National Find a Rainbow Day and Keep America Beautiful Month

The rainbow is a gift from God. It was a promise given at the end of the great flood. Rainbows are part of nature that comes down from all ages and all nationalities. The magic of the wonderful colors that rise up from the ground and arch throughout the sky and ends where a mystical pot of gold lays. We are all fascinated with rainbows as we search them out and today April 3rd is a day to celebrate searching for and finding the rainbow. 

Rainbows offer beauty, hope and even a bit of fear. Yes there are those that fear rainbows as well. There are many legends that have helped explain the rainbow. 

Irish::: 
We all would love to find a fortune. The Irish legend of the rainbow has a bit to do with finding a pot of gold. The pot of gold is guarded by a leprechaun. If you are lucky enough to find the end of the rainbow more than likely has also found that the leprechaun guarding the pot of gold has all ready departed with it. 

Native American::::
The Native Americans believe that the rainbow is a bridge that links the earth to the heavens. It was a path where souls traveled as well as a way to communicate with the Gods. 

Eastern Europe: 
Many cultures from Eastern Europe viewed a rainbow as death or a sign of trouble. It is also believed that if no one would see a rainbow for several decades that the end of the world was upon us. 

A rainbow is created as sunlight and water mix with each other. As the rain falls from the sky on a sunny day the chance of seeing a rainbow is greatly on your side. As the sun passes through the raindrops they act as prisms and separates the colors that make up light. As a result a rainbow is created. While we see the colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet the truth is that in a rainbow we see all colors that the naked eye can not see.

Ideas to celebrate National Find a Rainbow Day: 

• Create a rainbow by spraying water in the air, turn on the sprinkler. 
• read a story about a legend of the library with your child
• wear a rainbow by donning a pair of earrings, a necklace or a bracelet that is full of colors. Dress up from head to toes with the colors of the rainbows. 
• send a card to someone who needs their life brightened up Better yet how about a bouquet of flowers with each color of the rainbow to share the love

Share rainbow with your child: 

• look at the rainbow and share each color with your child
• make a rainbow with crayons, construction paper or markers. This is something fun to do and you can discuss colors as you create
• make a large rainbow using sidewalk chalk outside. Make it fun so you can follow it by walking along and find the pot of gold
• Here is a cute song that will help your child learn about rainbows and colors

While we are enjoying the beauty that the rainbow offers us we should take a moment to give back. April 3rd is also a day To Keep America Beautiful. It is a great day to see how we can give back. With spring approaching and winter over most of us will be spending more time outside. It is a great time to do a quick spring up of the mess that winter left behind. What is it that we can do to reduce waste?? Are there old items that we can reuse?? 

We should take the time during Keep America Beautiful Monty by teaching our children important rules to take care of our earth. We grew up with the simple rule of "Don't be a litter bug" Many choose to clean up their parks, streets and environment. These projects are great for organizations, scout troups, 4H organizations or families. Awesome way to give back and be able to live in a beautiful community.