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Welcome to this Red-Letter Day. Below you will find today's global celebrations,
birthdays and events.
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Carpe diem! (Seize the day!) And, as they say in
McDonald’s, ‘havea nice da-ay’ (add plastic smile). Nup.Make a greatday.
The time so tranquil is and still
That nowhere shall ye find,
Save on a high and barren hill,
An air of peeping wind.
All trees and simples, great and small,
That balmy leaf do bear,
Than they were painted on a wall
No more they move or steir.
Calm is the deep and purple sea,
Yea, smoother than the sand;
The waves that weltering wont to be
Are stable like the land.
So silent is the cessile air
That every cry and call
The hills and dales and forest fair
Again repeats them all. Alexander
Hume, Scottish poet, 1599; from 'A Summer Day'
Concerning
dates, whate'er they pen
No matter whether true or not
I know it must be summer when
Green peas are in the pot. Poor Robin's Almanac,
1808
The summer solstice is regarded as occurring in Cancer (the Crab), which the Egyptians called the scarab
– a beetle of the family Lamellicornes, the head of the insect kingdom, and sacred to the Egyptians as the symbol of Eternal Life. It is evident that the constellation of the Crab is represented by this peculiar creature because the sun, after passing through this house, proceeds to walk backwards, or descend the zodiacal arc. Cancer is the symbol of generation, for it is the house of the Moon, the great Mother of all things and the patroness of the life forces of Nature.
Manly P Hall; The
Secret Teachings of All Ages, 'The
Zodiac and Its Signs'
From bright'ningfields of ether fair
disclosed,
Child of the Sun, refulgent Summer comes. Thomson; The
Seasons (Summer)
How beautiful is
Summer! the trees are heavy with fruit and foliage; the sun is bright
and cheering in the morning; the shade of broad and leafy boughs is
refreshing at noon; and the calm breezes of the evening whisper gently
through the leaves, which reflect the liquid light of the moon when
she is seen. Sylvan Sketches
The principle of all things is water; all comes from
water, and to water all returns. Thales of Miletus, who died on June 21, 546BCE
It is difficult to know thyself, it is easy to advise
others. Thales of Miletus
[Thales] first went to Egypt and thence
introduced this study [geometry] into Greece. He discovered
many propositions himself, and instructed his successors in the principles
underlying many others, his method of attacking problems had greater
generality in some cases and was more in the nature of simple inspection
and observation in other cases. Proclus,
the last major Greek philosopher, who lived around 450 CE
I
love my country more than my soul. Last words of Niccolo
Machiavelli,
Italian political theorist who died on June 21, 1527
I exist. It's sweet, so sweet, so slow.
Jean-Paul Sartre, existential philosopher, born on June 21, 1905
Hell is other
people. Jean-Paul Sartre
Death is a
continuation of my life without me. Jean-Paul Sartre
I
was too loved to have doubts about myself. Jean-Paul
Sartre
The four main
stations ('grand sabbats' in
the Neopagan
tradition) are the two equinoxes and two solstices. Halfway between each
of these are the other significant days, sometimes known as the 'lesser
sabbats', together making this list:
Eight Stations of the Year (Sabbats) in the Book
of Days
The solstices are the
longest and shortest days of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, Summer
Solstice (June 21 or 22) occurs when the sun is farthest north. In the
Northern Hemisphere, Winter Solstice (round about
December 22) occurs when
the sun is farthest south. In the Southern Hemisphere, the winter and summer
solstices are reversed, so my family, friends and I are enjoying Winter
Solstice, or Yule,
as it is known in the Celtic tradition.Meanwhile our northern friends are enjoying Litha.
Is June 21 (Summer
Solstice, Northern) 'Midsummer's Day'?
No. Traditionally, Midsummer
is June 24, St John the Baptist's Day, although it also refers to the
week or so round about the Summer Solstice (June 21). Another name for the
solstice of summer is 'aestival'.
Summer Solstice (Northern Hemisphere) At Stonehenge,
the Heelstone
marks the rising midsummer sun as seen from the centre of the circle.
Day of All Heras In the women's mysteries. "Heras are
women who have achieved full spiritual communion with the Great
Goddess." Nigel
Pennick, The
Pagan Book of Days, Destiny Books, Rochester, Vermont, USA,
1992, p. 81
A solstice
and equinox calendar, Fajada Butte, New Mexico, USA On Fajada Butte
in Chaco Canyon, NM, Anasazi Indians 1,000 years ago used three stone
slabs to create a still-useable calendar. On the four stations of the
year, the sun shines through gaps between the slabs, either dividing or
framing spirals carved on rocks behind.
