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Kuan Yin's birthday, Republic of China

The birthday of the Goddess Kuan Yin is celebrated annually in Taiwan on this date.   Source

Kwan Yin (Quan Yin; Kuan-Yin; Guān Yīn; Guān Shì Yīn; Kwan Yin; Kuan Shih Yin; Kun Yum; Kannon; Kanzeon; Gwan-eum; Gwan-se-eum; Kwan-ŭm; Kwan-se-ŭm; Quan Âm; Quan Thế Âm Bồ Tát, etc), whose name means 'one who hears the cries of the world', is a the bodhisattva of compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists. In the Buddhist tradition, the five major virtues are mercy, modesty, courage, justice, and wisdom.

Commonly known as the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin is also reverenced by Chinese Taoists as an Immortal. The name Kuan Yin is short for Kuan Shih Yin (py: Guan Shi Yin) which means "Observing the Sounds of the World".

In Japanese, Kuan Yin is called Kannon or more formally Kanzeon; the spelling Kwannon, resulting from an obsolete system of romanization, is sometimes seen. In Korean, she is called Kwan-um or Kwan-se-um. In Vietnamese, she is called Quan Âm or Quan Thế Âm Bồ Tát.

Kuan Yin is the Chinese name for the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. However, folk traditions in China and other East Asian countries have added many distinctive characteristics and legends. Most notably, while Avalokitesvara can be depicted as either male or female, Kuan Yin is usually depicted as a woman, whereas Avalokitesvara in other countries is usually depicted as a man.

Kuan Yin and the Virgin Mary

Many observers have commented on the similarity between Kuan Yin and the Blessed Virgin Mary of Christianity. The Tzu-Chi Foundation commissioned a portrait of Kuan Yin and a baby that resembles the typical Madonna and Child painting.

Some Chinese of the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Philippines, in an act of syncretism, have identified Kwan Yin with the Virgin Mary.

During the Tokugawa shogunate period in Japan, when Christianity was banned and punishable by death, some underground Christian groups venerated the Virgin Mary disguised as a statue of Kannon; such statues are known as Maria Kannon. Many had a cross hidden in an inconspicuous location.

"Symbols characteristically associated with Kuan Yin are a willow branch, with which she sprinkles the divine nectar of life; a precious vase symbolizing the nectar of compassion and wisdom, the hallmarks of a bodhisattva; a dove, representing fecundity; a book or scroll of prayers which she holds in her hand, representing the dharma (teaching) of the Buddha or the sutra (Buddhist text) which Miao Shan is said to have constantly recited; and a rosary adorning her neck with which she calls upon the Buddhas for succor."   Source

Deities of many cultures in the Book of Days

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

Sacrifice at the Tombs, ancient Rome (acknowledging ancestors)

Feast day of Pallas Athena, ancient Greece

Festivals in ancient Greece

Feast of Cronus, ancient Greece
"On the 15th day of Elaphebolion, Greeks presented an obley cake, made with a decoration of 12 knobs, to the God of Time, Cronus. This cake sounds similar to the cakes used to celebrate Matronalia (March 1) and Mothering Sunday (March 10)."   Source: School of the Seasons

Urban Dionysia, ancient Greece (c. Mar 24 - 28)

Eka Dasa Ruda, Bali
"Once every one hundred years on this date, a festival consisting of thirty ceremonies known as the Eka Dasa Ruda is held to restore the balance between the forces of good and evil."
Source: Earth, Moon and Sky

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

Creation of Sun and Moon, according to De Pascha Comutus
Written in 243 CE, the treatise called De Pascha Comutus said that the Sun and Moon were created by God on March 28.

Birthday of Christ (until 336 CE)
Until December 25 was chosen by the Church as Jesus Christ's birthday, this day was the Christmas of the early Church. 

St Mark's Eve (St Mark of Arethusa), celebrated in East Anglia, UK.
Nigel Pennick, The Pagan Book of Days, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, USA, 1992, p. 54

Feast day of St Castor

Feast day of St Conon

Feast day of St Dorotheus

Feast day of St Gontran, King of Burgundy

Feast day of St Gundelindis

Feast day of St Guntramnus

Feast day of St Gwendoline

Feast day of St James Claxton

Feast day of Ss Priscus, Malchus and Alexander, of Caesarea, in Palestine, martyrs
(Lesser leopardsbane, Doronicum plantagineum, is today's plant, dedicated to these saints.)

