A to Z: Berenstain Bears

"Mom, did you know about the dimension change?" #1 Son asked the other day.  His grin let me know i was in for a treat.

Which one? i asked.

"Well, you know how you used to read the Berenstain Bears to us when we were little?"

Yes.

"Everyone in your generation pronounces it Berenstain, but everyone my age that I talk to says 'Berenstien', with a long e instead of a long a!  All of us remember it that way from our childhood, but when you look at the books, they all say 'Berenstain' with the long a.  It's really confusing to us, because we don't remember it that way from when we were kids.

"The theory is that we've switched dimensions sometime during the years that I was growing up, and the only thing different in this dimension is how Berenstain Bears is spelled and pronounced!  So your generation remembers it one way, and we remember it another!"

Fun theory, i said as we both laughed.

"Are we talking about switching dimensions and quantum theory and string theory again?" Red-headed Alec asked.

"Yes, and Berenstain Bears," #1 Son answered.

"Well, if we talk about it long enough, I have to go for a drive and clear my head.  Talking about those always gives me a headache."

Would you prefer i go get one of our Berenstain Bears books and read it to you? i asked with a mischievous grin.

"Maybe later," Red-headed Alec answered with a smile, and #1 Son just laughed and headed into the kitchen to get something to eat.

Today is

Every Day is Tag Day™ -- make sure your pet has an up to date tag or microchip, just in case! 

Feast of Acan -- Ancient Mayan Calendar (god of wine, whose name means either "belch" or "groan", depending on your source -- although both seem apt, one during the celebration, the other after; date approximate)

Great Lovers Day -- you don't have to be a Cassanova to celebrate the great lovers in your life!

Historic Pendleton Spring Jubilee -- Pendleton, SC, US (through tomorrow)

International Children's Book Day -- on the birth anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen, sponsored this year by the USA division of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People); this year's theme is "Bookjoy around the World"

International Pillow Fight Day -- yes, really 

International Tree Climbing Championships and Arbor Fair -- Breckenridge, CO, US (sponsored by the International Society of Arboriculture, and designed to simulate working conditions of professional arborists, with five different qualifying events; through the 7th)

Katori Jingu Otaue-sai -- Sawara, Chiba Prefecture, Japan (rice planting festival; through tomorrow)

"Just Pray No" Worldwide Weekend of Prayer and Fasting -- people around the world pray for healing for those who are addicted to drugs, through tomorrow 

Malvinas Day -- Argentina (honors veterans of the Falklands War)

National Ferret Day -- US (The American Ferret Association) 

National Love Your Produce Manager Day -- with its own Facebook page

National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

Quing Ming Jie -- China; Hong Kong; Macau; North Korea; Taiwan (Tomb Sweeping Day, last day of the Quingming Festival)(a/k/a Festival of Clear Brightness, Festival for Tending Graves, Grave Sweeping Day, Chinese Memorial Day, Tomb Sweeping Day, Spring Remembrance, and All Souls Day [not to be confused with the Roman Catholic holiday of the same name]; the festival includes kite flying and rituals to call the spring rains, as well as cleaning the graves of ancestors and offering them gifts)

Reconciliation Day -- as recommended by columnist Ann Landers, use today to reach out and mend a broken relationship

Sizdehbedar -- Iran (Nature Day)

Spring Fever and Medical Aid Appeal -- Fairy Calendar

St. Francis of Paloa's Day (Patron of boatmen, mariners, naval officers, sailors, travelers, watermen; Amato, Italy; Calbria, Italy; Fossato Serraita, Italy; Sant'Agata di Esaro, Italy; against fire, plague, and sterility)

St. Urban of Langres' Day (Patron of barrel makers/coopers, gardeners, vine dressers/vine growers/vintners; Dijon, France; Langres, France; against alcoholism, blight, fainting, frost, storms)

Taily Day, Scotland (engage in pranks related to your tail end, a second day of April fooling)

Tangible Karma™ Day -- set aside an hour today to become purposefully aware of the needs of someone around you, and to fulfill that need; because giving feels as good as receiving

Thai Heritage Conservation Day -- Thailand

Unity of Peoples of Russia and Belarus Day -- Belarus

World Autism Awareness Day -- UN



Anniversaries Today:

Napoleon Bonaparte marries the Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, 1810


Birthdays Today:

Bethany Joy Galeotti, 1981
Christopher Meloni, 1961
Pamela Reed, 1953
Ron "Horshack" Palillo, 1949
Camille Paglia, 1947
Emmylou Harris, 1947
Linda Hunt, 1945
Leon Russell, 1942
Dr. Demento, 1941
Marvin Gaye, 1939
Jack Webb, 1920
Charles White, 1918
Alec Guinness, 1914
Buddy Ebsen, 1908
Max Ernst, 1891
Walter Chrysler, 1875
Emile Zola, 1840
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, 1834
Hans Christian Anderson, 1805
Giovanni Giacomo Girolamo Casanova, 1725
Charlemagne, 742


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Nickelodeon(TV Cable Channel), 1979
"Dallas"(TV), 1978
2001: A Space Odyssey(Film), 1968
"As the World Turns"(TV), 1956
"The Edge of Night"(TV), 1956
Symphony No. 1 in C major(Beethoven Op. 21), 1800


Today in History:

Mehmed II begins his siege of Istanbul/Constantinople, 1453
Juan Ponce de Leon becomes the first European to set foot in Florida, 1513
"American Farmer," the first successful agricultural journal, begins publication, 1819
Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for president of the US, 1870
The first Easter egg roll is held on the White House lawn, 1877
Puerto Rico is given limited self rule by the US Congress, 1900
The first full time movie theater, the "Electric Theater," opens in Los Angeles, 1902
The Titanic undergoes sea trials under her own power, 1912
President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany, 1917
Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia, 1930
Charles Lindbergh turns over the $50,000 ransom for his kidnapped son, 1932
The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London, 1962
Argentine forces sieze the Falkland Islands, beginning the Falklands War, 1982
Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province (British Columbia), 1991
Israeli forces surround and besiege the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated, 2002
Three widows and two daughters of Osama bin Laden were charged with illegally living in Pakistan; they were sentenced with 45 days in jail and fined $114 each, 2012
The Arms Trade Treaty, the first-ever bill to regulate the global trade in conventional weapons, is passed by the U.N. General Assembly, 2013