1.
Thomas Nast
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Thomas Nast was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist considered to be the Father of the American Cartoon. He was the scourge of Democratic Representative Boss Tweed and the Tammany Hall Democratic party political machine, among his notable works were the creation of the modern version of Santa Claus and the political symbol of the elephant for the Republican Party. Contrary to popular belief, Nast did not create Uncle Sam, Columbia, or the Democratic donkey, Nast was associated with the magazine Harpers Weekly from 1859 to 1860 and from 1862 until 1886. Albert Boime argues that, As a political cartoonist, Thomas Nast wielded more influence than any other artist of the 19th century. He not only enthralled a vast audience with boldness and wit, both Lincoln and Grant acknowledged his effectiveness in their behalf, and as a crusading civil reformer he helped destroy the corrupt Tweed Ring that swindled New York City of millions of dollars. Indeed, his impact on American public life was formidable enough to affect the outcome of every presidential election during the period 1864 to 1884. Nast was born in the barracks of Landau, Germany, the last child of Appolonia and he had a sister named Andie, two other siblings died before he was born. His father, a trombonist in the Bavarian 9th regiment band, in 1846, Joseph Nast left Landau, enlisting first on a French man-of-war and subsequently on an American ship. He sent his wife and children to New York City, Nast attended school in New York City from the age of six to fourteen. He did poorly at his lessons, but his passion for drawing was apparent from an early age, in 1854, he was enrolled for about a year of study with Alfred Fredericks and Theodore Kaufmann, and then at the school of the National Academy of Design. In 1856, he started working as a draftsman for Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper and his drawings appeared for the first time in Harpers Weekly on March 19,1859, when he illustrated a report exposing police corruption. A few months later, as artist for The Illustrated London News, Nasts cartoons and articles about the Garibaldi military campaign to unify Italy captured the popular imagination in the U. S. In February 1861, he arrived back in New York, in September of that year, he married Sarah Edwards, whom he had met two years earlier. He left the New York Illustrated News to work again, briefly, in 1862, he became a staff illustrator for Harpers Weekly. In his first years with Harpers, Nast became known especially for compositions that appealed to the sentiment of the viewer, one of his most celebrated cartoons was Compromise with the South, directed against those in the North who opposed the prosecution of the American Civil War. He was known for drawing battlefields in border and southern states and these attracted great attention, and Nast was called by President Abraham Lincoln our best recruiting sergeant. Nasts cartoons frequently had numerous sidebars and panels with intricate subplots to the main cartoon, a Sunday feature could provide hours of entertainment and highlight social causes. After 1870, Nast favored simpler compositions featuring a central image
2.
Clement Clarke Moore
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The seminary was developed on land donated by Moore and it continues on this site at Ninth Avenue between 20th and 21st streets, in an area known as Chelsea Square. Moores connection with the seminary continued for more than 25 years, Moore gained considerable wealth by subdividing and developing other parts of his large inherited estate in what became known as the residential neighborhood of Chelsea. Before this, the part of the city ended at Houston Street on Manhattan island. For 10 years, Moore also served as a member of the New York Institution for the Blind. He is credited and is most widely known as the author of the Christmas poem A Visit from St. Nicholas and it later became widely known as Twas the Night Before Christmas and has been published in numerous illustrated versions in various languages. Scholars debate the identity of the author, calling on textual, Moore was born on July 15,1779 in New York City to Bishop Benjamin Moore and Charity Clarke. His father headed the Episcopal Diocese of New York, which covered the state. It was organized after the American Revolutionary War when the church independent of the Church of England. During the uncertain years of the war, when Loyalists associated with what was known as Kings College left for Canada and he served twice in this position. Moores mother was a daughter of Major Thomas Clarke, an English officer who stayed in the colony after fighting in the French and he owned the large Manhattan estate Chelsea, then in the country north of the developed areas of the city. As a girl, Moores mother Charity Clarke wrote letters to her English cousins, preserved at Columbia University, these show her disdain for the policies of the British monarchy and her growing sense of patriotism in pre-Revolutionary days. Moore was born at Chelsea, at his mothers family estate, the Moores established their own residence in Elmhurst, Queens. After his grandfather Clarkes and mothers deaths, Moore inherited the Chelsea estate and he earned great wealth by subdividing and developing it in the 19th century. Moore graduated from Columbia College, where he earned both his B. A. and his M. A, one of Moores earliest known works was an anonymous pro-Federalist pamphlet published prior to the 1804 presidential election, attacking the religious views of Thomas Jefferson. Moore concluded this work was an instrument of infidelity, in 1820, Moore helped Trinity Church organize a new parish church, St. Luke in the Fields, on Hudson Street. He later gave 66 tracts of land – the apple orchard from his inherited Chelsea estate– to the Episcopal Diocese of New York to be the site of the General Theological Seminary. Based likely on this donation, and on the publication of his Hebrew and English Lexicon in 1809 and he held this post until 1850. Moore owned several slaves during his lifetime, as was customary of many in his class and he opposed the abolition of slavery
3.
Western culture
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The term also applies beyond Europe, to countries and cultures whose histories are strongly connected to Europe by immigration, colonization, or influence. For example, Western Culture includes countries in the Americas and Australasia, whose language, before the Cold War era, the traditional Western viewpoint identified Western Civilization with the Western Christian countries and culture. Ancient Greece is considered the birthplace of Western culture, with the worlds first democratic system of government and major advances in philosophy, science, Greece was followed by Rome, which made key contributions in law, government, engineering and political organization. European culture developed with a range of philosophy, medieval scholasticism, and mysticism. Rational thinking developed through an age of change and formation, with the experiments of the Enlightenment. More often an ideology is what will be used to categorize it as a Western society. There is some disagreement about what nations should or should not be included in the category, many parts of the Eastern Roman Empire are considered Western today but were Eastern in the past. Since the context is highly biased and context-dependent, there is no agreed definition what the West is and it is difficult to determine which individuals fit into which category and the East–West contrast is sometimes criticized as relativistic and arbitrary. Globalism has spread Western ideas so widely that almost all cultures are, to some extent. Stereotyped views of the West have been labeled Occidentalism, paralleling Orientalism—the term for the 19th-century stereotyped views of the East, as Europe discovered the wider world, old concepts adapted. The area that had formerly considered the Orient became the Near East, as the interests of the European powers interfered with Meiji Japan and Qing China for the first time. Thus, the Sino-Japanese War in 1894–1895 occurred in the Far East, the Greeks contrasted themselves to their Eastern neighbors, such as the Trojans in Iliad, setting an example for later contrasts between east and west. In the Middle Ages, the Near East provided a contrast to the West, concepts of what is the West arose out of legacies of the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. Later, ideas of the west were formed by the concepts of Latin Christendom, Western culture is neither homogeneous nor unchanging. As with all cultures, it has evolved and gradually changed over time. Nevertheless, it is possible to follow the evolution and history of the West, and appreciate its similarities and differences, its borrowings from, and contributions to, other cultures of humanity. Nevertheless, the Greeks felt they were the most civilized and saw themselves as something between the wild barbarians of most of Europe and the soft, slavish Middle-Easterners. In the meantime, however, Greece, under Alexander, had become a capital of the East, the Celts also created some significant literature in the ancient world whenever they were given the opportunity
4.
Christmas Eve
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Christmas Eve is the day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation of Christmas Day, together, both days are considered one of the most culturally significant celebrations in Christendom and Western society. Many churches still ring their bells and hold prayers in the evening, for example. Since tradition holds that Jesus was born at night, Midnight Mass is celebrated on Christmas Eve, traditionally at midnight, roman Catholics and high church Anglicans traditionally celebrate Midnight Mass, which begins either at or sometime before midnight on Christmas Eve. This ceremony, which is held in churches throughout the world, celebrates the birth of Christ, Midnight Mass is popular in Poland. In recent years churches have scheduled their Midnight Mass as early as 7 pm. In Spanish-speaking areas, the Midnight Mass is sometimes referred to as Misa de Gallo, in the Philippines, the custom has expanded into the nine-day Simbang Gabi, when Filipinos attend dawn Masses from 16 December, continuing daily until Christmas Eve. In 2009 Vatican officials scheduled the Midnight Mass to start at 10 pm so that the 82-year-old Pope Benedict XVI would not have too late a night. Whilst it does not include any kind of Mass, the Church of Scotland has a service beginning just before midnight, the Church of Scotland no longer holds Hogmanay services on New Years Eve, however. The Christmas Eve Services are still very popular, on Christmas Eve, the Christ Candle in the center of the Advent wreath is traditionally lit in many church services. In candlelight services, while singing Silent Night, each member of the congregation receives a candle, lutherans traditionally practice Christmas Eve Eucharistic traditions typical of Germany and Scandinavia. Krippenspiele, special music for organ, vocal and brass choirs. A nativity scene may be erected indoors or outdoors, and is composed of figurines depicting the infant Jesus resting in a manger, Mary, other figures in the scene may include angels, shepherds, and various animals. The figures may be made of any material, and arranged in a stable or grotto, the Magi may also appear, and are sometimes not placed in the scene until the week following Christmas to account for their travel time to Bethlehem. While most home nativity scenes are packed away at Christmas or shortly thereafter, Christmas Vespers are popular in the early evening, and midnight services are also widespread in regions which are predominantly Lutheran. The old Lutheran tradition of a Christmas Vigil in the morning hours of Christmas Day can still be found in some regions. Methodists celebrate the evening in different ways, some, in the early evening, come to their church to celebrate Holy Communion with their families. The mood is very solemn, and the visible light is the Advent Wreath
5.
Christmas
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In several countries, celebrating Christmas Eve on December 24 has the main focus rather than December 25, with gift-giving and sharing a traditional meal with the family. Although the month and date of Jesus birth are unknown, by the fourth century the Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25. Today, most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar and this is not a disagreement over the date of Christmas as such, but rather a preference of which calendar should be used to determine the day that is December 25. Although it is not known why December 25 became a date of celebration, December 25 was the date the Romans marked as the winter solstice, the shortest, and therefore darkest day of the year. Jesus was identified with the Sun based on an Old Testament verse, the date is exactly nine months following Annunciation, when the conception of Jesus is celebrated. Finally, the Romans had a series of pagan festivals near the end of the year, so Christmas may have been scheduled at this time to appropriate, or compete with, one or more of these festivals. The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, the economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world. Christmas is a form of Christs mass. It is derived from the Middle English Cristemasse, which is from Old English Crīstesmæsse, crīst is from Greek Khrīstos, a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ, Messiah, meaning anointed, and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist. The form Christenmas was also used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal, it derives from Middle English Cristenmasse. In addition to Christmas, the holiday has been known by other names throughout its history. The Anglo-Saxons referred to the feast as midwinter, or, more rarely, Nativity, meaning birth, is from Latin nātīvitās. In Old English, Gēola referred to the corresponding to December and January. Noel entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël, itself ultimately from the Latin nātālis, the canonical gospels of Luke and Matthew both describe Jesus as being born in Bethlehem in Judea, to a virgin mother. In the Gospel of Luke account, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census and it says that angels proclaimed him a savior for all people, and shepherds came to adore him. In the Matthew account, magi follow a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, King Herod orders the massacre of all the boys less than two years old in Bethlehem, but the family flees to Egypt and later settles in Nazareth. The Nativity stories of Matthew and Luke are prominent in the gospels, the first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome in 336. Christmas played a role in the Arian controversy of the fourth century, the feast regained prominence after 800, when Charlemagne was crowned emperor on Christmas Day
6.
Saint Nicholas
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Saint Nicholas, also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century Christian saint and Greek Bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor. Because of the miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker. The historical Saint Nicholas is commemorated and revered among Anglican, Catholic, Lutheran, in addition, some Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and other Reformed churches have been named in honor of Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas is the saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers. The historical Saint Nicholas, as known from history, He was born at Patara. In his youth he made a pilgrimage to Egypt and the Palestine area, shortly after his return he became Bishop of Myra and was later cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian. He was released after the accession of Constantine and was present at the Council of Nicaea, in 1087, Italian merchants took his body from Myra, bringing it to Bari in Italy. Nicholas was born in Asia Minor in the Roman Empire, to a Greek family during the century in the city of Patara. He lived in Myra, Lycia, at a time when the region was Greek in its heritage, culture and he was the only son of wealthy Christian parents named Epiphanius and Johanna according to some accounts and Theophanes and Nonna according to others. He was very religious from an age and according to legend. His wealthy parents died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young and he tonsured the young Nicholas as a reader and later ordained him a presbyter. In the year AD305, several monks from Anatolia in Asia Minor came to the Holy Land to Beit Jala, Judea and this was before St. Sava’s Monastery was founded in the desert east of Bethlehem on the Kidron Gorge near the Dead Sea. These monks lived on the mountain overlooking Bethlehem in a few caves, in the years 312–315, St. Nicholas lived there and came as a pilgrim to visit the Holy Sepulchre, Golgotha, Bethlehem, and many other sites in the Holy Land. The Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church is located on the site of his cave in Beit Jala where today there are stories about Nicholas still handed down from generation to generation. A text written in his own hand is still in the care of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, in 317 he returned to Asia Minor and was soon thereafter consecrated bishop in Myra. In 325, he was one of many bishops to answer the request of Constantine and appear at the First Council of Nicaea, there, Nicholas was a staunch anti-Arian, defender of the Orthodox Christian position, and one of the bishops who signed the Nicene Creed. Tradition has it that he became so angry with the heretic Arius during the Council that he struck him in the face. The modern city of Demre, Turkey is built near the ruins of the home town of ancient Myra
7.
