Revisiting history is revisiting oneself. My upbringing involved Anglicanism: 1066 belongs to England; crucifixion belongs to Christ; “ibn” means “son of” for Arabs and not for Jews; the Vizier is a Muslim politician out of the Arabian Nights; and Jews suffered pogroms at the hands of Christians. In time I found out that there were… Continue reading #OTD 30 December – A vizier by any other faith
Category: The Calendar
#OTD 29 December – Whence the five gold rings?
In a world of immediate gratification, we are apt to forget that the 12 days of Christmas begin and do not end with the birth of Christ. Rather, they run from the birth through to 5 January, the eve of the Epiphany aka Twelfth Night. The fifth day, 29 December, has a solemnity for Anglicans… Continue reading #OTD 29 December – Whence the five gold rings?
#OTD 28 December – The deaths of innocents
The death of an innocent person is a complex moral force. The death is, obviously, a death of Innocence in the wider sense. There can also be questions of why they died; for whom they died; and whether they died in our place. As to senselessness, it is difficult to find more clarity that that… Continue reading #OTD 28 December – The deaths of innocents
#OTD 27 December – A city upon a hill
There are pros and cons about being mates with the biggest kid on the block. We who live under Pax Americana are no different from the Brits, Gauls, Greeks and of course Romans who saw the pros and cons of Pax Romana. It is unsurprising that the thesis of US exceptionalism is the thesis of… Continue reading #OTD 27 December – A city upon a hill
#OTD 26 December – Box the beadle
St Stephen is the first Christian martyr. Acts 6 records that the apostles arranged for Stephen and six others to serve food while the apostles served the word; by the end of Acts 7 he had been stoned to death. Yet Boxing Day is concurrent with and not derived from his feast day.Rather, the day… Continue reading #OTD 26 December – Box the beadle
#OTD 26 November – The house of white
The Latin word “albus” for white hasn’t taken off. We may eat the egg’s albumen everyday and we may know that an albino has a deficiency in pigmentation but beyond this things get murky. The assertion that the Romans called Britain “Albion” because of the white cliffs of Dover is no more than hypothesis. albus… Continue reading #OTD 26 November – The house of white
#OTD 25 December – Announcement or appropriation?
There are two theories of why Christmas Day is 25 December, the announcement theory and the appropriation theory. The Annunciation, the announcement by Gabriel to Mary that she would conceive and bear a son through a virgin birth, is usually celebrated on 25 March. The announcement theory is that nine months works. The appropriation theory… Continue reading #OTD 25 December – Announcement or appropriation?
#OTD 24 December – Wellington, boots & all
The government of Great Britain had two foreign policy issues on the plate in late 1814. The first was the war with the US and the second was the Congress of Vienna, the conference to reshape Europe after the abdication of Napoleon and his exile to Elba. By the middle of the year, the hero… Continue reading #OTD 24 December – Wellington, boots & all
#OTD 23 December – Fish or fast?
Invite him to dinner, Emma, and help him to the best of the fish and the chicken, but leave him to chuse his own wife. Mr Knightley, Emma chapter one. By the novel’s end, Emma and he were engaged. Emma was first published on 23 December 1815. It is unlikely that Emma’s suitors would have… Continue reading #OTD 23 December – Fish or fast?
#OTD 22 December – The romance of music
Music being the art to which all others aspire, it is unsurprising that its climaxes claim moments that pictures or writing or talk can never convey. The hope which emerged upon Napoleon’s collapse in Russia is rendered triumphant in the 1812 Overture. Another climax was upon the mess of a war economy four years before.… Continue reading #OTD 22 December – The romance of music