National Common Courtesy Day on March 21st serves as a reminder of the behavior that keeps society from melting into a sea of madness. In addition, the day brings awareness to how crucial common courtesy is in our lives and provides examples to help us improve.
In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, courtesy is described as a: behavior marked by polished manners or respect for others: courteous behavior b: a courteous and respectful act or expression.
Common courtesy can be as simple as saying “please” and “thank you” when asking for and receiving a service, gift, or assistance. Kindness and courtesy go a long way and are noticed by others even if you do not realize it. Letting someone in front of you in traffic is easy. Hold open a door for someone or give a person a hand with his groceries. Give up your seat on the bus to someone who might need it. Introduce yourself to the new employee or kid at school and take the time to introduce them to the rest of the crew.
A polite enemy is just as difficult to discredit, as a rude friend is to protect. – Bryant H. McGill
These examples provide a glimpse into how you can infuse courtesy into your life. Momentary deeds of courtesy may be incremental, but they might make a huge difference in someone’s life.
HOW TO OBSERVE #CommonCourtesyDay
If common courtesy is not a part of your daily routine, make Common Courtesy Day your opportunity for change.
Start implementing courtesy into your life.
Try it; not only will others appreciate it, but you will feel good about it, too.
Show your appreciation for the common courtesy you experience.
Use #CommonCourtesyDay to post on social media.
NATIONAL COMMON COURTESY DAY HISTORY
National Day Calendar continues to seek the day’s origin but identified it began around 2003.
Common Courtesy FAQ
Q. Is there such a thing as uncommon courtesy? A. In a sense, yes. Common courtesy is disappearing, so it’s more uncommon now than it once was. However, when common courtesy thrived, some people practiced uncommon courtesy. It could be described as going above and beyond the ordinary customs of the day. For example, standing when someone entered or left a room used to be common courtesy. However, the practice has fallen out of fashion. Some people still stand when someone enters an office, meeting, or social occasion, though it’s more uncommon than common.
Q. What is one way to teach common courtesy? A. One of the best ways to teach common courtesy is to practice it yourself. When others see common courtesy in action, they learn to adopt the behavior themselves.
Snuggle up every National Quilting Day on the third Saturday in March. Around the country, special quilting shows, classes, open museums and much more celebrate the day. It also appreciates and recognizes quilt makers, along with all of their long labor, love, and skill that goes into the making of each quilt.
A quilt is a layer of batting or stuffing between two layers of pieced-together fabric. Early American quilts were the result of patched together pieces of worn-out blankets and clothing. Since they had to weave their own fabrics, there was little time for creative piecing together colorful, artful patterns. These items were purely functional.
By the mid 18th century Americans were making elaborate quilts designed to be handed down from mother to daughter, often pieced together from salvaged pieces of clothing and other bedding.
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalQuiltingDay
Celebrate the warmth and the stories behind the quilts you collect. Whether you make them or they’ve been given to you, mark the day.
Attend a quilt fair. You might learn techniques or discover new quilting styles.
Take a quilting class. The next family heirloom might be in the making!
Share the story of a family quilt. Don’t let it become lost to the ages. Take a picture of it and the person who made it.
At the 22nd annual show of the National Quilting Association in Lincoln, Nebraska in June of 1991, a resolution was passed and National Quilting Day was started.
Q. What are the basic tools of quilting? A. Quilters use a variety of tools. Most use a sewing machine for most of the stitching, which speeds up the process. A special sewing machine isn’t required, but a special presser foot is. You’ll also need a rotary cutting tool and mat, rulers, scissors, pins, and needles. Of course, a good supply of cotton thread and cotton quilting fabrics cannot be overlooked.
Q. Do people still hand-sew quilts? A. Yes, though they might not resemble the quilting bees of time gone by. Quilting bees were a cooperative effort bringing quilters together to create hand-sewn quilts. These gatherings became regular social events where women collectively stitched and quilted large beautiful creations. While some quilting bees follow this tradition, the modern quilting bee is less cooperative in the effort to complete a single quilt but still maintains the spirit that started with the original quilting bees. Today, quilters come together to swap ideas, techniques, and patterns and also to spend time with other quilters. Some are held as workshops or even hosted online.
Spring begins on the March or vernal equinox, which is when the amount of sunshine is approximately 12 hours long. The amount of sunlight will incrementally increase until the first day of Summer.
The vernal equinox marks the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator. This is the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator, from south to north. The vernal equinox happens on March 19, 20, or 21 every year in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, this same event marks the beginning of fall. Meteorologists mark the spring from March 1 through May 31st.
In 2020, spring arrived a little earlier due to it being a leap year. On Leap Day, there’s a short math lesson regarding the Gregorian calendar. To keep our calendar following the seasons so that spring happens when flowers grow and winter arrives when snow falls, an additional day was figured into years divisible by the number four. This caused the 2020 spring to occur earlier than any living human being alive had ever seen. Before 2020, the earliest spring on record took place in 1896.
Tune up the lawnmower. More sunshine means the grass will be growing.
Spend some time outside.
Plan your garden or start planting.
Host a spring party with lots of bright, fresh foods.
Use #SpringBegins to post on social media.
SPRING BEGINS HISTORY
Human beings have been following the sun and creating a calendar based on seasons since the beginning of time.
Spring FAQ
Q. When it’s spring in the Northern Hemisphere what season is happening in the Southern Hemisphere? A. When spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere, fall is beginning in the Southern Hemisphere.
Q. What does vernal equinox mean? A. Vernal is Latin for spring, and equinox means equal night. During the vernal equinox, we experience equal amounts of daylight and night. Following the vernal equinox, the days become longer.