Bishop
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A bishop is an ordained, consecrated, or appointed member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within these churches, bishops are seen as those who possess the full priesthood, Some Protestant churches including the Lutheran and Methodist churches have bishops serving similar functions as well, though not always understood to be within apostolic succession in the same way. Priests, deacons and lay ministers cooperate and assist their bishop in shepherding a flock, the earliest organization of the Church in Jerusalem was, according to most scholars, similar to that of Jewish synagogues, but it had a council or college of ordained presbyters. In, we see a system of government in Jerusalem chaired by James the Just. In, the Apostle Paul ordains presbyters in churches in Anatolia, in Timothy and Titus in the New Testament a more clearly defined episcopate can be seen. We are told that Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete to oversee the local church, Paul commands Titus to ordain presbyters/bishops and to exercise general oversight, telling him to rebuke with all authority. Early sources are unclear but various groups of Christian communities may have had the bishop surrounded by a group or college functioning as leaders of the local churches, eventually, as Christendom grew, bishops no longer directly served individual congregations. Instead, the Metropolitan bishop appointed priests to each congregation. Around the end of the 1st century, the organization became clearer in historical documents. While Ignatius of Antioch offers the earliest clear description of monarchial bishops he is an advocate of monepiscopal structure rather than describing an accepted reality. To the bishops and house churches to which he writes, he offers strategies on how to pressure house churches who dont recognize the bishop into compliance. Other contemporary Christian writers do not describe monarchial bishops, either continuing to equate them with the presbyters or speaking of episkopoi in a city, plainly therefore we ought to regard the bishop as the Lord Himself — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 6,1. Your godly bishop — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 2,1, therefore as the Lord did nothing without the Father, either by Himself or by the Apostles, so neither do ye anything without the bishop and the presbyters. — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 7,1. Be obedient to the bishop and to one another, as Jesus Christ was to the Father, and as the Apostles were to Christ and to the Father, — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 13,2. Apart from these there is not even the name of a church, — Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallesians 3,1. Follow your bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father, and the presbytery as the Apostles, and to the deacons pay respect, as to Gods commandment — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnans 8,1. He that honoureth the bishop is honoured of God, he that doeth aught without the knowledge of the bishop rendereth service to the devil — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnans 9,1
8.
Demre
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Demre is a town and its surrounding district in the Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, named after the river Demre. Demre is the Lycian town of Myra, the home of Saint Nicholas of Myra, the district was known as Kale until it was renamed in 2005. A substantial Christian community of Greeks lived in Demre until the 1920s when they were forced to migrate to Greece after the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the abandoned Greek villages in the region are a striking reminder of this exodus. Abandoned Greek houses can still be seen at Demre and the regions of Kalkan, Kaş, a small population of Turkish farmers moved into the region when the Greek Christians were forced to migrate to Greece. The region is popular with tourists today particularly Christian pilgrims who visit the tomb of Saint Nicholas, Demre is on the coast of the Teke peninsula, west of the bay of Antalya, with the Taurus Mountains behind. The mountains are forested and the strip is made of good soil brought down by the mountain rivers. The climate is the typical Mediterranean pattern of hot dry summers, before the tourism boom began in the 1980s the local economy depended on agriculture, which is still important today. The villages of Demre grow pomegranates and citrus fruits and now a large quantity of fruits, some local handicrafts like rug making, and events such as the annual camel-wrestling festival bring in extra income. The local cuisine includes fish and other seafood from the Mediterranean, the district has a population of 25,078 according to the 2010 census. The town itself has 15,899 inhabitants, Demre has one municipality and nine villages. The populations of the centres are shown in the table See Myra for details of the history and archaeology of the city of Myra. Myra was one of the most important cities in ancient Lycia, coins have been found dating back to 300 BC, but logically the city must have been founded centuries earlier. The city thrived as part of the Roman Empire and many buildings were built. A number of tombs with a local style. The Roman theatre and other remains of Roman Myra, in the town of Demre, the church of St Nicholas of Myra, honoring the bishop of Myra and the man popularly known as Santa Claus. The antique cities of Andriake and Simena A boat trip to the islands, Saint Nicholas#Metamorphosis in Demre Demre municipality Photos from Demre
9.
English folklore
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English folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in England over a number of centuries. Some stories can be traced back to their roots, while the origin of others is uncertain or disputed, morris dance and related practices such as the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance preserve old English folk traditions, as do Mummers Plays. Pub names may preserve folk traditions, English folklore is largely drawn from Celtic, Germanic and Christian sources. It is generally supposed to be larger than a normal dog and it is a common feature of British Isles and Northern European folklore. Boggart - A boggart is, depending on local or regional tradition, either a spirit or a malevolent genius loci inhabiting fields. The household boggart causes things to disappear, milk to sour, always malevolent, the boggart will follow its family wherever they flee. Brownie - In folklore, a brownie is a type of hob, brownies are said to inhabit houses and aid in tasks around the house. However, they do not like to be seen and will work at night. Among food, they especially enjoy porridge and honey and they usually abandon the house if their gifts are called payments, or if the owners of the house misuse them. Brownies make their homes in a part of the house. Chime hours - According to English folklore, those born at certain hours could see ghosts, countless stones - Associated with megalithic monuments Corn dolly - Corn dollies are a form of straw work made as part of harvest customs of Europe before mechanization. Before Christianisation, in traditional pagan European culture it was believed that the spirit of the corn lived amongst the crop, cunning folk - The term cunning man or cunning woman was most widely used in southern England and the Midlands, as well as in Wales. Such people were frequently known across England as wizards, wise men. Dragons- Giant winged reptiles that breathe fire or poison, there are many dragon legends in England. Somerset and the North East being very rich, According to legend it can be heard to beat at times when England is at war or significant national events take place. Dwarfs Elves Ettin English Country Dance - English Country Dance is a form of folk dance and it is a social dance form, which has earliest documented instances in the late 16th century. Father Time Flibbertigibbet Four Winds - Shown on old maps they are shown as faces blowing out wind from their mouths. There are generally 4 of them although in some cases only 2 are shown, Green Man - A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves
10.
Father Christmas
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Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. The recognisably modern figure of the English Father Christmas developed in the late Victorian period, English personifications of Christmas were first recorded in the 15th century, with Father Christmas himself first appearing in the mid 17th century in the aftermath of the English Civil War. The Puritan-controlled English government had legislated to abolish Christmas, considering it papist, Royalist political pamphleteers, linking the old traditions with their cause, adopted Old Father Christmas as the symbol of the good old days of feasting and good cheer. Following the Restoration in 1660, Father Christmass profile declined and his character was maintained during the late 18th and into the 19th century by the Christmas folk plays later known as mummers plays. Until Victorian times, Father Christmas was concerned with adult feasting and merry-making and he had no particular connection with children, nor with the giving of presents, nocturnal visits, stockings or chimneys. But as later Victorian Christmases developed into family festivals, Father Christmas became a bringer of gifts. The popular American myth of Santa Claus arrived in England in the 1850s, by the 1880s the new customs had become established, with the nocturnal visitor sometimes being known as Santa Claus and sometimes as Father Christmas. He was often illustrated wearing a red hooded gown trimmed with white fur. The custom of merrymaking and feasting at Christmastide first appears in the record during the High Middle Ages. This almost certainly represented a continuation of pre-Christian midwinter celebrations in Britain of which—as the historian Ronald Hutton has pointed out—we have no details at all, personifications came later, and when they did they reflected the existing custom. The first known English personification of Christmas was associated with merry-making, singing and drinking, many late medieval Christmas customs incorporated both sacred and secular themes. In most areas of England the archaic word Yule had been replaced by Christmas by the 11th century, but in some regions Yule survived as the normal dialect term. The City of York maintained an annual St Thomass Day celebration of The Riding of Yule and his Wife which involved a figure representing Yule who carried bread and a leg of lamb. In 1572 the riding was suppressed on the orders of the Archbishop, in his allegorical play Summers Last Will and Testament, written in about 1592, Thomas Nashe introduces for comic effect a miserly Christmas character who refuses to keep the feast. He is reminded by Summer of the role that he ought to be playing, Christmas, how chance thou com’st not as the rest, / Accompanied with some music. / A merry carol would have graced thee well, / Thy ancestors have used it heretofore, early 17th century writers used the techniques of personification and allegory as a means of defending Christmas from attacks by radical Protestants. Surrounded by guards, Christmas asserts his rightful place in the Protestant Church and protests against attempts to him, Why Gentlemen. Christmas of London, and Captaine Christmas and they would not let me in, I must come another time
11.
Folklore of the Low Countries
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Folklore of the Low Countries, often just referred to as Dutch folklore, includes the epics, legends, fairy tales and oral traditions of the people of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Traditionally this folklore is written or spoken in Dutch, the subject matter of the oldest Dutch folk songs is very old and can go back to ancient fairy tales and legends. One of the folk tales to be in a song is Heer Halewijn, one of the oldest Dutch folk songs to survive, from the 13th century. Folk songs from Belgium in Dutch include, All in a Stable, Maying Song, the mythology of Wodan on the Wild Hunt sailing through the sky, is thought to have been one of the tales that changed into tales of Christian Sinterklaas traveling the sky. Dutch folk tales from the Middle Ages are strong on tales about flooded cities and they were the only survivors of the flood. The town of Kinderdijk is named for the place where the cradle came ashore and this is much like the story The Mermaid of Westenschouwen which also concerns the mistreated mermaid, followed by a curse and flood. In some flood legends, the bells or clock bells of sunken cities still can be heard ringing underwater. Sea folklore includes the legend of Sint Brandaen and later the legend of Lady of Stavoren about the port city of Stavoren. The paintings of Pieter Brueghel the Elder show many other circulating folk tales, the first written folklore of the Low Countries is not specifically derivative of French folklore. In this class are the romances of epic poetry of the Carolingians that usually are about Charlemagne and it is a Frankish romance of Charlemagne as an exemplary Christian king and his friend Elegast, whose name means elf spirit or elf guest. Elegast has supernatural powers such as ability to talk to animals and he lives in the forest as a thief. The two go out on an adventure and uncover and do away with Eggeric, as a traitor to Charlemagne, scholars believe the Dutch legend derived from a now lost middle High German text combined with Celtic elements from Ireland and combines Christian and fairy tale elements. The journey was begun as a punishment by an angel, the angel saw Brandaen did not believe the truth of a book on the miracles of creation and saw Brandaen throw it into the fire. The angel tells him that truth has been destroyed, the English poem Life of Saint Brandan is an English derivative. Biographies of Christian saints and stories of Christian miracles were important genre in the Middle Ages and this is an adaptation of the Latin, Vita et Miracula. Seven Manieren van Minnen, by Beatrijs van Nazareth, nun and this describes seven stages of love purification and transformation in Christian mysticism. When he deserts her, she becomes a prostitute to support her children, then she learns that Mary has been acting in her role at the convent and she can return without anyone knowing of her absence. This legend is the Dutch adaptation of the Latin, Dialogus Miraculorum of 1223, lancelot is a translation from British Arthurian romance
12.
