This page is big!
If it fails to load fully, please click Refresh on your browser menu.
It's fully loaded when you see the purple menu bar at the foot of the page.
reetings from Australia.
Welcome to
this Red-Letter Day. Below you will find today's global celebrations,
birthdays and events.
Celebrate each
and every day with a free subscription to the daily ezine. You can apply by form or send a blank email.
Read
what the 'Almaniacs' (members) say about Wilson's Almanac.
I request your
support if this
website pleases and informs you, as this is my livelihood. Thank you, from
the bottom of my fridge.
Inquiries from
publishers are welcome, but, dear reader, please don't use my work without
my written
permission. If I've inadvertently used something of yours that you
consider not to fall under the fair use doctrine, please
tell me and I'll remove it.
It has recently come to our
ears, not without great pain to us, that in some parts of upper Germany,
as well as in the provinces, cities, territories, regions, and dioceses of
Mainz, Ko1n, Trier, Salzburg, and Bremen, many persons of both sexes,
heedless of their own salvation and forsaking the catholic faith, give
themselves over to devils male and female, and by their incantations,
charms, and conjurings, and by other abominable superstitions and
sortileges, offences, crimes, and misdeeds, ruin and cause to perish the
offspring of women, the foal of animals, the products of the earth, the
grapes of vines, and the fruits of trees, as well as men and women, cattle
and flocks and herds and animals of every kind, vineyards also and
orchards, meadows, pastures, harvests, grains and other fruits of the
earth … From the Papal Bull Summis
desiderantes affectibus, by Pope
Innocent VIII on December 5, 1484
The method of beginning an
examination by torture is as follows: First, the jailers prepare the
implements of torture, then they strip the prisoner (if it be a woman, she
has already been stripped by other women, upright and of good report).
This stripping is lest some means of witchcraft may have been sewed into
the clothing-such as often, taught by the Devil, they prepare from the
bodies of unbaptised infants, [murdered] that they may forfeit salvation.
And when the implements of torture have been prepared, the judge, both in
person and through other good men zealous in the faith, tries to persuade
the prisoner to confess the truth freely; but, if he will not confess, he
bid attendants make the prisoner fast to the strappado or some other
implement of torture. From the Malleus
Maleficarum, 1487(Internet
Medieval Source Book)
Seance by Rosaleen Norton, d. December
5, 1979
I don't make pictures just
to make money. I make money to make more pictures. Walt Disney, born on December
5, 1901
I don't believe there's a challenge anywhere in
the world that's more important to people everywhere than finding
solutions to the problems of our communities. Walt Disney
I'd rather entertain and
hope that people learn, than teach and hope that people are
entertained. Walt Disney
I'm not interested in
pleasing the critics. I'll take my chances pleasing the audiences. Walt Disney
I hope we'll never lose
sight of one thing that it was all started by a mouse. Walt Disney
It's kind of fun to do the impossible. Walt Disney
I would like to be part of building a model
community, a City of Tomorrow, you might say, because I don't believe
in going out to this extreme blue-sky stuff that some architects do. I
believe that people still want to live like human beings. Walt Disney, November 15, 1965, as quoted in Thomas, Bob, Walt
Disney: An American Original, New York, Hyperion, c. 1976, p.
338
The
most exciting, and by far the most important part of our Florida Project,
in fact, the heart of everything we will be doing in Disney World – will
be our Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. We call it EPCOT.
EPCOT will be an experimental prototype community of tomorrow that will
take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are now emerging
from the creative centers of American industry. It will be a community of
tomorrow that will never be completed, but will always be introducing and
testing and demonstrating new materials and systems. And EPCOT will always
be a showcase to the world for the ingenuity and imagination of American
free enterprise. Walt
Disney
Somehow
I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man
who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it
seems to me, can be summarized in four C s. They are curiosity,
confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence.
