Daily Five: Kwanzaa, French, Hagia Sophia

1. Light rain in the morning, then a chance of showers between noon and 3 p.m. Breezy all day with winds reaching 20+ miles per hour and gusts reaching 38. Up to an inch of rain during the day. The wind dies down at night, but the temperatures fall to the low-30s.

2. The Kente Cultural Center holds their annual Kwanzaa celebration today. Visit between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to learn more about the holiday and enjoy some crafts and activities.

3. Is it the language of love? Maybe just the language of good wine, cheese, and sizable portions of the world? Either way, the Public Library of New London invites you to hone your French speaking skills with an informal conversational get-together at 5 p.m. today.

4. People in New London are pretty video-savvy, and at least a few interesting scenes make their way onto YouTube each week. Check out New London Tube at 5 p.m. every Thursday to see a highlighted video.

5. The enormous church of Hagia Sophia was inaugurated as an Orthodox cathedral on this day in 537 in Constantinople. The building was converted to a mosque when Ottoman Turks conquered the city, now known as Istanbul. It was secularized by the Turkish government in 1935 and is now a museum.

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