Celebrate!
April Fools day doesn't come until the month is over, but March brings us holidays when people throw paint, dress up and make a lot of noise, or dye anything from beer to the Chicago River green. So I guess the start of spring must be a time when people are ready to break out and have fun.
Explore the links below not only for information about these holidays and how you might celebrate them, but also for links to games, activities and more.
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We Honor… |
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| National Women's History Month by honoring Judith Sargent Murray. Judith was born in 1751, a time when most girls got very little education. Although she never had the kind of formal schooling she longed for, Judith read everything she could get her hands on, and wrote her first little book when she was eight years old. In 1770 Judith's father read the work of James Relly, an English Universalist who taught the idea that all people would be saved—that everyone would eventually go to heaven and no one to hell. Winthrop Sargent gathered together a group of people to explore these ideas, creating the first Universalist congregation in the United States. Judith was one of these earliest Universalists, and she wrote the first Universalist Sunday school book for children.
In 1784 Judith published the first of what became a whole series of essays arguing for the rights of women—that women deserved the same education as men, and opportunities to use their brains and not just take care of households. Of course, that sounds pretty basic to us more than 200 years later, but Judith Sargent was truly a pioneer for women's rights.
In 1788 Judith married John Murray, the man who is often known as the father of American Universalism. She had met, and admired, him more than 15 years earlier, which he first came to preach at the church her father started. However, Judith was married to another man, and John Murray only declared his love for her after Judith's first husband died. The two were happily married until John died 27 years later, and Judith was an intellectual as well as emotional support to his ministry. Although Universalism changed a great deal even during Judith's lifetime, her contributions to the beginnings of Universalism and Universalist religious education are important, and her writings on the rights and abilities of women make her truly deserving of attention this Women's History Month.
Learn more about Judith Sargent Murray. |
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Act!
Did you know that Daylight Savings Time is coming earlier this year in the US? This year we "spring forward" (turn our clocks ahead an hour) on the second Sunday of March (March 11) rather than the first Sunday of April. The government decided to start Daylight Savings Time early, and to "fall back" in November rather than October in order to save energy by having longer hours of daylight.
So maybe the second week of March you could make a little notice to hand out to the families of friends or people on your block or kids in your class reminding them to turn their clocks forward an hour on March 11th—and at the same time you could remind them that saving energy helps all of us by helping our planet. Even better, maybe you could talk with your parents about March 11 th being a special day when you change all the light bulbs in your house to compact fluorescent bulbs, which use much less energy than the regular incandescent bulbs. You can remind your parents that while the compact fluorescent bulbs are more expensive, they save money in the long run through lowering electricity bills and through lasting much longer. And, of course, you can't put a price on the value of helping our precious planet and all the people on it. |
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Nurturing Your Spirit
Spring begins in March, but in many northern places the weather doesn't feel much like spring. You may find that by the time March rolls around, your spirit is longing to see things growing and sprouting and looking like spring. Even if the weather outside is too cold to plant anything, you can start seeds in little pots by a sunny window, so that they will be ready to transplant outside when the weather is warmer.
Or, you can just go for the sprouts themselves. Nothing tastes quite so much like spring as a freshly sprouted seed. You can sprout alfalfa seeds, lentils, beans—pretty much any kind of edible seed. Then you get to watch spring sprout and eat it too. Here's all the information you need to get started sprouting. Put a little spring in your step—or in your mouth. Your body and your spirit will be glad you did. |
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