Sacrifices
of the Incas In the city of Cuzco: on Winter
and Summer solstices, sacrifices of children were made in olden days.
Incas bathed in a sacred waterfall that was on one of 41 ceques or magical, invisible lines radiating out from the Temple of
the Sun.
Make
a sundial for your ceiling Check
out the article,
'How to make a sundial
for your ceiling'.
Summer or Winter Solstices are great days to begin your 'spotdial'. All it takes
is a small birdcage mirror worth a buck or two. When you have a working
spotdial on your ceiling, why not send me a pic or two and we can share it
with the Almaniacs.
Hump Day, Tasmania A colloquial term in Australia's southernmost and thus coldest
state, for the shortest day of the year when the days now begin growing
longer. Although the days will grow colder for some weeks ("as the days
lengthen, the cold strengthens"), the 'Taswegians' know that
they're over the 'hump' of Winter, which means a lot at that
latitude with its very short Winter days.
The
Summer Solstice
A scientific explanation of the summer solstice.
Includes diagram that shows how the sun moves. Part of the Windows of
the Universe series.
Summer
Solstice
From Eric Weisstein's Treasure Trove of Astronomy. A scientific view
of the annual phenomenon.
The
Summer Solstice
From FamilyEducation.com. Quizzes, activities, and information to
teach families about the Summer Solstice.
Summer
Solstice Celebrations
Examines how various religious groups view the summer solstice and how
they choose to celebrate it.
Summer
Solstice Lesson Ideas
From Teachnet.Com. A brief overview of the holiday, along with ideas
for celebrating it in the classroom.
Happy
Summer
From Netglimse.com. Summer solstice, history, dates, recipes,
e-greetings, and related links.
In the 1970s
there was a proposal to rename the zodiac sign, as some astrologers
felt that an imagined association with the disease Cancer
was off-putting. Some people with the sun sign of Cancer refer to
themselves as moon children instead (the sign is associated with the
Moon in astrology).
Feast day of St Lazarus
This Lazarus was a leper mentioned by
Jesus
Christ in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in the Gospel
of Luke.
Not to be confused with the
Lazarus
(brother of St
Martha
the dragon charmer), who was resurrected by Jesus.
Feast
day of St Leutfridus
(Leufredus; Leufroi), abbot
Yemaya(Yemaja;
Yemanja;
Yemayah), Yorùbá goddess, is commemorated
Nalukataq, Inuit
end-of-whaling festival (Ieupiat and
Yupiks of Alaska)
"Nalukataq
means 'the Tossing' in the Inupiat Eskimo language …
"This is the Eskimo Whaling Festival. Every year
after whaling, the Northern Inupiat Eskimo villages hold a
celebration to honor the whale which has given itself up for
their good. The whale is a spirit, and if its head is returned
to the ocean it will be able to grow its body – its parka –
again and return for the good of the people once more. Thus its
meat may not be sold, for that would dishonor it. It is given
away plentifully at the festival, both cooked and raw. On the
last day of the festival the sealskin which covered the whale
boat is taken off and converted into a blanket, which is used as
a blanket toss to hurl aloft successful whaling captains,
traditional healers, and the recent mothers of sons. The latter
contrive to go up with a large bag of candy, which they scatter
in a shower among the tossers. Only the elders may eat the
candy. Liberality and full participation in the natural cyclical
processes of the cosmos are the themes of the festival."Source
"The
traditional celebrations are thrown jointly by three to five
whaling captains
after one of them lands a bowhead."Source
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary
Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury Festival or
Glasto, is the largest greenfield
music and performing arts festival in the
world. The festival is best known for its contemporary music, but
also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many
other arts. In 2005, the enclosed area of the festival was over 900
acres, had over 385 live performances scheduled and attendance of
around 150,000 people. Glastonbury festival has been compared to Woodstock
and the burning man festival,
and shares some of the spirit of these events. Glastonbury is the
town where the legendary King Arthur was
buried.
The
National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) is giving Indigenous
communities and organisations across Australia the opportunity to
screen Indigenous films, as part of their National Aboriginal and
Islander Day of Celebration (NAIDOC) week celebrations
The NFSA’s Black Screen program provides
free access to short contemporary Indigenous films, including works
by renowned directors such as Warwick Thornton, Ivan Sen and Beck
Cole.
