Events & Holidays

Celebrate National Library Week!

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April is a very special month for libraries! First and foremost, the second week of the month is National Library Week! Not only that though, April is also School Library Month and it contains National Library Workers Day, National Bookmobile Day, and Support Teen Literature Day! [All of which happen during National Library Week.] PLUS both America’s first dictionary Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), and Peter Roget’s Thesaurus (1852) were first published in April as well!  What/When is National Library Week? National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the United States each April, typically the second full …

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The Spooky Side of Maine: Hauntings & Urban Legends from the Pine Tree State

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Ayers Island – Penobscot Bay – Orono, Maine. Ayers Island is a 62-acre island located in the Penobscot River in the Town of Orono. (About two miles from the University of Maine Orono campus.) It was named for one of the original settlers of Orono, Joshua Ayers, who constructed the first structure on the island sometime in 1774.  The island has been used for numerous ventures over the years starting with a saw/lumber mill, then a pulp and paper mill, and finally as the Striar Textile Mill until its closure in 1996. According to local lore, the island has long-been …

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day

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It’s March 17th! You know what that means, right? Happy Maewyn Succat Day! Wait… What? Don’t know who in the world Maewyn Succat is? Well then, let us explain! St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, no matter the day of the week. This day was chosen for the holiday because it is the anniversary of St. Patrick’s death. This year, St. Patrick’s Day is Thursday, March 17, 2022. The history of St Patrick, the apostle of Ireland, who was born in the second half of the 4th century, is incredibly, and perhaps inevitably, vague. There has always been controversy over …

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What is Mardi Gras?

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What is Mardi Gras? Mardi Gras (also known as Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday) is a Christian holiday (and now a popular cultural phenomenon) that dates back thousands of years to pagan spring and fertility rites. It’s celebrated in many countries around the world on the day before the religious season of Lent begins. Carnival, Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday -The term “Carnival” technically refers to the period of revelry and feasting that begins on January 6 (the Feast of the Epiphany) and ends on Mardi Gras. [The derivation of the word Carnival is uncertain, though it possibly can be traced …

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Valentine’s Day

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Ancient Origins According to some historians, Valentine’s Day is a successor of the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia dating back to 300BC. A fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus, Lupercalia was held every year at the ides of February (between February 13 and February 15)You can learn more about Lupercalia by visiting: https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/lupercalia  Christian Origins In the 5th century A.D., Pope Gelasius I decided to expel the pagan holiday and replace it with a day for the celebration of a martyr called Valentine, who was executed …

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