Monthly Archives: March 2013

EASTER SUNDAY in the United States

Quick Facts

Easter Sunday March 31 ,2013.

Easter Sunday is an important day in the Christian church calendar because it celebrates Jesus Christ’s resurrection, according to Christian belief.

Many Christians celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. The Easter date depends on the ecclesiastical approximation of the March equinox.

What do people do?

Many churches hold special services on Easter Sunday, which celebrate the Jesus Christ’s resurrection after his crucifixion. Many people also decorate eggs. These can be hard boiled eggs that can be eaten later, but may also be model eggs made of plastic, chocolate, candy or other materials. It is also common to organize Easter egg hunts. Eggs of some form are hidden, supposedly by a rabbit or hare. People, especially children, then search for them. In some areas, Easter egg hunts are a popular way for local businesses to promote themselves or may even be organized by churches.

Background

In Pagan times, many groups of people organized spring festivals. Many of these celebrated the re-birth of nature, the return the land to fertility and the birth of many young animals. These are the origins of the Easter eggs that we still hunt for and eat.

In Christian times, the spring began to be associated with Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. The crucifixion is remembered on Good Friday and the resurrection is remembered on Easter Sunday. The idea of the resurrection joined with the ideas of re-birth in Pagan beliefs.

10 Easy Easter Crafts for Kids

http://www.parenting.com/gallery/easy-easter-crafts-for-kids

March 20th – First day of Spring!!!

First Day Of Spring 2013: Vernal Equinox Comes On March 20

Wonderful, warm, beautiful spring is almost here.

At 7:02 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 20, the sun will cross directly over the Earth’s equator during a moment known as the vernal equinox when both day and night are about equal — also the official start of the new season. The seasons are reversed for those in the Southern Hemisphere and the event instead signals the beginning of fall.

Spring will last three months until June 21, and summer will carry on until the autumnal equinox on Sept. 22 at 4:44 p.m, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory.


  • A bird sits on a branch of a blooming cherry tree at a park in Tokyo on March 17, 2013. Japan’s weather agency announced the official beginning of cherry blossom season in Tokyo on March 16, equalling the record for the earliest ever start. YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images
  • Raindrops hang on to Crocuses at Kew Gardens on March 1, 2013 in Kew, England. Today marks the first day of Spring, though the Met Office have said that temperatures are likely to be below average throughout March. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
  • VALENCIA, SPAIN – MARCH 18: A woman dressed in traditional costume works at the base of a large model of Saint Mary covered with flowers on March 18, 2013 in Valencia, Spain. The Fallas festival, which runs from March 15 until March 19, celebrates the arrival of spring with fireworks, fiestas and bonfires made from large ninots (puppets). (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
  • A young man and woman enjoy the sun and spring-like temperatures on a pier at Lake Starnberg in Niederpoecking near Munich, southern Germany, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. (AP Photo/dpa, Andreas Gebert)
  • Images of Earth during the seasons. Winter (top left), spring (top right), summer (bottom left) and fall (bottom right).
  • Toronto Blue Jays’ Jim Negrych loses his helmet while diving back to first base after leading off on the play after reaching first on a single in the second inning of a spring training exhibition baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Tuesday, March 12, 2013, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
  • ROME, ITALY – MARCH 14: Nuns enjoy a picnic in a park the day after Jorge Bergoglio was elected as Pope Francis on March 14, 2013 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
  • A man takes a rest in a park in Shanghai on March 18, 2013. PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images
  • Naga Sadhus or Hindu naked holy men get ready to take out a procession to reach Sangam, confluence of Hindu holy rivers of Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, for a ritual dip, on the third and last royal bath of the Maha Kumbh festival on occasion of Basant Panchami in Allahabad, India, Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are attending the Maha Kumbh festival, which is one of the world’s largest religious gatherings that lasts 55 days and falls every 12 years. During the festival pilgrims bathe in the holy Ganges River in a ritual they believe can wash away their sins. (AP Photo/ Rajesh Kumar Singh)
  • Snowdrops emerge at Kew Gardens on March 1, 2013 in Kew, England. Today marks the first day of Spring, though the Met Office have said that temperatures are likely to be below average throughout March. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
  • Boiled crawfish lie on display at Kjean’s Safood in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. The wet winter weather in south Louisiana could be making for a bountiful crawfish season. The harvest is just getting started and peaks into the spring. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
  • Spring flowers bloom inside the Norman Foster designed Great Glasshouse at the National Botanic Garden of Wales on March 5, 2013 near Carmarthen, Wales. As the weather improves, staff at the gardens – which opened in 2000, stretches over 500 acres and contains the largest single span glasshouse in the world – are gearing up for the arrival of the spring season. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17, because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.  It has become a holiday all around the world, where everyone can share in the fun and be Irish for the day.

Fun Ideas with the Kids

St. Patrick’s Day Recipes

  • Rainbow Cupcakes
  • Irish Soda Bread
  • Corned Beef & Cabbage

    • Fun Facts

    • The color green is also commonly associated with Ireland, also known as “the Emerald Isle.”
    • One estimate suggests that there are about 10 000 regular three-leaf clovers for every lucky four-leaf clover.
    • Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.