Blog Posts
Infinity symbol. Image: Wikipedia
HISTORY OF INFINITY DAY: AUGUST 8
Infinity Day, also known as Universal & International Infinity Day, is a commemoration held on the 8th day of the 8th month of each year to celebrate and promote Philosophy and Philosophizing for the ordinary person.
Augustus of Prima Porta, 1st century. Image: Wikipedia
HISTORY OF AUGUST
What’s in a name? The name of this month was not always August; previously, the Romans referred to it as Sextilis. Because the calendar then started in March, this was the sixth month. This was back in the days of Romulus in 753 B.C., when there were originally ten months (… Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec… or seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth). In 8 B.C., the Roman Senate decided to honor their first Emperor, Augustus Caesar, by changing the month’s name to Augustus.
Now, Augustus wasn’t his name; it was a description of his importance. He was born Gaius Octavius, though he is known in the history books as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus or Octavius to his friends. Custom suggested he append Octavianus to mark his birth family — a name he studiously avoided, though history has fastened it on him. He preferred to be identified with his adoptive father Gaius Julius Caesar.
The title Augustus in Latin comes from augere, “to increase,” and was granted to him in 27 B.C. by the Roman Senate.
It meant “venerable” or “consecrated,” signifying his religious role in the Roman cultus. We use the term in English to describe someone auspicious, grand, or lordly… or with imperial qualities. The Greek equivalent is Sebastos (Σεβαστός).
What do we know about Augustus?
The Odyssey movie poster. Image: IMDB
MOVIE REVIEW: THE ODYSSEY (NO PLOT SPOILERS)
I walked out of the theater after seeing The Odyssey with these thoughts and feelings:
“Spectacular, awesome, massive, intense, harrowing, violent, merciful, evocative, fearful, seductive, humbling, restrained, overwhelming, noble, epic… an immersive experience, not just a movie.”
I found the film noble, uplifting, and immensely satisfying. For those who haven’t read the story that was written 2,800 years ago, I won’t spoil the ending.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Buck Moon. Image: Colleen Quinnell/The Old Farmer’s Almanac
Science of the Buck Moon
Tonight’s full moon is called the Buck Moon. This full moon is so called for the antlers that grow annually from the forehead of a buck (male deer), around this time of year. Alternate names include Hay Moon, Wyrt Moon, and Thunder Moon.
I’ve written previously about the Sturgeon Supermoon, Strawberry Moon, Blue Moon, and Harvest, or Blood Supermoon.
What makes the Buck Moon different?
Reading Time: 6 minutes
William Wilberforce, unfinished portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1828. Image: Wikipedia
HISTORY OF WILLIAM WILBERFORCE
One hundred ninety-three years ago today, on July 26, 1833, the Slavery Abolition Act passed its third reading in the House of Commons, ensuring the end of slavery in the British Empire. William Wilberforce had championed the cause for nearly half a century. This article, published on the anniversary of the Act’s passage, also looks ahead to Wilberforce’s birthday on August 24.
William Wilberforce, British statesman and England’s greatest abolitionist, was well known to the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution and became not just a politician, philanthropist, and abolitionist but also a writer of such popularity (in his day) as C.S. Lewis was in the 20th century.
As I mentioned in my first article on the History of Amazing Grace, Wilberforce’s mentor was the song’s author, John Newton. The popular film “Amazing Grace” briefly tells the life of Wilberforce.
William Wilberforce was born in 1759 to privilege and wealth in 18th-century England and, though physically challenged, worked for nearly 20 years to push through Parliament bills for both the abolition of the slave trade and the emancipation of enslaved people in the British Empire almost 200 years ago.
(more…)
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Christmas in July, Melbourne, Australia
History of Christmas in July
Merry Christmas in July, or Christmas in Summer, is celebrated primarily on July 25!
It is not to be confused with LEON Day, celebrated on June 25, which falls exactly six months before Christmas Day.
Christmas in July also has a practical dimension in the Southern Hemisphere, where it has the benefit of occurring during winter, when it’s called Midwinter Christmas, with wintry snow-like conditions that can be enjoyed, especially at colder, higher elevations.
What is this holiday, when did it begin, and will you get presents?