Black Screen’s DVD compiles, which usually
feature five short films, are made available on loan to individuals
and organisations for screening events, festivals and community
celebrations. In addition, Black Screen works in partnership to
deliver screening tours to remote Indigenous communities.
“NAIDOC week is the busiest time of year
for Black Screen, with requests from all states of Australia for
loan of films for screening at NAIDOC celebrations,” said Black
Screen Co-ordinator Andrea Briggs.
“We think demand this year will top NAIDOC
week 2010 which was a huge success for the program, with over 60
screenings of Black Screen titles in 35 communities across
Australia, and a total audience of over 1000 people.
“Screening one of Black Screen’s short
films is a very easy way to bring people together to engage in
discussion on Indigenous issues and experience Indigenous screen
culture,” said Ms Briggs.
Black Screen recently released a new
compile (No 12) of six films, including Deborah Mailman’s Ralph;
Leah Purcell’s Aunty Maggie and the Womba Wakgun; documentaries
Captain of the Team and Dancing with the Prime Minister; and Wadu
Matyidi, a short animation about the Adnyamathanha people and
language in South Australia.
For further information on:
Black Screen and to order Compile 12 www.nfsa.gov.au/blackscreen
Compile 12 www.nfsa.gov.au/blackscreen/dvd-compiles/compile-12
(see over for background on films)
Media contact:
Samantha McDonough | 02 6248 2232 | samantha.mcdonough@nfsa.gov.au
On which day of the week were you born? Find out here
356 BCEAlexander the Great(d.
June 11,323 BCE);
his
date of birth is also said to be September 20
(qv) and his birthday for June 21 might have been contrived to have him born on the
Summer Solstice, thus imbuing his life with mystery and omen. Many ancient gods
and saviours were born on the solstice, though usually that of Winter.
Alexander, son of Philip of Macedon,
"Alexander is supposed to have
been fair skinned, with a ruddy tinge to his face and chest.
Plutarch stated that he had a pleasing scent. Like all Macedonians,
Alexander liked his liquor; his fondness for wine also caused some
of his outbursts of rage. Alexander liked drama, the flute and the
lyre, poetry and hunting. What he truly wanted in his life was glory
and valor, rather than easy living and riches. He was not fond of
athletic contests, according to Plutarch.
"To say the least, young Alexander matured early. A famous anecdote
describes Alexander skillfully receiving Persian envoys in
Philip's court while Philip was out inspecting his troops. Alexander
is said to have impressed the envoys more than Philip would have.
This incident would have happened when Alexander was about five or
six."Source
1882Rockwell Kent, American socialist
illustrator. He did his first
significant work at Monhegan Island, Maine. Later he
travelled widely, doing other landscape work. He also did a great
deal of work illustrating working people, serving as an illustrator
for The
Masses, a popular
left-wing magazine. He was a victim of McCarthyism during the 1950s. As a devotee
of realistic art, he had also fallen from popular favour.
"Man's capacity for justice makes
democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes
democracy necessary."
His realism deepened after 1945 and led him
to support United States' efforts to confront
Soviet
communism around the world. A powerful speaker, he was one of
the most influential religious leaders of the
1940s and
1950s in American public affairs.
Niebuhr battled with the
religious
liberals over what he called their naïve views of
sin and the
optimism of the
Social Gospel, and battled with the
religious conservatives over what he viewed as their naïve view of
Scripture and their narrow definition of 'true religion'.
Judy Holliday
was born in New York City. A shrewd, intelligent woman, Holliday
made her acting career by playing endearing, scatter-brained blondes
in films such as
Adam's Rib and Born Yesterday.
In the early 1950s, Holliday
was called before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee for
associating with suspected communists. Realising the public confused
her with her film persona, Holliday put on a show for the committee,
leading her questioners in circles of illogic and forgetfulness.
Convinced she really was an idiot, the committee let her go without
getting a single piece of usable information – and never realising
they were the idiots and victims of a masterful joke.Source
1945 John Paul
Young, Scottish-born
Australian pop singer who had a hit with Love is in the Air-
twice (in the '70s and again in the '80s)
1947Shirin Ebadi,
Iranian
lawyer,
human rights activist and founder of
Children's Rights Support Association in Iran. In
2003, Ebadi was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and
pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially
women's and children's rights. She is the first Iranian and the
first
Muslim woman to receive the prize.
