Tolkien Reading Day

      What is Tolkien Reading Day   

                                            

For those who don't know who J.R.R. Tolkien is he is the author who penned The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings saga, The Silmarillion amongst others. 

Why was March 25th the official date chosen?

It was actually the date that the ring was destroyed, completing Frodos quest and the ultimate downfall of evil Sauron (The Lord of the Rings).

As of 2003, members of the Tolkien Reading Society, encouraged others who may have never read any of Tolkiens works by reading passages from their favorite books. 

                                                                How To Celebrate

1. Read The Hobbit (pre Lord of the Rings quest) or jump straight into The Lord of the Rings 

    Pour your favorite beverage of choice (coffee, tea or wine), pop in one of Tunes 4 Kids fireplace videos (we included both in this post) in background for ultimate relaxation.

                                                                    

2. Create your own Middle Earth Map

3. Look up J.R.R. Tolkien biographies or documentaries

   St, Patricks Day

  Every March 17th, we celebrate in different ways to honor St Patrick's death which happened in the 5th Century. Mostly an Irish based religious holiday, this celebration happens when the Irish would attend church in the morning & celebrate in the afternoon. During Lent, it is prohibited usually to eat meat & drink but that was waived therefore you understand all the celebrations going on in every town at local pubs, 

Who Was St Patrick?

Saint Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland who lived during the 5th Century. Although he wasn't born in Ireland, he was actually kidnapped from Roman Britain and brought to Ireland to work at the age of 16. He did eventually escape his horrible conditions, yet returned to Ireland bringing with him Christianity. He died on March 17th, 469. Following his death for many centuries many legends have surrounded what other things St. Patrick was credited for.

Here are some:

1. He drove all the snakes out of Ireland (snakes don't even inhabit Ireland at all & never have) I heard this one all through my life

2. He was the only one who explained the Trinity (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) using Shamrocks

When was St Patrick first celebrated & How Do You Celebrate?

Around 9th or 10th Century the Irish have been observing the Catholic feast as St Patricks Day. The first St Patrick Day Parade was held on March 17, 1601 in St Augustine, Florida. About more than a century year later, Irish soldiers who were homesick would participate in the St Patricks Day parade in NYC to honor the patron saint. From this time every citizen was excited for the parade and expanded to Boston and other cities across USA. 

Do you celebrate St. Patricks Day? If so, what do you do? Hit the hometown parade? Drink/eat green foods?

March 10th is National Mario Day!!

#NationalMarioDay - History

For over a decade, give or take, fans have been celebrating Mario Day every March 10th before Mario's parent company,Nintendo, officially embraced #NationalMarioDay. When Nintendo started to celebrate the day, they also started promoting both old & new Mario games with special deals. Why March 10th? Well if you took Mar from March & 10 for the day you put both together it spells Mar10. 

Mario Franchise History

Mario made his official debut in 1981 in a Donkey Kong game, created by Shigeri Miyamoto who also created The Legend of Zelda (one of our favorites as well), Starfox & Donkey Kong. In 1988, Super Mario Bros 3 was released on the NES & became the highest grossing game of all time. Then the next year in 1989, Super Mario Land was released on the GameBoy. With the upcoming sequel Super Mario Land 2, Mario's enemy, War was introduced to us. Around 1996 is when Mario went 3D with Super Mario 64 as the main game introducing the new Nintendo 64 console. In 2017, we were introduced to his new friend Cappy in Super Mario Odyssey on the Nintendo Switch. 

As of 2022, there are over 200 Mario games that have been released. So many different options for the kind of mood you are in! There are puzzle, sport, role playing, racing or party games to choose from. 

Mario Fun Facts

Did you know there was a study conducted by Max Planck Institute that playing Super Mario 64 it helps with spatial operation, memory formation, strategic planning & fine motor skills!! So not only is Super Mario 64 fun but it helps with brain function as well?!

With over 600 million copies of games sold, Mario is the best selling video game franchise of all time!

Mario was supposed to be a carpenter not a plumber. They changed their minds when the backgrounds involved pipes.

Bowser was originally supposed to be an ox but the illustrator thought it was a turtle so they went with the giant turtle instead.

The Chain Chomper was inspired by a neighborhood dog that scared Miyamoto when he was a child

What is your favorite Mario game?