TODAY - August 17

 

NIELS’ SUMMER GREETINGS

ON: AUGUST 17

New edition

TODAY’s LENGTH:

This day is here in Denmark 2 hours and 39 minutes shorter than June 21. Its length is 14 hours and 56 minutes – from 05.51 to 20.47.

See more – also in English – about where you are on:  www.dagenslaengde.dk

TODAY’s NAME:

This day is called ANASTASIUS' DAY.  Two different persons have given its this name.

One is bishop Anastasius in Persia. He was killed because of his belief in 620 AD.

The other with the same name is a Dalmatian soldier, who was killed because of his Christian faith during emperor Diocletian's persecutions of the Christians.

The day’s name in Belgium is SAINT HYACINTHE – after a Polish Dominican priest and missionary, who lived in the years 1183-1257.  He worked on reforming Poland’s womens’ monasteries.

TODAY’s EVENT:

1999: An earthquake in Izmir in Turkey killed 17.000 people and 44.000 were wounded.

 

TODAY’s QUESTION:

Haithabu - what is that?

Haithabu - or Hedeby - was the biggest and most important viking trading settlement in Northern Europe. The name comes from Heida = Heath and Býr = farm or castle  ( in old Norse language ). You find the settlement about 3 km south-east of the present day city of Schleswig in Germany. At the time it was very strategically placed at the end of the rather long Schleswig Fiord and to the west the small river Schlei ( Slien ). This made it possible for traders to bring their commodities from the Baltic to the North Sea. And the north-south main traffic route was also nearby, though it was less important than some centuries later.

Haithabu was first mentioned in 804 AD. And it was more or less destroyed in 1050 AD in a big battle between Danish and Norwegian vikings. The place was then forgotten. And only excavations from around 1900 brought Haithabu to light again. 

A very interesting museum next to Haithabu opened in 1985.  Its address is:

Am Haddebyer Noor 5, D-24866 Busdorf.

 

QUESTION FOR TOMORROW:

Hocus-pocus - what is that? And what's the history behind it?

__________________________________________________________________________

 

47 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT EUROPE:

EUROPE AT WORK     www.europe-at-work.be

 

TODAY’s QUOTE & FAMOUS PEOPLE :

 

1.  Yesterday’s quote:

        Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away.

              This was once said by Elvis Presley .

    2. Today’s quote:

         A kiss is a man's signature !

              Who among today's persons has said that?

 

    3.Famous people born on this day:

1786:  Davy Crockett ( died 1836 )

1893:  Mae West  ( died 1980 )

1920:  Maureen O’Hara  ( died 2015 )

1943:  Robert de Niro

 

4.Famous people died on this day:

            1786:  Frederck the Great  ( 74 years )

             1850:  Honoré de Balzac  ( 51 years )

             1983:  Ira Gershwin  ( 87 years )

             1987:  Rudolf Hess  ( 93 years )

 

Niels Jørgen Thøgersen

niels4europe@gmail.com  

www.simplesite.com/kimbrer   + EUROPE AT WORK:  www.europe-at-work.be

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TODAY - November 29

  NIELS’ MORNING GREETINGS ON: NOVEMBER 29 New edition TODAY’s LENGTH: This day is here in Belgium 8 hours and 7 minutes shorter than June 21. Its length is 8 hours and 22 minutes – from 08.20 to 16.42. Se more – also in English – about where you are on:   www.dagenslaengde.dk TODAY’s NAME: Today’s name is SATURNINUS’ DAY .   He was a missionary in Toulouse in the southwest of France. And later he became a bishop there.   In the year 250 AC the non-Christians decided to kill him. He was tied to the legs of a bull. And the bull was then pursued down the stairs from the local capitol.   Later a church named Notre-Dame-du-Tours was built on that spot. The day’s name in Belgium is SAINT RADBOD – after a Frisian king, who was also bishop in Utrecht in the Netherlands.   He was fighting with the Franconeans and defeated Karel Martel near Cologne.   He died in 719.   TODAY’s EVENT: 1814: The newspaper The Times in London star...
Read more

TODAY - FEBRUARY 8

Image
  NIELS’ MORNING GREETINGS ON: FEBRUARY 8 New 2021 edition TODAY’s PERSON: I have chosen the French author JULES VERNE .   He was born on this day in 1828 and died 77 years old in 1905.   He was and still is very well know for his many book about adventurous travels to many places.   His point of departure was the many new scientific discoveries in his lifetime.   Based upon them he tried to imagine how their use would develop in the future – what they could be used for.    For many he   considered to be the father of science fiction.   In his special way. Among his many famous books are the following: Five Weeks in a Balloon   ( in Africa ) Journey to the Centre of the Earth   ( taking place in Denmark and Iceland ) From the Earth to the Moon In Search of the Castaways / The Children of Captain Grant Twenty-Thousand Under the Sea: A Tour of the Underwater World Around the World in Eighty Days His books were ...
Read more

TODAY - July 12

NIELS’ SUMMER GREETINGS ON: JULY 12 New edition TODAY’s LENGTH: This day is here in Denmark 28 minutes shorter than June 21. Its length is 17 hours and 7 minutes – from 04.47 to 21.54. See more – also in English – about where you are on:   www.dagenslaengde.dk TODAY’s NAME: This day is called HEINRICH’s DAY .    It has its name after Holy Heinrich , who was German-Roman emperor in the years 1002-24. He created the diocese Bamberg and initiated the building of many churches and monasteries. In Belgium the day’s name is SAINT JEAN GUALBERT – after an Italian abbot, who lived in the years 985-1073.   He started the Vallumbrosa order. TODAY’s EVENT: 1920:   The Panama Canal is opened by US president Woodrow Wilson . TODAY’s QUESTION: Sandwich - what's the history of that word? And what is it? We all know what a sandwich is: two pieces of bread put on top of one another and with some nice stuff like meat, ...
Read more