Peace on Earth

August 31 is said to have been the date upon which, as the Old Testament Book of Genesis relates, the dove that Noah had released after the flood returned to the Ark bearing an olive leaf in its beak, thereby indicating that the floodwaters had subsided. The dove and olive branch have consequently become symbols of peace, as has the rainbow, which it is also told, God placed in the sky as a sign of his covenant with humankind and all living creatures on Earth. According to Celtic lore, a pot of gold-a symbol of material hope-lies at the foot of every rainbow.