When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and
unquestionable. Walt
Disney
All our
dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. Walt Disney
You spoke of a refreshment, Emile; take my last notes and let me hear once more my solace and delight. Last words of Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart, who died of typhus on this day in 1791, aged 35
I might show facts as plain as day:
But since your eyes are blind, you'd say,
"Where? What?" and turn away. Christina Rossetti, English poet, born on December 5, 1830, 'A
Sketch'
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow
down their heads
The wind is passing by. Christina Rossetti; 'Who Has Seen the Wind?'
The downhill path is easy, but there's no turning back. Christina Rossetti; in The Poetical Works of Christina Rossetti
Better by far that you should forget and smile than that you should remember and be sad. Christina Rossetti
So now in patience I possess
My soul year after tedious year,
Content to take the lowest place
The place assigned me here. Christina Rossetti
Does the road wind uphill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day's journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend. Christina Rossetti
This figleaf morality expresses a very unhealthy attitude. Rosaleen Norton, New Zealand-born artist, known as
'the Witch of Kings Cross', who died on December 5, 1979
I came into the world bravely; I'll go out bravely. Last words of Rosaleen Norton, December 5, 1979 Source
Character – the willingness to
accept responsibility for one's own life – is the source from which self
respect springs. Joan
Didion, American journalist and novelist, born on December 5, 1934; Slouching
Towards Bethlehem
I write entirely to find out what
I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I
want and what I fear. Joan Didion
Celebrated in the Roman Empire in honour of
Faunus, the Roman version of the Greek god Phaunos, or Pan.
The Faunalia was
commemorated in rural areas, as a celebration of Nature and animals. The
people celebrated this festival with a dance performed in triple measure,
as danced by the priests of Salii, the priests of Mars.
Faunus was the son
of Picus, whom Circe turned into a woodpecker for spurning her love, and
grandson of Cronus (Saturn). On his tomb in Crete, according to Robert
Graves (The
Greek Myths, 1955), was the epitaph, "Here lies the woodpecker
who was also Zeus". Both Pan, the Greek god of the wild woods, and
Hermes were also associated with this bird, and all three are rain-making
shepherd gods, says Robert Graves. Faunus was worshipped as the god of fields and
shepherds, and as a god of prophecy.
In the Roman
calendar, the nones of a month were the fifth day of the months
January, February,
April, June,
August, September,
November, and December,
and the seventh day of March,
May, July,
and October; traditionally
the day of the Half Moon.
The nones were nine days before the ides (depending on the month, these could be the 13th
and 15th day; traditionally the day of the Full Moon), reckoning inclusively, according to the Roman
method.
The term none came into Christian
liturgical use, meaning 'the fifth of the seven canonical hours' (no
longer used) or 'the time of day appointed for this service, usually the
ninth hour after sunrise'.
"While the Lares and Di Penates are honored
every day in the pious Roman household, the Nones (celebrated on either
the 5th or 7th day of the month; see the Calendar)
are days when a more elaborate ceremony should be observed. The Nones
are sacred to Iuno Covella (Iuno of the Hollow Moon).
"The Nones ritual is usually celebrated early
in the morning at sunrise by the head of the household (usually the
eldest male). If circumstances (or family tradition) dictate, it may be
performed at noon or before sunset. No sexual activity is permitted
prior to the rite. The performer of the rite does not break his fast
prior to performing the rite (if celebrated at sunrise); only a little
tea or coffee is permitted.
"Before the rite the Paterfamilias washes his
hands (having also previously bathed or showered beforehand) while
saying the prayer
for ablution …" Nones
Ritual
Dutch children believe Sinterklaas (St Nicholas, the predecessor of
Santa Claus) lives in Spain with his servant
Zwarte
Piet (Black Peter). He comes to The Netherlands on December 5, bringing presents for the children. Dutch people have a special meal on this night, with special sweets and pastries, such as
speculaas.
