had – it is so dull and gruesome how we die, unlike writing, life never finishes. Abel was finished; death is not remote, a flash-in-the-pan electrifies the skeptic, his cows crowding like skulls against high-voltage wire, his baby crying all night like a new machine. As in our Bibles, white-faced, predatory, the beautiful, mist-drunken hunter's moon ascends – a child could give it a face: two holes, two holes, my eyes, my mouth, between them a skull's no-nose – O there's a terrifying innocence in my face drenched with the silver salvage of the mornfrost. From Selected Poems by Robert Lowell, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc. More   1922 Yitzhak Rabin (d. 1995), Prime Minister of Israel and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 1922 William Gaines (d. 1992), publisher, founder of MAD Magazine 1927 Harry Belafonte, Jamaican-American musician and actor 1927 Robert Bork, American law professor 1929 Georgi Markov (d. 1978), Bulgarian dissident 1935 Robert Conrad, American actor 1942 Gabriel Hudon, FLQ terrorist 1944 Roger Daltrey, musician and actor (The Who) 1954 Ron Howard, American actor, director, producer 1969 Javier Bardem, actor   Phew!! Have a rest before the big This day in history section Send free e-cards to friends & family for celebrations & any topic Do you forget birthdays and anniversaries? Schedule your cards to be sent during the coming year. Zodiac birthday Free astrology e-cards Humour Birthdays Holi [ Varies ] Leap Day [ Feb 29 ] Varies Full Moon Day Varies Friday the 13th Varies Buddhist e-cards Varies Christian e-cards Varies Hindu e-cards Varies Jewish e-cards Varies Muslim e-cards Varies Pagan e-cards Varies Peace e-cards Varies Friendship e-cards Varies Chinese New Year Varies Vasant Panchami Varies Maha Shivaratri Varies Mardi Gras Varies Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day) Varies Ash Wednesday / Lent Varies Holi March 1 Pig Day 1 Share A Smile Day 1 St David's Day 1 Peanut Butter Lovers' Day 2 Banana Cream Pie Day 2 Give Up Easily Day 3 I Want You To Be Happy Day 3 Employee Appreciation Day 3 National Anthem Day (USA) 3 Hina Matsuri (Japan) 4 Tavern Day 5 Say Hi To Mom Day 5 Multiple Personality Day 6 Chocolate Cheesecake Day 6 Dentists' Day 7 Cereal Day 8 International Women's Day 8 No Smoking Day 9 Telephone Day 10 Money Day 11 Dream Day 11 Frankenstein's Birthday 12 Plant A Flower Day 12 Alfred Hitchcock Day 12 Department Store Day 13 Uranus Day 14 Pi Day 14 Potato Chip Day 14 Genius Day 14 White Day 15 Ides Of March 15 Buzzard Day 16 Everything You Do Is Right Day 16 St Urho's Day 16 Curlew Day 16 Hiccup Day 17 St Patrick's Day 17 St Patrick's Day Parade (New York) 17 Submarine Day 18 Paper Dress Day 18 Grandparents And Grandchildren Day 18 Quilting Day 19 Let's Laugh Day 19 St Joseph's Day 19 Chocolate Caramel Day 19 Swallows Day ... More Events Visit the Blogmanac, where today's Almanac is 'live' And I hope you will sign my GuestMap Your family and friends will get a kick when they hear their own name being sung in 'Happy Birthday'!! You can schedule your singing cards in advance, and even add your own face to funny animations. (Pay cards)         If you are enjoying this page, click to receive similar items daily with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine Webmaster, webmasters free content, or else articles at very reasonable rates Pip Wilson's articles are available for your website or publication, on application. Further details   286 Maximian was proclaimed junior Roman emperor (must be like a Dubya). 293 Constantius Chlorus and Galerius were proclaimed junior Roman emperors. 1244 France: A truce began in the siege of the Cathars at Montségur. It ended on March 16 (qv) in circumstances that have helped form myth and legend about the Holy Grail, as any reader of The Da Vinci Code knows. Modern Montségur movement    More    And more Destruction of the Knights Templar, October 13,  1307 in the Book of Days 1360 King Edward III of England paid £16 (c. $3,840) to ransom skilled soldier Geoffrey Chaucer from French captivity during the siege of Rheims. Whanne that April with his shoures sote The droughte of March hath perced to the rote. Geoffrey Chaucer, Canterbury Tales. Prologue. Line 1 1469 William Caxton began translating the Recueil of the Histories of Troy, which became the first book to be printed in England. 1555 Nostradamus published his Book of Centuries, containing all his prophecies, which have been disputed ever since.   