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23


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Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
Patrick Henry, American lawyer and patriot, spoke these famous words on March 23, 1775

Tis now the twenty-third of March,
And this warm sun takes out the starch
Of winter's pinafore

Henry David Thoreau; The Freshet

Love is fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell.
Joan Crawford, American actress born on March 23, 1904

Basic research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.
Werner von Braun, German-born American rocket scientist, born on March 23, 1912; in RL Weber, A Random Walk in Science, 1973

We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming.
Werner von Braun; in the Chicago Sun Times, July 10, 1958

On behalf of our producers Kathleen Glynn and Michael Donovan (who is from Canada), I'd like to thank the Academy for this award. 
  I have invited my fellow documentary nominees on the stage with us. They're here in solidarity with me because we like nonfiction. We like nonfiction, yet we live in fictitious times. We live in a time where we have fictitious election results that elect a fictitious president. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons. Whether it's the fiction of duct tape, or the fiction of orange alerts. We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you. And any time you got the Pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up. Thank you very much.

Michael Moore, upon accepting the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, March 23, 2003, the Kodak Theater, Hollywood, California

William 'Strata' Smith, geologist

 

The separation between religion and politics is what Satan likes most.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon, crowned on Washington DC's Capitol Hill as King of Heaven, March 23, 2004

Through the principle of indemnity, Hitler killed 6 million Jews.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon; the word 'indemnity' is a reference to Moon's belief that Jews are largely responsible for the murder of Christ; taken from the speech 'Father's words and Hoon Dok Hae', March 2, 2003

I am determined to liberate all the Jewish people and protect them and restore all of this history.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon    Source

Do you like the smell of your husband's semen? Answer to Father. Does it smell good or bad? You may not like the smell of your wife's stool, but do you smell your own? Why don't you smell your own but you smell your wife's? Because you are not totally one.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon; from a speech 'Who was I?', February 13, 1994

The white race are the descendants of polar bears. Their ancestors were Viking pirates. Wherever the white race goes there is always bloodshed.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon; from a speech 'Where and how do you want to live your life?' June 9, 1996

Homosexuals and fornicators are like dirty dung eating dogs.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon; from the speech 'The family federation for cosmic peace and unification and the cosmic era of blessed family', June 4, 1997

As a man, in your right front pants pocket is a small inside watch pocket. Keep pliers there, and when you go to the bathroom, once a day, pinch your love organ. Cut the skin a little bit as a warning. If your love organ does not listen to your conscience, then you should cut off the tip. Even if it takes that extreme measure, we have to make sure our mind and body become one.
Rev. Sun Myung Moon; from the speech: 'Purity, lineage and the love organ (of life)', February 18, 2001

 

 

 

March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in leap years), with 283 days remaining.
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World Ice Art Championships, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA (March, annually)

Since 1934, ice artists from all around the world have been coming to Fairbanks to create massive ice sculptures. The Ice Museum, located in the heart of Fairbanks, shows the sculptures in temperature-controlled glass displays. 

"The volunteer workers who harvest the enormous blocks of ice deserve medals of their own. To promote the growth of ice, workers regularly clear snow off the surface of a local pond. Without the snow's insulation, the pond is able to freeze faster and deeper. Circular saws and a 48 bar chain saw are used to free the ice, then an extendible boom fork-lift hauls the blocks out and onto waiting trailers. This local pond produces great quantities of clear, sediment-free ice, giving Fairbanks ice the reputation as the Arctic diamond. Each year demand for the ice grows as the word about the event spreads."   Source

Today, with the marvels of Internet technology, we can view these wonders on webcam.

Fairbanks is a city located in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 30,224.

Fairbanks is home to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the oldest college in Alaska.

Ice Becomes Art in Fairbanks    Official galleries    Another gallery

 

 

World Meteorological Day (UN)

"World Meteorological Day commemorates the entry into force, on 23 March 1950, of the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization. Each year, WMO celebrates the Day by focusing on a theme of interest to humanity. The theme of World Meteorological Day 2001—'Volunteers for weather, climate and water'—was chosen to recognize all voluntary contributions, including those of individuals, governments, academic institutions and civil society, including religious groups and schools to the advancement of the sciences of meteorology and hydrology …"
From Message from Prof. Godwin OP Obasi Secretary-General of World Meteorological Organisation  Source
     

 

 

 

   

 

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Folklore of World Holidays
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Against All Enemies: Inside the White House's War on Terror – What Really Happened


The Map That Changed the World


The Da Vinci Code


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A Short History of Nearly Everything


Garden Witchery


The Twilight of American Culture


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The Pagan Book of Days


Eight Sabbats for Witches


Celebrate the Earth
A Year of Holidays in the Pagan Tradition


Wheel of the Year


The Trouble with Islam


A Calendar of Festivals


The Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq


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Lucifer Ascending: The Occult in Folklore and Popular Culture


Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home, and Other Unexplained Powers of Animals
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How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World


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For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire
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Crimes Against Nature : How George W Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy
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When Corporations Rule the World


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Lieldienas, ancient Latvia

From Wikipedia: Lieldienas ('long days') was the celebration of Vernal Equinox on March 23. The celebration usually lasted three or four days; each day was devoted to a specific deity, though no source gives the names of the respective deity. At least one day is probably dedicated to the goddess Mara.

