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Did You Know? DID YOU KNOW THAT MARCH 21 IS FRENCH BREAD DAY? Oui, oui monsieur – please pass me another stick of French bread! The French have been baking long sticks of bread for over 200 years, but it was only in 1920 that the current baguette we know and love came into being. A law was passed in France in 1920 that prohibited anyone from starting work before 4 am, making it impossible for French bakers to get their traditional breads baked in time before people went off to work. Voila! The quick-baking baguette was born. Why not embrace the whole continental experience and have a glass of French wine with it! DID YOU KNOW THAT MARCH 4 IS INTERNATIONAL SCRAPBOOKING DAY? Scrapbooks have been around for a long time, and ones from centuries gone by can give us fascinating insight into the lives of our ancestors. Around the 15th century, Englanders made what was called "commonplace books" out of their favorite letters, quotations, recipes and the like. A commonplace book was an excellent way of compiling knowledge, and it is not uncommon to find them packed with prayers, proverbs, mathematical formulas and informational tidbits. Then, in the 16th century, "friendship albums" began to appear which frequently contained memorabilia from trips and excursions between friends and family, and usually, illustrations or notes were written by them. Much like yearbooks of modern times, friendship albums would be filled with scribblings from the owner's acquaintances. Women in the early 1900s used scrapbooking as a way to record their lives because cameras were not readily available at the time. DID YOU KNOW THAT MARCH 7 IS NO SMOKING DAY? No smoking day started out in 1984 and has grown in size and scope since then. It is celebrated in communities across the world trying to educate more people every year. If you or someone you know smokes cigarettes, you know that it is a very difficult thing to deal with. Cigarettes are highly addictive and are not only harmful to the person who smokes, but also to the people and pets around that person. So do what you can to quit, or encourage a friend or relative to quit and "break free" of a very dangerous habit. DID YOU KNOW THAT MARCH 9 IS BARBIE DAY? Barbie debuted on March 9, 1959 at the American International Toy Fair in New York. She was a labor of love from Ruth Handler, who was the wife of the co-founder of the toy giant Mattel, Inc. After watching children playing with baby dolls and paper dolls, she thought that the toy market needed something more. After a trip to Germany where she saw a doll that was in line with what she wanted, she convinced her husband and the company to make the first ever mass-produced doll with adult features. Do you know the background story for Barbie? Her parents, George and Margaret Roberts, named her Barbara Millicent Roberts. Her nickname is the famous Barbie. What about Ken, you ask? His mother, Edna Carson, named him after her father, Kenneth. Head over to your favorite search engine to learn more about Barbie's extended family and friends. DID YOU KNOW THAT MARCH 10 IS GENEALOGY DAY? The idea of keeping track of one's family is not a new one. The family tree of Confucius has been maintained for over 2,500 years; a Guinness World Record. In western societies, genealogy was especially important to royalty, who used it to decide who was of noble descent and who was not, as well as who had the right to rule which geographical area. Genealogy Day was created in 2013 by Christ Church, United Presbyterian and Methodist in Limerick, Ireland to help celebrate the church's 200th anniversary, and has since inspired many people to take a look into their family tree to find out more about where they came from. 30 | Four Seasons Hemet Herald | MARCH 2018 | By Micki Rosen, Four Seasons Beaumont resident

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