Nostradamus's Centuries – a puzzle for centuries "Skeptics, such as James Randi, cast doubt upon the interpretation of Nostradamus' quatrains. "Here is how Randi and Cheetham read one of the more famous quatrains, allegedly predicting the rise of Adolph Hitler to power in Germany: Bestes farouches de faim fleuves tranner Plus part du champ encore Hister sera En caige de fer le grand sera traisner Quand rien enfant de Germain observa. Cheetham's version: Beasts wild with hunger will cross the rivers, The greater part of the battle will be against Hitler. He will cause great men to be dragged in a cage of iron, When the son of Germany obeys no law. Randi's skeptical version: Beasts mad with hunger will swim across rivers, Most of the army will be against the Lower Danube. The great one shall be dragged in an iron cage When the child brother will observe nothing." Source   1562 More than 1,000 Huguenots were massacred by Catholics in Vassy, France marking the start of the First War of Religion. 1620 Death of Thomas Campion (b. 1567), poet and composer. 1642 Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine) became the first incorporated city in America. 1700 Sweden introduced its own Swedish calendar, in an attempt to reform into the Gregorian calendar. 1711 The Spectator began publication in England. It became one of that country's most influential magazines of all time; it was begun by the famous literary men, Irishman Sir Richard Steele and Englishman Joseph Addison. 1712 Sweden reverted to the Julian calendar as March 1 followed February 30. 1753 Sweden introduced the Gregorian calendar as March 1 followed February 17. 1781 USA: The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation. 1811 Leaders of the Mameluke dynasty were killed by Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ali. 1815 Napoleon landed at Cannes, France, with 1,500 soldiers after his banishment to Elba. 1847 USA: Michigan became first state to abolish the death penalty. 1872 Yellowstone National Park, USA, was established as the world's first national park. The second, according to many sources, was the National Park (now Royal National Park; gazetted in 1879), outside Sydney, Australia. Wilson's Webcam Watch The image of Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park, at right, if it's appearing, is generated by a live webcam. Webcam images refresh at set intervals, so if you refresh this page it might show a changed image. If you click it, you'll go to an enlargement or the recommended webcam site. List of  featured webcams Recommend a webcam or Report malfunction 1873 E Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York, started production of the first practical typewriter. 1875 USA: Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. 1878 (Actual day in March unknown to me.) The Goulburn (New South Wales, Australia) Herald recorded the following interesting phenomenon during March, 1878: Lately there has been much excitement amongst the superstitious, numbers of whom go off in parties, with guns & c., to the range above Stewart's Garden, where there is an unfinished stonehouse. Here an apparition is said to make its appearance in the form of a light, and to travel, sometimes very slowly, and frequently very quickly, from the riverbank just below, up to, and around the house, then varying the performance by a run among the trees. This is said to be kept up from an early hour in the evening until about 3 in the morning; all endeavours to get near the light are said to prove futile. "Ransome T. Wyatt's 'The History of Goulburn' records that one Grunsell claimed to have disposed of it with a shot gun."   Source 1880 Pennsylvania became the first USA state to abolish slavery. 1896 Battle of Adowa, in which Ethiopia defended its independence against Italy, began. The Italian invasion with 100,000 troops was defeated. 1912 The first parachute  jump from an aeroplane was made when Captain Albert Berry jumped in St Louis, Missouri, USA. 1919 The publication of the first issue of Smith's Weekly, an Australian paper originally for returned soldiers. 1919 Man Ray, American dadaist/surrealist artist and photographer, published the only issue of TNT, an anarchist magazine, this month. 