Founded in 1967 by the International Board on Books for Young People, International Children’s Book Day is an occasion to bring the magical world of literature to children around the globe. The holiday is held on april 2, Hans Christian Anderson’s birthday.
IBBY is has 60 National Sections in its organization. Each year one section is given the opportunity to be the international sponsor of International Children’s Book Day, deciding on a theme and using a writer and illustrator from a host country to create a message for the celebration. The 2008 theme chosen by the Thai Section of IBBY is

Books Enlighten; Knowledge Delights

Poster designer and writer of the message is Chakrabhand Posayyakrit, a Thai illustrator and author, who said “I found inspiration for this painting from Thailand’s long recorded traditions, through the telling of stories to children to their learning by reading inscriptions on palm leaves placed on small folding tables exclusively designed for the purpose of reading.”

Many may have thought it was an April Fool’s joke, but the people of Užupis were (somewhat) serious when they declared themselves an independent republic on April 1, 2000. Užupis means “on the other side of a river” which refers to the Vilnia River that borders the district. There are many artists and writers in this area of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, so they may have been tapping into their creative juices when they wrote their constitution.

Some of the more quirkier terms of the document state:

Everyone has the right to live by the River Vilnelė, while the River Vilnelė has the right to flow by everyone.
Everyone has the right to love and take care of a cat.
Everyone has the right to look after a dog till one or the other dies.
A dog has the right to be a dog.
A cat is not obliged to love its master, but it must help him in difficult times.
Everyone has the right to sometimes be unaware of his duties.  

There are only two days dedicated to royalty in the United States, and both are state holidays in Hawaii. One is June 11 which honors King Kamehameha and the other is March 26, celebrating the birthday of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole.

Born into royalty in 1871, Prince Kūhiō was arrested in 1895 at the age of 24 for participating in a rebellion against the Republic of Hawaii. He served a year in jail and upon his release left the state to travel in Europe and Africa. He eventually returned to his mother land to help establish the right of native Hawaiians as they became an official state.
Kūhiō was elected to the U.S. Congress as a Republican. He served from March 4, 1903 until his death in Waikīkī on January 7, 1922. During this time he instituted local government at the county level, creating the county system still used to-day in Hawaiʻi.

The announced that the Virgin Mary is going to have a child and eating waffles. Two very diverse events that happen to share a holiday - not just a day, but a, intertwined holiday. International Waffle Day is also called Våffeldagen in Sweden, the country where the tasty holiday originated. It is surmised that somewhere along the line, due to certain dialects, the word for the Annunciation, Vårfrudagen (Our Lady’s Day) morphed into Våffeldagen (Waffle Day). So now we celebrate both!

The Feast of the Annunciation is exactly 9 months before Christmas, and commemorates the day the Archangel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary that she was pregnant. It is celebrated with special church services and Masses in the Catholic Church. Because it falls so close to the vernal equinox, it became associated with spring the rites of that season. Waffles come into play because on March 25th the women of Sweden would set aside their winter tasks like chopping wood and knitting, and began their spring tasks… the most notable of which was preparing waffles using flour and cream that needed to be cleaned out of the pantry. It is now popular to make light, sweet waffles and serve them with jam as a desert. For a nice twist, try this Banana Waffle recipe, topped with your favorite fruity ice cream!
Ingredients
2 cups cake flour
2 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter/margarine
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 mashed bananas
Directions
Melt butter in 2 qt. measuring cup. Add sugar and stir. Add vanilla and stir. Add milk a little at a time, stirring.Separate eggs, putting egg whites in small bowl and egg yolks in another. Beat egg yolks and add to mixture. Whip egg whites until stiff and set aside. Add flour to mixture a little at a time until desired consistency. (You may use a little more or less than 2 cups.)Mash bananas and add to mixture. Fold egg whites into mixture. Pour small amount into hot waffle iron and cook.

Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Adar, so this year (2008) it is on March 21. It is traditionally the day following the victory of the Jews over their enemies in Persia, who had held them captive in Babylon for 70 years. According to the Book of Esther in the Old Testament, a member of the Persian king’s court, a man named Haman, planned to kill the Jews. Haman cast lots to decide the day to exterminate the Jews. His plans were foiled by Queen Esther, who convinced the king during a festive meal to stopped Haman

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It is Jewish tradition to begin celebrating at sundown on the day prior to the holiday. Children wear festive costumes and participate in a Purim Carnival full of games and delicious treats. No one leaves a Purim celebration empty-handed. It’s considered a mitzvah (good deed) to give gifts to friends, neighbors and to the poor. Commemorating the feast during which the king made his critical decision, Purim is celebrated with a great feast featuring fish dishes, lots of wine and triangular pastries called homentashn (”Haman’s pockets”). Try this easy version with your family.
INGREDIENTS
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup orange juice
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup fruit preserves, any flavor
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until lightly and fluffy. Stir in the oil, vanilla and orange juice. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter to form a stiff dough. If dough is not stiff enough to roll out, stir in more flour. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut into circles using a cookie cutter or the rim or a drinking glass.

Place cookies 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Spoon about 2 teaspoons of preserves into the center of each one. Pinch the edges to form three corners.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Emphasizing a plant-based diet, National Meatout Day was started in 1985 to encourage the world to look at the way we eat. It is coordinated each year by FARM, (Farm Animal Reform Movement). This is a national nonprofit, public interest organization. According to its Website, FARM, headquartered in the nation’s capital, advocates plant-based (vegan) diets to save animals, protect the environment, and improve health.

Treat your family to my favorite Vegetarian Meatballs.

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 cup diced onions
1 cup chopped nuts - pecans work well
1 cup cheese, any type of blended variety
5 eggs
BBQ sauce

Directions

Place bread crumbs, onions, nuts and cheese in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper or a bit of Mrs. Dash. Add the 5 eggs and mix well until you can scop golf balle sized clumps together and they stay in shape. If the mixture is too wet, gradually add small amounts of flour until it has a good sticky consistency.

Working in batches, fry in a large skillet or wok with about 1 inch of vegetable oil. Fry until golden brown turning them over sring the process.

Drain/cool on pape towels. Place closely packed in casserole dish and coat with BBQ sauce or any other kind of sauce you like (mushroom gravy, seet and sour…). Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, until surface of meatballs start to bubble.

You can make and fry these one day and coat and bake them the next. Great for parties!

Legend says that with the arrival of early dawn on St. Joseph’s Day, the little birds begin to arrive and begin rebuilding their mud nests, which are clinging to the ruins of the old stone church of San Juan Capistrano. Each year the City of San Juan Capistrano sponsors the Fiesta de las Golondrinas, a week-long celebration of this auspicious event. Tradition has it that the main flock arrives on March 19 (Saint Joseph’s Day), and flies south on the feast day of the mission’s Saint John’s Day, October 23.

But most important to the Catholic Church, St. Joseph’s Day celebrates the man who was mother to Mary, mother of Jesus. He is often considered the patron saint of Sicily. As legend goes, there was a severe drought during the Middle Ages. People prayed to St. Joseph, saying that if he answered their prayers they would prepare a large feast to honor him. When the rain fell, St. Joseph’s legacy in Italy was founded.

In some parts of the world, worshipers assembly alters to honor St. Joseph, displaying flowers and food, though no meat since the holiday falls during Lent. It is tradition to scatter breadcrumbs, or show foods made with such, to honor the saint’s work as a carpenter. The fava bean was the crop which saved the Italian population from starvation, so foods displaying the bean are shown. Giving food to the needy is a St. Joseph’s Day custom. In some communities it is traditional to wear red clothing and eat a Sicilian pastry known as a Zeppole.

Fry up a batch of these delicious Italian doughnuts for your family as you do a little bird watching.

INGREDIENTS
2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar for dusting

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in a deep-fryer or deep fry pan to 375 degrees. In a medium saucepan, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Stir in the eggs, ricotta cheese and vanilla. Mix gently over low heat until combined. Batter will be sticky. Drop by tablespoons into the hot oil a few at a time. Zeppole will turn over by themselves. Fry until golden brown, about 3 or 4 minutes. Drain in a paper sack and dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm.

