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The Elements of Ritual
The Spiral Dance
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20th Anniversary Edition
The Rule of Four
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Fasti
Roman calendar lore, by Ovid
Holiday Symbols
Holidays and Anniversaries of the World
Secrets and Lies
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What
Would Jefferson Do?
By Thom
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When Corporations Rule the World
Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on
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The Corporation
Highly recommended DVD
Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of
Investigative Journalism in America
By Bruce Shapiro
Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of
Investigative Journalism in America
By Bruce Shapiro
Crimes Against Nature : How George W Bush and His Corporate
Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy
By Robert F Kennedy, Jr
The Skeptic's Dictionary
A Dictionary of Saints Days, Fasts, Feasts and
Festivals
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
Environmental Activism
Gaia's Garden
Sun Goddess
The Da Vinci
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Daily Everything
A Treasury of Irish Myth, Legend, and Folklore
Architects of Peace
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Anthony Robbins
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Poor Richard's Almanack
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Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft
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 Day of the Dance of the Lily, Nola, Italy
Feast day of St Paulinus,
Bishop of Nola, confessor
(Canterbury bells, Campanula medium, is
today's plant, dedicated to this saint.)
In the town of
Nola, near Naples,
Italy, people commemorate their famous son, Paulinus
today. He had a miraculous dream while in Africa, where Vandals had
taken him as a slave. The king, impressed by this dream, sent Paulinus
home, where he and his companions were met by the people of Nola
bearing lilies. Ever since, today has been called the Day of the
Dance of the Lily (Giglio).
"Scholars
suggest that the festival derives from a pre-Christian summer
festival celebrating the Greek god Dionysus. The story of St
Paulinus resembles the myth of Dionysus's release and return from
pirate captivity. Nola was once an ancient center of Dionysian
worship. The phallic figure of the god, now replaced by the tower
of the saint, was probably once the centerpiece of pagan fertility
rituals. Dancing the giglio is a display of virility and power, as
the half-naked men sweat and struggle to bear the enormous weight
of the lilies and to out-dance each other.
"Posen, I Sheldon and Joseph Sciorra,
'Brooklyn's Dancing Tower,' Natural History, June 1983" Source:
School of the Seasons
Read more on Dionysus
at his page in the Scriptorium
Late June – Early July, The Green Corn Ceremony, Cherokee
"The
Green Corn Ceremony was traditionally celebrated during late June
or early July for about four days. The dates scheduled for the
celebration depended upon the time the first corn ripened. The
ceremony was held in the middle of the ceremonial grounds.
Included in the rituals were the stomp dance, feather dance and
buffalo dances. At certain points of the ceremonies the people
fasted, played stickball, had corn sacrificing, took medicine and
had a scratching ceremony. Then after the fasting they would
feast. Another ritual observed was rinsing themselves in water and
having prayer.
"It is believed when you get a cleansing it washed away
impurities or bad deeds and started a new life. The cleansing
ceremony was performed by a priest which was followed with
fasting and praying and other sacred practices." Source
The Flaming of the
Rose, Armenia
The Christianised festival of Anahita,
the ancient goddess of chastity; sheep with gaily painted horns are
led to church, with food and flowers piled at the altar.
Source: The Daily Bleed
Candelaria, Brazil
Ceremony for the
goddess Iemanja (Yemaja;
Yemaya) at the ocean.
Source: The Phoenix and
Arabeth 1992 Calendar
In Yorùbá mythology, Yemaja is a
mother goddess, patron deity of women, especially pregnant women,
and the Ogun river (the waters
of which are said to cure infertility). Her parents are Odudua
and Obatala.
She had one son,
Orungan, who raped her successfully one time and
attempted a second time; she exploded instead, and fifteen Orishas
came forth from her. They include Ogun, Olukum, Shakpana
and Shango.
Yemaja is also venerated in Vodun.
Among the Umbandists, Yemaja is a goddess of the ocean
and patron deity of the survivors of shipwrecks. In Santería,
Yemaja (also called Yemaya) is the equivalent of Our Lady of Regla.
Alternative: Yemanja, Yemayah
Source: Wikipedia
Yemaya's
feast day is February
2 (qv) Images
of Yemaya
What was
Brazil's Candelaria Massacre?
On July 23,
1993, off-duty police shot and killed eight street kids as dozens of
children slept together near the Candelaria Cathedral in downtown
Rio de Janeiro.
