The Chicago Area Blog

The Naperville Cluster gathered for one of their monthly cluster meetings to “give back” to a local charity.  They exercised their creativity and generosity by putting together beautiful baskets to give to families in need through the  Naperville Loaves and Fishes organization.  A fun time was had by all.

   Easter is on Sunday, April 4 for both “Western” and “Eastern Orthodox” Christians this year.   Here is some Easter trivia from around the world:

	According to widespread belief, Easter owes its name to “Eastre”, the Anglo-Saxon goddess symbolizing hare and egg. Another theory suggests that it comes from the early German word “eostarun”, meaning dawn and white.
	Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25.
	Easter is a “moveable feast” as it does not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars. The full moon determines the date of Easter.
	”Pysanka” is a name given to the tradition of Easter egg painting.
	The color used in painting the eggs differ in different nations. Orthodox Grecians paint their eggs red to symbolize the blood of Christ. Some Germans and Austrians paint their eggs green and use them on Holy Thursday. Slavic peoples decorate their eggs in gold and silver patterns.
	Chocolate eggs   were traditionally given as gifts in Europe.
	In 19th century Europe, bitter dark chocolate was used to make small egg shapes. These chocolate eggs were traditionally exchanged as Easter gifts, especially in countries like France and Germany.
	Ninety million chocolate Easter bunnies and 16 billion jelly beans are produced each year before the commencement of the Easter festivities. As a holiday, Easter comes only second to Halloween in terms of the annual sale confectionary items.
	76 percent of people eat the ears on chocolate bunnies first.
	According to the Guinness Book of World Records the largest Easter egg ever made was just over 25 feet high and weighed 8,968 lbs.
	In countries like Hungary and Transylvania, the day after Easter is called “Locsolo Hetfo” meaning “Watering Monday”. This is because water, perfume or perfumed water is often sprinkled in exchange for an Easter egg on this day.

March 30, the first day of  Passover, is also known as Pesach or Pesah,is a Holy Day, observed by several religions, begins Tuesday and lasts seven or eight days, depending on your beliefs.  It commemorates the exodus and freedom of the Israelites from Egypt.  It is also observed by some Christians to commemorate the deliverance from sin by the sacrifice of Jesus.

March 28- Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian celebration that always falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his Passion.  In many Christian churches, Palm Sunday is marked by the distribution of palm leaves (often tied into crosses) to the assembled worshipers

Did you know that Au Pair in America will pay for the cost of a Red Cross class providing you have at least three months left on your visa and you are taking one of several approved childcare/child safety related classes, such as infant/child CPR or Community First Aid and Safety.

The American Red Cross of Chicago is offering a class designed for childcare providers, teachers, parents and others who care for children, this course teaches participants how to recognize and care for breathing and cardiac emergencies in infants and children up to 8 years of age. Participants take home a skills card as well as information about preventing injuries. The course is (CSCC) CPR/AED, # HSSFA207.  For schedule and more information, visit the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago website. Here is a link to the class: http://arc-chicago.axxiomportal.com/Education/course.aspx?c=7649 . Check with your community counselor for details on payment for courses.

Saturday, March 20th is the first day of spring!  Take a walk outside and look for signs of spring – swelling buds on the trees, flowers poking up from the ground, more birds back in the trees.  The forecast is predicting snow this weekend, but nice weather again next week.

Schools will be taking spring break in the next several weeks depending on what district, city or suburb you are in. It is expected that the contractual agreement will be honored and that au pairs will not be asked to work more than the regular number of hours (45 / week, 10 hours per day for the Au Pair and Au Pair Extraordinaire and 30 hours / week for  EduCare  Companions).

March 14 -Albert Einstein was born on this day in 1879 in Germany. Because of his wild hair and his accent, he may have contributed to the idea of a “mad scientist,” but he wasn’t mad at all. In fact, he was a very thoughtful person and he especially thought about how things work. He was so curious that whenever he wanted to know something he went to find the answer and learned many things from reading books.  What did you learn today?

Sunday, March 14th begins Daylight Savings Time…

Don’t forget to set your clocks forward one hour on Saturday before you go to bed!

A popular event for many Au Pairs, Host Families and children is the Annual Chicago Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Downtown on Saturday, March 13th!

The festivities begin with the Chicago River being dyed green at 10:45 am. A good viewing place for this is the east side of the Michigan Avenue. The parade takes off promptly at 12:00 noon at the corner of Balboa and Columbus and heads north on Columbus to Monroe Street. Wear GREEN!

International Women’s Day is celebrated yearly on March 8th. It is a day of global celebration of women.  A celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women.   It is also a time to celebrate the  economic, political and social achievements of women.

The first IWD was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States.  This year, Chicago Community Counsellors participated in an Internation Women’s Day Fair at the Union League Club in Chicago.