Eleven months after the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 15, 1775) British troops took their leave of Boston, a day now celebrated as Evacuation Day on March 17. The Siege of Boston had been going on since the Battle of Lexington, when the British army retreated to Boston. The Continental Army surrounded the city, ensuring that the Redcoats did not make further movements into the colonies. Finally General Knox arrived with 55 captured cannon from Fort Ticonderoga. By mid-March, Washington’s troops had positioned the cannon on Dorchester Heights overlooking the city.

Generals Howe and Washington reached an agreement. If the British would not burn the town, the Americans would allow the British and their fleet safe passage out of the harbor. On March 17, 1776, with Continental soldiers watching from Dorchester Heights, the British Army and 1,100 Loyalist civilians boarded ships and sailed for Nova Scotia. This was Washington’s first major victory in the American Revolution and a huge boost to he the moral of his troops.

As the 100th anniversary neared, an effort was made to recognize the significance of the event. But it was not until 1901 that Evacuation Day became a legal holiday in Boston. The next year, on March 17th, the city dedicated the Dorchester Heights monument. Located in predominantly Irish South Boston, Dorchester Heights has been the scene of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations ever since. Today St. Patrick’s Day and Evacuation Day are forever combined. In Suffolk County, Massachusetts this is an official holiday and school and government offices are closed.

In old Roman times, ides was used as a name for 15th day of the months of March, May, July, and October, and the 13th day of the other 8 months. But in 44 BC it took on a new meaning as quoted by William Shakespeare’s in his play, “Julius Ceasar.”

Caesar:
Who is it in the press that calls on me?
I hear a tongue shriller than all the music
Cry “Caesar!” Speak, Caesar is turn’d to hear.

Soothsayer:
Beware the ides of March.

Caesar:
What man is that?

Brutus:
A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.

Caesar should have listened, because on March 15, 44 BC as he spoke to the Roman Senate he was viciously attacked and stabbed death by a group of senators. Among the violent lot was his good friend Brutus, whom he trusted with many confidence. This provoked Caesar to cry out, “Et tu, Brute?” or “And you, Brutus?” These are said to be the Roman leaders last words.

The Ides of March are celebrated every year by the Rome Hash House Harriers with a toga run in the streets of Rome, in the same place where Julius Caesar was killed. According to their Website this running group is a more social version of Hare and Hounds, where you join the pack of hounds (runners) to chase down the trail set by the hare or hares (other runners), then gather together for a bit of social activity known as the On In or Down Down with refreshment, humor, song and sometimes a feast.

We know it as a day to wear green and hoist a pint of ale, but why does the world celebrate St. Patrick every year? The answer lies in many myths and legends surrounding a Christian missionary who worked the Irish countryside in the first century, about 433. Patrick is said to have been born in Britain, where he was raised by his father who was a Christian minister. He was captured by Irish raiders when he was 16 and sent to their country as a slave. He escaped when he was in his 20s, returning to his family in Britain. He joined the church there but decided to return to Ireland to preach. He roamed the country with a walking stick or staff, educating whoever would listen. He is said to have used the three leafed clover - or shamrock - as a tool to teach the story of the Holy Trinity.

One of the biggest legends has Patrick driving snakes out of Ireland, but this cannot be proven. One suggestion is that snakes referred to the serpent symbolism of the Druids of that time.

March 17 is thought to be his death date. He is the patron saint of Ireland and they celebrate his feast day as a national holiday. Ironically, the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade is not held on the Emerald Isle, that honor goes to New York City, whose 2007 parade was watched by more than 2 million people. The first celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day in New York City was held at the Crown and Thistle Tavern in 1756, and New York’s first Saint Patrick’s Day Parade was held on March 17, 1762 by Irish soldiers in the British Army.
Though many St. Patrick’s Day menus feature corned beef and cabbage, this is an American tradition for the holiday. For a more tradition Irish meal, try this
Slow Cooker Lamb Stew
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
3 carrots, scraped and thinly sliced
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 pound potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced, about 5 medium potatoes
2 pounds lamb cubed
salt and pepper to tast
finely chopped parsley, for garnish

PREPARATION: Put all the vegetables in the crockpot; arrange the lamb on top.
Add stock and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours on HIGH or 7 to 9 hours on LOW.