Feast day of St Rogatus

Feast day of St Sixtus III, Pope

Feast day of St Tutilo

Feast day of St Venturino of Bergamo

Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints

Teachers' Day, Slovakia, Czech Republic

Rikyuiki, Japan

End of March, King Tides, Derby, Australia
"The king of all Australian tides occurs near the town of Derby in King Sound, in north-west Australia, at the end of March and again at the end of April each year. Derby's tides can reach up to 11.8 m, and are the second biggest tides in the world (the largest, clocked at 15 m, occur in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia). At the other end of the scale, the tides of the Mediterranean – the smallest in the world – peak at a weeny 2-3cm."

At the Scriptorium

The origins and folklore of April Fools' Day    The origins and folklore of Easter

1515 St Teresa of Ávila (Teresa of Avila; Teresa of Jesus; d. October 4, 1582), Spanish Carmelite nun, mystic and monastic reformer. Feast day October 15, qv (date of her death according to the Old Style calendar).

Teresa was a contemporary and compatriot of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. In her forties, she read the Confessions of St Augustine and was truly converted to Christianity, although she had been a nun (against her father's wishes) since the age of 17. She experienced visions and ecstasies and a remarkable, orgasmic-like mystical piercing of her heart by a 'spear of divine love':

"I saw close to me an angel in bodily form ... not very large, but small; very beautiful, his face a flame, he must have been one of the highest angels ... In his hand I saw a golden dart, long, the tip red with fire. This dart entered my heart many times and reached my insides; in drawing out the dart it seemed he was taking my insides with it; he left me all inflamed in great love for God. The pain was so deep that it made me moan; and it was so excessive the sweetness this unbearable pain plunged me into, that there was no way for me to stop, nor was the soul satisfied with any less than God himself. This is not a physical but a spiritual pain, though the body has some share in it -- even a considerable share. " (Life, 29,3)

1609 King Frederick III of Denmark (d. 1670)

1760 Thomas Clarkson (d. September 26, 1846), leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. 

From Wikipedia: On his way to London to get an essay that was published in English, he stopped at Wadesmill, Hertfordshire. While relaxing and trying to get a little rest, Thomas Clarkson experienced a spiritual revelation from God. It was this experience that ordered him to devote his life to abolishing the trade. As he continued on his journey to London, he ran into a publisher named James Phillips, who was a Quaker. Phillips arranged for publication in 1786. Philips had introduced Thomas Clarkson to many others were sympathetic to the cause of abolishing slavery.

In 1787, along with William Wilberforce and others, they initiated a series of parliamentary inquiries which brought out the horrors of the Middle Passage. Thomas Clarkson had the responsibility of collecting information to support the abolition of the slave trade. This included interviewing 20,000 sailors and obtaining equipment used on the slave-ships such as iron handcuffs, leg-shackles, thumb screws, instruments for forcing open slave's jaws and branding irons. His collections of information, and his research that took him to ports such as Bristol, helped support their arguments. In 1807, the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed, but it was not until 1833 that Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act giving all slaves in the British Empire their freedom.

Works by Thomas Clarkson at the Online Library of Liberty   Map of the slave trade

Early progressives in the Book of Days

1810 Edward Henty (d. August 14, 1878), pioneer, first permanent settler in Victoria, Australia

1819 Sir Joseph Bazalgette (d. 1891), civil engineer

1862 Aristide Briand (d. 1932), politician, winner of the Nobel Prize in peace 1926

1868 Maxim Gorky (d. 1936), Russian author and political activist

1878 Willem Mengelberg (d. 1951), Dutch conductor

1890 Paul Whiteman (d. 1967), bandleader

1895 Spencer W Kimball (d. 1985), president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

1899 Harold B Lee (d. 1973), president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

1902 Dame Flora Robson (d. 1984), actress

1903 Rudolf Serkin (d. 1991), Austrian pianist

1905 Marlin Perkins (d. 1986), naturalist, television host

1914 Edmund Muskie (d. 1996), United States politician

1921 Dirk Bogarde (d. 1999), actor

1922 Neville Bonner (d. February 5, 1999), Australian politician, the first Indigenous Australian to be elected to the Parliament of Australia

1928 Zbigniew Brzezinski, USA National Security Advisor

1935 Michael Parkinson, CBE, English journalist and television presenter

1940 Tony Barber, Australian quiz show compere (Sale of the Century; The Great Temptation)

"Born in Wales in 1942, he became interested in socialist politics when he attended University College, Cardiff. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1970. In 1983 he became the Labour Party and Opposition leader, a post he held until 1992."
Sydney Daily Telegraph-Mirror, March 28, 1995

1951 Karen Kain, Canadian ballerina

1955 Reba McEntire, country music singer, actress

1968 Iris Chang (d. November 9, 2004), Chinese American freelance historian and journalist best known for her best-selling 1997 account of the Nanjing Massacre, The Rape of Nanking. She committed suicide after a depressive episode resulting from a nervous breakdown.

