Did You Know? Facts, Figures & Folklore About St. Patrick’s Day March 14 : 03 days till St. Pat’s Day

Did you know that leprechauns are traditional Irish folk figures?

Leprechauns are believed to be cranky little fellows responsible for mending the shoes of fairies and causing all sorts of mayhem and mischief.

Legend tells that if you are lucky enough to find a leprechaun, you must be careful not to let the little green guy out of your sight until he tells you where the pot of gold is. You had better be on your toes, though, because leprechauns are known to be cunning and quick – in the blink of an eye, the gold guard will dash out of sight, taking your hopes for good fortune with him.

Celebrating the patron saint of Ireland, its said that on St. Patrick’s Day everyone is Irish! The day is celebrated worldwide with shamrocks, parades and green beer!

We’ll be presenting a new “Did You Know?” fun fact each day so join us as we countdown to St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th!

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Pi Day
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A day for celebrating Pi – the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

Pi Day is celebrated in a variety of ways. Parties or other observances may be held by mathematics departments in educational institutions. Harvard’s Math department, for instance, has a pi recitation contest as well as a pie eating contest. Mathematics or science clubs might gather to consider the role that the number pi has played in their lives and to imagine the world without pi. During such an event, pi celebrants may approximate pi, devise alternative values for pi, eat pie, play pinata, drink Pina Colada, eat pizza (which itself is called pizza pie), listen to the song “Pi” by Kate Bush, watch Pi, or recite Pi. The song 867-5309/Jenny is sometimes sung, replacing the digits with the first several digits of pi.*

*source: wikipedia – Pi Day

Check Your Batteries Day
On this first day of Daylight Savings Time, what better time than today to check all your battery operated devices and replace the batteries in those that need to be.

Its especially important to check the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

Daylight Savings Time
Well its that time of the year again. Time to “Spring Forward” with Daylight Savings Time. So at 2AM Sunday morning set your clocks ahead 1 hour, to 3AM.

Daylight Savings Time ends the first Sunday of November, which would be the 07th (2010).

Mothering Sunday (UK)
Although it is often called Mothers’ Day, it is not the same holiday-nor does it share the same origins-as the American Mother’s Day.

In England, Mothering Sunday has a church-based origin. Most English churchgoers attend the nearest parish to their home, which is colloquially referred to as their “daughter church”. Historically, it was considered important for people to return to their “mother church”-either the church they grew up in or the main Cathedral in their area-at least once during the year. It became customary, therefore, that people would make this return visit on the forth Sunday of Lent…

…Historically, children would give their mothers small gifts on Mothering Sunday-usually wild flowers they picked on the way to church. Today, much like in the American version of Mother’s Day, children give presents, flowers, and cards to their mums.*

* The Story of Mothering Sunday in the UK

photo credit: via flickr