Exelauno Day!
March 4th is a nerdy day if you’re a classicist. Even if you’re not, there’s a cute pun in today that gives one a reason to step out courageously, for it’s homophonous with March Forth. But those in the know–and soon you will be one of them–will enjoy the day in deeper measure. For students of Greek literature will remember an ancient author by the name of Xenophon, and his relation of a hair-raising tale of how he and a host of Greek mercenaries got the heck out of Dodge. The Anabasis stands among my favorite books in part because of its fish-story quality. But the reason why it is relevant to us today is because Xenophon, writing in the Greek, repeatedly writes that he set forth on his journey. Happily, the phrase he uses pairs well with a particle that makes the whole phrase sound like “Exelauno Day!”
You have just witnessed the death of a joke by its explanation. But it still tickles me and many other silly people, so that’s all that matters. 
So, set forth bravely today, remembering that Xenophon did as much, even when faced with certain death at the hands of a king with literally hundreds of thousands of warriors at his disposal. Take heart: you, too can make it out alive with a whopper of a tale! And I just sneezed, so it must be true.
Exelauno Day!