As in in the Netherlands, Black Peter, or Zwarte Piet,
arrives in Belgium
tonight.Black Peter, St Nick's
Moorish servant, drops down the chimney with gifts for the children.
He carries a thick stick and a sack, threatening to steal
away naughty children. After children's bedtime, the adults swap
gifts and enjoy a feast of hot punch, chocolates and boiled
chestnuts served hot with butter and sugar.
"St. Nicholas's
Eve is a time of festive stir in Holland and Belgium; the shops
are full of pleasant little gifts: many-shaped biscuits, gilt
gingerbreads, sometimes representing the saint, sugar images,
toys, and other trifles. In many places, when evening comes on,
people dress up as St. Nicholas, with mitre and pastoral staff,
enquire about the behaviour of the children, and if it has been
good pronounce a benediction and promise them a reward next
morning. Before they go to bed the children put out their shoes,
with hay, straw, or a carrot in them for the saint's white horse
or ass. When they wake in the morning, if they have been 'good'
the fodder is gone and sweet things or toys are in its place; if
they have misbehaved themselves the provender is untouched and
no gift but a rod is there ...
"In Tyrol
children pray to the saint on his Eve and leave out hay for his
white horse and a glass of schnaps for his servant. And
he comes in all the splendour of a church-image, a reverend
grey-haired figure with flowing beard, gold-broidered cope,
glittering mitre, and pastoral staff. Children who know their
catechism are rewarded with sweet things out of the basket
carried by his servant; those who cannot answer are reproved,
and St. Nicholas points to a terrible form that stands behind
him with a rod -- the hideous Klaubauf, a shaggy monster with
horns, black face, fiery eyes, long red tongue, and chains that
clank as he moves."
Clement A Miles, Christmas In
Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan,
T. Fisher Unwin,
London, 1912
From Wikipedia:
The Companions of Saint Nicholas (or Father
Christmas) are a group of closely related figures who
accompany St.
Nicholas in many European
traditions. The tradition is particularly strong amongst the Germanic
peoples, with some regional expression in America (largely
from European ethnic groups).
The most recognized companion, especially
outside of Europe, is Knecht Ruprecht, which translates as Farmhand
Ruprecht or Servant Ruprecht. Other companions include Krampus
(Austria),
Klaubauf (Bavaria),
Bartel (Styria),
Pelzebock, Pelznickel, Belsnickel (Pennsylvania),
Schmutzli (Switzerland),
Rumpelklas, Bellzebub, Hans Muff, Drapp
or Buzebergt (Augsburg),
and Père Fouettard (Northern France).
These servants are often associated with, but are distinct from
Saint Nicholas' blackamoorslave
helpers, called Zwarte
Piet or Zwarte Peter in the Netherlands and
Flanders, and Black Peter most other places.
"In Lower Austria the saint is
followed by a similar figure called Krampus or Grampus; in
Styria this horrible attendant is named Bartel; all are no
doubt related to such monsters as the 'Klapperbock' (see
Chapter VII.). Their heathen origin is evident though it is
difficult to trace their exact pedigree. Sometimes St.
Nicholas himself appears in a non-churchly form like
Pelzmaerte, with a bell, or with a sack of ashes which gains
him the name of Aschenklas ... Sometimes a female bogey used
to appear: Budelfrau in Lower Austria, Berchtel in Swabia,
Buzebergt in the neighbourhood of Augsburg. The last two are
plainly variants of Berchte, who is specially connected with
the Epiphany. Berchtel used to punish the naughty children
with a rod, and reward the good with nuts and apples;
Buzebergt wore black rags, had her face blackened and her
hair hanging unkempt, and carried a pot of starch which she
smeared upon people's faces." Clement A Miles, Christmas In
Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan,
T. Fisher Unwin,
London, 1912
In the villages of Arth and Küssnacht, especially, the
festival known as Klausjagen draws many visitors – about
20,000 people flock to Küssnacht by the Lake of Four Cantons. The
event is celebrated with a procession of about 200 Iffelträger
wearing gigantic (up to six feet high) mitres
(iffelen)
illuminated from the inside, followed by the noise of as many as
1,000 'chasers' of Klaus – St
Niklaus, or Nicholas, whose feast day is tomorrow.