 Dragon Boat Festival, China
"China: Duan
Wu Jie or Tuen Ng, the Dragon Boat Festival occurs on the 5th
day of the 5th month, considered 'evil' and unlucky in Asian
culture. In Asian culture, dragons are used to scare away the
evil associated with this unlucky date. The festival may have
originated to counter this taboo, but it also commemorates the
ill-fated rescue attempt of China's favorite patriotic poet, Chu
Yuan, who had been exiled by the Emperor Huai from his beloved
Chu state during the Warring States period. As the Chu State
declined, it was conquered by the powerful Qin State, and the
poet was so overcome with despair that he took a large stone
into the Miluo River and drowned himself on this day (ca. 277
BC). Unable to save him, the people threw bamboo and mugwort
leaves stuffed with cooked rice into the water so that the
shrimp, crabs, and other scavenging fish would spare the body of
their hero. To commemorate this, people toss sacrifices of rice
into the water and eat tzungtzu (zongzi), rice dumplings filled
with ham or bean paste and wrapped in bamboo leaves. The boat
races on this day attract large crowds. The boats are large
canoes, usually highly decorated, with carved dragon heads and
tails. The actual date of the festival, now observed around the
world, not only varies with the lunar calendar, but may also
vary with the location."
Source:
Earth, Moon and Sky
Pictured: A
boy plays a traditional egg-standing game in Taipei, Taiwan, June
22, 2004. The traditional game is part of the Dragon Boat Festival
activities. Legend has it that at noon on the day of the Dragon Boat
Festival, it is possible to stand eggs on end. Whoever can do this
is said to be assured of good luck all year. [Reuters]
When
east meets west in Dragon Boat Festival in Hong Kong
Dragon
Boat Festival: Past and Present
It's
Dragon Boat Festival!
Dragon
Boat Festival activities expanded
Niman Kachina,
Hopi Pueblo (Jun
19 - 29)
The bonfires of
San Juan, Alicante, Spain (Jun 20 - 28)
Egyptian
day (dies egypticus, dies ægypticus or dies
mala), unlucky day in Medieval
Europe. ("But, notwithstanding, I will trust the Lord"
was the associated saying.)
Feast
day of St Alban
(Roman Catholic) (June 17, Anglican)
Britain's
first Christian martyr,
Alban was beheaded during the Diocletian persecution, becoming a saint of
the Catholic Church. According to the church, he was a pagan
who converted to Christianity and was executed either circa 304 or 309, by
beheading on a hill above the Roman settlement of Verulamium.
The Anglican Church keeps his feast on June 17. He
is sometimes represented in art
carrying his head.
He sheltered a priest, Amphibalus,
who had converted him. When he could conceal him from the
persecution no longer, they exchanged clothes and the priest
escaped. For this, Alban was brought before the governor,
Constantius, and beheaded at Verulam, the name of which was changed
to St Alban's. St Albans Abbey at St
Albans, Hertfordshire, England
was later founded near this site.
Feast day of St Consortia
Feast day of St Eberhard
Feast day of St Flavius Clemens
Feast day of St John Fisher
Feast day of St John I of
Naples
Feast day of St John IV of
Naples
Feast day of St Joseph
Cafasso
Feast day of the Martyrs of Ararat
Feast day of St Nicetas of
Remesiana
Feast day of St
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More, a Roman Catholic saint commemorated today, would
not give assent to the supremacy of King
Henry VIII
as head of the Church in England, and maintained his allegiance to
the pope. Since
1980, More has also been included in the Church of England
calendar of saints.
Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days Shop saints
Anti-fascist struggle day, Croatia
Flower offering, Alicante, Spain
"This is an emotion-packed celebration occurring on the afternoon of
22 June during which flowers are brought to the patron saint and
perpetual mayoress of the city, Our Lady of the Remedy ('Virgen del
Remedio'). This is the oldest official flower offering held in
Spain. Each bonfire district competes to make the most original and
spectacular flower offering, with the Fire Beauty and her court of
honour carrying the bouquets of flowers and depositing them before
the image of the Virgin on the façade of the City Hall to create an
immense tapestry of flowers."
Source
On which day of the week were you born? Find out here
1757 George Vancouver (d.
1798), British navigator, naval surveyor,
best known for his exploration of
North America,
including the Pacific coast along the modern day Canadian province
of British Columbia and the American states of Alaska, Washington
and Oregon. He also explored the southwest coast of
Australia.
1767 Wilhelm von Humboldt (d. 1835), philosopher
and statesman
1837 Paul
Morphy
(d. 1884), American chess player
1856 H Rider Haggard (d. 1925), author
1858
Giacomo Puccini, Italian operatic composer (La
bohème; Madame Butterfly)
1885 Milan Vidmar
(d. 1962), Slovene
electrical engineer and chess player
1887
Sir Julian
Huxley, (d. February 14, 1975), British biologist
and author.