1921 Kronstadt Rebellion, Russia: 15,000 mutinied against Marxist-Leninist tyranny at Kronstadt, a naval fortress on Kotlin Island in the Gulf of Finland. From March 1 - 17, the old Bolshevik stronghold of Kronstadt rose up, demanding free election to the Soviets – but was slandered and brutally suppressed upon the orders of Lenin and Trotsky. On this day the Kronstadt naval base, some 25 miles off-shore from Saint Petersburg (later Petrograd, then Leningrad, and then St. Petersburg again, as it is now), adopted a 15-point program of political and economic demands – a program in open defiance of the Bolshevik Party's control of the Soviet state. "Almost immediately the Bolsheviks denounced the uprising as a 'White Guard plot', ostensibly another in the series of counterrevolutionary conspiracies that had beleaguered the Soviet regime during the three preceding years of civil war. Less than three weeks later, on March 17, Kronstadt was subdued in a bloody assault by select Red Army units. The Kronstadt uprising, to all appearances, had been little more than a passing episode in the bitter history of the civil war.   We can now say, however, that the Kronstadt uprising marked the end of the Russian Revolution itself." Murray Bookchin (from his introduction to The Kronstadt Uprising, by Ida Mett)   1932 The son of Charles Lindbergh, Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, was kidnapped. 1933 An Anarchist Looks At Life: Speech Before The Foyle's 29th Literary Luncheon. Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, the subject this noon is, "An Anarchist Looks at Life". I cannot speak for all my fellow anarchists, but for myself I wish to say that I have been so furiously busy living my life that I had not a moment left to look at it. Emma Goldman, March 1, 1933 When I was fifteen I suffered from unrequited love, and I wanted to commit suicide in a romantic way by drinking a lot of vinegar. I thought that would make me look ethereal and interesting, very pale and poetic when in my grave, but at sixteen I decided on a more exalted death. I wanted to dance myself to death.   1934 Pu Yi, last Emperor of China, was proclaimed by Japan the king of the puppet state of Manchukuo. 1936 USA: The Hoover Dam was completed. 1940 English actress Vivien Leigh won an Oscar for her role as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind. 1941 World War II: Bulgaria signed the Tripartite Pact thus joining the Axis powers. 1941 USA: W47NV began operations in Nashville, Tennessee becoming the first FM radio station.     1942 Australian ship HMAS Perth was sunk during a battle against the Japanese in the Java Sea, with the loss of more than 350 lives. Perth was sunk on March 1, and Yarra on March 4. Of 686 on board the Perth, only 218 made it back to Australia. Many became prisoners of war and were incarcerated in concentration camps near Batavia (now Djakarta), Java (now Indonesia). More at March 13, 1942, in the Book of Days   1946 The Bank of England passed into private ownership. 1947 The International Monetary Fund began financial operations. 1950 Cold War: Klaus Fuchs was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by giving them top secret atomic bomb data. 1954 Nuclear testing: Officials announced that an American hydrogen bomb test had been conducted on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, destroying the South Pacific atoll.     PETITION PRESENTED TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA REGARDING CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES ARISING FROM U.S. NUCLEAR TESTING IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS     'Bikinian Anthem' Written by in 1946 Lore Kessibuki (1914 - '94) No longer can I stay; it's true. No longer can I live in peace and harmony. No longer can I rest on my sleeping mat and pillow Because of my island and the life I once knew there. The thought is overwhelming Rendering me helpless and in great despair. My spirit leaves, drifting around and far away Where it becomes caught in a current of immense power - And only then do I find tranquility I jab ber emol, aet, i jab ber ainmon ion kineo im bitu kin ailon eo ao im melan ko ie Eber im lok jiktok ikerele kot iban bok hartu jonan an elap ippa Ao emotlok rounni im lo ijen ion ijen ebin joe a eankin ijen jikin ao emotlok im ber im mad ie   Download the first two verses of the BIKINI ANTHEM as sung by the people of Bikini in their church on Kili Island in April of 1997 Recorded in MP3 [460K] by James Tocher Source   Gallery Bouglaf at Bikini Atoll     1954 An earthquake measuring Richter 5.4 caused widespread damage in Adelaide, Australia. 