Sinterklaas
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Sinterklaas or Sint-Nicolaas is a historical figure with legendary, and folkloric origins based on Saint Nicholas. Other names for the figure include De Sint, De Goede Sint, and De Goedheiligman in Dutch, Saint Nicolas in French, Sinteklaas in Frisian and he is also well known in territories of the former Dutch Empire, including Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, and Suriname. He is the source of the popular Christmas icon of Santa Claus. Sinterklaas is an elderly, stately and serious man with white hair and he traditionally rides a white horse. In the Netherlands, the horse is called Amerigo, and in Belgium, it is named Slecht Weer Vandaag, Sinterklaas carries a big, red book, called The Book of Sinterklaas, in which is written whether each child has been good or naughty in the past year. Zwarte Piet is a companion of Sinterklaas, dressed up based on 16th-century clothes of nobles in colourful attire, often sporting a lace collar, among other things, the black represents the black-white difference, but also helps people playing Zwarte Piet to stay unrecognisable to the children. Children are told that Zwarte Piet is black due to the soot in the chimneys, according to Hélène Adeline Guerber and others, the origin of Sinterklaas and his helpers has been linked by some to the Wild Hunt of Wodan. Riding the white horse Sleipnir he flew through the air as the leader of the Wild Hunt and he was always accompanied by two black ravens, Huginn and Muninn. Those helpers would listen, just like Zwarte Piet, at the chimney – which was just a hole in the roof at that time – to tell Wodan about the good and bad behaviour of the mortals. Due to its character, however, this older Germanic theory has little support among present-day scholars. At the same time, it clear that the Saint Nicholas tradition contains a number of elements that are not ecclesiastical in origin. Some of the older Sinterklaas songs make mention of naughty children being put in the bag and this part of the legend refers to the times that the Moors raided the European coasts, and as far as Iceland, to abduct the local people into slavery. This quality can be found in other companions of Saint Nicholas such as Krampus, in recent years the roe has been absent, to adapt to modern times. Over the years many stories have been added, and Zwarte Piet has developed from a rather unintelligent helper into an assistant to the absent-minded saint. Traditionally Zwarte Piets face is said to be black because he is a Moor from Spain, Today, some prefer to say that his face is blackened with soot because he has to climb through chimneys to deliver gifts for Sinterklaas. The figure of Zwarte Piet is considered by some to be racist, as such, the traditions surrounding the holiday of Sinterklaas have been the subject of numerous editorials, debates, documentaries, protests and even violent clashes at festivals. Nevertheless, both Zwarte Piet and the holiday remain popular in the Netherlands, in a 2013 survey, 92% of the Dutch public did not perceive Zwarte Piet as racist or associate him with slavery, and 91% were opposed to altering the characters appearance. Despite Zwarte Piets popularity, many cities and television channels now only display Chimney Petes
13.
Germanic paganism
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Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period. Germanic paganism took various forms in different areas of the Germanic world, the best documented version was that of 10th and 11th century Norse religion, although other information can be found from Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic sources. Scattered references are found in the earliest writings of other Germanic peoples. The information can be supplemented with archaeological finds and remnants of pre-Christian beliefs in later folklore, Germanic paganism was polytheistic, with similarities to other Indo-European religions. The Common Germanic period begins with the European Iron Age, contemporary to the Celtic La Tene culture to the south, early Germanic history remains in the prehistoric period until the earliest descriptions in Roman ethnography in the 1st century BC. The earliest forms of the Germanic religion can only be speculated on based on archaeological evidence, the first written description is in Julius Caesars Commentarii de Bello Gallico. He contrasts the religious custom of the Gauls with the simpler Germanic traditions. A much more detailed description of Germanic religion is Tacituss Germania, Tacitus describes both animal and human sacrifice. He identifies the chief Germanic god with the Roman Mercury, who on certain days receives human sacrifices, while gods identified by Tacitus with Hercules and Mars receive animal sacrifice. The largest Germanic tribe, Suebians, also sacrifices, allegedly of captured Roman soldiers. Nerthus is revered by Reudignians, Aviones, Angles, Varinians, Nerthus is believed to directly interpose in human affairs. Her sanctuary is on an island, specifically in a wood called Castum, a chariot covered with a curtain is dedicated to the goddess, and only the high priest may touch it. The priest is capable of seeing the goddess enter the chariot, drawn by cows, the chariot travels through the countryside, and wherever the goddess visits, a great feast is held. During the travel of the goddess, the Germanic tribes cease all hostilities, when the priest declares that the goddess is tired of conversation with mortals, the chariot returns and is washed, together with the curtains, in a secret lake. The slaves who administer this purification are afterwards thrown into the lake, according to Tacitus, the Germanic tribes think of temples as unsuitable habitations for gods, and they do not represent them as idols in human shape. Instead of temples, they consecrate woods or groves to individual gods, divination and augury was very popular, To the use of lots and auguries, they are addicted beyond all other nations. Their method of divining by lots is exceedingly simple, from a tree which bears fruit they cut a twig, and divide it into two small pieces. These they distinguish by so many several marks, and throw them at random and without order upon a white garment
14.
Odin
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In Germanic mythology, Odin is a widely revered god. In the modern period, Odin continued to be acknowledged in the folklore of Germanic Europe. Forms of his name appear frequently throughout the Germanic record, though narratives regarding Odin are mainly found in Old Norse works recorded in Iceland and these texts make up the bulk of modern understanding of Norse mythology. In Old Norse texts, Odin is depicted as one-eyed and long-bearded, frequently wielding a spear named Gungnir, and wearing a cloak, Odin is attested as having many sons, most famously the god Baldr with Frigg, and is known by hundreds of names. Odin has an association with Yule, and mankinds knowledge of both the runes and poetry is also attributed to him. In Old Norse texts, Odin is given primacy over female beings associated with the battlefield—the valkyries—and oversees Valhalla, where he receives half of those who die in battle, the other half are chosen by the goddess Freyja for her afterlife location, Fólkvangr. In later folklore, Odin appears as a leader of the Wild Hunt and he has also been associated with charms and other forms of magic, particularly in Old English and Old Norse texts. Odin has been a frequent subject of study in Germanic studies, in the modern period, Odin has inspired numerous works of poetry, music, and other forms of media. He is venerated in most forms of the new religious movement Heathenry, together with other gods venerated by the ancient Germanic peoples, some branches focus particularly on him. The Old Norse theonym Óðinn and its cognates, including Old English Wōden, Old Saxon Wōden, the masculine noun *wōđanaz developed from the Proto-Germanic adjective *wōđaz, related to Latin vātēs and Old Irish fáith, both meaning seer, prophet. Adjectives stemming from *wōđaz include Gothic woþs possessed, Old Norse óðr, mad, frantic, furious, additionally the Old Norse noun æði rage, fury and Old High German wuotī madness derive from the feminine noun *wōđīn, from *wōđaz. Over 170 names are recorded for the god Odin and these names are variously descriptive of attributes of the god, refer to myths involving him, or refer to religious practices associated with the god. This multitude of names makes Odin the god with the most names known among the Germanic peoples, the weekday name Wednesday derives from Old English wōdnesdæg. Cognate terms are found in other Germanic languages, such as Middle Low German wōdensdach, all of these terms derive from Proto-Germanic *Wodensdag, itself a Germanic interpretation of Latin Dies Mercurii. However, in Old High German, the derived from Odins was replaced by a translation of Church Latin media hebdomas. The earliest records of the Germanic peoples were recorded by the Romans and they regard it as a religious duty to offer to him, on fixed days, human as well as other sacrificial victims. Hercules and Mars they appease by animal offerings of the permitted kind, in this instance, Tacitus refers to the god Odin as Mercury, Thor as Hercules, and Týr as Mars, and the identity of the Isis of the Suebi has been debated. But their rankings in their respective religious spheres may have very different
15.
Yule
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Yule or Yuletide is a festival observed by the historical Germanic peoples. Scholars have connected the celebration to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and it later underwent Christianised reformulation resulting in the term Christmastide. Terms with an equivalent to Yule are used in the Nordic countries for Christmas with its religious rites. Today Yule is also used to an extent in the English-speaking world as a synonym for Christmas. Present day Christmas customs such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, today the event is celebrated in Heathenry and some other forms of Modern Paganism. Both words are thought to be derived from Common Germanic *jeχʷla-, and are cognate with Gothic jiuleis, Old Norse, Icelandic, and Faroese jól, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian jul, jol and ýlir. The etymological pedigree of the word, however, remains uncertain, though numerous attempts have been made to find Indo-European cognates outside the Germanic group. The noun Yuletide is first attested from around 1475, the word is attested in an explicitly pre-Christian context primarily in Old Norse. Among many others, the long-bearded god Odin bears the names jólfaðr, in plural may refer to the Norse gods in general. In Old Norse poetry, the word is employed as a synonym for feast. Jolly may share the etymology, but was borrowed from Old French jolif. The word was first mentioned by the Anglo-Norman chronicler Geoffrey Gaimar in his Estoire des Engleis, or History of the English People, Yule was an indigenous midwinter festival celebrated by the Germanic peoples. While the Old Norse month name ýlir is similarly attested, the Old Norse corpus also contains references to an event by the Old Norse form of the name. In chapter 55 of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, different names for the gods are given, one of the names provided is Yule-beings. A work by the skald Eyvindr Skáldaspillir that uses the term is then quoted, in addition, one of the numerous names of Odin is Jólnir, referring to the event. The Saga of Hákon the Good credits King Haakon I of Norway with the Christianisation of Norway as well as rescheduling the date of Yule to coincide with Christian celebrations held at the time, Yule had previously been celebrated for three nights from midwinter night, according to the saga. Haakon planned that when he had established himself and held power over the whole country. According to the saga, the result was that his popularity caused many to allow themselves to be baptised, Haakon spent most of this time in Trondheim
16.
Wild Hunt
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The Wild Hunt is a European folk myth involving a ghostly or supernatural group of huntsmen passing in wild pursuit. Seeing the Wild Hunt was thought to presage some catastrophe such as war or plague, people encountering the Hunt might also be abducted to the underworld or the fairy kingdom. In some instances, it was believed that peoples spirits could be pulled away during their sleep to join the cavalcade. Grimm popularised the term Wilde Jagd for the phenomenon, based on the comparative approach based on German folklore, the phenomenon is often referred to as Wilde Jagd or Wildes Heer. In Germany, where it was known as the Wild Army, or Furious Army, its leader was given various identities, including Wodan, Knecht Ruprecht, Berchtold. The Wild Hunt is also known from post-medieval folklore, in England, it was known as Herlaþing, Wodens Hunt, Herods Hunt, Cains Hunt, the Devils Dandy Dogs, Gabriels Hounds, and Ghost Riders. In Wales, a folk myth is known as Cŵn Annwn. In Scandinavia, the Wild Hunt is known as Oskoreia or Asgårdsreia, in France, it was known as Mesnée dHellequin, in Canada it becomes Chasse-galerie. In West Slavic Central Europe it is known as divoký hon or štvaní, Dziki Gon or Dziki Łów, the concept of the Wild Hunt was first documented by the German folklorist Jacob Grimm, who first published it in his 1835 book Deutsche Mythologie. It was in work that he popularised the term Wilde Jagd for the phenomenon. Grimms methodological approach was rooted in the idea – common in nineteenth-century Europe – that modern folklore represented a fossilized survival of the beliefs of the distant past. In developing his idea of the Wild Hunt, he mixed together recent folkloric sources with textual evidence dating to the Medieval and Early Modern periods. This approach came to be criticized within the field of folkloristics during the 20th century, as emphasis was placed on the dynamic. Grimm believed that this figure was sometimes replaced by a female counterpart. In his words, not only Wuotan and other gods, but heathen goddesses too, may head the furious host and he added his opinion that this female figure was Wodens wife. Discussing martial elements of the Wild Hunt, Grimm commented that it marches as an army, hutton nevertheless believed that this approach could be fundamentally challenged. In England, the historical figures St, the huntsmen were black, huge, and hideous, and rode on black horses and on black he-goats, and their hounds were jet black, with eyes like saucers, and horrible. Reliable witnesses were said to have given the number of huntsmen as twenty or thirty, and it is said, in effect, that this went on for nine weeks, ending at Easter
17.
Beard
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A beard is the collection of hair that grows on the chin and cheeks of humans and some non-human animals. In humans, usually only pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards, from an evolutionary viewpoint the beard is a part of the broader category of androgenic hair. It is a trait from a time when humans had hair on their face. Women with hirsutism, a condition of excessive hairiness, may develop a beard. Throughout the course of history, societal attitudes toward male beards have varied depending on factors such as prevailing cultural-religious traditions. Some religions have considered a full beard to be essential for all males able to grow one. Other cultures, even while not officially mandating it, view a beard as central to a mans virility, exemplifying such virtues as wisdom, strength, sexual prowess and high social status. However, in cultures where facial hair is uncommon, beards may be associated with poor hygiene or a savage, uncivilized, the beard develops during puberty, during the Gluk cycle. Beard growth is linked to stimulation of hair follicles in the area by dihydrotestosterone, various hormones stimulate hair follicles from different areas. DHT, for example, may also promote short-term pogonotrophy, for example, a scientist who chose to remain anonymous spent several weeks on a remote island in comparative isolation. He noticed that his beard growth diminished, but the day before he was due to leave the island it increased again and he studied the effect and concluded that the stimulus for increased beard growth was related to the resumption of sexual activity. However, at that time professional pogonologists, such as R. M, subjects with a greater preponderance of receptors will develop more terminal adult facial hairs. Beard growth rate is also genetic, biologists characterize beards as a secondary sexual characteristic because they are unique to one sex, yet do not play a direct role in reproduction. Charles Darwin first suggested possible evolutionary explanation of beards in his work The Descent of Man, some scholars assert that it is not yet established whether the sexual selection leading to beards is rooted in attractiveness or dominance. A beard can be explained as an indicator of an overall condition. The rate of facial hairiness appears to influence male attractiveness, the presence of a beard makes the male vulnerable in fights, which is costly, so biologists have speculated that there must be other evolutionary benefits that outweigh that drawback. Excess testosterone evidenced by the beard may indicate mild immunosuppression, which may support spermatogenesis, the ancient Semitic civilization situated on the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent and centered on the coastline of modern Lebanon gave great attention to the hair and beard. The beard has mostly a strong resemblance to that affected by the Assyrians and it is arranged in three, four, or five rows of small tight curls, and extends from ear to ear around the cheeks and chin
18.