The ritual goes back at least to the Middle Ages and echoes pre-Christian pagan rites of chasing away evil spirits with the din of cowbells and cows' horns. The practice, which originally ran for about three days prior to St Nicholas's day, was banned by the government in 1732, apparently because it got out of hand, but we note that in the
17th, 18th and 19th Centuries, right across Europe, it was not uncommon for authorities to ban ancient ceremonies of this kind.
The Roman Catholic Church had a history of co-opting pagan festivities, but the rise of Protestantism, and its extreme variety, Puritanism, added a new dimension of intolerance throughout the West. In the 1920s, some Küssnacht villagers decided to bring the Klausjagen back and since 1928 the St Niklaus Society has arranged the procession and other activities. About 700 men process by in rows of five, ringing bells, followed by 180 horn-blowers. Whip cracking is another loud feature of the
Klausjagen.
In Zurich, too, and other parts of Switzerland, children wander the streets wearing illuminated masks, but Küssnacht is the place where the real action is to be seen and enjoyed. The festival begins at 8:15 pm and may take place on a day close to December 5 rather than St Nicholas Eve proper.
In former
times, children put out carrots, hay and straw for his horse, which
would be exchanged for presents in the night. Pennick,
Nigel, The
Pagan Book of Days, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont,
USA, 1992
Avond, Leewvarden, West Friesland The Eve of St Nicholas is called the Avond (eve). St Nicholas
knocks at the door and is greeted by anxiously waiting children. He
departs with a benediction, promising to bring gifts the next day.
Before bed, each family member puts a shoe on the table in a room
which is locked. Next morning the family enjoys bon-bons, toys and
trinkets. William
Hone, The
Every-Day Book, or a Guide to the Year, William Tegg and
Co., London, 1878, p. 783; 1825-26
edition online)
Romania Children usually put the
boots near the entrance door, waiting for the presents delivered by
St Nicholas.
Bonhomme
Noël, France
The French Santa Claus is Bonhomme Noël (Goodman Christmas), who
leaves presents on the hearth on St
Nicholas's Eve. He is also Père
Noel (Father Christmas, as in England). Also Père Noel and his
companion, Père Fouettard, who tallies how children have
behaved throughout the year, come on either the eve of December 6 or
December 24.
First Feast of St Lucia,
Italy(see also December
13 for St Lucia's Day)
"Goddess of Birth and Light." (Source: The Phoenix and Arabeth 1992
Calendar)
Marriage
prognostication
Girls attempted to divine the name of the man they were to marry,
from forcing the growth of onions in the chimney-corner, and they
ascertained the temper of the man from the straightness or otherwise
of a stick drawn from a wood stack. Young people went about and
levied contributions.
Three
weekes before the day whereon was borne the
Lorde of Grace,
And on the Thursday boyes and girles do runne in
every place,
And bounce and beate at every doore, with blowes and
lustie snaps,
And crie, the advent of the Lord not borne as yet
perhaps.
And wishing to the neighbours all, that in the
houses dwell,
A happie yeare, and every thing to spring and
prosper well:
Here have they peares, and plumbs, and pence, ech man gives
willinglee,
For these three nightes are always thought unfortunate to
bee:
Wherein they are afrayd of sprites, and cankred
witches spight,
And dreadfull devils blacke and grim, that then have
chiefest might.
In these same dayes yong wanton gyrles that meete for
marriage be,
Foure onyons, five, or eight, they take and make in
every one,
Such names as they do fansie most, and best do
thinke upon.
Thus neere the chimney them they set, and that same
onyon than, That first doth sproute, doth surely beare the
name of their good man.
