IOTD

Calendar day; March 20, 2015

Friday, the 20th of March, 2015 is the 79th day in 2015 and in the 12nd calendar week.

General Events:

Extraterrestrial Abductions Day
March 20, 2015 in the World

Extraterrestrial Abductions Day (also called Alien Abduction Day) is a new festivity observed on March 20. Its origins are unclear, though it seems it was popularized since the 2008 Alien Abduction Day festival in Toronto, Canada.

On this day, the sky is carefully watched by those who are expecting or wishing to be abducted by an alien life form. Of the many individuals who claim to have been abducted by extraterrestrials, many report the experience as unpleasant. But not all abductees consider their experiences negative. Perhaps those who claim to have had positive experiences with extraterrestrials are the ones who will be celebrating today.

The celebrations take multiple forms, from those who watch the skies expecting or wishing to be abducted by an alien life form, or if that’s too strange for you, you can celebrate this holiday instead by watching movies about UFOs and aliens.

Where is the event?
Worldwide

International Day of Happiness
March 20, 2015 in the World

The International Day of Happiness is celebrated throughout the world on 20 March. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 June 2012. The International Day of Happiness recognizes the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings.

Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Happiness is a fuzzy concept and can mean many things to many people. Part of the challenge of a science of happiness is to identify different concepts of happiness, and where applicable, split them into their components.

http://www.unfoundation.org/features/international-day-of-happiness.html

Where is the event?
Worldwide

World Storytelling Day
March 20, 2015 in the World

The World Storytelling Day is on March 20, 2015. It is a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling. It is celebrated every year on the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, the first day of autumn equinox in the southern.

On World Storytelling Day, as many people as possible tell and listen to stories in as many languages and at as many places as possible, during the same day and night. Participants tell each other about their events in order to share stories and inspiration, to learn from each other and create international contacts.

The significance in the event lies in the fact that it is the first global celebration of storytelling of its kind, and has been important in forging links between storytellers often working far apart from each other. It has also been significant in drawing public and media attention to storytelling as an art form.

Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters and narrative point of view.

http://worldstorytellingday.webs.com/

Where is the event?
Worldwide

World Sparrow Day
March 20, 2015 in the World

World Sparrow Day is celebrated on March 20, 2015. World Sparrow Day is a day designated to raise awareness of the House Sparrow and other common birds to urban environments, and of threats to their populations. It is an international initiative by the Nature Forever Society of India in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and numerous other national and international organisations across the world.

The idea of marking a World Sparrow Day came up during an informal discussion at the Nature Forever Society’s office. The idea was to earmark a day for the House Sparrow to convey the message of conservation of the House Sparrow and other common birds and also mark a day of celebration to appreciate the beauty of the common biodiversity which is taken so much for granted. The first World Sparrow Day was celebrated in 2010 in different parts of the world.

World Sparrow Day also has a broader vision to provide a platform where people who are working on the conservation of the House Sparrow and other common birds can network, collaborate and exchange conservation ideas which will lead to better science and improved results.

The House Sparrow is strongly associated with human habitations, and can live in urban or rural settings. Though found in widely varied habitats and climates, it typically avoids extensive woodlands, grasslands, and deserts away from human development. Because of its numbers, ubiquity and association with human settlements, the sparrow is culturally prominent.

Where is the event?
Worldwide

Vernal Equinox Day
March 20, 2015 in Japan

Vernal Equinox Day is observed on March 20, 2015. Vernal Equinox Day (jap. Shunbun no Hi) is a public holiday in Japan that occurs on the date of the Northward equinox in Japan Standard Time, usually March 20 or 21. The date of the holiday is not officially declared until February of the previous year, due to the need for recent astronomical measurements. Vernal Equinox Day became a public holiday in 1948. Prior to that it was the date of Shunki k?reisai, an event relating to Shintoism. Like other Japanese holidays, this holiday was repackaged as a non-religious holiday for the sake of separation of religion and state in Japan’s postwar constitution.

Where is Vernal Equinox Day?
Nationwide Japan

International Francophonie Day
March 20, 2015 in the World

International Francophonie Day (French: Journée internationale de la Francophonie), which celebrates the French language and Francophone culture, is celebrated in the International Organization of La Francophonie’s 77 member states every March 20. There are over 274 million French speakers on Earth.

The date celebrates the signing of the Niamey Convention in Niger on the 20th of March 1970. The convention established the Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique, the precursor to the International Organization of La Francophonie.

Where is the event?
Worldwide

UN French Language Day
March 20, 2015 in the World

UN French Language Day is celebrated on March 20, 2015. The event was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010. The day is observed annually in order to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six its official working languages throughout the organization.

March 20 was chosen as the date for the French language since it coincides with the 40th anniversary of the International Organization of La Francophonie. French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the province of Quebec and the Acadia region in Canada, the north of the U.S. state of Louisiana, and by various communities elsewhere.

French is an official language in 29 countries. It as well is an official language of all United Nations agencies and a large number of international organizations. French was the most important language of diplomacy and international relations from the 17th century to approximately the middle of the 20th century. English has taken over that role since then.

