Monthly Newsletter

Medieval Fair

Travel back into Medieval Times and check out the 32nd Annual Medieval Fair held in Norman. The fair is free and filled with entertainment for all ages. Fighting knights, magicians, belly dancers, jousting, games and more. And don't forget to indulge yourself in delicious food. The fair begins on April 4th-7th and and opens from 10 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. If you would like more information, please visit medievalfair.org or you may call 405-288-2536.

April showers bring May Flowers

Here are some cool things to know about the month of April...

• April was the second month in the early Roman calendar, but became the fourth when the ancient Romans started using January as the first month. The Romans called the month Aprilis. It may come from a word meanting 'to open', or it may come from Aphrodite, the Greek name for the goddess of love.
• Small animals that hibernate are usually coming out of their burrows in April. The birds fly back northward or they settle down to have their families. The bees and butterflies begin to gather nectar from the first flowers of the season. In some parts of the world, it's planting time. In other parts, it's the harvest season.

Daylight Savings Time

Daylight saving time (DST), time observed when clocks and other timepieces are set ahead so that the sun will rise and set later in the day as measured by civil time. The amount of daylight on a given day of the year at a given latitude is fixed, but over the year the hours of sunrise and sunset vary from day to day. During the summer months, the sun rises earlier and sets later and there are more hours of daylight. If clocks and other timepieces are set ahead in the spring by some amount (usually one hour), the sun will rise and set later in the day as measured by those clocks. This provides more usable hours of daylight for activities that occur in the afternoon and evening, such as outdoor recreation. Daylight saving time can also be a means of conserving electrical and other forms of energy. In the fall, as the period of daylight grows shorter, clocks are set back to correspond to standard time.

Did you know...

*According to the Georgian calendar, March is the third month of the year. Also in the early Roman calendar, it was the first month and was called Martitus. The ancient Romans later made January 1 the beginning of the year, and March became the third month on the calendar. March has always had 31 days. Its name honors Mars, the Roman God of war.

*The winter ends with March, and in comes Spring. Spring in the northern half of the world begins with March 19, 20, or 21. It’s the day when the sun is directly over the equator.

10 Things you didn't know about chocolates

1.Talk about sweet ceremonies! The Maya drank liquid chocolate during weddings, engagements, baptisms and even funerals! Whoever thought there was something ceremonial about chocolate!

2.Some chocolates may cost you but did you know that Cacao or chocolates beans were used as currency by Aztec and Maya tribes? If we had that today we would be eating out of our wallets!

3.Here’s another fact. Not just 10 or 50 but chocolate remarkably has over 500 flavors in it! No wonder it tastes so good.

4.Heard of Mexican Emperor Montezuma? He drank liquid chocolate before getting busy in his harem. Since chocolate make you feel good, it is considered an aphrodisiac.

5.Those gory scenes in Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’, was all chocolate syrup! Although the scene finishes in about 45 seconds, it took 7 days to get that shot done perfectly! Now that’s a sticky plot!

6.Napoleon was great in many ways. Did you know he took chocolate along with him during his military campaigns. Now that was a clever move as chocolate gives you added energy and restores carbohydrates

7.For all those of you out there dreaming about those chocolate bars, dream away! You can’t blame chocolate for raising your blood cholesterol. Chocolate has changed the way we eat, romance and live. But don’t go overboard as too much of a good thing can be bad!

8.Chocolate can be lethal to dogs. Theobromine, an ingredient that stimulates the cardiac muscle and the central nervous system, causes chocolate's toxicity. About two ounces of milk chocolate can be poisonous for a 10-lb puppy.

9.The word 'Chocolate' comes from the Aztec word, 'cacahuatl' or ‘xocolatl’. This means 'bitter water'

10.US consumers eat 2.8 billion pounds of chocolate annually, representing nearly half of the world's supply.

Cupid's Love Story

Cupid is the most famous of Valentine symbols. He is known as a mischievous, winged child armed with bow and arrows and is famous for piercing hearts. The arrows signifies desire and emotions of love. Cupid aims those arrows at Gods and Humans, causing them to fall deeply in love.
Cupid has always played a role in the celebration of love and lovers. In ancient Greece he was known as Eros the young son of Aphrodites, the goddess of love and beauty. To the Romans he was Cupid, and his mother was Venus.

There is a very interesting story about Cupid and His mortal Bride Psyche in Roman mythology. Venus was jealous of the beauty of Psyche, and ordered Cupid to punish the mortal. But instead, Cupid fell deeply in love with her. He took her as his wife, but as a mortal she was forbidden to look at him. Psyche was happy until her sisters persuaded her to look at Cupid. As soon as Psyche looked at Cupid, Cupid punished her by leaving her. Their lovely castle and gardens vanished too. Psyche found herself alone in an open field with no signs of other beings or Cupid. 

As she wandered trying to find her love, she came upon the temple of Venus. Wishing to destroy her, the goddess of love gave Psyche a series of tasks, each harder and more dangerous then the last. For her last task Psyche was given a little box and told to take it to the underworld. She was told to get some of the beauty of Proserpine, the wife of Pluto, and put it in the box. During her trip she was given tips on avoiding the dangers of the realm of the dead. She was also warned not to open the box. But temptation overcame Psyche and she opened the box. But instead of finding beauty, she found deadly slumber.