Their husbandes nature eke they seeke to know, and all
his guise,
When as the sunne hath hid himselfe, and left the
starrie skies,
Unto some woodstacke do they go, and while they
there do stande
Eche one drawes out a faggot sticke, the next that
commes to hande,
Which if it streight and even be, and have no
knots at all,
A gentle husband then they thinke shall surely to
them fall.
But if it fowle and crooked be, and knottie here
and theare,
A crabbed churlish husband then, they earnestly
do feare.
These thinges the wicked papistes beare, and suffer
willingly,
Because they neyther do the ende, nor fruites of
faith espie:
And rather had the people should obey their
foolish lust,
Than truely God to know; and in him here alone to
trust. Barnabe
Googe
(1540 -
'94), Foure
Bookes of Husbandrie, collected by M. Conradus Heresbachius,
Counseller of Cleue; Contayning the whole arte and trade of
husbandry, with the ambiguitie, and commendation thereof; quoted
in
William Hone,
The Every-Day Book, or a Guide to the Year,
William Tegg and Co., London, 1878;
1825-26 edition online. More
on Googe
From Wikipedia:
Day of the Ninja is a parodicholiday
celebrated on December
5 of each year. It was established in 2003
by the creators of the comedy website Ninja
Burger. On this day, people are encouraged to dress as ninja,
engage in ninja-related activities, and spread information on ninja
online.
The holiday was created in part as a
response to that day marking the release of Tom
Cruise's film The
Last Samurai (which featured a scene where samurai
battled ninja), but mostly as a retaliation for
International
Talk Like a Pirate Day, as fans of ninjas and fans of pirates
hold a fierce and inexplicable online rivalry. Naturally, the day is
not called 'International Talk Like a Ninja Day' as silent
and stealthy ninja are not known having a distinct way of speaking,
much less speaking at all.
"She
was considered a possible successor to Alfred
Tennyson as poet laureate. To accept the challenge, she
wrote a royal elegy. However, Alfred Austin was appointed poet
laureate in 1896. Rossetti developed a fatal cancer in 1891, and
died in London on December 29, 1894."Source
'A
Birthday'
By Christina
Rossetti
My heart is like a singing bird
Whose heart is in a watered shoot:
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That Paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
Because my love is come to me.
Raise me dais of silk and down;
Hang it with vair and purple dyes;
Carve it in doves and pomegranates,
And peacocks with a hundred eyes;
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;
Because the birthday of my life
Is come, my love is come to me.
1839George
Custer (George Armstrong Custer; d. 1876),
American cavalry commander whose famous 'last
stand' was fought against Cheyenne and Sioux Indians
Walt Disney created Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse, and holds the record
for winning the most Academy Awards (32).
(Mickey Mouse's birthday may be said to be November 18, the date
on which Steamboat Willie was released in 1928.)
"The town of Celebration sits 5 miles south of the Disney World Complex on 4,900 acres of former swamp and farmland. In reality, this isn't the first time that the corporation has set out to create a model community. The first idea came from Walt himself in the form of his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or EPCOT to you infidels out there. Walt called his EPCOT
'a test tube utopia of the future with a massive glass dome protecting smiling, happy people from bad air and bad
news.' It was to be a city of monorails and solar collectors where technology and careful urban planning created a perfect community. Walt died before his dream could be realized, however, and his EPCOT became a theme park. Still, his statements lingered on as a haunting spirit somewhere in the company's subconscious,
'I don't believe there's a challenge anywhere in the world that's
more important to people everywhere than finding solutions to the
problems of our communities.'
"So it was that in 1996, after ten years of planning and construction, Disney opened the doors of its
'utopia' to the public. The corporation promised to offer a community that was not only an architectural masterpiece, but a sociable and civic minded one that would be one of the safest, healthiest, and best educated in the country. How did it plan to do this? Simple. It left absolutely nothing to chance. With every step, with every breath, the frozen head of big brother Walt was there to keep watch and control ...
