April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day occurs annually on April 1. The day is generally observed by playing a practical joke on a "victim" who soon becomes known as an April Fool. This custom is thought to have started in France during the 16th century but the British are credited with bringing it to the United States.
The commonly accepted origin of April Fool's Day involves changes in the calendar. At one time, the New Year celebration began on March 25 and ended on April 1. However, in 1582, King Charles IX adopted the Gregorian calendar and accepted the beginning of the new year as January 1. Those who refused to acknowledge the new date or simply forgot received foolish gifts and invitations to nonexistent parties. The butt of such a prank was known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish."

Saint Patrick's Day, colloquially St. Paddy's Day or simply Paddy's Day, is an annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick (circa AD 385–461), one of the patron saints of Ireland, and is generally celebrated on March 17.
The day is the national holiday of Ireland: it is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland. It is also a public holiday in Montserrat. In Canada, Great Britain, Australia, the United States, and New Zealand, it is widely celebrated but is not an official holiday.

St. Patrick's Day
Leprechauns peeking around a willow tree,

Pussy willows waking longing to be free.

Colleens and shamrocks and castles old and gray,

Put them all together to make St. Patrick's Day.

Lent, in Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. Conventionally it is described as being forty days long, though different denominations calculate the forty days differently.

In many denominations it is observed as a period of fasting and prayer, and this practice was virtually universal in Christendom until the Protestant Reformation.

The forty days represent the time that, according to the Bible, Jesus spent in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured emptattion by Satan.

The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, penitenc almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Первые цветы - хрупкие и нежные, растущие из-под холодного, колкого снега... Не зима, не весна - начало марта.
Женщина - нежная и хрупкая, но такая же сильная, как цветок в своем стремлении к солнцу... Не зима, не весна - начало МИРА!
Поздравляю с праздником 8 Марта все женское население мира!!!
Дорогие женщины, не забывайте о том, что вы женщины!
Позволяйте себе хотя бы иногда быть слабыми!

Maslenitsa.

Maslenitsa week began as a pagan ritual and has since been absorbed into the Eastern Orthodox religion. As it stands, Maslenitsa serves many purposes. Maslenitsa signals the exit of winter and heralds the coming of spring. As a part of pre-Lenten celebrations, it is also a pre-emptive strike to the upcoming fast. Because meat and dairy would traditionally be forbidden, Maslenitsa is the time for feasting (especially on pancakes). The name of the festival has its roots in the Russian word for butter, “maslo.”

The Maslenitsa Pancake Blini are Russian pancakes, and they are essential to the celebration of Maslenitsa. Said to symbolize the sun—being warm, round, and golden—they are an appropriate warning to the lingering cold weather. Blini are given to friends and family all through the week and are topped with caviar, mushrooms, jam, sour cream, and of course, lots of butter.

Fist Fighting Group fist fights are undertaken during the week of Maslenitsa. This may sound strange to Westerners, but it"s all a part of the interesting absurdity of Maslenitsa. Fist fighting commemorates Russian military history, when soldiers supposedly fought each other in hand-to-hand combat, but this fist fighting is just in good fun!

In the past, bears and their tamers would perform at Maslenitsa, and both would be served large quantities of vodka. This ended in a wrestling match between tamer and bear, with the bear often gaining the upper hand.

Bonfires and Maslenitsa Personified Bonfires will be lit and a straw personification of Maslenitsa may be burned during the festivities in order to say farewell to winter. Sometimes a woman from the community will be chosen to dress as Maslenitsa. Tradition says that this woman should be cheerfully thrown in a snowbank in order to complete the welcome of spring.

Other Traditions Troika rides, sledding, theater, puppets, singing, and fireworks are all a part of the Maslenitsa celebrations. There is usually a "storming" of a snow fort. That these traditions are still alive today is a testament to Russians" long memory and preservation of their heritage.

All in all, Maslenitsa is a good excuse to go out and have a good time, eat until you burst, and do something you wouldn"t do any other time of the year.

Викторина

А ЗНАЕШЬ ЛИ ТЫ?

1. Символом Дня Всех Влюбленных по праву считается ...

2. Как раньше называли День Святого Валентина?

3. От чего, согласно легенде, Валентин вылечил девушку?

4. Что в этот день принято дарить?

5. Кому, кроме своей второй половины, в День Святого Валентина могут

признаваться в любви англичане?

6. Существует поверье, что если в этот день девушка увидит малиновку, то выйдет замуж за моряка, если увидит воробья - за бедняка, а если увидит щегла -

7. В какой стране День Святого Валентина напоминает "8 марта для мужчин"?

8. У французов в День Святого Валентина принято дарить ...

9. В православном календаре есть праздник, связанный с историей святых супругов Петра и Февронии - День всех любящих, День супружеского счастья, а отмечается он ...

10. По-русски - "Я тебя люблю",по-английски - "I love you",по-шведски - ...

Valentine’s Quiz I

1. If your birthday fell on Valentines Day what would your star sign be?

2. In which year did the St Valentine’s Day Massacre take place and in which city?

3. Who discovered penicillin on Valentine’s Day in 1929?

4. Who had Christmas top ten hits in two consecutive years with Christmas

Alphabet in 1955 & Christmas Island in 1956?

5. Valentine and Proteus were the names of two gentlemen from where?

6. In which 1993 film does a boy called Jonah write to a woman called Annie, asking her to meet his father at the Empire State building on St. Valentine’s Day?"

7. Who got married to German music engineer Renate Blauel on Valentines Day 1984?

8. According to superstition, if a woman sees a robin on Valentines day it means she will marry who?

9. Who played the title role in the film Shirley Valentine?

10. On which Greek island was Shirley Valentine largely set?

11. Who had a top ten hit in 1988 with “Valentine”?

12. Which nickname did Johnny Cash share with British actor Valentine Dyall?

13. True or false, more diamonds are sold at Christmas time than on Valentine’s Day.

14. Who played the rogue Raffles in the T.V series?

15. Which American Gangster was behind the Saint Valentines Day Massacre?

16. ”The St Valentine’s Day Massacre” was the name given to the 6th fight between which two boxers in 1951?

17. Which British playwright wrote Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine?

18. Name the two brooks on Aintree’s Racecourse?

19. In the St Valentine’s Day massacre, what were the hitmen dressed as?

20. True or False: St Valentine was born on the 14th February hence St Valentines day ?

С Днем Валентина, друзья!

Поздравляю всех с Днем Валентина!

Желаю неба глубины и радости без края, желаю нежности в любви, в душе - цветов цветенье, пусть будут ясными все дни, а жизнь - без сожаленья!

Do you know...

Saint Valentine was beheaded by Emporer Claudius for marrying people during wartime and interfering with war recruitment.
Saint Valentine gave children flowers from his garden. When he was put in prison the children missed him and threw him bouquets of flowers through the prison bars.

Saint Valentine fell in love with the jailer’s daughter while imprisoned. He cured her of blindness and wrote passionate love letters to her. His last one before death was signed From Your Valentine.

A pink almond tree at Saint Valentine’s grave burst into bloom at his death as a symbol of everlasting love