TODAY - August 26
NIELS’ SUMMER GREETINGS
ON: AUGUST 26
New edition
TODAY’s LENGTH:
This day is here
in Denmark 3 hours and 39 minutes shorter than June 21. Its length is 14 hours
and 27 minutes – from 06.07 to 20.34.
See more – also in
English . about where you are on: www.dagenslaengde.dk
TODAY’s NAME:
Today's name is IRENAEUS' DAY. It has its name from the monk Irenaeus from Lyon in Gallia
( France ). He was thrown into a well and choked because he had arranged a
Christian funeral for the holy Concordia. It happened in 258 AD.
The day’s name in Belgium is SAINTE NATHALIE – after a Christian
girl who together with her husband was killed by the muslin kalif in Cordoba,
Spain in 852.
TODAY’s EVENT:
55 BC: Julius Caesar
lands in England with his Roman legions.
TODAY’s QUESTION:
Europe - what is the background of that name ?
The name Europe comes from Greek mythology. The legend tells that Europa
was a Phoenician princess. She was abducted by Zeus himself. He had the form of a white bull, when he
abducted her. He took her to the island
of Crete, where she gave birth to three sons, including the later king Minos.
There are also other versions of the event from the Antique.
There are also different perceptions among researchers about the
linguistic background of the word Europe.
Many believe that its origin comes from the Semitic word Ereb - meaning the land of sunset, the
land of the evening. It makes sense, because nowadays Europe is to the west of
Greece and of the Middle East.
The old poets and historians from the Antique are already talking about
Europe as a geographical entity. Homér (600 BC) calls the
present Greek area without Peleponnes and without the many islands Europe. Herodotus ( 400 BC )
talks about three parts of the world:
Europe, Asia and Libya ( Africa ). And later the Romans used the name
Europa to a province in Thrakia ( present day European part of Turkey ).
Further on in history - after the fall of the Roman empire in the 5th
century AD and after the huge migrations in the following centuries - the area
of nowadays Europe was still not called Europe.
It was normally called Christianity. This was the case for Charlemagne with his
huge kingdom with the capital Aachen ( 9th century AD ). So it was actually only in the Middle Ages
that Europe started to be used as the name for our continent.
The name now covers the area from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural
Mountains in Russia and from the North Pole to the Mediterranean. It is an area of 10,5 sq.km, which is 6,7 %
of the total landmass of the earth.
In addition to the continent Europa
the name has also been given to one of the moons of the planet Jupiter. It is
628 mill. km away from the Earth. It is
smaller than our moon.
QUESTION FOR TOMORROW:
Water off the
duck's back - what does that mean? And where does the expression
come from?
47 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT EUROPE:
EUROPE AT WORK www.europe-at-work.be
TODAY’s QUOTE & FAMOUS PEOPLE :
1.
Yesterday’s quote:
A politician and a diplomat understand better
than anybody else how to make
friends with people, they do not like.
This was once said by the former
Danish minister K.K. Steincke.
2.
Today’s quote:
Gratitude is an
important sense for future honors.
Who among today's persons has said that?
3. Famous
people born on this day:
1676: Robert Walpole ( died
1745 )
1740: Joseph Montgolfier ( died
1810 )
1904: Christopher Ischerwood ( died
1986 )
1910: Mother Teresa ( died 1997 )
4. Famous
people died on this day:
1666: Frans Hals ( 86 years )
1974: Charles Lindbergh ( 72 years
)
Niels Jørgen Thøgersen
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