Technology Marketing and Sales Enablement Expert
From the monthly archives:
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HISTORY OF THE LONG YEAR
If it seemed like a longer year than usual, that’s because it is, by a second. The scientists who control the settings on the official clocks around the world will be adding [...]
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HISTORY OF THE FEAST OF ST. JOHN
December 27 is the day that goes back to the 5th century in the church calendar for celebrating the life of St. John the Evangelist and is known as the Feast of St. John. We’ve already mentioned that December 26 is the Feast of St. Stephen, and [...]
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HISTORY OF BOXING DAY
Boxing Day is a holiday unfamiliar to many Americans, but it it well known among the countries of the British Commonwealth. It is celebrated on December 26 as a public holiday in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand… as well as some parts of Europe and Africa.
While some believe it has [...]
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HISTORY OF CAESAR AUGUSTUS
Perhaps it is fitting that our last article on the History of Christmas should be about the first person mentioned in St. Luke’s story of the first Christmas. He was neither Palestinian, nor Jew, nor shepherd, nor wise man. He was in fact, 1500 miles away, the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus. Were [...]
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HISTORY OF MISTLETOE
We’ve mentioned previously that mistletoe was prominent in the traditions of the Druids and the lore of northern Europe. The Druids used the mistletoe of their sacred oak as part of their ritual five days after the new moon following the winter Solstice. In the middle ages it was hung from ceilings or [...]
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HISTORY OF CHANUKAH
Also spelled hanukkah, means “dedication”. It begins this year at sundown, December 21. This Jewish holiday traces its roots back more than 2,000 years. At that time the Jewish people were living under the oppressive government of the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV, (a rather ironic name — Epiphanes means “God made manifest”) [...]
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SCIENCE OF THE WINTER SOLSTICE
As we’ve mentioned before, the Romans celebrated a holiday known as the Saturnalia beginning on the Winter Solstice. The word Solstice comes from the Latin “solstitium” meaning “Sun, standing-still.” This year it will occur on December 21 at 12:04 UT (Greenwich Universal Time.)
Earth enjoys different seasons because the planet is tilted [...]
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