"In the end, Celebration has 'failed' because of one thing – reality. In the creation and marketing of Celebration, Disney was trying to sell a dream and time that never existed. The 40's and 50's weren't free of domestic troubles or abuse, it's simply that no one talked about it.
"What Disney is seeing as failure is actually the normal and healthy
influence of reality. People cannot be placed in cells. We're
unpredictable, erratic, and we take a little chaos with us wherever
we go. You can't just stick wires up our ass and expect us to
perform like the Country Bear Jamboree. … Real people don't fit into
a world of PVC picket fences and plastic tin roofs. We create our
own utopias or at least our own communities, and no one else can
set that up for us, not even the mouse." Mickey
Mussolini: The Rise and Fall of the Disnetopia (PDF file)
"But even worse
than the cheap, imitation wood paneling and the
'cathedral-ceilinged dining pits' inside the homes are Disney's
attempts to create out of whole cloth a history, or 'backstory'
in Disney-speak, for the town of Celebration. 'The entire
awkward struggle to manufacture a tradition for the town
revealed, to my mind, a hollowness at its core, the absence of a
bona fide purpose such as inspired the creation of most towns,'
writes Rymer … Maybe I'm wrong – call me crazy – but I always
thought that an alliance between business and government
exercising political and cultural power in all aspects of a
community's life was fascism. To me, that is hardly something to
celebrate."
"But most important, this entire 50 acres of city streets
and buildings will be completely enclosed.
"In
this kind of controlled environment, shoppers, theatergoers, and
people just out for a stroll will enjoy ideal weather conditions
protected day and night from rain, heat and cold and humidity …
"EPCOT's greenbelt is more than just a broad expanse of beautiful
lawns and walks and trees. Here too are the communities very
recreation facilities its playgrounds for children, its churches,
and its schools … In an attractive park-like setting, the 6-million
people who visit Disney World each year will look behind the scenes
at experimental prototype plants, research and development
laboratories and computer centers for major corporations." Narrator of Walt Disney's last cinematic appearance,Film:
Walt Disney's EPCOT,
October 1966
Your family and friends will get a
kick when they hear their own name being sung in 'Happy Birthday'!!
You can schedule your singing cards in advance, and even add your
own face to funny animations. (Pay cards)
If you are enjoying this page, click to
receive similar items daily with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac
ezine
Webmaster,
webmasters free content, or else articles at very reasonable rates
Pip Wilson's articles are available for your website or publication, on
application. Further details
1181 The death of St Galgano Guidotti of Chiusdino (b. 1148), a knight who led a worldly life in his youth, but converted and became a hermit on Monte Siepe, Tuscany, Italy.He
might be seen as a patron saint for our times.
As an act of renunciation of warfare, he
plunged his sword into a stone. Legend says his conversion was caused by a visit from
the Archangel
Michael. After the vision, he
said giving up his former lifestyle would be as easy as cutting rocks with a
sword. To emphasize this sarcastic remark, he drew his weapon and plunged it
into a rock, expecting the blade to snap. However, it penetrated to the hilt,
and he changed his life.
It is likely that the King
Arthur tale of Excalibur derives from the legend of this saint. The theory that the legend of St Galgano predates
the story of Arthur is supported by tests on the sword at the Gothic abbey of
San Galgano at Montesiepi, Tuscany, about 19 miles (30 km) southwest of Siena.
Scientists say that it is made of a metal and style "compatible with the era
of St Galgano", and it dates from the 12th Century. For centuries
the sword was assumed to be a fake.
1349About 500 Jews were massacred at Nüremberg
in Black Death riots.
1456An earthquake rocked Naples, killing about 35,000.
