Humor
History of World Backup Day
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF WORLD BACKUP DAY There isn’t much history behind it, as the first celebration of this geek holiday was in 2011. World Backup Day is a decade and a half old. It started when a Reddit user wrote about losing their hard drive and wished someone had reminded them how important backups are. Ismail…
Read MoreHistory of St Joseph’s Day: Why isn’t it more popular?
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF ST JOSEPH Podcast version arch 19 is Saint Joseph’s Day, or the Feast of St. Joseph. It is celebrated by the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches worldwide. The terms feast and festival are often used interchangeably and often refer to a religious holiday. What is the history of the holiday…
Read MoreHistory of Friday the 13th
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF FRIDAY THE 13TH f you’re reading this article to learn the history of Friday the 13th, you’re in luck. Or perhaps bad luck. No one knows, with any certainty, when it began or why it’s to be feared. However, there are lots of entertaining speculative theories about the topic.
Read MoreHistory of Daylight Saving Time: Why do we Spring forward?
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME Podcast version t seems like only yesterday that we discussed the ending of Daylight Saving Time, or DST, a brilliant campaign to convince people that we’re getting more daylight each day when, in reality, they’ve simply changed their clocks and then forgotten about it within two weeks. It was only…
Read MoreHistory of the Avocado: The Super Bowl Food
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF THE AVOCADO: THE SUPER BOWL FOOD Podcast version hy are avocados, especially guacamole dip, considered a required food for Super Bowl Parties? What’s the background?
Read MoreHistory of the Super Bowl: A Humorous Look at this Religious Holiday
Reading Time: 5 minutesuper Bowl™ is a territory-acquisition athletic contest played on a fixed agrarian grid, using an inflated porcine prolate spheroid as a token. Some will say it is the most important holiday of the year in America. While it is ostensibly a secular holiday, others argue it is truly a religious holiday. And there are several…
Read MoreHistory of February
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF FEBRUARY Podcast version ebruary is the month we love to misspell, or at least mispronounce, but you’re forgiven for dropping the first “r”; dissimilation causes people to do that when two “r” or “l”s are in close proximity to each other in a word. The word comes from the Latin Februa, an…
Read MoreHistory of Australia Day: Ties to the American Revolutionary War?
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF AUSTRALIA DAY id you know that the history of European Australia has ties to the American Revolutionary War? When the 13 American Colonies were part of the British Commonwealth, it was convenient for England to transport its convicts to the Colonies. Indeed, it was considered more humane to “transport” prisoners than to execute…
Read MoreHistory of Distaff Day: Back to Work
Reading Time: 2 minutesHISTORY OF DISTAFF DAY: BACK TO WORK istaff Day originated in medieval European traditions – where it marked the day after Epiphany (January 6) – and was an unofficial celebration traditionally observed on January 7. The Twelve Days of Christmas, a period of celebration and rest from labor, were now over. On Distaff Day, women…
Read MoreHistory of Holiday Fruitcake
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF HOLIDAY FRUITCAKE Podcast version ecember 27 is National Fruitcake Day. 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…
Read MoreChristmas Presents: When Do You Open Them?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Christmas Presents: What Day Do You Open Them? ome open presents Christmas Eve night, others open them Christmas morning. When do you open Christmas presents?
Read More5 Christmas Myths, Not Found in the Nativity Story
Reading Time: 6 minutes5 CHRISTMAS MYTHS: NOT FOUND IN THE NATIVITY STORY Podcast version am often asked to explain the history behind a holiday: is it based on history, tradition, or legend? The best historical sources on the birth of Jesus are found in two Gospel accounts in the New Testament: St. Matthew and St. Luke. …
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