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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Atheist and Other Freethinkers
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260314
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260315
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UID:224978-1773446400-1773532799@wp.aofonline.org
SUMMARY:Pi Day
DESCRIPTION:Pi\, Greek letter (Π)\, is of course the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi = 3.1415926535… (This is pi to just ten decimal places; it is an irrational number\, meaning the digits continue infinitely without repeating.) Math enthusiasts around the world celebrate Pi Day on March 14th\, i.e. 3/14 in the American dating convention\, since the first three digits of PI are 3.14 (March 14 also happens to be Albert Einstein’s birthday).  “Pi Moment” occurs on that day just before 3:10 pm (more precisely\, 15:9:26.5). The San Francisco Exploratorium celebrated the first Pi Day in 1988\, with staff and public marching around one of its circular spaces\, and then consuming fruit pies. Since then\, the museum has added pizza pies to its Pi Day menu. The founder of Pi Day\, the “Prince of Pi\,” is Larry Shaw\, now retired from the Exploratorium\, but still helping with the celebrations. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology often mails out its acceptance letters to be delivered to prospective students on Pi Day.  Celebrate Pi Day by doing anything to get students interested in mathematics. Teachers can organize many unique activities for students to generate interest. It is also used to inform students as well as the rest of the public about Pi\, its history and applications. Pi Day parties in math and science classes are common\, utilizing different types of pies\, all the while teaching students about Pi.
URL:https://wp.aofonline.org/event/pi-day/
CATEGORIES:Secular Holiday
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260316
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260317
DTSTAMP:20260404T033319
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UID:224981-1773619200-1773705599@wp.aofonline.org
SUMMARY:Freedom of Information Day
DESCRIPTION:Freedom of Information (FOI) Day (http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/press/information/topic.aspx?topic=FOI_Day) is an annual event on March 16\, the birthday of James Madison\, widely regarded as the Father of the Constitution and a foremost advocate for openness in government. On this day\, the American Library Association (http://www.ala.org/) presents the James Madison Award and the Eileen Cooke State & Local Madison Award to recognize those individuals or groups that have championed\, protected\, and promoted public access to government information and the public’s right to know.   The James Madison Award – Named for President James Madison\, the award was established in 1986 and is presented annually on the anniversary of his birth. That award is designed to celebrate an individual or group that has brought awareness to these issues at the national level.  The Eileen Cooke State & Local Madison Award – Named for Eileen Cooke\, former director of the ALA’s Washington Office\, this award honors an extraordinary leader who has built local grassroots awareness of the importance of access to information. Cooke herself was a tireless advocate for the public’s right to know and a mentor to many librarians and trustees. 
URL:https://wp.aofonline.org/event/freedom-of-information-day/
CATEGORIES:Secular Holiday
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260316
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260323
DTSTAMP:20260404T033319
CREATED:20260310T201453Z
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UID:224986-1773619200-1774223999@wp.aofonline.org
SUMMARY:Sunshine Week
DESCRIPTION:Sunshine Week (http://www.sunshineweek.org/) includes Freedom of Information Day (March 16)\, the birthday of James Madison\, and runs through that calendar week. Madison was the principal author of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights which guarantee the rights of citizens.  Therefore Sunshine Week stands as a national initiative to open discussions about the important or open government and the freedom of information.  Sunshine Week dates back to 2002 when the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors launched Sunshine Sunday in response to efforts by some Florida legislators to create new exemptions to the state’s public records law. After Florida’s initiation on this topic\, other states followed its course. The American Society of Newspaper Editors launched Sunshine Week in March 2005. It has become an annual event.  Sunshine Week is not restricted to journalists. Anyone can be involved: students\, teachers\, bloggers\, private citizens\, public officials and non-profit groups. The only requirement is to engage in a public discussion either small or large about the importance of open government. A discussion can take many forms: a large public forum\, a classroom discussion\, an article or an editorial. The idea of participation is not about how much\, but about actually being involved.  To participate in Sunshine Week\, see https://sunshineweek.org/ (https://sunshineweek.org/) for ideas.