1484Pope Innocent VIII (pope from 1484 - 1492) set
severe penalties against German witches and magicians. His rules were set out in
the Papal bullSummis
desiderantes affectibus. He ordered that all cats belonging to witches
who were to be
burned, should also be burned. This pope
also in 1487
appointed Tomas de Torquemada to be grand inquisitor of
Spain – he was a strong supporter of the Spanish Inquisition. He also urged a crusade
against the Waldensians, offering plenary indulgence to all who
should engage in it.
The book begins with a discussion of the nature of witchcraft. Part of section
explains why women, by their weaker nature and inferior intellect, were
supposedly naturally more prone to the lure of Satan. The book
title itself has maleficarum, the female noun, and the writers declare
that the word femina (woman) is a derivation of fe+minus,
faithless. The work declares that some things confessed by witches, such as
animal transformations, were mere delusions induced by
the devil to ensnare them, while other acts, such as flight, causing storms and
destroying crops were real. The book dwells at length on the licentious acts of
witches, and even gives space to the question of whether demons could father
children on witches. The writing style is serious and utterly humourless; one
section quotes a story that is plainly an anti-clerical joke as if it were a
real occurrence.
The last section deals with
the practical details of the detection, trial and destruction of witches. It
covers how much belief to place in witnesses' testimonies and the need to
eliminate malicious accusations, but also states that public rumour is
sufficient to bring a person to trial and that a too vigorous defence is
evidence that the defender is bewitched. There are rules on how to prevent the
authorities becoming bewitched and the reassurance, that as representatives of God, the witch can have
no power over the investigators. It covers details of how to elicit confessions,
including the sequence of torture and questioning to be used; the use of red-hot iron
is recommended as is the shaving of the entire body of the accused in search of
tokens or marks of the devil.
The total number of victims was probably between 50,000 and
100,000 – nowhere near in the millions as some believe.
Although alleged witches were burned alive or hung over a five
century interval – from the 14th to the 18th century – the vast majority
were tried from 1550 to 1650.
Some of the victims worshiped Pagan deities, and thus could be
considered to be indirectly linked to today's Neopagans. Most, however,
apparently did not.
Some of the victims were midwives and native healers; however,
most were not.
Most of the victims were tried and executed by local, community
courts, not by the Church.
A substantial minority of victims – about 25% – were male.
Many countries in Europe largely escaped the burning times:
Ireland executed only four "Witches;" Russia only ten. The craze
affected mostly Switzerland, Germany and France.
Eastern Orthodox countries had few Witch trials. "In
parts of the Orthodox East, at least, witch hunts such as those experienced in
other parts of Europe were unknown ....The Orthodox Church is strongly
critical of sorcerers (among whom it includes palmists, fortune tellers and
astrologers), but has not generally seen the remedy in accusations, trials and
secular penalties, but rather in confession and repentance, and exorcism if
necessary ...."
Most of the deaths seem to have taken place in Western Europe
in the times and areas where Protestant – Roman Catholic conflict – and
thus social turmoil – was at its maximum.
1784
In Boston,
the first black woman poet and, after Anne
Bradstreet, only the second woman poet of note in the United States,
Phillis Wheatley
died, aged about 31 years. The 39 poems in Poems on Various Subjects,
Religious and Moral, published in
1773 in England under the sponsorship of
the Countess of Huntingdon, helped spread Wheatley's reputation in Europe as
well as in America.
In 1791, at a time
when he was suffering from one of his depressions, Mozart was approached by a
tall, dignified stranger who said he represented a gentleman who wished to
remain anonymous. The unknown man wanted to commission a requiem for the soul of
a recently departed friend, and would pay 100 ducats for the composition.
Mozart
accepted the commission, asking for a month to complete the work. After a month,
the stranger returned, but Mozart, who had laboured fitfully on it, asked for
another month. He said that the work had taken his interest more than he
expected, and he needed more time. the stranger gave him the time he needed, and
another 50 ducats. Mozart was intrigued by this visitor, and asked a servant to
follow him, but the servant lost him in the streets. The composer was convinced
that the
tall stranger was a messenger from another world, come to warn him of his own
impending death. He did indeed fall ill, and when the stranger came to pick up
the work, the brilliant composer was already dead.