Reading Time: 5 minutes
St. James, by Rembrandt, 1661. Image: Wikipedia
HISTORY OF ST. JAMES DAY: AND EL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO
July 25 is the Feast Day of St. James, and Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, and some Protestants accordingly celebrate St. James Day. For Orthodox churches that follow the Julian calendar, it’s on April 30.
Each summer, pilgrims walk the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, which finds its way to the traditional grave of Saint James in Spain.
Who was St. James, and what is his relation to the pilgrimage of El Camino de Santiago?
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Lunar landing, 1969. Image: USA Today
HISTORY OF THE 1ST MOON LANDING: APOLLO 11
Fifty-seven years ago today, at 4:17 Eastern Time, July 20, 1969, the American lunar module touched down on the Moon, and about seven hours later, at 10:56:15 pm EDT, the first human stepped out of the Apollo 11 lunar module onto the Moon. With the immortal words of the 38-year-old Neil Armstrong:
“That’s one small step for (a) man,
one giant leap for mankind.”
…the first man in history began an excursion on the moon that lasted over two and a half hours.
Five hundred thirty million people watched it on television. Roughly 65-75% of the American population, and 1 in 7 people in the world.
Everyone I knew watched it.
Reading Time: 4 minutes
By Yann Caradec, from Paris, France — Feu d’artifice du 14 juillet 2017 depuis le Champ de Mars à Paris, devant la Tour Eiffel, Bastille Day 2017. Image: Wikipedia
HISTORY OF BASTILLE DAY
Each year on July 14, Bastille Day commemorates the Storming of the Bastille in Paris in 1789, an important date in the French Revolution. Also known as French National Day, it features feasting, fireworks, public dancing, and an address by the French President.
L’Arc de Triomphe
However, the center of this celebration is the largest and oldest European military parade along the Avenue of the Champs-Élysées. This wide boulevard runs through Paris and is called la plus belle avenue du monde.
Lined by high-end shops and eateries, as well as the Arch of Triumph (l’Arc de Triomphe) near the western end, it is undoubtedly the most beautiful avenue in the world I’ve walked along.
Bastille Day is celebrated across the globe wherever French expatriates, people of French ancestry, and Francophiles live.
What is its origin, how has it been celebrated, what’s the American connection, what does it mean today?
(more…)
Reading Time: 3 minutes
French Fries. Image: Wikipedia
HISTORY OF FRENCH FRIES: NATIONAL FRENCH FRY DAY
July 13th is National French Fry Day. While no one knows who began this celebration, placing it on July 13 is significant in that the important French holiday is the next day, July 14, Bastille Day.
Did they originate in France, why are they called that, who else enjoys them, and what is their history?
Reading Time: 4 minutes
John Calvin. Image: Wikipedia
HISTORY OF JOHN CALVIN
On July 10, 1509, in Noyon, France, Jehan Cauvin, known to us as John Calvin, was born. Of all the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, none was more significant in forming biblical theology or ecclesiastic thought than this one man. Calvin’s teaching and tradition penetrated more of the world than any other Protestant tradition.
He most influenced the worldview of Western Europe, the UK, and the Americas until the 20th century. His organization of the church government in Geneva influenced the church polity of Presbyterianism. His theology influenced the Congregational (Puritan) and German and Dutch Reformed Churches. Though they did not fellowship with Calvinistic churches, some Baptists and Unitarians often contained aspects of his theology.
Not every historian agrees with Calvin’s views, but every historian has to deal with Calvin.
Who was this singular Reformer, why did he work in Geneva, and what did he influence?
Reading Time: 9 minutes
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IS AMERICA A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY?
In response to a recent article I published, one of my readers asked me this question:
“Is America a Christian country?”
My students have asked me this question often over the years. It usually takes me several lessons to lay the historical foundation to address the question. The answer is complex, and in today’s partisan-charged political climate, it may seem provocative, but it deserves a better answer than a simple “yes and no.”
Much of the answer depends on one’s definitions – because the different meanings yield different answers. To begin:
- What is meant by America? (and when)
- What is meant by Christian? (whose definition)
But the more nuanced answer also depends on:
- Who is asked, and what do they intend to do with the answer?
Let’s explore the different ways of examining the question.