Ante Diem III Kalendas Februarias

Modern Date : January 30th

Ante Diem III Kalendas Februarias
Third Day to the Kalends of February

This is one of the dies comitiales when committees of citizens could vote on political or criminal matters.

Columella says of this day, "The Dolphin begins to set: also the Lyre sets."

On this day in 13 BCE, an altar to the Pax Augusta, the Altar of Peace, Ara Pacis, built on the Via Flamina, was consecrated by the Roman Senate. This event is commemorated with the Festival of Peace, held in honor of the Roman goddess Pax. Pax and Irene, both meaning “Peace,” became common names in the Roman world, and Pax was imprinted on coins.

In 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi.

This month is sacred to Janus, the god of Beginnings. The Romans had numerous temples to Janus. Whenever war was declared, the chief magistrate would lead a ceremony in which the doors of the main temple of Janus were opened. In time of peace they were normally shut.


God of Wealth
On the second day after the new year, the Chinese honor the God of Wealth by setting off firecrackers all day long. Tsai Shen Yeh was originally a follower of Confucius. But he felt there was no power in Confucianism, wanting to live a long and healthy life.

One day he had a chance visit with Lao Tzu who invited him to learn about Taoism. He became a fervent student of Taoism and eventually he became a Taoist master. During this time he devised a system called Reifu which is a kind of spiritual caligraphy , a way to heal people and become enlightened.

He became famous for being able to heal the sick. People came to visit him, and he healed their illness using a combination of calligraphy and psychic healing. Because he of this, Tsai became very popular and wealthy. By tradition, he discovered a potion that can also help people to become enlightened.

There is a story about Tai Shen Yeh. One day Tsai visited a village where there was a problem with a well and this well was the only water in the area. But a bad spirit had infected the well and it became diseased with evil spirits. Tsai cast a calligraphy spell which turned into a golden crow and flew into the well, then suddenly a large evil spirit creature appeared, became fearful, and ran away.

After he died many Chinesewere put up his image and used his calligraphy in their homes to avoid financial problems, and have a peaceful life. The people soon discovered that their wishes came true and more and more people started doing the same things following his teaching. Whoever display Tsai Shen Yeh in their homes, will be protected by him, especially wealth and healing.