A Brief History Hello, everyone! I am Dr. Zar and today, I want to wish my family, friends, colleagues, students, and subscribers a Merry Christmas 2022! Digging Deeper Did you know that the music for the popular Christmas carol titled “Carol of the Bells” is based on the Ukrainian folk chant titled “Shchedryk” by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych? If you have some spare time during this winter break and if you have not yet already done so, I encourage you to read Mr. Markham’s recent biography of Napoleon titled Simply Napoleon. Also, to see some of Mr. Halsall’s films, please…
Browsing: December 25
A Brief History On December 25, 336, the first documented celebration of December 25th as “Christmas” celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in Rome. Ever since, Christians have been celebrating Christmas on December 25th, or January 6th, or January 7th, or even January 19th! Digging Deeper Today, we ask what YOUR favorite Christmas tradition is, and we give you some suggestions to choose from: Black Friday Sales Christmas break from work and school Christmas lights and trees Christmas Music Family get-togethers and dinners Gift exchanging Mistletoe Question for students (and subscribers): So tell us, what is your favorite Christmas…
A Brief History On December 25, 2020, people around the world celebrate the Christian holiday of Christmas, honoring the birth of Jesus Christ. During this Christmas season, we are likely to hear many Christmas carols and holiday songs, but none of them are arguably as touching and universal as “O Holy Night,” also known as “Cantique de Noël” in the original French. We take this opportunity to reflect on the song that, in our opinion, is the greatest Christmas carol. Digging Deeper While the famous carol is of course, Christian, the backgrounds of the men involved in creating the song…
A Brief History On December 25, AD 1, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, in what is now Israel. (It was Israel then, too.) Or so the story goes. Historians find some problems with the Biblical and common interpretation of the birth of Christ, including even the date, meaning the day as well as the year. The Ukrainian side of this author’s family celebrated Christmas on January 7 each year, which coincidentally is this author’s birthday! Yes, that makes this author the first person mentioned (besides Jesus) as being born on Christmas. Today we take a look at 10 famous…
A Brief History As Christmas (December 25th) approaches, we ask, “Who doesn’t like the holidays?” In general, holidays are viewed as fun and relaxing, as people have a chance to exchange presents and eat scrumptious food. They get to do fun things like enjoying free spins at casinos, watch fantastic parades, and take a break from their daily routine, but although holidays have a positive connotation nowadays, it was not always the case. Some holidays were born out of hideous events that took place centuries ago, and with time, people forgot what had led to the celebrations in the first…