Spectacles
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Glasses are typically used for vision correction, such as with reading glasses and glasses used for nearsightedness. Safety glasses provide eye protection against flying debris for construction workers or lab technicians, some types of safety glasses are used to protect against visible and near-visible light or radiation. Glasses are worn for eye protection in some sports, such as squash, Glasses wearers may use a strap to prevent the glasses from falling off during movement or sports. Wearers of glasses that are used only part of the time may have the attached to a cord that goes around their neck. Sunglasses allow better vision in daylight, and may protect ones eyes against damage from high levels of ultraviolet light. Typical sunglasses are darkened for protection against bright light or glare, some specialized glasses are clear in dark or indoor conditions, most sunglasses do not have corrective power in the lenses, however, special prescription sunglasses can be ordered. Specialized glasses may be used for viewing specific visual information or 3D glasses for viewing three-dimensional movies, sometimes glasses with no corrective power in the lenses are worn simply for aesthetic or fashion purposes. Even with glasses used for correction, a wide range of designs are available for fashion purposes, using plastic, wire. The number of Americans who are nearsighted has doubled since the 1970s, people are more likely to need glasses the older they get with 93% of people between the age of 65-75 wearing corrective lenses. They can be classified by their function, but also appear in combinations such as prescription sunglasses or safety glasses with enhanced magnification. Corrective lenses are used to correct refractive errors by bending the light entering the eye in order to alleviate the effects of such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. The ability of eyes to accommodate their focus to near. Also, few people have eyes that show exactly equal refractive characteristics, one may need a stronger, a common condition in people over forty years old is presbyopia, which is caused by the eyes crystalline lens losing elasticity, progressively reducing the ability of the lens to accommodate. Corrective lenses, to bring the back into focus on the retina, are made to conform to the prescription of an ophthalmologist or optometrist. A lensmeter can be used to verify the specifications of a pair of glasses. Corrective eyeglasses can significantly improve the quality of the wearer. Not only do they enhance the visual experience, but can also reduce problems that result from eye strain. Pinhole glasses are a type of glasses that do not use a lens
19.
A Visit from St. Nicholas
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Some commentators now believe the poem was written by Henry Livingston, Jr. The poem has been called arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American and is responsible for some of the conceptions of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today. It has had a impact on the history of Christmas gift-giving. Before the poem gained wide popularity, American ideas had varied considerably about Saint Nicholas, a Visit from St. Nicholas eventually was set to music and has been recorded by many artists. On Christmas Eve night, while his wife and children sleep, looking out the window, he sees Santa Claus in an air-borne sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. After landing his sleigh on the roof, the saint enters the house through the chimney, the father watches Santa filling the childrens Christmas stockings hanging by the fire, and laughs to himself. They share a moment before the saint bounds up the chimney again. As he flies away, Santa wishes everyone a Happy Christmas to all, the poems meter is anapestic tetrameter. The anapest is the foot used to construct limericks. For example, while the first two lines each use full anapests, lines 3 and 4 each drop the first unstressed syllable, likewise, lines 9 and 10 drop the first unstressed syllable, they also add an extra unstressed syllable to the end. According to legend, A Visit was composed by Clement Clarke Moore on a winters day during a shopping trip on a sleigh. His inspiration for the character of Saint Nicholas was a local Dutch handyman as well as the historical Saint Nicholas, Moore originated many of the features that are still associated with Santa Claus today while borrowing other aspects, such as the use of reindeer. It was first attributed in print to Moore in 1837, Moore himself acknowledged authorship when he included it in his own book of poems in 1844. By then, the publisher and at least seven others had already acknowledged his authorship. Moore had a reputation as a professor and had not wished at first to be connected with the unscholarly verse. He included it in the anthology at the insistence of his children, Moores conception of Saint Nicholas was borrowed from his friend Washington Irving, but Moore portrayed his jolly old elf as arriving on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. By having Saint Nicholas arrive the night before, Moore deftly shifted the focus away from Christmas Day with its religious associations. As a result, New Yorkers embraced Moores child-centered version of Christmas as if they had doing it all their lives
20.
Christmas elf
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In American folklore, a Christmas elf is a diminutive elves that live with Santa Claus in the North Pole and acts as his helper. Christmas elves are depicted as green or red clad with large, pointy ears. Santas elves are said to make the toys in Santas workshop and take care of his reindeer. They were first introduced in literature by Louisa May Alcott in 1856, the Christmas elf appeared in literature as early as 1850 when Louisa May Alcott completed, but never published a book entitled Christmas Elves. Additional recognition was given in Austin Thompsons 1876 work The House of Santa Claus, in Clement Clarke Moores 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, Santa Claus himself is described in line 45 as, He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf. Prior to the influence of St. Nicholas in Sweden, the job of giving out gifts was done by the Yule Goat, by 1891, the saint had become so well known that he could no longer be ignored. He became merged with Tomten, which was previously a farm guardian. Following the work of artist Jenny Nyström, this hybrid figure became known as Jultomten and they make the toys in a workshop located in the North Pole. In this portrayal, elves slightly resemble nimble and delicate versions of the dwarves of Norse myth, Christmas elves have had their role expanded in modern films and television. For instance, In Santa Claus, The Movie, the elves are a type of craft guild making traditional toys by hand, the elves workshop is also featured regularly in films, such as in Elf, starring Will Ferrell. The 1932 Disney short film, Santas Workshop, features Santa Claus, the Christmas Elves are featured in the 1998 TV movie Like Father, Like Santa. Disney had the theme of Christmas elves for their 2009 short film, Prep & Landing and it was the first holiday television special made by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The Christmas Elves were featured in Arthur Christmas, valentine DArcy Sheldons childrens picture book, The Christmas Tree Elf, tells the origin story of how Santa met his elves. It also introduces Blink the elf, who introduces Santa to the elves and saves Christmas by extinguishing a Christmas tree fire, in different countries, Santas helpers go by different names. In Iceland they are the Yule Lads who between December 12 and 24, a different Lad visit homes each day to leave presents and play tricks on children. In Belgium and the Netherlands, the companion is called Zwarte Piet, in Germany they are the Knecht Ruprecht and in Luxembourg they are known as Hoesecker. In Nordic countries Christmas Elves are considered nisser and not elves and will wear only red instead of the green. SantaLand Diaries Yule Lads Santa Claus Nisse All about Santas elves
21.
Santa's workshop
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Santas workshop is the workshop where Santa Claus is said to make the toys and presents given out at Christmas. In Santa Claus mythology, the workshop is a commune located at the North Pole or in Lapland. In addition to housing the factory where toys are manufactured or distributed by the elves. In the 20th century it became common during December in large shops or department stores to have a cavern in which an actor dressed up as Santa Claus would give gifts to children, Grottos can be large walk-through fantasy cavern-like areas incorporating animatronic characters such as elves and pantomime characters. This tradition started in Britain in 1879 and then extended in the 1890s to Australian and American department stores seeking to attract customers, the worlds first Christmas grotto was in Lewiss Bon Marche Department Store in Liverpool, England. The grotto was opened in 1879, entitled Christmas Fairyland, a staple of Liverpools festive season, many generations first visited Father Christmas here, with the final displays covering over 10,000 square feet. The Grotto has now moved to Rapid Hardware’s store in the former George Henry Lee building, in Adelaide, South Australia, the first Magic Cave was set up in 1896 at the John Martins department store on Rundle Street. An annual store-sponsored parade, Adelaide Christmas Pageant, was initiated in 1933 during which Father Christmas was conducted to the Magic Cave to formally herald the holiday season, nowadays department stores and shopping centres in the UK still host Santas Grottos. It is traditional that the receive an toy from Father Christmas upon visiting his Grotto be it in a shopping mall or a little garden centre. Grottos are sometimes free and sometimes they charge parents to let their kids see Santa, a themed attraction in Santa Claus, Indiana, named Santas Candy Castle emulates the traditional depiction of Santas workshop. There is also a Santas Workshop amusement park in North Pole, the worlds oldest theme park, Holiday World & Splashin Safari was known as Santa Claus Land prior to 1984 and is in Santa Claus, Indiana as well. In 1879, Thomas Nast revealed to the world in a series of drawings that Santas workshop is at the North Pole, the Canada Post postal code for the workshop is H0H 0H0. The United States Postal Service recommends mail to Santas workshop be sent to North Pole, Alaska, each Nordic country also claims Santas workshop to be located on their territories. Norway claims he lives in Drøbak, in Denmark, he is said to live in Greenland. In Sweden, the town of Mora has a park named Santaworld. The national postal terminal in Tomteboda in Stockholm receives childrens letters for Santa, in Finland, Korvatunturi has long been known as Santas home, and two theme parks, Santa Claus Village and Santa Park are located at the Arctic Circle in the municipality of Rovaniemi. Santas Workshop Santas Workshop Christmas grotto
22.
North Pole
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The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is defined as the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earths axis of rotation meets its surface. The North Pole is the northernmost point on the Earth, lying diametrically opposite the South Pole and it defines geodetic latitude 90° North, as well as the direction of true north. At the North Pole all directions point south, all lines of longitude converge there, along tight latitude circles, counterclockwise is east and clockwise is west. The North Pole is at the center of the Northern Hemisphere, while the South Pole lies on a continental land mass, the North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean amid waters that are almost permanently covered with constantly shifting sea ice. This makes it impractical to construct a permanent station at the North Pole, however, the Soviet Union, and later Russia, constructed a number of manned drifting stations on a generally annual basis since 1937, some of which have passed over or very close to the Pole. Since 2002, the Russians have also established a base, Barneo. This operates for a few weeks during early spring, studies in the 2000s predicted that the North Pole may become seasonally ice-free because of Arctic ice shrinkage, with timescales varying from 2016 to the late 21st century or later. The sea depth at the North Pole has been measured at 4,261 m by the Russian Mir submersible in 2007 and at 4,087 m by USS Nautilus in 1958. The nearest land is said to be Kaffeklubben Island, off the northern coast of Greenland about 700 km away. The nearest permanently inhabited place is Alert in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada, around the beginning of the 20th century astronomers noticed a small apparent variation of latitude, as determined for a fixed point on Earth from the observation of stars. Part of this variation could be attributed to a wandering of the Pole across the Earths surface, the wandering has several periodic components and an irregular component. The component with a period of about 435 days is identified with the eight-month wandering predicted by Euler and is now called the Chandler wobble after its discoverer and it is desirable to tie the system of Earth coordinates to fixed landforms. Of course, given plate tectonics and isostasy, there is no system in all geographic features are fixed. Yet the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service and the International Astronomical Union have defined a framework called the International Terrestrial Reference System. As early as the 16th century, many eminent people correctly believed that the North Pole was in a sea and it was therefore hoped that passage could be found through ice floes at favorable times of the year. Several expeditions set out to find the way, generally with whaling ships, one of the earliest expeditions to set out with the explicit intention of reaching the North Pole was that of British naval officer William Edward Parry, who in 1827 reached latitude 82°45′ North. In 1871 the Polaris expedition, a US attempt on the Pole led by Charles Francis Hall, another British Royal Navy attempt on the pole, part of the British Arctic Expedition, by Commander Albert H. Markham reached a then-record 83°2026 North in May 1876 before turning back. An 1879–1881 expedition commanded by US naval officer George W. DeLong ended tragically when their ship, over half the crew, including DeLong, were lost
23.
Santa Claus's reindeer
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In traditional festive legend, Santa Clauss reindeer pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on Christmas Eve. The commonly cited names of the reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and they are based on those used in the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, arguably the basis of the reindeers popularity. The enduring popularity of the Christmas song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has led to Rudolph often joining the list. In traditional lore, Santa Clauss sleigh is led by eight reindeer, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, the names Dunder and Blixem derive from Dutch words for thunder and lightning, respectively. The first reference to Santas sleigh being pulled by a reindeer appears in Old Santeclaus with Much Delight, the names of the author and the illustrator are not known. The poem, with eight colored lithographic illustrations, was published by William B, gilley as a small paperback book entitled The Childrens Friend, A New-Years Present, to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve. The 1823 poem by Clement C. Moore A Visit from St. Nicholas is largely credited for the contemporary Christmas lore that includes eight named reindeer. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, Moore version of the poem, including the German spelling of Donder and Blitzen, rather than the original 1823 version using the Dutch spelling, Dunder and Blixem. Both phrases translate as Thunder and Lightning in English, though German for thunder is now spelled Donner, Rudolphs story was originally written in verse by Robert L. May for the Montgomery Ward chain of department stores in 1939, according to this story, Rudolphs glowing red nose made him a social outcast among the other reindeer. Santa Claus worldwide flight one year was imperiled by severe fog, visiting Rudolphs house to deliver his presents, Santa observed Rudolphs glowing red nose in the darkened bedroom and decided to use him as a makeshift lamp to guide his sleigh. Rudolph accepted Santas request to lead the sleigh for the rest of the night, Rudolphs story is a popular Christmas story that has been retold in numerous forms, most notably a popular song, a stop motion television special and an animated feature film. The television special departed significantly from Robert L. Mays original story, depicting Rudolph as Donners son, in 1998, a film titled Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Movie was released that depicted Rudolph as Blitzens son. The comic strip Over the Hedge, added a character named Ralph, the Infrared Nosed Reindeer, the feature film, Rudolph and Frostys Christmas in July, features an antagonist reindeer named Scratcher. The feature film, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Movie, introduces Mitzi as Rudolphs mother and it also features two other reindeer Rudolphs love interest Zoey and his cousin and rival Arrow, the latter of whom is Cupids son. The animated movie Annabelles Wish tells the story of a calf who dreams to fly after meeting Santa. Many years later in her old age she is granted her wish, chet is a young reindeer in training who is introduced in the 2002 feature film, The Santa Clause 2. In the film Blizzard, the character is Blitzens daughter
24.
