Posts

March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day

/0 Comments/in
st patrick's day

St. Patrick

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, the rare religious holiday that everybody celebrates. Everybody.

It’s believed he was born in Roman-ruled Britain in 385 AD. At age sixteen, he was kidnapped by marauders who took him to Ireland and sold him into slavery. Several years later, Patrick had a religious experience in which God told him to flee to the coast, where a ship would be waiting to take him home. When he got back, he became a priest.

Later, he returned to Ireland as a missionary and carried a shamrock, which has three leaves, to help explain the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. He may have used it to appeal to pagans who worshiped nature or believed in triple deities. One thing is certain: the four-leaf clover has nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day.

Patrick is said to have converted thousands. The story that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland probably refers to his efforts to rid the country of Druids, members of a religious sect who were often labeled as sorcerers. There have never been any snakes in Ireland, except for those in zoos.

Patrick died of natural causes on March 17, 461. Today, people around the world will celebrate the 1,555th anniversary of his death. The rules governing Lent–prayer, fasting, penance, etc.–are lifted today, which may help explain why St. Patrick’s Day has become associated with parades and parties and drinking to excess.

St. Patrick isn’t officially a saint. The Roman Catholic Church had no canonization process in place at the time. Still, by sheer force of numbers, he is celebrated more than any other saint. His appeal has grown far beyond that of a religious icon; he is a cultural superstar. So raise a glass, sing an Irish Rovers tune at the top of your lungs and, whatever you do, have a happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

 

March 15 is the Ides of March

/0 Comments/in
ides of march

Caesar was killed on this spot.

Today is the Ides of March, which marks the date in 44 B.C. that Julius Caesar was assassinated.

To learn why it was called the Ides of March, we need to take a look at the Roman calendar in use 2,060 years ago. Days of the year weren’t not numbered sequentially. Instead, each month had three division days: Kalends, Nones and Ides.

Kalends always fell on the first day of the month. The Nones fell on the fifth, except in months that had fewer than 31 days. In March, May, July and October, the Nones fell on the seventh. The Ides occurred eight days after the Nones. Easy, right?

Not so fast. Some histories report that the Ides were considered a time to pay debts and settle accounts. It also appears that the Ides stood not just for one day but the following month. This is important to the understanding the events leading up to the assassination of Julius Caesar.

William Shakespeare studied the writings of Plutarch when crafting Julius Caesar, so even though he used poetic license when penning the famous line, “Beware the Ides of March,” he based the scene surrounding it upon a real occurrence. To wit: there was a soothsayer named Spurinna, who warned Caesar of his rapidly-approaching fate.

Spurinna was a haruspex, one who discovered and interpreted omens by inspecting the entrails and organs of animal sacrifices. He hailed from Etruria, known for its training in divination. Etruscans were accorded high social status in Rome. Spurinna had access to prominent citizens and was undoubtedly privy to gossip and rumors, which could only help him in his occupation.

Caesar was not well-liked. He had brazenly taken a foreigner (Cleopatra) as his mistress. He had declared himself dictator perpetuo, dictator in perpetuity, on February 14th, spurring fears he would declare himself king and do away with the Senate altogether.

On February 15th, Caesar consulted Spurinna. A bull was sacrificed and its innards interpreted. Spurinna announced a bad omen: the bull had no heart. It’s a testament to belief that no one demanded to inspect the body or asked how the animal survived to adulthood, until its sacrifice, without a heart.

Spurinna told Caesar to beware the next 30 days, not just March 15th. Was it sound advice by way of divination, an educated guess or something more? It was common knowledge that Caesar was scheduled to leave Rome on March 18th to lead his army on a military campaign that would last for years. The assassins had to strike before then.

According to historian Barry Strauss, author of The Death of Caesar: The Story of History’s Most Famous Assassination, Caesar took the warning seriously. He had no intention of attending the Senate meeting on March 15th. His wife Calpurnia awoke that morning from a nightmare that he’d been murdered, which strengthened his resolve to stay home.

He almost made it but succumbed to peer pressure when his friend Decimus, whom you’ve probably never heard of, came to his home and goaded him into attending. He told Caesar the Senate would brand him a tyrant, that everyone would laugh at him and think him weak and feeble-minded for allowing himself to be cowed by a woman’s dream and a fool’s omen.

The ploy worked. Decimus persuaded his friend to walk into the arms of his killers. Caesar never cried out in anguish, “Et tu, Brute?” The phrase has become shorthand for the experience of being stabbed in the back–hopefully metaphorically–by someone close. But Caesar and Brutus were never friends.

He must have been shocked to see Decimus stabbing him but didn’t call out his name, either. He was too busy trying to fight back and escape. Of course, he had no chance against the men surrounding him. Many of the 23 wounds occurred after he was dead; they took turns sticking him so they could all claim a role in the assassination.

Even in death, Caesar had a surprise in store, In his will, Caesar bequeathed a large cash payment to every citizen and soldier. He posthumously adopted Octavian as his heir and left him three-quarters of his private fortune to help him purchase the love of the populace and the loyalty of the military.

After years of civil war, Octavian became sole ruler of the Roman Empire. The fight for a new republic, which had driven men to slay their leader, was lost.

It seems all Romans would have done well to beware the Ides of March.

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

March 5 is St. Piran’s Day

/0 Comments/in

Today is St. Piran’s Day, which honors the death of the patron saint of Cornish tin miners. According to legend, Saint Piran was born in Ireland in the fifth century, traveled to Rome to study the scriptures and was made a bishop upon his return.

st piran's day

The miracles he performed, such as raising soldiers from the dead, caused alarm and bought him a one-way ticket off a cliff with a millstone tied around his neck.

