Monthly Archives: April 2014
CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT: A STEP SIDEWAYS
Congratulations to Penny Estelle, winner of the e-copy of A Step Sideways.
HISTORIC RECOGNITION: INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY
Thousands of people left Germany in fear for their lives when Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany on January 30th, 1933. The exact number of people who did not get out, and subsequently died in the Holocaust that took place in Europe between 1933 and 1945 is not known, but is […]
GUEST AUTHOR: NANCY BELL
A big welcome to Nancy Bell. Anyone who leaves a comment on today’s post will be eligible to win an e-book copy of her novel, A Step Sideways, pictured above. So now, take it away, Nancy. Good Morning, Everyone. Thanks for inviting me to your blog, Renee. In honour of St. George’s Day I’d like […]
TRIVIA TRAIL: ARTHURIAN ENGLAND
Question: Did England ever really have a King Arthur? Answer: No, or, if it did, there’s no proof. Some scholars think there might have been a Roman-British military leader of that name who went up against the invading Saxons in the fifth century, and others think Arthur was just another name for King Alfred, the […]
HISTORIC CELEBRATION: ST. GEORGE’S DAY
England’s patron saint is oft depicted slaying a dragon, and there is small hill in the Vale of the White Horse where legend has it that he performed this deed. He was not, however, English, and probably never even visited the place. George was actually a 4th-century Roman solider serving in the army of the […]
GOOD FRIDAY’S STATIONS OF THE CROSS
For Christians, Good Friday is the day commemorating Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. One of the traditions practiced on this day is the observance of the Stations of the Cross. After two hundred and fifty years of persecution, Christians were finally permitted to worship within the Roman Empire, and in 335 A.D., the Roman […]
HISTORIC CELEBRATION: MAUNDY THURSDAY
Images of Maundy Money from Woodlands Junior School (UK) website by permission of Mandy Barrow. MAUNDY THURSDAY For Christians, Maundy Thursday is the start of the Paschal Triduum (the three-day celebration of Easter). The name Maundy comes from mandatum, a Latin word that means commandment. According to the New Testament (John 3:34), Jesus Christ gave […]
TRIVIA TRAIL: HISTORIC EXPANSION
Question: Is there a connection between the famous Fabergé Easter eggs and Fabergé cosmetics? Answer: Yes. Four years after jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé died, two of his sons tried to restart the family business in Paris, France, but were not especially successful. Then, in the 1930s, an American businessman, Sam Rubin, started using the name […]
Time Travelling With Kids 