Saint Catherine's Monastery
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The monastery is controlled by the autocephalous Church of Sinai, part of the wider Eastern Orthodox Church, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built between 548 and 565, the monastery is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world, the site contains the worlds oldest continually operating library, possessing many unique books including the Syriac Sinaiticus and, until 1859, the Codex Sinaiticus. A small town with hotels and swimming pools, called Saint Katherine City, has grown around the monastery, according to tradition, Catherine of Alexandria was a Christian martyr sentenced to death on the wheel. When this failed to kill her, she was beheaded, according to tradition, angels took her remains to Mount Sinai. Around the year 800, monks from the Sinai Monastery found her remains, although it is commonly known as Saint Catherines, the monasterys full official name is the Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai. The patronal feast of the monastery is the Transfiguration, the monastery has become a favorite site of pilgrimage. The oldest record of life at Sinai comes from the travel journal written in Latin by a woman named Egeria about 381-384. She visited many places around the Holy Land and Mount Sinai, the living bush on the grounds is purportedly the one seen by Moses. Structurally the monasterys king post truss is the oldest known surviving roof truss in the world, the site is sacred to Christianity, Islam and Judaism. During the Ottoman Empire, the mosque was in desolate condition, during the seventh century, the isolated Christian anchorites of the Sinai were eliminated, only the fortified monastery remained. The monastery is surrounded by the massive fortifications that have preserved it. Until the twentieth century, access was through a high in the outer walls. The monastery was supported by its dependencies in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Crete, Cyprus, the monastery, along with several dependencies in the area, constitute the entire Church of Sinai, which is headed by an archbishop, who is also the abbot of the monastery. The archbishop is traditionally consecrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, the monastery library preserves the second largest collection of early codices and manuscripts in the world, outnumbered only by the Vatican Library. It contains Greek, Arabic, Armenian, Coptic, Hebrew, Georgian, the finding from 1859 left the monastery in the 19th century for Russia, in circumstances that had been long disputed. But in 2003 Russian scholars discovered the donation act for the manuscript signed by the Council of Cairo Metochion, the monastery received 9000 rubles as a gift from Tsar Alexander II of Russia. The Codex was sold by Stalin in 1933 to the British Museum and is now in the British Library, London, prior to September 1,2009, a previously unseen fragment of Codex Sinaiticus was discovered in the monasterys library. In February 1892, Agnes Smith Lewis identified a palimpsest in St Catherines library that became known as the Syriac Sinaiticus and is still in the Monasterys possession
25.
Sinai Peninsula
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The Sinai Peninsula or simply Sinai is a peninsula in Egypt, situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, serving as a land bridge between Asia and Africa. It is the part of Egyptian territory located in Asia. Sinai has an area of about 60,000 km2. The bulk of the peninsula is divided administratively into two of Egypts 27 governorates, the Sinai Peninsula has been a part of Egypt from the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt. In periods of occupation, the Sinai was, like the rest of Egypt, also occupied and controlled by foreign empires, in more recent history the Ottoman Empire. Israel invaded and occupied Sinai during the Suez Crisis of 1956, on 6 October 1973, Egypt launched the Yom Kippur War to retake the peninsula, which was the site of fierce fighting between Egyptian and Israeli forces. Today, Sinai has become a tourist destination due to its setting, rich coral reefs. Mount Sinai is one of the most religiously significant places in Abrahamic faiths, in addition to its formal name, Egyptians also refer to it as Arḍ ul-Fairūz. The ancient Egyptians called it Ta Mefkat, or land of turquoise, Sinai is triangular in shape, with northern shore lying on the southern Mediterranean Sea, and southwest and southeast shores on Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Aqaba of the Red Sea. It is linked to the African continent by the Isthmus of Suez,125 kilometres wide strip of land, the eastern isthmus, linking it to the Asian mainland, is around 200 kilometres wide. The peninsulas eastern shore separates the Arabian plate from the African plate, the southernmost tip is the Ras Muhammad National Park. Most of the Sinai Peninsula is divided among the two governorates of Egypt, South Sinai and North Sinai, together, they comprise around 60,000 square kilometres and have a population of 597,000. Three more governates span the Suez Canal, crossing into African Egypt, Suez is on the end of the Suez Canal, Ismailia in the centre. The largest city of Sinai is Arish, capital of the North Sinai, other larger settlements include Sharm el-Sheikh and El-Tor, on the southern coast. Inland Sinai is arid, mountainous and sparsely populated, the largest settlements being Saint Catherine, Sinai is one of the coldest provinces in Egypt because of its high altitudes and mountainous topographies. Winter temperatures in some of Sinais cities and towns reach −16 °C, the mines were worked intermittently and on a seasonal basis for thousands of years. Modern attempts to exploit the deposits have been unprofitable and these may be the first historically attested mines. According to the Hebrew Bible, the peninsula was crossed by the Israelites during the Exodus from Egypt and this included numerous halts over a 40-year period of travel sometime towards the end of the Bronze Age
26.
Greeks in Turkey
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After years of persecution, emigration of ethnic Greeks from the Istanbul region greatly accelerated, reducing the 119,822 -strong Greek minority before the attack to about 7,000 by 1978. The 2008 figures released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry places the current number of Turkish citizens of Greek descent at the 3, however, according to the Human Rights Watch the Greek population in Turkey is estimated at 2,500 in 2006. Since 1924, the status of the Greek minority in Turkey has been ambiguous, beginning in the 1930s, the government instituted repressive policies forcing many Greeks to emigrate. Examples are the labour battalions drafted among non-Muslims during World War II and these resulted in financial ruination and death for many Greeks. According to the United Nations, this figure was much smaller in 2012, the Greeks of Turkey are referred to in Turkish as Rumlar, meaning Romans. This derives from the self-designation Ῥωμαῖος or Ρωμιός used by Byzantine Greeks, the ethnonym Yunanlar is exclusively used by Turks to refer to Greeks from Greece and not for the population of Turkey. In Greek, Greeks from Asia Minor are referred to as Greek, Μικρασιάτες or Greek, Ανατολίτες, while Greeks from Pontos are known as Greek, Greeks from Istanbul are known as Greek, Κωνσταντινουπολίτες, most often shortened to Greek, Πολίτες. Those who arrived during the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey are also referred to as Greek, Πρόσφυγες, Greeks have been living in what is now Turkey continuously since the middle 2nd millennium BC. Following upheavals in mainland Greece during the Bronze Age Collapse, the Aegean coast of Asia Minor was heavily settled by Ionian and Aeolian Greeks and became known as Ionia and Aeolia. The city of Byzantium, which would go on to become Constantinople, following the conquest of Asia Minor by Alexander the Great, the rest of Asia Minor was opened up to Greek settlement. Upon the death of Alexander, Asia Minor was ruled by a number of Hellenistic kingdoms such as the Attalids of Pergamum, a period of peaceful Hellenization followed, such that the local Anatolian languages had been supplanted by Greek by the 1st century BC. Asia Minor was one of the first places where Christianity spread, so that by the 4th century AD it was overwhelmingly Christian, following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Seljuk Turks swept through all of Asia Minor. While the Byzantines would recover western and northern Anatolia in subsequent years, central Asia Minor was settled by Turkic peoples, the Byzantine Empire was unable to stem the Turkic advance, and by 1300 most of Asia Minor was ruled by Anatolian beyliks. Smyrna fell in 1330, and Philadelphia, fell in 1398, the last Byzantine Greek kingdom in Anatolia, the Empire of Trebizond, covering the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey to the border with Georgia fell in 1461. Constantinople fell in 1453, marking the end of the Byzantine Empire, for all their cosmopolitanism and often western education, the Phanariots were aware of their Hellenism, according to Nicholas Mavrocordatos Philotheou Parerga, We are a race completely Hellenic. The outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in March 1821 was met by mass executions, pogrom-style attacks, the destruction of churches, the most severe atrocities occurred in Constantinople, in what became known as the Constantinople Massacre of 1821. The Orthodox Patriarch Gregory V was executed on April 22,1821 on the orders of the Ottoman Sultan, the Greeks of Constantinople constituted the largest Greek urban population in the Eastern Mediterranean. Given their large Greek populations, Constantinople and Asia Minor featured prominently in the Greek irredentist concept of Megali Idea during the 19th century and early 20th century
27.
Myra
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Myra was an ancient Greek town in Lycia where the small town of Kale is situated today, in present-day Antalya Province of Turkey. It was located on the river Myros, in the alluvial plain between Alaca Dağ, the Massikytos range and the Aegean Sea. Although some scholars equate Myra with the town Mira in Arzawa, there is no substantiated written reference for Myra before it was listed as a member of the Lycian alliance, according to Strabo it was one of the largest towns of the alliance. The Greek citizens worshipped Artemis Eleutheria, who was the goddess of the town. Zeus, Athena and Tyche were venerated as well, the ruins of the Lycian and Roman town are mostly covered by alluvial silts. The Acropolis on the Demre-plateau, the Roman theatre and the Roman baths have been partly excavated, the semi-circular theater was destroyed in an earthquake in 141, but rebuilt afterwards. There are two necropoleis of Lycian rock-cut tombs in the form of temple fronts carved into the faces of cliffs at Myra, the river necropolis. The ocean necropolis is just northwest of the theater, the best known tomb in the river necropolis is the Lions tomb, also called the Painted Tomb. When the traveller Charles Fellows saw the tombs in 1840 he found them still colorfully painted red, yellow, Andriake was the harbour of Myra in classical times, but silted up later on. The main structure there surviving to the present day is a built during the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Beside this granary is a heap of Murex shells, evidence that Andriake had an ongoing operation for the production of purple dye. Excavations have been carried out at Andriake since 2009, the granary was turned into the Museum of Lycian Civilizations. The granary has seven rooms and measures 56 meters long and 32 meters wide, artifacts found during the excavations in the Lycian League were placed in the museum. The structures in the Harbor Bazaar as well as the agora, synagogue, a 16-meter long Roman-era boat, a crane and a cargo car were placed in front of the museum. The Acta Pauli probably testify to the existence of a Christian community at Myra in the 2nd century. Lequien opens his list of the bishops of city with St. Nicander, martyred under Domitian in 95. In 325, Lycia again became a Roman province distinct from that of Pamphylia, ecclesiastically, it thus became the metropolitan see of the province. The bishop of Myra at that time was Saint Nicholas, the 6th-century Index of Theodorus Lector is the first document that lists him among the fathers of the First Council of Nicaea in 325
28.
Lycia
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Lycia was a geopolitical region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey, and Burdur Province inland. Known to history since the records of ancient Egypt and the Hittite Empire in the Late Bronze Age, written records began to be inscribed in stone in the Lycian language after Lycias involuntary incorporation into the Achaemenid Empire in the Iron Age. At that time the Luwian speakers were decimated, and Lycia received an influx of Persian speakers, Lycia fought for the Persians in the Persian Wars, but on the defeat of the Achaemenid Empire by the Greeks, it became intermittently a free agent. Due to the influx of Greek speakers and the sparsity of the remaining Lycian speakers, the Lycian language disappeared from inscriptions and coinage. On defeating Antiochus III in 188 BC the Romans gave Lycia to Rhodes for 20 years, in these latter stages of the Roman republic Lycia came to enjoy freedom as part of the Roman protectorate. The Romans validated home rule officially under the Lycian League in 168 BC and this native government was an early federation with republican principles, these later came to the attention of the framers of the United States Constitution, influencing their thoughts. Despite home rule under republican principles Lycia was not a state and had not been since its defeat by the Carians. In 43 AD the Roman emperor Claudius dissolved the league, Lycia was incorporated into the Roman Empire with a provincial status. It became an eparchy of the Eastern, or Byzantine Empire, after the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century, Lycia was under the Ottoman Empire, and was inherited by the Turkish Republic on the fall of that empire. The Greeks were withdrawn when the border between Greece and Turkey was negotiated in 1923, Lycia comprised what is now the westernmost portion of Antalya Province, the easternmost portion of Muğla Province, and the southernmost portion of Burdur Province. In ancient times the surrounding districts were, from west to east, Caria, Pisidia, and Pamphylia, all equally as ancient, and each speaking its own Anatolian language. The name of the Teke Peninsula comes from the name of Antalya Province. Four ridges extend from northeast to southwest, roughly, forming the western extremity of the Taurus Mountains, furthest west of the four are Boncuk Dağlari, or the Boncuk Mountains, extending from about Altinyayla, Burdur, southwest to about Oren north of Fethiye. This is a low range peaking at about 2,340 m. To the west of it the steep gorges of Dalaman Çayi, the stream,229 km long, enters the Mediterranean to the west of modern-day Dalaman. Upstream it is dammed in four places, after an origin in the vicinity of Sarikavak in Denizli Province. The next ridge to the east is Akdağlari, the White Mountains, about 150 km long, with a point at Uyluktepe, Uyluk Peak. This massif may have been ancient Mount Cragus, along its western side flows Eşen Çayi, the Esen River, anciently the Xanthus, Lycian Arñna, originating in the Boncuk Mountains, flowing south, and transecting the several-mile-long beach at Patara
29.
