Saint Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig) is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland), the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official feast day in the early 17th century, and has gradually become a secular celebration of Irish culture in general.
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The day is generally characterised by the attendance of church services, wearing of green attire (especially shamrocks), and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol, which is often proscribed during the rest of the season.
Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as the Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand, among others.
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~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day
Kuyt derails bid for 19th title
Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with a third truth-seeing eye in the middle of his forehead.
Er-lang Shen may be a deified version of several semi-mythical folk heroes who help regulate China's torrential floods, dating variously from the Qin, Sui and Jin dynasties. A later Buddhist source identify him as the second son of the Northern Heavenly King Vaishravana.
In the Ming semi-mythical novels Creation of the Gods and Journey to the West Erlang Shen is the nephew of the Jade Emperor. In the former he assisted the Zhou army in defeating the Shang. In the latter, he is the offspring of a mortal and the Jade Emperor's sister.
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二郎神~杨戬，道教俗神，天庭大将，玉帝的外甥，阐教元始天尊门下徒孙，玉鼎真人的大弟子，变化无穷，神通广大，肉身成圣；早年劈桃山救母，视天界兵将如无 物受封清源妙道真君；又助武王伐纣，再封昭惠显圣仁佑王。王母甚为疼爱，但因与舅舅玉帝不和，故不愿住在天界，而在下界守人间香火，率领梅山七怪七位结义 兄弟和麾下1200草头神驻扎灌江口，与玉帝立约“听调不听宣”意思是：我服从你调谴我去打仗除妖的军令，要是以君主或者舅舅的身份叫我和你见面，那就免 开尊口。刚直公正，显圣护民，凡人间生灵危难，呼其尊号必往救。
~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erlang_Shen
Champions left in perilous position
The Zimbabwean dollar ($, or Z$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies) was the official currency of Zimbabwe between 1980 and 12 April 2009. ~ Although the dollar was considered to be among the highest valued currency units when it was first introduced in 1980 to replace the Rhodesian dollar at a ratio of 1:1, political turmoil and hyperinflation rapidly eroded the value of the Zimbabwe dollar to eventually become one of the least valued currency units in the world, undergoing three redenominations, and banknote denominations being issued for as high as $100 trillion.
Chap Goh Meh or Tzap Goh Mei (Chinese: 十五暝; pinyin: shí wǔ míng; literally "fifteen night") represents the fifteenth and final day of the Lunar New Year period as celebrated by Chinese migrant communities. The term is from the Hokkien dialect and refers to the fifteenth day of the first month, which is the occasion of the first full moon of the New Year. The occasion is marked by feasting and various festivities, including the consumption of tangyuan and Kue Keranjang. In traditional Chinese culture, it is also celebrated as the Lantern Festival or the Shang Yuan Festival. In Southeast Asia, however, it coincides with the Chinese Valentine's Day. It is also when young unmarried women gather to toss tangerines into the sea, in a hope that their future spouse will pick it up – a custom that originated in Penang, Malaysia. In the past, this was also the only day that unmarried ladies could be seen with their partners.
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元宵節，亦稱為上元節、小正月、元夕、小年或燈節，日本稱上元（じょうげん）、小正月（こしょうがつ），朝鮮稱正月大滿月（정월대만월）、正月大보름（정월대보름，「보름」為固有詞，月圓、望日之意，或簡稱大보름）、上元（상원）、元宵（원소）、元夕（원석）、烏忌日（오기일），時間是每年的農曆正月十五。
元宵節是新年的第一個月圓之夜，象徵著春天的到來，人們吃元宵、賞燈、猜燈謎，以示祝賀。這是春節之後的第一個重要節日。中華明朝錢塘瞿佑《雙頭牡丹燈記》：「每歲元夕，於明州張燈五夜。傾城士女，皆得縱觀」。在這一天，人們要吃元宵，鬧燈會，猜燈謎，提燈籠，許多地方還有拉兔子燈，放天燈的習俗。是華人社會的盛大節日之一。
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~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chap_Goh_Meh
By David S. Cloud and Brian Bennett / Tribune Washington Bureau Thursday, February 17, 2011
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak (Arabic: محمد حسني سيد مبارك, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mæˈħæmːæd ˈħosni ˈsæjːed moˈbɑːɾɑk], Muḥammad Ḥusnī Sayyid Mubārak; born May 4, 1928[citation needed]) is the fourth and current President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
He was appointed vice president in 1975, and assumed the Presidency on October 14, 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar El Sadat. He is the longest-serving Egyptian ruler since Muhammad Ali Pasha. Before he entered politics Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force, serving as its commander from 1972 to 1975.
Beginning on January 25, 2011, a popular uprising called for his resignation as president of Egypt. On February 1, 2011, Mubarak announced that he will not seek another term in the upcoming presidential election. On February 5, 2011 Egyptian state media reported that senior members of the ruling National Democratic Party, including President Hosni Mubarak, had resigned from leadership roles within the party. It was later clarified that Mubarak would stay on as president however.
