Archive for 2021
My Top 5 Articles of 2021
These are the Top 5 articles from my blog this year based on the number of reader views at billpetro.com: Top 5 of 2021 1. History of Telemachus This is the oft-told story of the monk who caused the Roman gladiatorial games to be ended upon his martyrdom on January 1, A.D.…
Read MoreHistory of Auld Lang Syne: What Does It Mean?
HISTORY OF AULD LANG SYNE: WHAT DOES IT MEAN Why is it that each New Year’s Eve, we sing “Auld Lang Syne,” but do we know what it means? The song contains words from a language that few are familiar with, in a syntax that is confusing to most, and is from a poem about…
Read MoreHistory of New Year’s Eve
HISTORY OF NEW YEAR’S EVE New Year’s Eve is the last day of the year, according to the Gregorian Calendar, and is known as Old Year’s Day, or St. Sylvester’s Day. You may remember reading that Emperor Constantine was considered the first “Christian” Roman Emperor? St. Sylvester is responsible for Constantine’s conversion in the 4th-century. …
Read MoreHistory of Childermas: Feast of the Holy Innocents
HISTORY OF CHILDERMAS: FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS Childermas, from an Old English word meaning the Mass of the Infants, is the festival in the church calendar begun in the fifth century — celebrated in the Western Church on December 28 and in the Eastern Church on December 29. It is also known as Bairn’s…
Read MoreHistory of Holiday Fruitcake
HISTORY OF HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE You may be wondering: “My friendly neighborhood historian is writing an article on fruitcake? Is he as nutty as a fruitcake?” And therein begins our tale… The Phrase “Nutty as a Fruitcake” Nutty as a fruitcake was first recorded in 1935, but the adjective nutty, meaning “crazy or eccentric,”…
Read MoreHistory of the Feast of St. John: Which St John?
History of the Feast of St. John. Who was St. John the Apostle and what was his role in history?
Read MoreHistory of Boxing Day: and Feast of St. Stephen
History of Boxing Day: how is it related to the Feast of St. Stephen?
Read MoreHistory of the Christmas Truce of 1914: Peace in the WWI Trenches
History of the Christmas Truce of 1914: The Surprising Peace in the WWI Trenches
Read MoreHistory of Christmas Eve: Polish Christmas Wafer
History of Christmas Eve: Polish Christmas Wafer, its tradition and background
Read MoreHistory of Christmas Eve and the Battle of the Bulge: 77 Years Ago
HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS EVE AND THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE: 77 YEARS AGO On Christmas Eve, 1944, my father, Staff Sergeant John Petro, had arrived in Strasbourg with the 42nd “Rainbow” Infantry Division. Eight days earlier, the Battle of the Bulge had begun. The 42nd Division, along with others, supplied much-needed reinforcements to the most…
Read MoreHistory of the Santa Tracker: How a Typo began Christmas tracking at NORAD
History of the NORAD Santa Tracker: How a typo began Christmas tracking at NORAD
Read MoreScience of the Winter Solstice
Science of the Winter Solstice: what does it mean, how it ushers in Winter
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