Byzantine Empire
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It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
30.
Dowry
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A dowry is a transfer of parental property at the marriage of a daughter. Dowry contrasts with the concepts of bride price and dower. Similarly, dower is the property settled on the bride herself, by the groom at the time of marriage, Dowry is an ancient custom, and its existence may well predate records of it. Dowries continue to be expected, and demanded as a condition to accept a proposal, in some parts of the world, mainly in parts of Asia, Northern Africa. In some parts of the world, disputes related to dowry sometimes result in acts of violence against women, including killings, the custom of dowry is most common in cultures that are strongly patrilineal and that expect women to reside with or near their husbands family. Dowries have a history in Europe, South Asia, Africa. A dowry is the transfer of property to a daughter at her marriage rather than at the owners death. A dowry establishes a type of fund, the nature of which may vary widely. This fund may provide an element of security in widowhood or against a negligent husband. Dowries may also go toward establishing a marital household, and therefore might include such as linens. This practice differs from the majority of Sub-Saharan African societies that practice homogenous inheritance in which property is transmitted only to children of the same sex as the property holder. These latter African societies are characterized by the transmission of the bride price, drawing on the work of Ester Boserup, Goody notes that the sexual division of labour varies in intensive plough agriculture and extensive shifting horticulture. In sparsely populated regions where shifting cultivation takes place, most of the work is done by women and these are the societies that give brideprice. Boserup further associates shifting horticulture with the practice of polygamy, in plough agriculture farming is largely mens work, this is where dowry is given. In contrast, plough agriculture is associated with property and marriage tends to be monogamous. Close family are the preferred marriage partners so as to property within the group. There is a debate on Goodys theory. She notes that Goodys is a model in which these historical variables may not be the decisive factors today
31.
Bari
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Bari is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, the city itself has a population of about 326,799, as of 2015, over 116 square kilometres, while the urban area has 700,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area has 1.3 million inhabitants, Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the south is the Murat quarter, the heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea. Modern residential zones surrounding the centre of Bari were built during the 1960s and 1970s replacing the old suburbs that had developed along roads splaying outwards from gates in the city walls, in addition, the outer suburbs developed rapidly during the 1990s. The city has an airport named after Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyła Airport. The city was founded by the Peucetii. Its harbour, mentioned as early as 181 BC, was probably the one of the districts in ancient times, as it is at present. The first historical bishop of Bari was Gervasius who was noted at the Council of Sardica in 347, the bishops were dependent on the Patriarch of Constantinople until the 10th century. Until the arrival of the Normans, Bari continued to be governed by the Byzantines, throughout this period, and indeed throughout the Middle Ages, Bari served as one of the major slave depots of the Mediterranean, providing a central location for the trade in Slavic slaves. The city was conquered and the Emirate extinguished in 871, due to the efforts of Emperor Louis II, in 885, Bari became the residence of the local Byzantine catapan, or governor. In 1025, under the Archbishop Byzantius, Bari became attached to the see of Rome and was granted provincial status, in 1071, Bari was captured by Robert Guiscard, following a three-year siege. Maio of Bari, a Lombard merchants son, was the third of the admirals of Norman Sicily. The Basilica di San Nicola was founded in 1087 to receive the relics of this saint, the saint began his development from Saint Nicholas of Myra into Saint Nicholas of Bari and began to attract pilgrims, whose encouragement and care became central to the economy of Bari. In 1095 Peter the Hermit preached the first crusade there, the Greeks were not brought over to the Latin way of thinking, and the Great Schism was inevitable. A civil war broke out in Bari in 1117 with the murder of the archbishop, control of Bari was seized by Grimoald Alferanites, a native Lombard, and he was elected lord in opposition to the Normans. By 1123, he had increased ties with Byzantium and Venice, Grimoald increased the cult of St Nicholas in his city. He later did homage to Roger II of Sicily, but rebelled and was defeated in 1132, Bari was occupied by Manuel I Komnenos between 1155 and 1158
32.
Relics
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In religion, a relic usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Shamanism. Relic derives from the Latin reliquiae, meaning remains, and a form of the Latin verb relinquere, to leave behind, a reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics. In ancient Greece, a city or sanctuary might claim to possess, without necessarily displaying, the sanctuary of the Leucippides at Sparta claimed to display the egg of Leda. The bones were not regarded as holding a power derived from the hero, with some exceptions. Miracles and healing were not regularly attributed to them, rather, their presence was meant to serve a tutelary function, the bones of Orestes and Theseus were supposed to have been stolen or removed from their original resting place and reburied. Plutarch says that the Athenians were likewise instructed by the oracle to locate, the body of the legendary Eurystheus was also supposed to protect Athens from enemy attack, and in Thebes, that of the prophet Amphiaraus, whose cult was oracular and healing. As with the relics of Theseus, the bones are sometimes described in sources as gigantic. On the basis of their size, it has been conjectured that such bones were those of prehistoric creatures. The head of the poet-prophet Orpheus was supposed to have transported to Lesbos. The 2nd-century geographer Pausanias reported that the bones of Orpheus were kept in a stone vase displayed on a pillar near Dion, his place of death and these too were regarded as having oracular power, which might be accessed through dreaming in a ritual of incubation. The accidental exposure of the bones brought a disaster upon the town of Libretha, according to the Chronicon Paschale, the bones of the Persian Zoroaster were venerated, but the tradition of Zoroastrianism and its scriptures offer no support of this. In Hinduism, relics are less common than in other religions since the remains of most saints are cremated. The veneration of corporal relics may have originated with the movement or the appearance of Buddhism. In Buddhism, relics of the Buddha and various sages are venerated, after the Buddhas death, his remains were divided into eight portions. Afterward, these relics were enshrined in stupas wherever Buddhism was spread, some relics believed to be original remains of the body of the Buddha still survive, including the much-revered Sacred Relic of the tooth of the Buddha in Sri Lanka. A stupa is a building created specifically for the relics, many Buddhist temples have stupas and historically, the placement of relics in a stupa often became the initial structure around which the whole temple would be based. Today, many also hold the ashes or ringsel of prominent/respected Buddhists who were cremated
33.
Basilica
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The Latin word basilica has three distinct applications in modern English. The word was used to describe an ancient Roman public building where courts were held, as well as serving other official. To a large extent these were the halls of ancient Roman life. The basilica was centrally located in every Roman town, usually adjacent to the main forum, later, the term came to refer specifically to a large and important Roman Catholic church that has been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope. Roman Catholic basilicas are Catholic pilgrimage sites, receiving tens of millions of visitors per year. In December 2009 the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City set a new record with 6.1 million pilgrims during Friday and Saturday for the anniversary of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Roman basilica was a public building where business or legal matters could be transacted. The first basilicas had no function at all. The central aisle tended to be wide and was higher than the flanking aisles, the oldest known basilica, the Basilica Porcia, was built in Rome in 184 BC by Cato the Elder during the time he was Censor. Other early examples include the basilica at Pompeii, probably the most splendid Roman basilica is the one begun for traditional purposes during the reign of the pagan emperor Maxentius and finished by Constantine I after 313 AD. In the 3rd century AD, the elite appeared less frequently in the forums. They now tended to dominate their cities from opulent palaces and country villas, rather than retreats from public life, however, these residences were the forum made private. Seated in the tribune of his basilica, the man would meet his dependent clientes early every morning. A private basilica excavated at Bulla Regia, in the House of the Hunt and its reception or audience hall is a long rectangular nave-like space, flanked by dependent rooms that mostly also open into one another, ending in a semi-circular apse, with matching transept spaces. Clustered columns emphasised the crossing of the two axes, the remains of a large subterranean Neopythagorean basilica dating from the 1st century AD were found near the Porta Maggiore in Rome in 1915. The ground-plan of Christian basilicas in the 4th century was similar to that of this Neopythagorean basilica, the usable model at hand, when Constantine wanted to memorialise his imperial piety, was the familiar conventional architecture of the basilicas. In, and often also in front of, the apse was a platform, where the altar was placed. Constantine built a basilica of this type in his complex at Trier, later very easily adopted for use as a church
34.
Pilgrimage
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A pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a persons beliefs and faith, a person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim. As a common experience, pilgrimage has been proposed as a Jungian archetype by Wallace Clift. The Holy Land acts as a point for the pilgrimages of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity. Baháulláh decreed pilgrimage to two places in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the House of Baháulláh in Baghdad, Iraq, and the House of the Báb in Shiraz, later, Abdul-Bahá designated the Shrine of Baháulláh at Bahji, Israel as a site of pilgrimage. Other pilgrimage places in India and Nepal connected to the life of Gautama Buddha are, Savatthi, Pataliputta, Nalanda, Gaya, Vesali, Sankasia, Kapilavastu, Kosambi, Rajagaha, Varanasi, other famous places for Buddhist pilgrimage include, India, Sanchi, Ellora, Ajanta. Thailand, Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Doi Suthep, tibet, Lhasa, Mount Kailash, Lake Nam-tso. Sri Lanka, Polonnaruwa, Temple of the Tooth, Anuradhapura, malaysia, Kek Lok Si, Cheng Hoon Teng, Maha Vihara Myanmar, Bagan, Sagaing Hill. The Four Sacred Mountains Japan, Shikoku Pilgrimage,88 Temple pilgrimage in the Shikoku island, Japan 100 Kannon, pilgrimage composed of the Saigoku, Bandō and Chichibu pilgrimages. Saigoku 33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the Kansai region, Bandō33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the Kantō region. Chichibu 34 Kannon, pilgrimage in Saitama Prefecture, Chūgoku 33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the Chūgoku region. Christian pilgrimage was first made to sites connected with the birth, life, pilgrimages were, and are, also made to Rome and other sites associated with the apostles, saints and Christian martyrs, as well as to places where there have been apparitions of the Virgin Mary. A popular pilgrimage journey is along the Way of St. James to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, in Galicia, Spain, chaucers The Canterbury Tales recounts tales told by Christian pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral and the shrine of Thomas Becket. According to Karel Werners Popular Dictionary of Hinduism, most Hindu places of pilgrimage are associated with events from the lives of various gods. Almost any place can become a focus for pilgrimage, but in most cases they are sacred cities, rivers, lakes, Hindus are encouraged to undertake pilgrimages during their lifetime, though this practice is not considered absolutely mandatory. Most Hindus visit sites within their region or locale, Kumbh Mela, Kumbh Mela is one of the largest gatherings of humans in the world. The location is rotated among Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik, Char Dham, The four holy sites Puri, Rameswaram, Dwarka, and Badrinath compose the Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. Kanwar Pilgrimage, The Kanwar is Indias largest annual religious pilgrimage, as part of this phenomenon, millions of participants gather sacred water from the Ganga and carry it across hundreds of miles to dispense as offerings in Śiva shrines
35.