Where is UN French Language Day?
Worldwide

Natural Events:

First day of Spring
March 20, 2015 in Northern Hemisphere

The first day of Spring is in 2015 on March 20 (according to the astronomical definition). It is also called the spring quinox. Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and “springtime” refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth.

The specific definition of the exact timing of “spring” varies according to local climate, cultures and customs. At the spring equinox or the first day of spring, days are close to 12 hours long with day length increasing as the season progresses.

In spring, the axis of the Earth is increasing its tilt toward the Sun and the length of daylight rapidly increases for the relevant hemisphere. The hemisphere begins to warm significantly causing new plant growth to “spring forth,” giving the season its name. Snow, if a normal part of winter, begins to melt, and streams swell with runoff. Frosts, if a normal part of winter, become less severe.

Unstable weather may more often occur during spring, when warm air begins on occasions to invade from lower latitudes, while cold air is still pushing on occasions from the Polar regions. Flooding is also most common in and near mountainous areas during this time of year because of snowmelt, accelerated by warm rains.

Note: The date March 20, 2015 is calculated for Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5). It can vary in other time zones.

Where is First day of spring?
Worldwide Northern Hemisphere

Total solar eclipse
March 20, 2015 in Faroe Islands, Svalbard, North Atlantic, North Pole

A total Solar Eclipse takes place on March 20, 2015. It will have a magnitude of 1.045. The longest duration of totality will be 2 minutes 47 seconds off the coast of the Faroe Islands. It is the last total solar eclipse visible in Europe until the eclipse of August 12, 2026. A total lunar eclipse will follow on April 4, 2015, visible over Australia, and the Pacific coast of Asia and North America. A partial solar eclipse can be seen from Greenland, Europe, Central Asia, and Western Russia.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s apparent diameter is larger than the Sun, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across the surface of the Earth, while a partial solar eclipse will be visible over a region thousands of kilometres wide.

At the end of its path, the shadow of the Moon rises from the Earth’s surface to space at the north pole. As March 20 is the Northward equinox, the eclipse occurs as the Sun rises at the north pole for the first time in six months, ending the winter polar night.

The eclipse is a part of Saros cycle 120, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 71 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on May 27, 933 AD, and reached an annular eclipse on August 11, 1059. It was a hybrid event for 3 dates: May 8, 1510, through May 29, 1546, and total eclipses from June 8, 1564, through March 30, 2033. The series ends at member 71 as a partial eclipse on July 7, 2195. The longest duration of totality was 2 minutes, 16 seconds on August 12, 1654.

Where is Total solar eclipse?
Worldwide Faroe Islands, Svalbard, North Atlantic, North Pole

March New Moon
March 20, 2015 in EST Eastern Standard Time / UTC-05

On March 20, 2015 the moon reaches its minimum brightness. Therefore it is called new moon. In astronomical terminology, the phrase new moon is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in conjunction with the Sun as seen from Earth. At this time, the dark (unilluminated) portion of the Moon faces almost directly toward Earth, so that the Moon is not visible to the naked eye.

The original meaning of the phrase new moon was the first visible crescent of the Moon, after conjunction with the Sun. This takes place over the western horizon in a brief period between sunset and moonset, and therefore the precise time and even the date of the appearance of the new moon by this definition will be influenced by the geographical location of the observer. The astronomical new moon, sometimes known as the dark moon to avoid confusion, occurs by definition at the moment of conjunction in ecliptic longitude with the Sun, when the Moon is invisible from the Earth. This moment is unique and does not depend on location, and under certain circumstances it is coincident with a solar eclipse.

Where is March New Moon?
Eastcoast (North America)
EST Eastern Standard Time / UTC-05

Historical Events on 20th March:

1345 – Saturn/Jupiter/Mars-conjunction: thought “cause of plague epidemic”

1600 – The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden

1616 – Walter Raleigh released from Tower of London to seek gold in Guyana

1739 – Nadir Shah occupies Delhi in India and sacks the city, stealing the jewels of the Peacock Throne.

1760 – Great Fire of Boston destroys 349 buildings

1800 – Alessandro Volta reports his discovery of the electric battery in a letter to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society of London

1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” published (Boston)

1861 – An earthquake completely destroys Mendoza, Argentina.

1896 – Marines land in Nicaragua to protect US citizens

1902 – France and Russia issue a joint declaration that approves the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, but stipulates that they have the right to protect interests in China and Korea

1920 – 1st flight from London to South Africa lands (took 1½ months)

1944 – Mount Vesuvius, Italy, explodes

1952 – Final ratification of peace treaty restoring sovereignty to Japan by US Senate

1956 – Tunisia gains independence from France

1969 – US president Nixon proclaims he will end Vietnam war in 1970

1991 – Supreme Court rules unanimously employers can’t exclude women from jobs where exposure to toxic chemicals could potentially damage fetus

1994 – Zulu-king Goodwill Zwelithini founds realm in South Africa

1996 – UK admits humans can catch CJD (Mad Cow Disease)

2001 – Petrobras 36 Oil Platform, the world’s largest oil rig, sinks with 400,000 US gallons of fuel and crude oil aboard, after suffering three explosions on March 15