1970 Vince Vaughn, actor

1977 Devon, pornographic film actress

1981 Julia Stiles, actress

Phew!! Have a rest before the big This day in history section

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Zodiac birthday Free astrology e-cards Passover [Varies ] Birthdays Palm Sunday April Fools' Day [ Apr 1 ]

Varies Full Moon Day
Varies Friday the 13^th
Varies Chinese New Year
Varies Vasant Panchami
Varies Tu B'Shvat
Varies Maha Shivaratri
Varies Mardi Gras 
Varies Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)
Varies Ash Wednesday / Lent
Varies Holi
Varies Purim
Varies Mothers' Day (UK)
Varies Ugadi
Varies Gudi Padwa
Varies Daylight Saving Time Begins / Ends
Varies Ram Navami

March

20 Spring Equinox
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
6 Caramel Popcorn Day
6 International Fun At Work Day
6 Tartan Day
6 International Special Librarians' Day
7 Coffee Cake Day
7 Lets Someone Else Clean Day
7 Ham Radio Day
7 World Health Day
8 Buddha Day (Japan)
8 Hana Matsuri

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193 CE Roman Emperor Pertinax (b. 126) was murdered on the Palatine at Rome, aged 66. Didius Julianus became emperor the same day.

845 Paris was sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collected a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.

Vikings! at the Scriptorium

1285 Death of Pope Martin IV (b. c. 1210).

1380 Gunpowder was first used in Europe, by the Venetians against the Genoese.

The Germans say it was accidentally discovered by Berthold Schwartz. Roger Bacon was certainly acquainted with it. The Arabians used it in a battle near Mecca as early as 690.

1775 Dr Samuel Johnson delivered a harsh opinion of the late poet Thomas Gray:

"Sir, he was dull in company, dull in his closet, dull every where. He was dull in a new way, and that made people think him great."

1776 Juan Bautista de Anza found the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.

1791 Mary Bryant and eight male convicts escaped from the New South Wales (Australia) colony in an open boat, being captured near Timor, thousands of miles away.

1794 Death of Marquis de Condorcet (b. 1743), mathematician, philosopher, and political scientist.

1797 The first patent on a washing machine was taken out.

1834 The United States Senate censures President Andrew Jackson for his actions in defunding the Second Bank of the United States.

1854 Crimean War: United Kingdom and France declared war on Russia.

1856 The Crimean War ended with the Treaty of Paris.

1860 First Taranaki War: The Battle of Waireka broke out.

1862 American Civil War: Battle of Glorieta Pass – In New Mexico, Union forces succeed in stopping the Confederate invasion of New Mexico territory. The battle began on March 26.

1868 Death of James Thomas Brudenell, 7^th Earl of Cardigan (b. 1797), British military leader.

1870 Death of George Henry Thomas (b. 1816), American general.

1881 Death of Modest Mussorgsky (b. 1839), Russian composer.

1897 "Omaha (Nebraska). The majority of the population observed an object arriving from the southeast. It looked like a huge light, flew north-westward slowly, came to low altitude. A crowd gathered at a street corner to watch it."   Source

1910 Henri Fabre became the first person to fly a seaplane after taking off from a water runway near Martigues, France.

1910 Death of David Josiah Brewer (b. 1837), US Supreme Court justice.

1920 Douglas Fairbanks Sr and Mary Pickford, great stars of silent films, known as the King and Queen of Hollywood, married.

1927 Millicent Bryant became the first Australian woman to gain a pilots licence (Pilot Licence No 27). She drowned later that same year in a Sydney ferry accident.

Source: Women aviation pioneers of Australian and New Zealand Skies

1930 Constantinople and Angora changed their names to Istanbul and Ankara.

1938 The Japanese installed a puppet regime in Nanking, China.

1939 Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquered Madrid, ending the war.

1941 World War II: Battle of Cape Matapan – In the Mediterranean Sea, British Admiral Andrew Browne Cunningham led the Royal Navy in the destruction of three major Italian battleships and two destroyers..