First Crusade
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The First Crusade was the first of a number of crusades that attempted to capture the Holy Land, called by Pope Urban II in 1095. An additional goal became the principal objective—the Christian reconquest of the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. During the crusades, nobility, knights, peasants and serfs from many regions of Western Europe travelled over land and by sea, first to Constantinople and then on towards Jerusalem. The Crusaders arrived at Jerusalem, launched an assault on the city and they also established the crusader states of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, and the County of Edessa. The First Crusade was followed by the Second to the Ninth Crusades and it was also the first major step towards reopening international trade in the West since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The majority view is that it had elements of both in its nature, the origin of the Crusades in general, and particularly that of the First Crusade, is widely debated among historians. The confusion is due to the numerous armies in the first crusade. The similar ideologies held the armies to similar goals, but the connections were rarely strong, the Umayyad Caliphate had conquered Syria, Egypt, and North Africa from the predominantly Christian Byzantine Empire, and Hispania from the Visigothic Kingdom. In North Africa, the Umayyad empire eventually collapsed and a number of smaller Muslim kingdoms emerged, such as the Aghlabids, who attacked Italy in the 9th century. Pisa, Genoa, and the Principality of Catalonia began to battle various Muslim kingdoms for control of the Mediterranean Basin, exemplified by the Mahdia campaign and battles at Majorca and Sardinia. Essentially, between the years 1096 and 1101 the Byzantine Greeks experienced the crusade as it arrived at Constantinople in three separate waves, in the early summer of 1096, the first large unruly group arrived on the outskirts of Constantinople. This wave was reported to be undisciplined and ill-equipped as an army and this first group is often called the Peasants’ or People’s Crusade. It was led by Peter the Hermit and Walter Sans Avoir and had no knowledge of or respect for the wishes of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. The second wave was not under the command of the Emperor and was made up of a number of armies with their own commanders. Together, this group and the first wave numbered an estimated 60,000, the second wave was led by Hugh I, Count of Vermandois, the brother of King Philip I of France. Also among the wave were Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse. It was this wave of crusaders which later passed through Asia Minor, captured Antioch in 1098 and finally took Jerusalem 15 July 1099. ”The third wave, composed of contingents from Lombardy, France. At the western edge of Europe and of Islamic expansion, the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula was well underway by the 11th century and it was intermittently ideological, as evidenced by the Codex Vigilanus compiled in 881
36.
Venice
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Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
37.
Patron saint
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Catholics believe that patron saints, having already transcended to the metaphysical, are able to intercede effectively for the needs of their special charges. Historically, a practice has also occurred in many Islamic lands. With regard to the omnipresence of this belief, the late Martin Lings wrote. Traditionally, it has been understood that the saint of a particular place prays for that places wellbeing and for the health. Saints often become the patrons of places where they were born or had been active, professions sometimes have a patron saint owing to that individual being involved somewhat with it, although some of the connections were tenuous. Lacking such a saint, an occupation would have a patron whose acts or miracles in some way recall the profession and it is, however, generally discouraged in some Protestant branches such as Calvinism, where the practice is considered a form of idolatry. In Islam, the veneration or commemoration and recognition of saints is found in many branches of traditional Sunnism
38.
Archery
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Archery is the sport, practice or skill of using a bow to propel arrows. The word comes from the Latin arcus, historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern times, it is mainly a competitive sport and recreational activity, a person who participates in archery is typically called an archer or a bowman, and a person who is fond of or an expert at archery is sometimes called a toxophilite. The bow and arrow seems to have invented in the later Paleolithic or early Mesolithic periods. The oldest signs of its use in Europe come from the Stellmoor in the Ahrensburg valley north of Hamburg, Germany and dates from the late Paleolithic, about 10, 000–9000 BC. The arrows were made of pine and consisted of a mainshaft, there are no definite earlier bows, previous pointed shafts are known, but may have been launched by spear-throwers rather than bows. The oldest bows known so far come from the Holmegård swamp in Denmark, bows and arrows have been present in Egyptian culture since its predynastic origins. In the Levant, artifacts that could be arrow-shaft straighteners are known from the Natufian culture, the Khiamian and PPN A shouldered Khiam-points may well be arrowheads. Classical civilizations, notably the Assyrians, Greeks, Armenians, Persians, Parthians, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, akkadians were the first to use composite bows in war according to the victory stele of Naram-Sin of Akkad. The Welsh longbow proved its worth for the first time in Continental warfare at the Battle of Crécy, in the Americas archery was widespread at European contact. Archery was highly developed in Asia, the Sanskrit term for archery, dhanurveda, came to refer to martial arts in general. In East Asia, Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea was well known for its regiments of skilled archers. Central Asian tribesmen and American Plains Indians became extremely adept at archery on horseback, lightly armoured, but highly mobile archers were excellently suited to warfare in the Central Asian steppes, and they formed a large part of armies that repeatedly conquered large areas of Eurasia. Shorter bows are more suited to use on horseback, and the bow enabled mounted archers to use powerful weapons. It is possible that barbarian peoples were responsible for introducing archery or certain types of bows to their civilized counterparts—the Xiong-nu, similarly, short bows seem to have been introduced to Japan by northeast Asian groups. The development of firearms rendered bows obsolete in warfare, albeit efforts were made to preserve archery practice. In Wales and England, for example, the government tried to practice with the Longbow until the end of the 16th century. This was because it was recognised that the bow had been instrumental to military success during the Hundred Years War, early firearms were inferior in rate-of-fire, and were very susceptible to wet weather
39.
Pawnbroker
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A pawnbroker is an individual or business that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been pawned to the broker are themselves called pledges or pawns, if an item is pawned for a loan, within a certain contractual period of time the pawner may redeem it for the amount of the loan plus some agreed-upon amount for interest. The amount of time, and rate of interest, is governed by law or by the pawnbrokers policies, if the loan is not paid within the time period, the pawned item will be offered for sale to other customers by the pawnbroker. The pawnbroker also sells items that have been sold outright to them by customers, some pawnshops are willing to trade items in their shop for items brought to them by customers. The pawning process begins when a customer brings an item into a pawn shop, common items pawned by customers include jewelry, electronics, collectibles, musical instruments, tools, and firearms. Gold, silver, and platinum are popular items—which are often purchased, metal can still be sold in bulk to a bullion dealer or smelter for the value by weight of the component metals. Similarly, jewelry that contains genuine gemstones, even if broken or missing pieces, have value, the pawnbroker assumes the risk that an item might have been stolen. However, laws in many jurisdictions protect both the community and broker from unknowingly handling stolen goods and these laws often require that the pawnbroker establish positive identification of the seller through photo identification, as well as a holding period placed on an item purchased by a pawnbroker. In some jurisdictions, pawnshops must give a list of all newly pawned items and any associated serial number to police, many police departments advise burglary or robbery victims to visit local pawnshops to see if they can locate stolen items. Some pawnshops set up their own screening criteria to avoid buying stolen property, the pawnbroker assesses an item for its condition and marketability by testing the item and examining it for flaws, scratches or other damage. Another aspect that affects marketability is the supply and demand for the item in the community or region, in some markets, the used goods market is so flooded with used stereos and car stereos, for example, that pawnshops will only accept the higher-quality brand names. Alternatively, a customer may offer to pawn an item that is difficult to sell, such as a surfboard in an inland region, the pawnshop owner either turns down hard-to-sell items, or offers a low price. While some items never get outdated, such as hammers and hand saws, electronics and computer items quickly become obsolete, Pawnshop owners must learn about different makes and models of computers, software, and other electronic equipment, so they can value objects accurately. To assess value of different items, pawnbrokers use guidebooks, catalogs, Internet search engines, some pawnbrokers have trained in identification of gems, or employ a specialist to assess jewelry. One of the risks of accepting secondhand goods is that the item may be counterfeit, if the item is counterfeit, such as a fake Rolex watch, it may have only a fraction of the value of the genuine item. Once the pawnbroker determines the item is genuine and not likely stolen, and that it is marketable, the customer can either sell the item outright if the pawnbroker is also a licensed secondhand dealer, or offer the item as collateral on a loan. Most pawnshops are willing to negotiate the amount of the loan with the client, to determine the amount of the loan, the pawnshop owner needs to take into account several factors. A key factor is the resale value of the item
40.
Amsterdam
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Amsterdam is the capital and most populous municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its status as the capital is mandated by the Constitution of the Netherlands, although it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam has a population of 851,373 within the city proper,1,351,587 in the urban area, the city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The metropolitan area comprises much of the part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe. Amsterdams name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the citys origin around a dam in the river Amstel, during that time, the city was the leading centre for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned, the 17th-century canals of Amsterdam and the 19–20th century Defence Line of Amsterdam are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. As the commercial capital of the Netherlands and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered a world city by the Globalization. The city is also the capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and seven of the worlds 500 largest companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2012, Amsterdam was ranked the second best city to live in by the Economist Intelligence Unit and 12th globally on quality of living for environment, the city was ranked 3rd in innovation by Australian innovation agency 2thinknow in their Innovation Cities Index 2009. The Amsterdam seaport to this day remains the second in the country, famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt van Rijn and Vincent van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. After the floods of 1170 and 1173, locals near the river Amstel built a bridge over the river, the earliest recorded use of that name is in a document dated October 27,1275, which exempted inhabitants of the village from paying bridge tolls to Count Floris V. This allowed the inhabitants of the village of Aemstelredamme to travel freely through the County of Holland, paying no tolls at bridges, locks, the certificate describes the inhabitants as homines manentes apud Amestelledamme. By 1327, the name had developed into Aemsterdam, Amsterdam is much younger than Dutch cities such as Nijmegen, Rotterdam, and Utrecht. In October 2008, historical geographer Chris de Bont suggested that the land around Amsterdam was being reclaimed as early as the late 10th century. This does not necessarily mean there was already a settlement then, since reclamation of land may not have been for farming—it may have been for peat. Amsterdam was granted city rights in either 1300 or 1306, from the 14th century on, Amsterdam flourished, largely from trade with the Hanseatic League
41.
Moscow
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Moscow is the capital and most populous city of Russia, with 13.2 million residents within the city limits and 17.8 million within the urban area. Moscow has the status of a Russian federal city, Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and Eastern Europe, as well as the largest city entirely on the European continent. Moscow is the northernmost and coldest megacity and metropolis on Earth and it is home to the Ostankino Tower, the tallest free standing structure in Europe, the Federation Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Europe, and the Moscow International Business Center. Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia, the city is well known for its architecture, particularly its historic buildings such as Saint Basils Cathedral with its brightly colored domes. Moscow is the seat of power of the Government of Russia, being the site of the Moscow Kremlin, the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square are also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament also sit in the city and it is recognized as one of the citys landmarks due to the rich architecture of its 200 stations. In old Russian the word also meant a church administrative district. The demonym for a Moscow resident is москвич for male or москвичка for female, the name of the city is thought to be derived from the name of the Moskva River. There have been proposed several theories of the origin of the name of the river and its cognates include Russian, музга, muzga pool, puddle, Lithuanian, mazgoti and Latvian, mazgāt to wash, Sanskrit, majjati to drown, Latin, mergō to dip, immerse. There exist as well similar place names in Poland like Mozgawa, the original Old Russian form of the name is reconstructed as *Москы, *Mosky, hence it was one of a few Slavic ū-stem nouns. From the latter forms came the modern Russian name Москва, Moskva, in a similar manner the Latin name Moscovia has been formed, later it became a colloquial name for Russia used in Western Europe in the 16th–17th centuries. From it as well came English Muscovy, various other theories, having little or no scientific ground, are now largely rejected by contemporary linguists. The surface similarity of the name Russia with Rosh, an obscure biblical tribe or country, the oldest evidence of humans on the territory of Moscow dates from the Neolithic. Within the modern bounds of the city other late evidence was discovered, on the territory of the Kremlin, Sparrow Hills, Setun River and Kuntsevskiy forest park, etc. The earliest East Slavic tribes recorded as having expanded to the upper Volga in the 9th to 10th centuries are the Vyatichi and Krivichi, the Moskva River was incorporated as part of Rostov-Suzdal into the Kievan Rus in the 11th century. By AD1100, a settlement had appeared on the mouth of the Neglinnaya River. The first known reference to Moscow dates from 1147 as a place of Yuri Dolgoruky. At the time it was a town on the western border of Vladimir-Suzdal Principality
42.
Reformation
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The period is usually considered to have begun with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses by Luther in 1517 to the Thirty Years War and ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Protestant position, however, would come to incorporate doctrinal changes such as sola scriptura, the initial movement within Germany diversified, and other reform impulses arose independently of Luther. The spread of Gutenbergs printing press provided the means for the dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. The largest groups were the Lutherans and Calvinists, Lutheran churches were founded mostly in Germany, the Baltics and Scandinavia, while the Reformed ones were founded in Switzerland, Hungary, France, the Netherlands and Scotland. The new movement influenced the Church of England decisively after 1547 under Edward VI and Elizabeth I, there were also reformation movements throughout continental Europe known as the Radical Reformation, which gave rise to the Anabaptist, Moravian and other Pietistic movements. The Roman Catholic Church responded with a Counter-Reformation initiated by the Council of Trent, much work in battling Protestantism was done by the well-organised new order of the Jesuits. In general, Northern Europe, with the exception of most of Ireland, southern Europe remained Roman Catholic, while Central Europe was a site of a fierce conflict, culminating in the Thirty Years War, which left it devastated. The oldest Protestant churches, such as the Unitas Fratrum and Moravian Church, the later Protestant Churches generally date their doctrinal separation from the Roman Catholic Church to the 16th century. The Reformation began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church, by priests who opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice. They especially objected to the teaching and the sale of indulgences, and the abuses thereof, and to simony, the reformers saw these practices as evidence of the systemic corruption of the Churchs hierarchy, which included the pope. Unrest due to the Great Schism of Western Christianity excited wars between princes, uprisings among the peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church, New perspectives came from John Wycliffe at Oxford University and from Jan Hus at the Charles University in Prague. Hus rejected indulgences and adopted a doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone, the Roman Catholic Church officially concluded this debate at the Council of Constance by condemning Hus, who was executed by burning despite a promise of safe-conduct. Wycliffe was posthumously condemned as a heretic and his corpse exhumed and burned in 1428, the Council of Constance confirmed and strengthened the traditional medieval conception of church and empire. The council did not address the national tensions or the theological tensions stirred up during the century and could not prevent schism. Pope Sixtus IV established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, Pope Alexander VI was one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes. He was the father of seven children, including Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, in response to papal corruption, particularly the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses. The Reformation was born of Luthers dual declaration – first, the discovering of Jesus and salvation by faith alone, the Protestant reformers were unanimous in agreement and this understanding of prophecy furnished importance to their deeds. It was the point and the battle cry that made the Reformation nearly unassailable
43.