Cupid found her lifeless on the ground. He gathered the deadly sleep from her body and put it back in the box. Cupid forgave her, as did Venus. The gods, moved by Psyche's love for Cupid made her a goddess.

New Year's Around the World

Ever wonder how the New Year is celebrated in other countries. Here are just a few of the many New Year's traditions around the world.

CHINESE

• The Chinese New Year "Yuan Tan" takes place between January 21 and February 20. For many families, it is a time for feasting, visiting relatives and friends, but in the city a spectacular procession takes place. The celebrations are based on bringing luck, health, happiness, and wealth till the next year.There are street parades where thousands of people line the streets to watch the procession of floats in the New Year parade.Chinese people believe that evil spirits dislike loud noises so they decorate their houses with plastic firecrackers. The loud noises are intended to frighten away evil spirits and bad luck that the spirits might bring.The feast on New Year is always big for the first day of the year. If the New Year falls on the year of any particular animal the Chinese try not to eat that animal’s meat.

SWITZERLAND

• In Switzerland people celebrate Old Sylvester's Day on 13 January according to the Julian calendar. People go through the streets dressed in costumes and hats representing good and evil spirits. In Switzerland people believe good luck comes from letting a drop of cream land on the floor New Years Day. This was said to bring a year of overflowing abundance.

LATIN AMERICA

• When the clock strikes midnight they eat 12 grapes one with every toll to bring good luck for the next 12 months of the New Year. Sometimes the grapes are washed down with wine. Theater productions and movies are interrupted to carry out this custom.

RUSSIAN

• In Russia Santa is replaced with Grandfather Frost. He looks much like Santa Claus but arrives on New Year's Eve with his bag of toys. He wears blue instead of red. Father Frost can punish any evil doer by freezing them. Often kids dance around the tree, tell rhymes to Father Frost then receive their presents. They have large decorated trees in the centers of the major cities. The most formal New Year's celebration is party held at the Kremlin. As many as 50,000 attendance tickets are sold in the weeks before the annual event. The Russian meal on New Year's is primarily meat and potato dishes.

EUROPE

• In Europe the custom of first-footing is practiced. This is where the first person to enter the house after midnight must be male and is supposed to bring good luck to the household. The visitor is also supposed to bring a gift such as money, bread, or coal, this are suppose to ensure the family will have plenty of these in the coming year.

SRI LANKA

• In Sri Lanka they celebrate the New Year on 13 or 14 April because they use the Hindu calendar to set the date for the festival.They clean their houses during the days leading up to the New Year, they might even paint their houses and they also make several types of sweets to be eaten on New Year's Day.No food is cooked and there are no lights or fires lit on the night before New Year.

INDIA

• The Indian New Year festival is called Diwali and is a festival of lights. The festival is celebrated differently in the various districts of India.The Hindus of the north, Diwali is the end of the old year and the start of the new. For three days in late October early November every town and village shines and glows with thousands of lights. Their homes are decorated with little oil lamps known as diwa. These little lights are found in temples, houses, along window ledges and along garden paths. In cities electrical lights are used to light up buildings. These are used to drive out evil and is replace evil with goodness.Diwali is also a religious festival. Hindus believed in the god Prince Rama. He lost his kingdom and his wife was stolen away by a demon named Ravana. After many battles with the demon helped by the monkey warrior Hanuman, overcame Ravana and rescued his wife. The Hindus celebrate the happy ending of this story. They recall the sadness and triumph of Rama, and of him being crowned King. Good winning over evil, light over darkness.

Festival of Lights

Come join the light action at the Festival of Lights held in Chickasha. The festival is a 43-acre holiday lighted spectacular, a drive thru and walk thru experience among more than 2.5 million lights with over 90 lighted display with the famous 16-story Christmas tree in the center. Open times  are from 6pm-11pm. The fetsival last through December 31st. Tour guides are available by reservation for groups. For more information, please call (405) 224- XMAS.

New Year's Eve Celebration

Don't have plans for New Year's Eve? Opening Night at Oklahoma City Bricktown is the place to be this New Year's Eve. The celebration begins at 7 p.m. and will end around midnight. There will be different performances and activities for all ages to enjoy. Don't forget the Downtown Skating, the Park Avenue Stroll, and the Downtown lights. Remember to stay for the fireworks finaley! Visit www.artscouncilokc.com or call 270-4848.

Turkey Facts!

Did  you know......

* In 2005, the average American ate 16.7 pounds of turkey.

* Wild turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55 miles per hour.

* Wild turkeys can run 20 miles per hour.

* Turkeys’ heads change colors when they become excited.

* Turkeys can see movement almost a hundred yards away.

* Turkeys do not see well at night.

* Turkey eggs hatch in 28 days.

* Turkey breeding has caused turkey breasts to grow so large that the turkeys fall over.

* In England, 200 years ago, turkeys were walked to market in herds.They wore booties to protect their feet. Turkeys were also walked to market in the United States.