National Cooper Day takes place on March 7. Cooper was an occupational moniker for someone who made or repaired barrels, casks, and buckets. It derives from the Middle English word ‘couper,’ which means ‘cowper.’ It was a highly valued trade in the Middle Ages, since building watertight containers was not an easy undertaking with the available equipment during that period. Cooper is a name that may be used for both boys and girls. It’s a lovely burnished metal, but it’s also used as police terminology. Coopering was a major aspect of business and communal life in medieval times because all liquids were transported in tubs and barrels. Coopering is a craft that is being practiced today to manufacture wooden barrels for real ale, whiskey, and port (as well as any other beverage that has to be ‘matured in wood’).
Orthodox Lent
Orthodox Lent is observed from Clean Monday to the evening of Holy Saturday and leads up to Easter Sunday, which runs from February 23 to April 8 this year. When we think of Easter, what comes to mind are Easter eggs and those fun games played before getting an Easter egg. However, there is a serious side to this religious festival — known as Orthodox Lent or Great Lent — observed by followers of the Christian faith. Celebrated before Easter Sunday, it is a six-week celebration for believers to prepare for Easter through abstinence, prayer, and fasting.
Clean Up Australia Day
Clean Up Australia Day is an annual event observed on the first Sunday of March as part of Australia’s efforts to conserve the environment, and this year, it falls on March 1. The idea is to encourage and empower communities to clean up the parks, bushland, water reserves, and other parts of Australia. For over 30 years, residents, schools, individuals, communities, and businesses have volunteered in their thousands to clean up and get rid of plastic and glass. The focus is equally on preventing waste and removing it from the environment. Let us get our cleaning shoes on and find out more about Australia’s biggest community-based environmental event.