Wikipedia
says: He was a brother of the writer
Aldous Huxley, his father was Leonard Huxley, and his paternal
grandfather was the biologist TH Huxley, the great supporter of Charles Darwin. He was also a friend and mentor
of the biologist Konrad Lorenz.
Huxley was the first Director General of UNESCO
and a founder of the World Wildlife Fund. He wrote
popular science books, including Essays of a Biologist and
Evolution: The Modern
Synthesis. He was knighted in 1958.
Huxley coined the terms 'mentifacts',
'socifacts' and 'artifacts'
to describe how cultural traits take on a life of their own,
spanning over generations. This idea appears to be a forerunner of
the modern study of memetics.
1898 Erich Maria Remarque (d. 1970),
German novelist (All Quiet on
the Western Front)
1906 Billy Wilder, (d. 2002),
Austrian-born film director (Sunset
Boulevard;
The Lost
Weekend)
1906 Anne Morrow Lindbergh (d. 2001), American
author and aviator
1920 Paul
Frees, cartoon voice-over artist
1921 Joseph
Papp (d. 1986), director, producer
1930 Charles Augustus Lindbergh
III, son of Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and young
victim of crime (d. 1932)
1930 Yuri Artyukhin
(d. 1998), cosmonaut
1936 Kris Kristofferson, country music
singer, songwriter, actor, Rhodes scholar (song
'Me and Bobby McGee'; film
A
Star Is Born;
Pat
Garrett & Billy the Kid;
The
Jacket)
1941 Ed
Bradley, journalist, 60
Minutes correspondent
1944 Klaus Maria Brandauer, actor
1948 Todd Rundgren, singer, songwriter,
recording producer
1949 Meryl Streep, American actress (Out of Africa;
Sophie's Choice)
1952 Graham Greene, Canadian
actor; an Oneida Indian, born on the Six
Nations Reservation in Ontario
1953 Cyndi Lauper, singer
1954 Freddie Prinze (d. 1977), actor/comedian
1958 Bruce Campbell, actor
Phew!!
Have a rest before the big This
day in history section
Send
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Varies
Full
Moon Day
Varies
Friday
the 13th
Varies
Hindu
holidays
Varies
Dragon
Boat Festival (China)
Varies Shavuot
Varies
Fathers'
Day
![Father's Day [ June 18 ]](http://img.123greetings.com/homeimages/side_fathers_day_1.gif) ![Graduation [ May - June ]](http://img.123greetings.com/homeimages/side_graduation_1.gif) ![Rose Month [ June ]](http://img.123greetings.com/homeimages/side_rose_mnth_1.gif) ![Summer [ Jun 21 - Sep 22 ]](http://img.123greetings.com/homeimages/side_summer_1.gif)
June
18 Go
Fishing Day
18 Splurge
Day
19 Butterfly
Day
19 Juneteenth
19 World
Sauntering Day
20 Vanilla
Milkshake Day
20 Ice
Cream Soda Day
20 West
Virginia Day
21 Summer
Solstice
21 Cuckoo
Warning Day
21 Peaches
And Cream Day
22 Chocolate
Eclair Day
23 Typewriter
Day
24 Flying
Saucer Day
24 Swim
Day
24 Blueberry
Festival ((New Jersey, USA)
24 Feast
Of John The Baptist
25 Strawberry
Parfait Day
25 Leon
Day
26 Chocolate
Pudding Day
26 Beauticians'
Day
27 Sunglasses
Day
28 Treaty
Day
29 Remote
Control Day
30 Sky
Day
30 Meteorite
Day
July
1 Canada
Day
1 International
Joke Day
2 I
Forgot Day
2 Mullet
Day
2 Violin
Lovers' Day
3 Chocolate
Wafer Day
3 Eat
Beans Day
3 Air
Conditioning Day
4 Fourth
of July (USA)
4 Barbecue
Day
4 Country
Music Day
... More
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217 BCE Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt
defeated Antiochus III the
Great of the Seleucid kingdom.
168 BCE Battle
of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeated
and captured Macedonian
King Perseus, ending the Third Macedonian War.
431 Death of Paulinus
of Nola, Latin poet.
1276 Death of Pope
Innocent V (feast day June
23).
1377 Richard II became king of England.
1593 Battle of Sisak: Slovene - Croat troops
defeated the Turks.
1611 Explorer Henry Hudson was cast adrift with his son by mutineers
in the |
reetings from Australia.
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