Today, while I was doing some bathroom cleaning – I got to thinking – “Why or when did I first start to think that I had to be the person to do the heavy house-hold cleaning???” Then it dawned on me – it was something that I just thought that I had to do – after seeing the movie “SNOW WHITE!”
Today – the movies that are supposed to be so good – I just hate to have to say – do not motivate me to do anything – but to turn them off.
To me there just isn’t anything worthwhile – unless you are from a planet that does not know how to get in bed – first you have to take off all your clothes!
The other half of the movies teaches you how to commit any and every crime – especially if you are the type who wants to kill and murder everyone.
Almost forgot the language – in one word its – rotten!
What ever happen to making a good movie to inspire and motivate people – especially young children!
So – that takes this old “GRANDMA” back to the 1940s – when I watched the “SNOW WHITE” movie – and I must have been right at the age of seeing what you should do – to help out in your home – and that was to fill a bucket with water and get down on your knees and start scrubbing the floors. That scene sure made a big impression on me – because that is exactly what I planned on doing.
My MOTHER was a couple of months pregnant and she was not feeling too good – some days she would stay in bed a little longer than she would normally do – as there were the three of us children – and I was the oldest.
It just seem to me to do what I could to help when and where and keep an eye on my little brothers – no sense in causing problems – as everyone knows – everyone feels better when there is complete harmony in the home.
So, one day – when my MOTHER was staying in bed – and I thought that she was completely asleep – I filled a pail with water and got the scrub brush and cleaning cloth – just like I saw “SNOW WHITE” do in the movie – and in one corner of the Kitchen – down on my knees – I started to scrub the floor – wipe up and start another spot. My Mother had good ears – she knew that I was doing something – so she called me – “Mary Ellen what are you doing?” My answer was, “OH I’m just doing??” And then – he said, “WHAT are you doing??” “I’m doing just like “SNOW WHITE” did in the movie – I’m cleaning!”
Evidently, being down on my knees and scrubbing the floor was not a job for me – because my Mother came to the kitchen – just to see what I was doing??? Well, my Mother sat me down – said that she appreciated me cleaning the floor – but she will do the heavy cleaning – that I was supposed to be playing and other things at my age – that to clean house will come later on – maybe when I’m older.
So, to please MOM – I went to my room, and got my “nurses’ play-kit” and started being the nurse to my brothers – giving them candy medicine and taking their temperature and wrapping up their arms in bandages – as they must have been heroes – since we were still at WAR “WWII” and there was also a ribbon hanging in the front window of our house, with a “GOLD STAR” – our DAD was still in the service.
Hermit cookies are a wonderfully old fashioned cookie and this easy hermit cookie recipe is spiced just right and packed with dried fruit and nuts. Truly the best ever.
What is a Hermit Cookie?
Hermit cookies. They were my Grandma’s most favourite cookies – a New England classic that travelled up the the coast to infiltrate its Canadian neighbours.
The speculation surrounding the name “Hermit Cookies” is that you can tuck them away and they last a really long time. They also freeze beautifully, as uncooked dough balls that you can bake from frozen, or already baked.
While the Canadian version features dates, its American counterpart is just raisins and nuts.
Add the dates, Americans! They’re so luscious and chewy and sticky-sweet; a perfect addition to these lightly spiced gems.
The cookies are sweetened with just brown sugar – imparting an irresistible caramel-ly flavour and chewy texture that will have you reaching for a third, then maybe a fourth… which is not as terrible as you might think, because they’re actually lighter than most cookies.
“Lighter” with air bunnies around it, that is – they’re still cookies, they won’t do sit-ups for you – but they do have 1/2 the amount of butter that many other types do…
They’re jam packed with raisins, dates and walnuts, and scented with warm spices – but these are no spice cookie; the flavours are subtle.
Because they haven’t got a lot of butter, it’s really important to prep your baking sheets or they will stick – parchment paper is ideal: easiest removal, practically no cleanup, no need for extra fat. If you like to bake, I really recommend you keep parchment paper on hand. Otherwise, just grease ’em well!
The recipe is adapted from my grandma’s Purity cookbook – it’s a treasure, filled with old fashioned Canadian classics.
There are cookie holidays and then there is National Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day. Each year on March 18th, this holiday celebrates a delicate cookie made from oats.
Some people may refer to this day as National Oatmeal Cookie Day (which is celebrated on April 30th). The difference between the two is that lacy oatmeal cookies are wafer-thin and typically accompany a scoop of ice cream or sorbet.
In the early 1900s, oatmeal became a major ingredient in the American diet. Before that, Americans relied on other grains. Originating in England, oatmeal cookies have been around since the 1800s. However, it is believed that they were created after the oatcake. Soldiers used to carry oatcakes with them for a quick boost of energy during battle. Most research found that the first recorded oatmeal raisin cookie recipe was written by Fannie Merritt Farmer in 1896. Considered a health food, the cookies quickly became popular. By the early 1900s, a recipe for the delicious treats appeared on containers of Quaker Oats.
Oatmeal cookies are an excellent source of iron and fiber
Bakers use many different recipes to make lacy oatmeal cookies. Additionally, home bakers bake with a variety of oats including old-fashioned oats, quick-cooking oats, oat bran, or oat flour. For a healthier cookie, add finely chopped or ground fruits (such as raisins) or nuts and use a sugar substitute. You can also decorate your lacy oatmeal cookies with icing drizzled on top of the cookie.
HOW TO OBSERVE #LacyOatmealCookieDay
Add lacy oatmeal cookies on top of cakes and other baked goods to create pretty decorations.
They also make excellent gifts. Make some for a friend or neighbor.