Bhutto was the
first woman elected to lead a Muslim state, having twice been Prime
Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms (1988-'90;
1993-'96). She was Pakistan's first and to date only female prime
minister and was the eldest child of former
(assassinated)
Prime Minister of Pakistan,
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and former First Lady of Pakistan Nusrat
Bhutto, and was the wife of current President of Pakistan Asif Ali
Zardari. Benazie Bhutto was also
assassinated. In early November, 2011, it was announced that two
police officers were indicted regarding Ms Bhutto's 2007
assassination, and would face trial along with five members of the
Pakistani
Taliban.
The policemen were charged with failing to provide her with proper
security and with destroying evidence, said Pakistani prosecutor,
Zulfikar Ali. Their indictment triggered a new trial for the Taliban
members so that all seven defendants might be tried together, he
said.
In 1996, Bhutto
family suffered another tragedy in Sindh Province, Benazir Bhutto's
stronghold and political lair. Murtaza Bhutto, Benazir's younger
brother, was controversially and publicly shot down in a
controversial police encounter in Karachi.
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)
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application. Further details
"He was a mathematician, astronomer, and businessman. He is
attributed with many voyages and many discoveries. The more probable of
these discoveries is that he was the first to foretell an eclipse."Source
"Thales believed that the Earth floats on
water and all things come to be from water. For him the Earth was a flat disc
floating on an infinite ocean. It has also been claimed that Thales explained
earthquakes from the fact that the Earth floats on water. Again the importance
of Thales' idea is that he is the first recorded person who tried to explain
such phenomena by rational rather than by supernatural means.
"It is
interesting that Thales has both stories told about his great practical skills
and also about him being an unworldly dreamer. Aristotle,
for example, relates a story of how Thales used his skills to deduce that the
next season's olive crop would be a very large one. He therefore bought all
the olive presses and then was able to make a fortune when the bumper olive
crop did indeed arrive. On the other hand Plato
tells a story of how one night Thales was gazing at the sky as he walked and
fell into a ditch. A pretty servant girl lifted him out and said to him 'How
do you expect to understand what is going on up in the sky if you do not even
see what is at your feet'. As Brumbaugh says, perhaps this is the first
absent-minded professor joke in the West!"Source
524 Battle of Vezerone: Burgundy defeated the French.
1919Royal Canadian Mounted
Police fired a volley into a crowd of unemployed war veterans, killing two,
during the Winnepeg General Strike.
1919Admiral Ludvig von Reuter scuttled
the 27 vessels of the German fleet in Scapa Flow,
in the Orkney
Islands, Britain. The nine sailors killed were the last casualties of the First
World War.
1942 "The Sunday
Dispatch reported in 1942 that a tooth robber was at large in Nottingham
posing as a dentist. He first surfaced when he called on Mrs Mabel Foulkes, and
extracted a back molar. 'I screamed,' said Mrs Foulkes. The man, holding up
the tooth, called out 'isn't it a beauty?' and dashed out of the house."Source
1954John Landy became the first Australian to break the 4-minute
mile.
1966 Arthur
Calwell, the Leader of the Opposition in Australia, was
wounded by broken glass when his car took the bullet in an assassination
attempt at Mosman, New South Wales.
1967At asolstice
party in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, USA, an estimated 30-50,000 attended.
1994"Jose Martin and his wife, Vicenta Cors, were driving in Spain from
Madrid to Marbella. As they zoomed past the town of Getafe, a three-pound rock
smashed through their windshield on the driver's side, ricocheted off the
dashboard, and bent the steering wheel, breaking the little finger on Martin's
right hand. It then flew between the couple's heads and landed on the back seat.
Other than the broken little finger, they were okay. The stone was chemically
analyzed (see this site
for details) but cannot be confirmed as extraterrestrial on this basis.
Eighty-one additional fragments weighing a total of 55 kg were collected from
the area."
2000Section 28
was repealed in Scotland with a 99 to 17 vote. The amendment stated that a local authority "shall not
intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention
of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained
school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family
relationship".
2004Thousands
gather at Stonehenge for solstice
Mon 21 June, 2004 05:53
LONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of druids, revellers and the simply curious have
witnessed a cloud-obscured sunrise at Stonehenge during an annual pilgrimage to
the site to celebrate the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.
of our ezines
Sun
enters
Big deal.
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