URL:https://wp.aofonline.org/event/sunshine-week/
CATEGORIES:Secular Holiday
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260319
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260322
DTSTAMP:20260404T033319
CREATED:20260310T201452Z
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UID:224982-1773878400-1774137599@wp.aofonline.org
SUMMARY:Equinox (March)
DESCRIPTION:The March Equinox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox) is one of two days in the calendar year when day and night hours are nearly equal; in the northern hemisphere\, it is also the first day of Spring (Gregorian calendar). Annual seasons exist because of two planetary occurrences: 1)  a 23.5° tilt of the earth’s axis\, which makes the earth rotate like a gyroscope\, so it points continuously in a fixed direction-toward the area of space near the North Star 2)  the earth continuously revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit-once every 365.25 of our solar days. So for half of the year the Southern Hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than the Northern Hemisphere\, and for the other half of the year the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears highest in the sky during summer and lowest in the sky during winter. The Vernal (Spring) Equinox is almost exactly halfway between the winter and summer solstices\, and in the sky the sun appears about midway between its highest and lowest points. It is one of the two times during the year when day and night are almost exactly 12 hours long\, and very close to being equal to one another. The other day is the Autumnal Equinox\, which usually falls on or near the first day of Autumn (September 22-23 northern hemisphere / March 20-21 southern) in the Gregorian calendar. The First Day of Spring has been a time of celebration throughout recorded Western history. Most ancient Mediterranean Pagan religions had some sort of festival at or around the time of the Vernal Equinox. The celebrations were a way to rejoice in the rebirth of nature and to ritually act out this seasonal change\, from the symbolic death of the earth in winter to its resurrection through the budding and blooming that came after the equinox. Many of these religions had stories of a man-god\, born of a virgin\, who was killed and reborn at this time each year\, and this day was often connected to the worship of many fertility goddesses with such names as Ostara\, Astarte\, Eostre\, Ishtar\, and Ostra. The name for the modern Christian Easter holiday originated from these spring celebrations. In every culture the Vernal Equinox signals the return of weather that favors our ability to grow agricultural crops\, and for this reason we have associated it with the “rebirth” of our ability to perpetuate ourselves. It is understandable why we have chosen to celebrate such a momentous occasion\, and why it has come to represent “rebirth” in a variety of contexts. For freethinkers the Vernal Equinox is a great time to celebrate the rebirth of Western art\, philosophy\, and culture with secular themes after centuries of religious domination. It is also a perfect day to celebrate the accomplishments of intellect\, reason\, and logic\, and a time to renew connections to our intellectual past as well as renew promises to continue striving to enlighten and improve the human condition. Another freethought holiday to celebrate around this time\, and as an alternative to Easter\, is the Excitement of Life Week (http://www.secularseasons.org/calendar/2003/april/excitement_of_life.html).
URL:https://wp.aofonline.org/event/equinox-march/
CATEGORIES:Secular Holiday
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260323
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260324
DTSTAMP:20260404T033319
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UID:224985-1774224000-1774310399@wp.aofonline.org
SUMMARY:Atheist Coming-Out Day
DESCRIPTION:Atheist Day or Atheist Coming-Out Day (http://www.atheistrepublic.com/atheist-day) is a relatively new global secular holiday declared in 2019 by the Freedom From Religon Foundation (https://ffrf.org/) in partnership with the Atheist Republic (http://www.atheistrepublic.com/). In the words of the declaration: “We atheists and atheist allies hereby declare that from now on\, March 23rd is Atheist Day. We recognize the struggle of atheists to live authentic lives in many parts of the world. The struggle to openly affirm one’s atheism. The fear of intolerant governments\, mobs\, and religious zealots. “On March 23rd we shall take a stand for our right to be treated equal and for those of us in countries where atheists are persecuted and live under a threat of death. From every city in every country in the world we shall be one voice\, a voice of reason.”
URL:https://wp.aofonline.org/event/atheist-coming-out-day/
CATEGORIES:Secular Holiday
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