1873 In Boston, Massachusetts,
USA, Warren Avenue Baptist Church sexton Thomas
Piper strangled and beat to death his first victim, Bridget Landregan (the
press later dubbed the then unknown serial killer 'The Boston
Belfry Murderer').
1904
The Japanese destroyed the Russian fleet at
Port Arthur.
1906
Russian admiral Niebogatov went on trial, accused of surrendering ships to the
Japanese.
Her husband,
architect-engineer George
Augustine Taylor(1872
-
1928), who designed and built the glider following the principles
of world aviation pioneer and fellow Sydneysider, Lawrence Hargrave,
made Australia's first flight in a
heavier-than-air craft on the same day.
George Taylor, a drinking buddy of Henry Lawson's (they
were both members of a small and exclusive group of carousers called the 'Dawn
and Dusk Club'), and founder of the Wireless Institute of NSW in 1910, had built a biplane with a box-kite tail for balance, from coachwood, covered with oiled calico.
The location of this pioneer flight was about
one kilometre from where this almanac was produced between 2001 and 2003.
1941 The non-fiction book Sea
of Cortez by John Steinbeck was
published (Steinbeck used knowledge gained writing this book to develop the
marine biologist character Doc in Cannery Row).
In early December of 1952, a cold fog
descended upon London. Because of the cold, Londoners began to burn
more coal than usual. At the same time, the final conversion of
London's electric trams to diesel buses was completed. The resulting
air pollution was trapped by the heavy layer of cold air, and the
concentration of pollutants built up dramatically. The smog was so
thick that it would sometimes make driving impossible. It entered
indoors easily, and concerts and screenings of films were cancelled
as the audience could not see the stage or screen.
Since London was known for its fog,
there was no great panic at the time. In the weeks that followed,
the medical services compiled statistics and found that the fog had
killed 4,000 people—most of whom were very young or elderly, or had
pre-existing respiratory problems. Another 8,000 died in the weeks
and months that followed. Source:
Wikipedia
1965
An American Skyhawk aircraft armed with a hydrogen bomb sank after rolling off
the deck of aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga,
on its way from Vietnam to Japan.
1973
Sydney, Australia: Eccentric local identity
Bee Miles (Bea Miles) was cremated, with a jazz band in attendance and a
banner reading, in her words, "One Who Loved Australia".
1977
President Anwar Sadat of Egypt severed his country's relations with Syria, Libya,
Algeria and South Yemen.
1978 The Soviet
Union signed a 'friendship treaty' with the communist government of Afghanistan,
shortly before sacrificing 15,000 of its own citizens to kill 1,500,000 citizens
of Afghanistan.
1979 The death of Rosaleen Norton, New Zealand-born Australian artist, aged 62, known as 'the Witch of Kings Cross';
she was a one-time model for artist Norman Lindsay.
1992Kent
Conrad of North Dakota resigned his
seat in the United States Senate
and was sworn into the other seat from North Dakota, becoming the only US
Senator ever to have held two seats on the same day.
A world survey recently conducted by the UN
posed thefollowing question:
"Could you please give us your opinion about the food shortage in the rest
of the world?"
This was a huge failure due to the following reasons:
In Africa, no one knows what "food" is.
In Western Europe, no one knows what "shortage" is.
In Eastern Europe no one knows what "opinion" is.
In South America no one knows what "please" means.
In the US no one knows what "rest of the world"
means.
reetings from Australia.
How it works
![Christmas [ Dec 25 ]](http://img.123greetings.com/homeimages/side_edec_c_1_11.jpg)
If you are enjoying this page, 
As an act of renunciation of warfare, he
plunged his sword into a stone. 