He didn’t sink into the sea but floated upon it to Perran Beach in Cornwall, where he built a chapel among the sand dunes. People from miles around flocked to hear him preach and witness his miracles.

It’s said that he discovered tin in Cornwall when a black stone upon which he’d built a fire leaked white fluid. The Cornish flag of St. Piran pays tribute to this story with its white cross on a black background, signifying tin flowing from the stone and good conquering evil.

st piran's day

According to Reverend William Haslam’s 1844 book, Perran-Zabuloe: With an Account of the Past and Present State of the Oratory of St. Piran in the Sands:

At length…worn out with age and infirmity, St. Piran called his followers around him, and, having addressed them for the last time, desired a grave to be prepared. He then took leave of them, and, descending into it with calmness, his spirit departed on the 5th day of March, about 480.

There is also a folktale that St. Piran’s body was exhumed and chopped up into pieces that were sent to churches for their reliquaries. Other accounts say he lived over 200 years, liked to drink and died by falling down a well. We have been unable to confirm or refute any of these stories.

A highlight of the St. Piran’s Day festivities is the World Pasty Championships. A traditional Cornish pasty is solely composed of beef, potatoes, turnips, onion and seasoning covered in a pastry crust which is crimped on the end and baked. Variations will be allowed during the competition.

Eden Project, an educational charity sponsoring the contest, has devised this Google map of pasty-related noshes around the globe.

The Cornish Pasty Association reports that the pasty became popular with miners in the 1800s. Tinners had no break to come to the surface so their wives had to make something that could easily be carried, held and eaten in the depths of a mine. Some say the crimped edge acted as a handhold, thrown out to prevent fingers covered with poisons like arsenic from contaminating the food. Others argue that pasties were wrapped in muslin or paper so that every bit could be eaten.

This day will culminate in the Trelawney Shout. At 9 pm in pubs across Cornwall, participants will sing the Cornish anthem, The Song of the Western Men, written in 1824 by Robert Stephen Hawker. Brush up on the lyrics and raise a glass to St. Piran and the men and women of Cronwall.

Happy St. Piran’s Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays

February 4 is Liberace Day

/0 Comments/in

Today is Liberace Day. It commemorates the death of Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987), the American pianist, singer and entertainer known as Mr. Showmanship.

He had begun playing piano at four years old and by the age of thirty became the highest-paid entertainer in the world, touring internationally, releasing albums, appearing in movies and on television and doing lucrative product endorsements.liberace dayLiberace won two Emmy Awards, earned six gold albums and received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He released an autobiography and set box-office records at Radio City Music Hall for 56 shows he performed only a few months before his death. His stage costumes, pianos, cars and homes were flashy paeans to excess. “Too much of a good thing is wonderful” became his motto.

His flamboyance fueled gossip and speculation about his sexual orientation. Liberace publicly denied his homosexuality, giving interviews about his ideal woman and appearing with Maureen O’Hara, Mae West, Judy Garland and others to give the impression of romantic involvement. Betty White spoke in 2011 about being set up by his manager to attend premieres as Liberace’s date, knowing full well that he was gay.

liberace dayThe women acted as “beards,” helping to conceal the performer’s homosexuality. It was a necessity in those days to avoid scandal. Until very recently, it was unheard of to “come out” without risking the destruction of one’s career. A leading man would lose his female fanbase, be branded a pervert and never work again.

Liberace appeared to be an easy target. But when gossip rag Confidential and newspaper Daily Mirror ran hateful articles about Liberace’s relationships with men, he sued them and won. Although he was fighting to stay closeted, he was also fighting for everyone’s dignity and right to privacy. He may not have known it, but he was battling against the expressions of homophobia considered acceptable in the press and life in general.liberace day

Rumors circulated for years that he had HIV. After his death on February 4, 1987, his physician claimed he had died of heart failure due to degenerative brain disease.  Two days later, the request for a routine burial permit was rejected by the Riverside County coroner’s office, and his body was ordered to be delivered for an autopsy.

According to California law, anyone suspected to have died of a contagious disease should be autopsied. Had this law been followed rigorously, the coroner would have been working non-stop dissecting anyone who’d died with the sniffles. How Władziu Valentino Liberace presented a public health hazard at that point is unclear. He’d already been embalmed.

Tests concluded that Liberace had died of cytomegalovirus pneumonia due to AIDS. His depressed immune system couldn’t fight the illness. Was the autopsy necessary? Was it done for spite, to tarnish the reputation of a dead man? Was it done because of the fear of AIDS, or prejudice against gay men? Was it done to right the wrong of a physician falsifying a death certificate? Or all of the above?liberace day

In reaction to media frenzy, the American Medical Association called for the confidentiality of all patient records. In any case, Liberace the man was beyond humiliation at that point. His body was returned to Forest Lawn Cemetery, where he was buried beside his parents. He bequeathed the bulk of his estate to the Liberace Foundation, which preserves a collection of his costumes and provides scholarships for students of the creative and performing arts.

Many of us got our first glimpse of fabulosity when we watched him as kids, before we knew what “gay” was. He was a talented and funny showman, completely at home in rhinestones and sequins, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself at all times. If you’ve never seen him play, check out his reinterpretation of Mack the Knife and check out this short compilation from Time:

Happy Liberace Day!

Copyright © 2017 Worldwide Weird Holidays