Showing posts with label myth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label myth. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Santa Claus: Travel in Switzerland

This is the legend of Saint Nicolas (or Santa Claus) as it is told in Switzerland. The legend probably dates from the 11th century, sometime after the worship of Saint Nicolas was introduced into the Holy Roman Empire by Empress Theophanu. She had brought the saint's story and his worship with her from her native Constantinople.


Saturday, July 27, 2013

Saint Helena, Empress of Rome

Flavia Iulia Helena is one of the few early saints that really existed. She must have been an energetic lady, and this into high age. She shared the Roman Emperors' penchant for building representative stone piles and went on a spending spree on churches. According to legend, she was the first archaeologists and an avid collector of assorted bric-a-brac.


Tuesday, April 23, 2013

St. George's Day: April 23

April 23rd is St. George’s Day; it’s the nearest England gets to a national celebration. Unbelievably, this national day is a cause for contention instead of a big party. The St. George’s cross has been the national emblem of England for so long, it should be part of everyone’s heritage. Instead, we have the unspeakable Union flag (what everybody used to call Union Jack, but seemingly some brain and nameless git decided this is not politically correct). 


Good Queen Berta in Switzerland

Queen Berta of Burgundy, formerly Princess of Swabia, Queen of Upper Burgundy, Queen of Italy, and Empress of Rome, was buried in Payerne, a small town in today's Republic and Canton of Jura, Switzerland. She was first revered as a saint there, but her story started to grow as time went by. Soon she was known as Good Queen Berta. Still later, she acquired the name Queen Berta the Spinner. Even later, she would become godmother to a newly established republican state. And her story lives on today.


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

King Solomon Turning Copper Into Gold

As archaeologists dug deeper in the modern kingdom of Jordan, more light was shed on the historical times of King Solomon and the historic kingdom of Israel. By proving a mine found 40 years ago to date back to the 10th century B.C., they theorized that they had constituted a probable contribution to Solomon’s filled treasuries.