Lieldienas was a celebration of dancing, singing and gaiety. One the first day, the Latvians arose early and rinsed their faces in running water. Symbolically scattering evil, adults scared birds away from the homes and surroundings.

Eggs were associated with Lieldienas. One who steals an egg will be poor. One who eats a hard-boiled egg without salt is a liar. A girl who gives a boy two eggs doesn't like him; three eggs mean there is a chance she does; four eggs means she doesn't like him but will be with him because he is richer than she; five eggs means she loves him.

In modern Latvia, Easter is called Lieldienas. Some of the old traditions survive and are performed at Easter.

In modern Latvian mythology, Mara is the highest-ranking goddess, a feminine Dievs. She may be thought as an alternative side of God (Like in Yin Yang). Other goddesses, sometimes all other goddesses, are considered her alternative aspects. Mara may have been the same goddess as Lopu mate as well.

She is the patroness of all the feminine duties (children, cattle), patroness of all the economic activities ("God made table, Mara – bread"), even money and markets. Being the alternate side of God, she takes away with her the body after a person's death while God (Dievs) takes the soul. She is also the goddess of land, and it is called The Mara land.

In western Latvia, and to a lesser degree in the rest of Latvia, she was strongly associated with Laima, and may have been considered the same deity.

The festival Maras was held in her honour every August 15.

Alternative names: Marsava (Western Latvia), Moschel, Marha

Deities of many cultures in the Book of Days

 

Akitu Festival, Sumeria (c. Mar 20 - 31)

Festival of Hilaria, in honour of Cybele the Mother of Gods, ancient Rome (Mar 15 - 27)

Fifth and final day of Quinquatria (Mar 19 - 23), Festival of Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom, ancient Rome

Festival of Esus the Hunter (Celtic)
"Mysterious Gallic god with an apparent desire for human blood. Associated symbols include a bull and three birds."   Source

In Gaulish religion, Esus or Hesus ("lord" or "master") was possibly a god of agriculture, war and commerce. He was associated with the bull.

More

Feast day of St Alphonsus Turibius, Archbishop of Lima
(Peerless daffodil, Narcissus incomparabilis, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.)

Feast day of St Benedict of Campagna

Feast day of St Edelwald, of England

Feast day of St Gwinear

Feast day of St John Baptist Spagnuolo

Feast day of St Joseph Oriel

Feast day of St Julian

Feast day of St Metod Dominik Trcka

Feast day of St Rafqa

Feast day of St Sibyllina Biscossi

Feast day of St Turibius of Mogroveio

Feast day of St Victorian, proconsul of Carthage, and others, martyrs

Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints

Shunki-Korei-San, or Spring Imperial Spirit Festival, Japan

Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling Against Racism and Racial Discrimination (UN) (Mar 21 - 28)  

 

Summer Finding, Ásatrú (Norse religion)

This Norse festival may be held on other days around the Spring Equinox – it is a northern version of Ostara. It celebrates the light of the sun and the goddess Sunna becoming more powerful than darkness.

Ásatrú, Wikipedia records, is an Icelandic/Old Norse term consisting of two parts: Ása (Genitive of Ćsir) referring to the gods and goddesses, and trú meaning faith. Thus Ásatrú literally means faith in the gods. It is commonly misunderstood to mean 'true to the gods'. The faith is also referred to as Norse or Germanic Heathenry. The Old Norse term for 'heathenry' is heiđni. Yet another Old Norse designation is forn siđr; the ancient custom.

The faith may be regarded as an indigenous ancestral faith much like Shinto, Native American spirituality, and Judaism. It represents the indigenous pre-Christian beliefs of the Germanic peoples. This included the peoples of present-day Scandinavia, England, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, among others.


Shunki-Korei-San, or Spring Imperial Spirit Festival, Japan
On this day, Japan's emperor pays homage to his imperial ancestors. This custom was initiated by the first emperor, Jimmu, in 660 BCE. 

Birthday of the Spoon
We are often regaled with exhortations to celebrate this or that day for some commercial purpose. However, sometimes a commemoration is promoted that appears not only to have no basis in a particular calendar day, but also in any conceivable reason. Such is 'Birthday of the Spoon Day'. You've got to love it.

"... that most common of eating tools, in 19,000 B.C. This is a celebration of that practical implement for eating liquids and foods too soft for forks. But instead of being totally 'spoon-fed' today with soft reflections on God, be willing to dig into some substantial theological reading or something that has the capacity to radically change your life. Unfortunately most of us have not advanced beyond grade-school level religious 'education' and are not willing to sacrifice comfort for spiritual growth."   Source: Pilgrim's Almanac

National Day (Republic Day), Pakistan

Anniversary Day, Otago, New Zealand

 

 

 

1699 John Bartram (d. 1777), American botanist

1749 Pierre Simon de Laplace (d. 1827), mathematician and astronomer

1754 Baron Jurij Vega (d. 1802), Slovene mathematician, physicist and artillery officer

William Smith map1769 William Smith ('Strata' Smith; d. August 28, 1839), English geologist/cartographer who created the first nationwide geologic map.