Martin Luther
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Martin Luther, O. S. A. was a German professor of theology, composer, priest, monk and a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Luther came to reject several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church and he strongly disputed the Catholic view on indulgences as he understood it to be, that freedom from Gods punishment for sin could be purchased with money. Luther proposed a discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in his Ninety-five Theses of 1517. His translation of the Bible into the vernacular made it accessible to the laity. It fostered the development of a version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the writing of an English translation. His hymns influenced the development of singing in Protestant churches and his marriage to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant clergy to marry. In two of his works, Luther expressed antagonistic views towards Jews, writing that Jewish homes and synagogues should be destroyed, their money confiscated. Condemned by virtually every Lutheran denomination, these statements and their influence on antisemitism have contributed to his controversial status, Martin Luther was born to Hans Luder and his wife Margarethe on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben, Saxony, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was baptized as a Catholic the next morning on the feast day of St. Martin of Tours and his family moved to Mansfeld in 1484, where his father was a leaseholder of copper mines and smelters and served as one of four citizen representatives on the local council. He had several brothers and sisters, and is known to have close to one of them. Hans Luther was ambitious for himself and his family, and he was determined to see Martin, his eldest son, become a lawyer. He sent Martin to Latin schools in Mansfeld, then Magdeburg in 1497, where he attended a school operated by a lay group called the Brethren of the Common Life, the three schools focused on the so-called trivium, grammar, rhetoric, and logic. Luther later compared his education there to purgatory and hell, in 1501, at the age of 19, he entered the University of Erfurt, which he later described as a beerhouse and whorehouse. He was made to wake at four every morning for what has been described as a day of rote learning and he received his masters degree in 1505. In accordance with his fathers wishes, Luther enrolled in law school at the university that year but dropped out almost immediately. Luther sought assurances about life and was drawn to theology and philosophy, expressing particular interest in Aristotle, William of Ockham, philosophy proved to be unsatisfying, offering assurance about the use of reason but none about loving God, which to Luther was more important. Reason could not lead men to God, he felt, for Luther, reason could be used to question men and institutions, but not God. Human beings could learn about God only through divine revelation, he believed and he later attributed his decision to an event, on 2 July 1505, he was returning to university on horseback after a trip home
44.
Christkind
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As such, the Lutheran Church promoted Christ as the childrens gift-giver, hoping to draw attention to the child for whom Christmas was named. The Christkind was adopted in Catholic areas of Germany during the 19th century, to this date, the Christkindl remains the main gift bringer in many Catholic countries in Latin America. The Christkind is a child, usually depicted with blond hair. Martin Luther intended it to be a reference to the incarnation of Jesus as an infant. Sometimes the Christ Child is, instead of the infant Jesus, interpreted as an angel bringing the presents. Later, the Christkind was said to make rounds delivering gifts with St. Nicholas, children never see the Christkind in person, and parents tell them that Christkind will not come and bring presents if they are curious and try to spot it. In some traditions, the departure is announced by the ringing of a small bell, since the 1990s, the Christkind is facing increasing competition from the Weihnachtsmann in the American version of Santa Claus, caused by the use of Santa Claus as an advertising figure. Many traditionalist Catholics in recent times have advocated for the tradition of the Christkind as a means of restoring the true meaning of Christmas. Christkindl or Christkindel are diminutive versions of Christkind, Christkind and Belsnickel are also found among communities of Volga German descent in Argentina. A well-known figure is the Christkind at the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, Christkindl is also a part of the city of Steyr in Austria, named after the allegedly miraculous wax statue of Christkind in the town church. Vienna Journal, For Austrians, Ho-Ho-Ho Is No Laughing Matter, Austria campaign to save Christkind from Santa Claus
45.
John Leech (caricaturist)
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John Leech was an English caricaturist and illustrator. He is best known for his work for Punch, a magazine for a broad middle-class audience, combining verbal. Leech catered to contemporary prejudices, such as anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism, Leechs critical yet humorous cartoons on the Crimean War help shape public attitudes toward heroism, warfare, and Britons role in the world. John Leech was born in London and his mother was descended from the family of Richard Bentley. It was from his father that Leech inherited his skill with the pencil, when he was only three, he was discovered by John Flaxman, who was visiting, seated on his mothers knee, drawing with much gravity. The sculptor admired his sketch, adding, Do not let him be cramped with lessons in drawing, let his genius follow its own bent, a mail-coach, done when he was six years old, is already full of surprising vigour and variety in its galloping horses. His nickname also being Blicky stuck with him during his life and he was eighteen when his first designs were published, a quarto of four pages, entitled Etchings and Sketchings by A. Pen, Esq. comic character studies from the London streets. In company with the elder master Leech designed for the Ingoldsby Legends and Stanley Thorn, then in the 1850s come the numerous etchings of sporting scenes, contributed, together with woodcuts, to the Handley Cross novels by Robert Smith Surtees. Amid all the squalor which they depict, they are full of beauties in the delicate or touching expression of a face. It was in work for the wood-engravers that Leech was most prolific and it was in 1841 that Leechs connection with Punch began, a connexion which subsisted until his death, and resulted in the production of the best-known and most admirable of his designs. His first contribution appeared in the issue of 7 August, a full-page illustration—entitled Foreign Affairs of character studies from the neighbourhood of Leicester Square, in 1862 Leech appealed to the public with a very successful exhibition of some of the most remarkable of his Punch drawings. These were enlarged by a process, and coloured in oils by the artist himself, with the assistance. Millais had earlier painted a portrait of a child reading Leechs comic book Mr Briggs Sporting Tour, Leech was a rapid and indefatigable worker. Dean Hole claims to have observed the artist produce three finished drawings on the wood, designed, traced, and rectified, without effort as it seemed. Turning to the qualities of his art, it would be a mistaken criticism which ranked him as a comic draughtsman. The purity and manliness of Leechs own character are impressed on his art and we find in it little of the exaggeration and grotesqueness, and none of the fierce political enthusiasm, of which the designs of James Gillray are so full. Compared with that of his contemporary, George Cruikshank, his work is restricted both in compass of subject and in artistic dexterity. Biographies of Leech have been written by John Brown Frederick G. Kitton, John Leech, artist and humorist, Leech, John, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn,2014 accessed 13 June 2015 Houfe, Simon
46.
Charles Dickens
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Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the worlds best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era and his works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity, born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors prison. Dickenss literary success began with the 1836 serial publication of The Pickwick Papers, within a few years he had become an international literary celebrity, famous for his humour, satire, and keen observation of character and society. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly instalments, pioneered the publication of narrative fiction. The instalment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audiences reaction, and he modified his plot. For example, when his wifes chiropodist expressed distress at the way Miss Mowcher in David Copperfield seemed to reflect her disabilities and his plots were carefully constructed, and he often wove elements from topical events into his narratives. Masses of the poor chipped in hapennies to have each new monthly episode read to them, opening up. Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age and his 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also adapted, and, like many of his novels. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London, Dickens has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for his realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of depth, loose writing. The term Dickensian is used to something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings. Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on 7 February 1812, at 1 Mile End Terrace, Landport in Portsea Island and his father was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office and was temporarily stationed in the district. He asked Christopher Huffam, rigger to His Majestys Navy, gentleman, Huffam is thought to be the inspiration for Paul Dombey, the owner of a shipping company in Dickenss eponymous Dombey and Son. In January 1815 John Dickens was called back to London, when Charles was four, they relocated to Sheerness, and thence to Chatham, Kent, where he spent his formative years until the age of 11. His early life seems to have been idyllic, though he himself a very small. Charles spent time outdoors but also read voraciously, including the novels of Tobias Smollett and Henry Fielding, as well as Robinson Crusoe
47.
A Christmas Carol
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A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843. A Christmas Carol tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an old miser who is visited by the ghost of his business partner Jacob Marley. After their visits Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man, Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol at a time when the British were examining and exploring Christmas traditions from the past, such as carols, as well as new customs such as Christmas trees. He was influenced by experiences from his own past, and from the Christmas stories of other authors, including Washington Irving, the treatment of the poor and the ability of self-interested man redeeming himself by transforming into a more sympathetic character are the key themes of the story. There is discussion among academics as to whether this was a fully secular story, published on 19 December, the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve, by the end of 1844 thirteen editions had been released. Most critics reviewed the novella positively, the story was illicitly copied in January 1844, Dickens took action against the publishers, who went bankrupt, reducing further Dickenss small profits from the publication. He went on to four other Christmas stories in subsequent years. In 1849 he began public readings of the story proved so successful he undertook 127 further performances until 1870. A Christmas Carol has never been out of print and has translated into several languages. With A Christmas Carol, Dickens captured the zeitgeist of the revival of the Christmas holiday. Dickens divided the book into five chapters, which he labelled staves, the story begins on a cold and bleak Christmas Eve in London, seven years after the death of Ebenezer Scrooges business partner, Jacob Marley. Scrooge, an old miser, hates Christmas and refuses an invitation to Christmas dinner from his nephew Fred. At home that night, Scrooge is visited by Marleys ghost, the first of the spirits, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to Christmas scenes of Scrooges boyhood and youth, reminding him of a time when he was more innocent. The boyhood scenes portray Scrooges lonely childhood, his relationship with his beloved sister Fan, and a Christmas party hosted by his first employer, Mr. Fezziwig, who treated Scrooge like a son. They also portray Scrooges neglected fiancée Belle, who ends their relationship after she realises that Scrooge will never love her as much as he loves money, finally, they visit a now-married Belle with her large, happy family on a recent Christmas Eve. Scrooge and the ghost also visit Freds Christmas party, a major part of this stave is taken up with Bob Cratchits family feast and introduces his youngest son, Tiny Tim, a happy boy who is seriously ill. The spirit informs Scrooge that Tiny Tim will die unless the course of events changes. Before disappearing, the spirit shows Scrooge two hideous, emaciated children named Ignorance and Want and he tells Scrooge to beware the former above all and mocks Scrooges concern for their welfare
48.
A Visit From St. Nicholas
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Some commentators now believe the poem was written by Henry Livingston, Jr. The poem has been called arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American and is responsible for some of the conceptions of Santa Claus from the mid-nineteenth century to today. It has had a impact on the history of Christmas gift-giving. Before the poem gained wide popularity, American ideas had varied considerably about Saint Nicholas, a Visit from St. Nicholas eventually was set to music and has been recorded by many artists. On Christmas Eve night, while his wife and children sleep, looking out the window, he sees Santa Claus in an air-borne sleigh pulled by eight reindeer. After landing his sleigh on the roof, the saint enters the house through the chimney, the father watches Santa filling the childrens Christmas stockings hanging by the fire, and laughs to himself. They share a moment before the saint bounds up the chimney again. As he flies away, Santa wishes everyone a Happy Christmas to all, the poems meter is anapestic tetrameter. The anapest is the foot used to construct limericks. For example, while the first two lines each use full anapests, lines 3 and 4 each drop the first unstressed syllable, likewise, lines 9 and 10 drop the first unstressed syllable, they also add an extra unstressed syllable to the end. According to legend, A Visit was composed by Clement Clarke Moore on a winters day during a shopping trip on a sleigh. His inspiration for the character of Saint Nicholas was a local Dutch handyman as well as the historical Saint Nicholas, Moore originated many of the features that are still associated with Santa Claus today while borrowing other aspects, such as the use of reindeer. It was first attributed in print to Moore in 1837, Moore himself acknowledged authorship when he included it in his own book of poems in 1844. By then, the publisher and at least seven others had already acknowledged his authorship. Moore had a reputation as a professor and had not wished at first to be connected with the unscholarly verse. He included it in the anthology at the insistence of his children, Moores conception of Saint Nicholas was borrowed from his friend Washington Irving, but Moore portrayed his jolly old elf as arriving on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day. By having Saint Nicholas arrive the night before, Moore deftly shifted the focus away from Christmas Day with its religious associations. As a result, New Yorkers embraced Moores child-centered version of Christmas as if they had doing it all their lives
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