Holidays
History of Christopher Columbus: Hero or Heel?
Reading Time: 7 minutesHISTORY OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS he man who sailed from Spain to discover America was neither Spanish nor did he actually discover America, at least not the North American mainland. But it is true that: In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue Where was he from, where did he go, who paid…
Read MoreHistory of St. Francis of Assisi
Reading Time: 7 minutesHistory of St. Francis of Assisi he man we know as St. Francis was born in Assisi, Italy, in 1181 or 1182, and died on October 3, 1226. His feast day is October 4. In October 2025, the Italian Parliament restored October 4th as a national feast, previously dropped in 1977, to take effect this…
Read MoreHistory of October: The Pumpkin Spice Saga
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF OCTOBER: THE PUMPKIN SPICE SAGA ctober, the tenth month of the year in both the older Julian and the current Gregorian calendar, was the eighth month (Latin octo) in the ancient Roman calendar, but with the addition of January and February, it got bumped to Number 10. The way it actually played out…
Read MoreHistory of Coffee: International Coffee Day
Reading Time: 10 minutes HISTORY OF COFFEE: INTERNATIONAL COFFEE DAY esterday, September 29, was National Coffee Day in the US and 16 other countries. But tomorrow, October 1, is International Coffee Day, also known as National Coffee Day in 12 countries. Whether percolated, filtered, steeped in a French press, poured over, or made with high-pressure steam in an…
Read MoreHistory of Michaelmas: Who is St. Michael?
Reading Time: 9 minutesHISTORY OF MICHAELMAS eptember 29 is Michaelmas, meaning “Michael’s Mass” or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels. It’s known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels, in the Roman Catholic Church, or as the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels in the Anglican Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church, instead,…
Read MoreHistory of Sukkot: Festival of Booths
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF SUKKOT: FESTIVAL OF BOOTHS Tonight, at sunset on September 25, begins the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, also known as the Festival of Booths or the Festival of Tabernacles. We’ve talked about the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; Sukkot, which follows five days later, differs in that it is one of…
Read MoreHistory of Fall: What is the Autumnal Equinox?
Reading Time: 2 minutesHistory of the Fall: how does it relate to the Autumnal Equinox?
Read MoreHistory of Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF YOM KIPPUR he Jewish High Holy Days begin with Rosh Hashanah and continue until Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur, the “Day of Atonement,” or more correctly Yom ha-Kippurim (Leviticus 16), dates back to Jewish antiquity, nearly 4,000 years to the time of Moses. This most solemn occasion of the Jewish Festival cycle was the season…
Read MoreHistory of Talk Like a Pirate Day: Ahoy, Matey!
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY Podcast International Talk Like a Pirate Day began not in the Golden Age of Pirates in days of yore but in 2002. It is celebrated each year on September 19; although it originated in the United States, it is now observed internationally across the Seven Seas. The…
Read MoreHistory of Oktoberfest: Why Does it Start in September?
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF OKTOBERFEST Podcast hy does the famous German beer festival start in September if it’s called Oktoberfest? Officially, the beer festival begins on the third Saturday in September and lasts for sixteen to eighteen days, running through early October. This year, Oktoberfest runs from September 19 to October 4. What is the backstory of…
Read MoreHistory of Rosh Hashanah: Jewish New Year
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF ROSH HASHANAH osh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish new year, which starts tomorrow according to the Jewish calendar; tomorrow begins at sundown tonight. “Rosh” is Hebrew for “head,” and Rosh Hashanah refers to the head of the year on the 1st day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Jewish ecclesiastical…
Read MoreHistory of 9/11, Twenty-five Years Ago: Patriot Day
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF PATRIOT DAY: 9/11 Twenty-five Years Ago Podcast n 9/11, September 11, 2001, twenty-five years ago, more Americans were killed on American soil in one day than in any attack since Pearl Harbor in 1941. A series of terrorist airplane hijacking attacks occurred in New York City, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon… and the world…
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