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2003 Mar 30 is Julian 2452729
= 19 x 167 x 773
5763 adar-II 26
1995 magabit 21 1719 baramhat 21 1424 muharram 26
1925 caitra 09 1382 farvardin 10 211 germinal
10 160 baha 10
China-Republic - 92 - 02 - 28 // 78 - 20 / gui~wei Sheep - 02 -
28
12 baktun / 19 katun / 10 tun /
02 winal / 06 k'in //
12 - kimi //
19 - kumk'u / g1
Julian 2003 Mar 17— LIBERALIA
ANTE DIEM XVI CALENDAS APRILIS MMDCCLVI A.V.C.
Explanation
of various calendars
This day (NP), is for special
religious observance.
This day was sacred to Liber, and on this day
women would line the streets and sell fresh meal-cakes on small altars. Processions
were made to chapels in various parts of the city. Effigies were placed in
these chapels, later to be cast into the Tiber river during the festivals
in May.
The Liberalia is considered to be the first
real festival of the new sacral year. A primary theme of these celebrations
is freedom (liber).
Freedom to the Romans had four embodiments: Freedom from evil. — Freedom
from burdens. — Freedom from care. — Freedom from youthful folly.
This is the seventeenth day of the Festival
of Mars. The daily spectacle of the priests of Mars leaping and dancing through
the streets of Rome would continue this day. In fact, the multiple processions
going on throughout the day would have borne a resemblance to the multiple
parades that go on throughout New Orleans during Mardi Gras.
The philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius died
this day near Sirmium in CMXXXIII A.V.C. (180 AD). His book of Greek Stoicism
called Meditations portrays the remarkable wisdom that the best Romans
were capable of even during a time of decay. He had been ill for years and
probably had cancer. He could often only endure the pain after taking the
drug Theriac, which contained opium. His son Commodus succeeded him as emperor
this day.
This was the second day of a nine-day fast for
the Romans, leading up to the Day of Blood.
On this day the Bacchanalia, the Festival of
Bacchus, continued in Greece.
The Canaanites (Phoenicians or Syrians) celebrated
this day as Astarte's day. Astarte was often identified as Demeter or Ceres,
and as Isis in Egypt. Astarte was both a moon goddess and a cow goddess because
the crescent moon had horns.
On this day in DCCIX A.V.C. (45 BC) Caesar won
the final victory over Pompey's troops, defeating his two sons at Munda. The
Pax Romana truly began this day.