A Brief History On December 17, 497 BC, the Romans celebrated their Pagan holiday, Saturnalia, a celebration honoring their god of agriculture (and a bunch of other things) with partying and sacrifice. Gift giving, feasts, partying and a carnival atmosphere surrounded Saturnalia. Digging Deeper Celebrations and holidays around the time of the Winter Solstice (December 21 on our calendar) are common throughout the ancient and modern world. Nowadays we have Christmas for Christians, a date that really has nothing to do with the birth of Christ but is believed by many to be chosen to compete with pagan and Jewish…
Browsing: December 17
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History: January 7, 1959: The U.S. Recognizes Fidel Castro’s Government of Cuba On January 7, 1959, the United States officially recognized the new government of Cuba that was headed by Fidel Castro who, together with his revolutionaries, had overthrown the corrupt dictator Fulgencio Batista. Batista had originally seized power in a coup after having lost a presidential election in 1952, so the U.S., expecting a return to democracy, actually welcomed Castro and his revolution. Alas, it was not to be as Castro declared himself a communist in 1961, and it quickly became evident that he was just another dictator. Worse yet for the U.S., this…
A Brief History On December 17, 1862, the stormy history of civil rights in United States was once again shamefully marred when Major General Ulysses S. Grant, future President of the United States, issued his infamous General Order No. 11 which expelled all Jews from Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi, the states in the military district he commanded. Digging Deeper It seems the smuggling and black marketing common to most war zones was grating on Grants nerves, and like so many people before and after him, he figured the Jews were to blame. Besides being responsible to win the war militarily, Grant was…
A Brief History On December 17, 1969, the U.S. Air Force shut down Project Blue Book, its investigation of UFOs. Digging Deeper Digging deeper, we find the late 1940s spawning a spate of UFO sightings. The U.S. Air Force conducted Project Sign in 1947 to study these reports, and Project Grudge in 1948. In 1952, Project Blue Book became the exhaustive investigation we know of today, the brainchild of Air Force generals who demanded a more thorough approach. Lasting until 1969 (mere months after the first moon landing), Project Blue Book had investigated over 12,000 reported incidents! The final report…