1954 Puerto Rican nationalists attacked the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives. 1959 Archbishop Makarios III returned to Cyprus after three years in exile. 1961 President of the United States John F Kennedy established the Peace Corps. 1962 Uganda became self-governing. 1966 Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashed on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface. 1966 The Ba'ath Party took power in Syria. 1969 The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison was arrested for lewd and lascivious behaviour behaviour in public, indecent exposure, public profanity and public drunkenness, following a controversial stage appearance. Wilson's Almanac Book of Days hip list 1972 A Turkish court found 14-year-old English schoolboy, Timothy Davey, guilty of conspiring to sell cannabis. 1974 Watergate scandal: Seven men were indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice. 1975 Colour TV began broadcasting in Australia. 1977 Sara Lownds Dylan filed for divorce from her husband of eleven years, Bob Dylan. She gained custody of their five children and their million-dollar home. Sara was the subject of such songs as Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, Lay Lady Lay and Sara. 1978 Charlie Chaplin's remains were stolen from Cosier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland in an attempt to extort money from his family, but his body was recovered 11 weeks later near Lake Geneva. 1981 Bobby Sands (1954 - '81), Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer and member of the United Kingdom Parliament began his famous hunger strike whilst in HM Prison Maze (also known as Long Kesh). He died on May 5, 1981. Bobby Sands diary entries & biographies of the ten hunger strikers    Bobby Sands Trust    Biography 1990 The Royal New Zealand Navy became the last navy in the world to do away with the daily ration, or 'tot', of rum. (The Royal Navy did away with theirs on July 3, 1970. It had always been called Nelson's Blood.) 1992 After a majority of Muslim and Croatian communities voted for Bosnian independence, Bosnian Serb snipers fired on civilians. 2002 In an article entitled Backup US Government in place, CNN reported: "Nearly six months after the September 11 attacks, a backup government of federal agency officials is on standby at bunker locations outside Washington as a precaution against a catastrophic strike on the nation's capital ...." 2002 US invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda began in eastern Afghanistan. 2002 The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reached an orbit 800 kilometres (c. 500 miles) above the Earth on its eleventh launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8,500 kilograms (9.5 tonnes). 2002 The Peseta was discontinued as official currency of Spain and replaced with the euro (€). 2003 Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service moved to the United States Department of Homeland Security. 2004 Terry Nichols was convicted of state murder charges and being an accomplice to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. 2004 USA: The TV game show The Price is Right aired its 6,000th episode. 2004 Punycode was adopted by the national registrars of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. 2004 Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum became President of Iraq. 2006 Tarja Halonen was inaugurated as president of Finland for the second and last time. 2006 Britain's Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the new debating chamber for the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff, a milestone in devolution. 2006 The first confirmed case of H5N1 bird flu virus in Switzerland, a dead swan on Lake Geneva, near the city of Geneva. 2006 English-language Wikipedia reached its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station.     Tomorrow: Saint, or god, of wells and springs?    Main calendar | Feb 28 | Feb 29 | Tomorrow | Search     Wikipedia and David Brown's prodigious Daily Bleed are both excellent resources that aid my research. I frequently make use of their generously liberal 'fair use', 'copyleft' and 'anti-copyright' policies, with much gratitude. © My own copyright policy is also liberal, but as this is my livelihood, conditions apply. Read more about today at Wilson's Blogmanac

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