François Lévêque Mines ParisTech A few hundred years ago, who would have dreamed that the humble Christmas tree would one day be an immense global success? Certainly not Martin Luther, who is said to have decorated a tree with candles to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Nor Prince Albert,
Sarah Eyerly Florida State University One of the world’s most famous Christmas carols, “Silent Night,” celebrates its 200th anniversary this year. Over the centuries, hundreds of Christmas carols have been composed. Many fall quickly into obscurity. Not “Silent Night.” Translated into at least 300 languages, designated by UNESCO as
Anne Lawrence-Mathers University of Reading The idea of hanging up decorations in the middle of winter is older than Christmas itself. Decorations are mentioned in ancient descriptions of the Roman feast of Saturnalia, which is thought to have originated in the 5th century BC. Some 900 years later, a Christian
Some time back, I wrote about the earliest known images of Jesus. But what about his mother? As historian Geoffrey Blainey says, Mary’s cult was virtually unknown in the the first century of Christianity, but within a few centuries, “veneration of Mary was sufficiently widespread for the Council of
Mary Gale Smith University of British Columbia United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent Britons Googling this past fall when he said “a stitch in time saves nine” to describe actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The phrase means it’s better to spend a little time solving a
From the early days of colonial settlement, New Zealand’s towns and boroughs formed councils as a way of communities working together for the greater good. They settled local disputes and coordinated shared resources long before there was any legal framework. The first government laws about councils were the creation
Katie Pickles University of Canterbury Kate Sheppard was around 40 in 1888, the year she and her family moved into the brand-new wooden villa at 83 Clyde Road, Ilam. Now part of inner Christchurch, it was then a rural section some five kilometres from the city centre. Today, 132 years
Bruce Moon It is reported in ‘Newsroom” for 11/11/20 that the leaders of the Maori Party have said: “From seeking to rebuild their communities – South Taranaki and eastern Bay of Plenty – from the ravages of land alienation. From lived memories of the brutal seizures in Taranaki, that the
Depending on which side of the Marxist divide your sympathies lie, Karl Marx himself was either the devil incarnate or a luminous angel who was “beloved, revered and mourned by millions”. The last sentiment, spoken at Marx’s funeral in 1883 by his lifelong friend and collaborator, Friedrich Engels, was
In a particularly cutting episode of Extras, Kate Winslet’s character wonders about Hollywood’s fixation on Holocaust movies. “I don’t think we really need another film about the Holocaust, do we? It’s like, how many have there been? You know, we get it – it was grim, move
The execrable “Our Truth” section of self-flagellating Stuff exposing their past ‘racism’ is part-farce, part-comedy. Belting out the beaut idea just a couple of weeks ago the racism-hunters cited “One front-page article from the 1800s” which reported, ‘”For an inferior race, coming in contact with one greatly superior, there are
About thirty years ago, some Greenie bird watchers from Auckland forced tens of thousands of dollars to be spent relocating a nest of birds from in the path of the soon to be built Esmonde Rd on-ramp. They would surely die if they had to live a few metres closer
Austin Sarat Amherst College The way the federal government can kill death row prisoners will soon be expanded to ghoulish methods that include hanging, the electric chair, gas chamber and the firing squad. Set to take effect on Christmas Eve, the new regulations authorizing an alternative to lethal injections – the
Rejected as unsuitable for publication by the University of Otago Press, but really liked by The BFD. Available on Amazon as an e-book or in paperback directly from the author in Canada. $25NZ (includes postage) Contact: corfieldwg@gmail.com
You can purchase Nieuw Zeeland An English-Speaking Polynesian Country With A Dutch Name: A Humorous History of New Zealand by Geoffrey Corfield from Amazon today. Appendix II: THE NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL ANTHEM As of 1977, New Zealand has two official national anthems of equal status: “God Save The Queen” and
