Sunday Confessions 1/9/11

Sunday Confessions is a weekly meme To Read or Not To Read.

This week Marcie asks What month were you born in?

It just so happens that Andrea and I are both March babies, so we got to combine our Sunday Confessions into one post. Here are some fun facts about the month of March...

The word 'March' comes from the Roman 'Martius'. This was originally the first month of the Roman calendar and was named after Mars, the god of war.

If you can picture the cerulean blue waters of the Mediterranean, you will understand why the birthstone for March is named Aquamarine. Derived from the Roman word "Aqua," meaning water, and "mare," meaning sea, this pale blue gem does indeed resemble the color of seawater. The ancient Romans believed that the Aquamarine was sacred to Neptune, the god of the sea, having fallen from the jewel boxes of sirens and washed onto shore. Early sailors wore aquamarine talismans, engraved with the likeness of Neptune, as protection against dangers at sea.

The association with water led to the belief that the Aquamarine was particularly powerful when immersed. Water in which this gemstone had been submerged was used in ancient times to heal a variety of illnesses of the heart, liver, stomach, mouth and throat. Aquamarines were also used to reverse poisoning and to aid in fortune telling.

A gift of Aquamarine symbolizes both safety and security, especially within long standing relationships. Some people even say that the Aquamarine reawakens love in a tired marriage, so if you want to bring back that spark in your partner's eyes, you might consider this gem as an anniversary gift! Read more HERE.

The Latin name for the daffodil, narcissus, has roots in Greek mythology. The Greeks called the flower narkisso because of its overpowering narcotic-like scent and they associated it with Hades.

The word narkisso also reminds of us of another Greek legend surrounding a god with a similar name. The God Narcissus was known for being so self-absorbed that he wasn’t interested in the love of the nymph Echo (who entered a cave and allowed herself to die because of her obsessive love). Later, Narcissus paused to gaze at his image in a stream. As he leaned closer to view it more clearly, he fell in and drowned. The gods placed flowers (narcissus) on the bank in remembrance of him.

The story of Narcissus makes it clear why vanity and death are associated with the flower. The Greeks also gave the flower tones of resurrection and rebirth because the narcissus was the flower which Persephone was about to pick when Hades carried her to the underworld to be his wife. The world mourned her death and became barren until Hades relented and agreed that Persephone could walk on the earth from spring through fall. It was not until Persephone’s resurrection or rebirth that the world experienced spring again – probably some of the first blossoms people saw were the sunny bloom of spring’s daffodils. Read more HERE.

Did you know....
March ends on the same day of the week as June every year.
March is Women's History Month
National Reading Day = March 2nd
March 7, 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone
March 9, 1454 - Amerigo Vespucci was born
Julius Caesar was killed on the Ides of March
March 29, 1886 - Coca Cola was introduced