Although not born in a prominent family (in fact, he came from the wrong side of the tracks according to the social stratification of the day), Smith taught himself the fundamentals of geology. As revealed in Simon Winchester's book, The Map That Changed the World: A biography of William Smith, a respectable scientist of his day appropriated his map as his own.

Smith was for a time poverty stricken, serving time in from King's Bench Prison in London, a debtor's prison. He returned to his home of fourteen years at 15 Buckingham Street to find a bailiff at the door and his home and property seized.

In January 1831 the Geological Society of London conferred on Smith the first Wollaston medal. It was on this occasion that Adam Sedgwick referred to Smith as "the Father of English Geology". In 1838 he was appointed as one of the commissioners to select building-stone for the new Palace of Westminster.

Rocky Road: William Smith    Smith on the WWW    More    More

 

1823 Schuyler Colfax (d. 1885), Vice President of the United States

1834 Julius Reubke (d. 1858), composer

1878 Franz Schreker (d. 1934), composer

1882 Emmy Noether (d. 1935), mathematician

1887 Juan Gris (born José Victoriano González; d. 1927), Spanish cubist painter and graphic artist

1887 Prince Felix Yussupov (d. 1967), assassin of Rasputin

1889 Yukichi Chuganji (d. 2003), formerly the oldest man alive

1900 Erich Fromm (d. 1980) , German-born American  psychologist

1904 Joan Crawford (d. 1977), Hollywood actress

Mommie Dearest
Joan Crawford's fame as an actress was overshadowed by her notoriety as a cruel, neurotic parent, as portrayed by her adopted daughter, Christina in her bestselling book Mommie Dearest, and the movie of the same name starring Faye Dunaway.

"When it was released in 1978, Christina Crawford's Mommie Dearest made an indelible impression on America's cultural landscape: it enjoyed 42 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, spawned a cult film classic based on the book, and placed the issue of family violence in the national spotlight. Issues of family violence brought to light then have yet to be resolved today and the book still stands as a catalyst for change."  Source

1905 Lale Andersen (d. 1972), singer and cabaret artist

1907 Daniel Bovet (d. April 8, 1992), scientist, 1957 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

1910 Akira Kurosawa (d. 1998), film director

1912 Wernher von Braun (d. 1977), German-born rocket scientist who worked on the V2 rockets that rained destruction on London in World War II, but from 1950 worked for the Americans

"After World War II, German-born rocket engineer Werner von Braun came to the US, where he developed rockets for the United States military and for NASA. His history of having been a member of the Nazi party and a key figure in the development of Germany's rocket program during the war made him a controversial figure. It was later calculated that thousands of people enslaved by the Nazis had been killed working in von Braun's missile projects, in addition to the thousands killed in London from the notorious V-2 missile, developed by von Braun. The V-2 was also used against Allied troops after D-Day."   Source  

More

1915 Vasily Zaitsev (d. 1991), World War II hero

1929 Sir Roger Bannister, athlete, first "Miracle Mile"

1942 Walter Rodney (d. 1980), historian and political figure

1949 Ric Ocasek, musician (The Cars)

1951 Corinne Clery, French actress

1952 Kim Stanley Robinson, science fiction author

1953 Chaka Khan, singer

1956 José Manuel Durăo Barroso, Portuguese politician, elected president of the European Commission

1968 Damon Albarn, musician (Blur)

1971 Gail Porter, British television presenter

1972 Judith Godrčche, actress/author

1976 Keri Russell, actress

1978 Nicholle Tom, actress

 

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Holi [ Mar 14 ]Spring [ Mar 20 - Jun 20 ]
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March

20 Autumnal Equinox / Spring Equinox
20 Astrology Day
21 Nowruz
21 Flower Day
21 Baha'i New Year
21 Single Parents Day
22 Sing Out Day
22 International Goof Off Day
22 Roller Coaster Day
22 World Water Day
23 Cuddly Kitten Day
23 Liberty Day
24 Chocolate Covered Raisins Day
24 Houdini Day
25 Pecan Day
25 Independence Day (Greece)
26 Birthday Of Robert Frost
27 Photography Day
27 Fly A Kite Day
27 World Theatre Day
28 Hot Tub Day
28 Respect Your Cat Day
30 Doctors' Day
31 Bunsen Burner Day

April

1 April Fools' Day
1 Firefighters Day
1 World Catfish Festival (Mississippi, USA)
1 Taro Festival (Hawaii, USA)
2 Great Lovers Day
2 Reconciliation Day
2 Peanut Butter And Jelly Day
3 Find A Rainbow Day
3 Chocolate Mousse Day
3 Circus Day
3 Workplace Napping Day
4 Tell A Lie Day
4 Vitamin C Day
4 Independence Day (Senegal)
5 Lady Luck Day
5 Thank Your School Librarian Day
5 Bell Bottoms Day
5 Tomb Sweeping Day
6 Animated Cartoon Day
6 California Poppy Day

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