1941 Fifty-nine-year-old British author Virginia Woolf (b. 1882), ended her life in the River Ouse. She left a note for her husband, Leonard:

"I have a feeling I shall go mad. I cannot go on longer in these terrible times. I hear voices and cannot concentrate on my work. I have fought against it but cannot fight any longer. I owe all my happiness to you but cannot go on and spoil your life."

 

1942 Australia: Critchley Parker, Jr, a young Melbourne friend of the Jewish people and wealthy son of a prominent publisher, set off enthusiastically to explore the area around Port Davey in south-west Tasmania as a possible site for a Jewish homeland. He did not return.

The new settlement, he wrote in his journal while starving to death in some of Australia's most remote, cold and wild country, would be the "Jewel of the Commonwealth". He never lost faith, even as he lay dying, and he wrote plans until he could write no more.

Tasmanian fisherman Clyde Clayton had a drink with Parker in the local pub before the young romantic set off alone into the wilderness on his quixotic scheme to survey potential sites for his quasi-Zionist fantasy.

Many years later, when asked what he would have done back in 1942 if he'd known Parker was surveying the land for a Jewish utopian colony, Clayton said, "I'd have carved him up and used him as cray bait".

Parker was vainly searched for, but his body was not found until September 4 by fishermen sheltering from bad weather.

"Charlie King dropped him at the foot of Mount MacKenzie and told him to light a fire if he needed help. After two days, when the gales rolled in, Critchley returned to his tent and signalled for help. In doing so he used up all his matches. No help came. He retired to his tent and existed for three weeks on water and aspirin.

"At this point, as he is perishing in his sleeping bag, Critchley begins to write down his future plans for Jewish settlement in the area. These plans include Jewish refugees engaging in pastoral work, agriculture, fishing, mining, and the manufacture of cotton, jewellery and carpets. The economy was to be Soviet in style. There would be a university, a kind of Olympic Games, poetry readings, musical performances, exhibitions of painting, sculpture, weaving and pottery. The residents would live in flats designed by Le Corbusier. He saw the settlement as a 'Paris of Australia' producing liquors, spirits, perfumes and the latest fashions.

"The area around Port Davey is some of the bleakest coastline in the world. There are still no roads, no towns, no people – just sheer peaks, gorges, wild rivers and wild weather. It is a vast landscape which has the ability to prompt vast acts of imagination. Here everything seems possible. 

"It was Clyde Clayton's dog that eventually found Critchley's body. It was very close to where the search party had been looking."   Source

"In the 1940s Critchley Parker Junior, a wealthy eccentric with an abiding passion for the development of the Tasmanian frontier, proposed a fanciful scheme for a major re-settlement of Jewish refugees in the wild country around Port Davey. A deluded romantic bent on fulfilling his own neo-biblical prophesies of a 'New Jerusalem', Parker disregarded the advice and aspirations of his colleagues, and perished, as the result of his own obsessive failings, in the heart of the Tasmanian wilderness. However well-intentioned, Parker's plans to create a safe homeland for his Jewish refugees, devoid of conservationist values and more suited to a script from a reality TV survivor program, were doomed, as indeed contemporary Jewish attempts to peacefully settle the Holy Land appear to be."   Source

A grand Australian failure    More

1946 Cold War: The United States State Department released the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.

1947 The last episode of the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century aired on radio.

1964 The first pirate radio station, Radio Caroline, was established.

1967 U Thant, the Secretary-General of the UN, proposed a general truce in Vietnam followed by peace talks.  

1978 US Supreme Court handed down a 5-3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, 435 US 349, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.

1979 In Pennsylvania, a pump in the reactor cooling system failed at Three Mile Island, resulting in the evaporation of some contaminated water, causing a nuclear meltdown.

Three Mile Island: The Inside Story

1984 Melbourne, Australia: Zoe Elizabeth Leyland was born, the first baby produced from a frozen embryo. The 'test tube' fertilization and embryo freezing were performed by Drs Carl Wood and Alan Trounson of the Queen Victoria Medical Centre.

1990 USA: President George HW Bush presented Jesse Owens with the Congressional Gold Medal (posthumously).

Did Hitler snub Owens?

1991 In defiance of the Communist rulers, thousands attended a pro-Boris Yeltsin rally in Moscow.

1994 Johannesburg, South Africa: Eighteen died when a large number of Zulus, protesting against the South African election, were attacked by gunmen, including African National Congress guards.

2002 The exhibit The Italians: Three Centuries of Italian Art opened at the National Gallery of Australia.

2005 The 2005 Sumatran earthquake shook Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 was the second strongest earthquake since 1960.

 

 

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