CUL NEWSLETTER

• SMU Library Staff Recognition Awards will be presented. 

Amy Carver will be giving a talk on fundraising resources for library projects.

The Friends of the SMU Libraries is joining with the Meadows Museum to co-sponsor a book club that will explore literary works connected to the museum’s renowned collection of Spanish art. The group will meet once a month on a Thursday evening at 7 p.m.

Dates:

• Feb. 20 (Book: Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi by Donald Spoto)
• Mar. 20 (Book: Collected Poems of Federico Garcia Lorca)
• Apr. 24 (Book: I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton De Trevino)
• May 8 (Book: Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges)

Where: Meadows Museum, 5900 Bishop Blvd. on the SMU campus

Cost: $5 per book club meeting; $2.50 each for Friends and museum members

Info: Call Judy at 214-768-3225 or Lisa at 214-768-2516.

Remember that you will need to save the file to your computer to work on the form. If you have any questions, feel free to contact your supervisor.

According to the 2003 Chase's Calendar of Events April is:

Alcohol Awareness Month

1st-7th Laugh at work week

National Humor Month

National Pecan Month

National Poetry Month

National Smile Month

National Soft Pretzel Month

School Library Media Month

6th-12th National Library Week

6th National Repot Your Plant Day

7th National Workplace Napping Day

10th National Siblings Day

19th Husband Appreciation Day

20th-26th National Coin Week

25th National Hairball Awareness Day

30th National Honesty Day

• April Astrological Signs:
  • Aries: March 21 - April 19
  • Taurus: April 20 - May 20
• April Birthstone: Diamond
• April Flowers:
  • Sweet Pea
  • Daisy
• April was the second month in an 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 meaning '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. Professional baseball begins in April. Then the amateur athletes begin to go outside in the warm weather. Spring cleaning starts and people start mowing their yards again. 
• Special days celebrated in April: 
  •  April Fools' Day, or All Fools' Day, is the first day of April. No one knows where the custom began, but some historians believe it started in France. They had a New Year's festival that was celebrated from March 25 to April 1, and they would then exchange gifts. But, later, King James IV changed the holiday to January 1 for New Years. The people that still celebrated it April 1 were called 'April fish' and sent mock presents.  April Fools' Day may also be related to the ancient Roman spring festival Hilaria, which celebrates the resurrection of the god Attis.
  • Arbor Day is a day for planting trees, and it is observed on various April days. Arbor Day is mostly celebrated by school children. Most states celebrate the holiday as does most provinces in Canada. Southern States and Hawaii celebrate it somewhere between December and March, while most Northern states celebrate it in April or May.  The holiday began in Nebraska. Through the efforts of Julius Sterling Morton, a newspaper publisher, April 10, 1872 was set aside as Nebraska's first Arbor Day. After his death, the legislature made April 22, the legal holiday for Arbor Day. 
  • The Jewish festival of Pescah (Passover) is celebrated early in April. Easter is almost always in April, and, with it comes other Christian celebrations such as Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. The story of the Passover, also called Pesah, is told in the Bible in the book of Exodus, Chapter 12. It begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month Nisan, which usually begins in March or April.  The word Passover comes from the Biblical story of the 10th plague, which God brought on Egypt for keeping the Israelites in bondage. The story says that the blood of a lamb was put on the lintel and two side posts of each Israelites' home. When God saw the blood, this would save the people in that house.
  • Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, thus making it the
    most important Christian festival of the year. On the third day, Christ' tomb was empty, he arose, and people talked with him. Christians believe his resurrection means that they too will some day receive a new life after death.  The holiday can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25, since it is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon in the Northern Hemisphere. The new plant life that comes in the spring is associated with the new life that Christians gain because of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The word Easter may have come from the English word, Eastre. Some believe Eastre was the name of a pagan goddess of spring, a spring festival, or the name of a season.
• The Revolutionary War in America began on April 19, 1775, when British soldiers and American revolutionaries clashed in Massachusetts. 
• William Shakespeare, the playwright, was born on April 23, 1564. 
• Feast day of the Patron Saint of England is April 23. 
• The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975, when South Vietnam surrendered.

http://www.state.ak.us/dec/deh/sanitat/easter.htm
http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/
http://www.sassy1.com/holidays/easter/default.htm
http://www.mountain-breeze.com/holidays/easter/36.html
http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p616.htm
http://www.nsk.fio.ru/works/024/group3/easter_facts.htm

PASSOVER LINKS

http://www.kashrut.com/Passover/
http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg0497/passover.html
http://www.his.com/~chabad/passover/
http://theholidayspot.com/passover/
http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/festivls/PESACH/pstoen05.html
http://www.passover.net/

OTHER APRIL LINKS

http://www.nsk.fio.ru/works/024/group3/easter_facts.htm
http://hometown.aol.com/funology1/aprilfools.htm
http://wilstar.com/holidays/aprilfool.htm
http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/april.htm