TODAY - September 5

 

NIELS’ MORNING GREETINGS

ON: SEPTEMBER 5

New edition

TODAY’s LENGTH:

This day is here in Denmark 4 hours and 28 minutes shorter than June 21. Its length is 13 hours and 38 minutes – from 06.28 to 20.07.

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

TODAY’s NAME:

Today’s name is REGINA’s DAY. She was a young girl in Eastern France. She was brought-up as a Christian by her nurse. For this reason she was thrown out of her home by her non-Christian father. She was put in prison, tortured and at the end killed by the Roman authorities in 250 AC.

 

In Belgium the day’s name is SAINTE RAÏSSA – after a Christian girl in Alexandria. She was daughter of a priest. She was killed by the Romans in 308.

 

TODAY’s EVENT:

1800:  French occupation troops on Malta surrender to the British.

 

TODAY’s QUESTION:

Australia's flag - how does it look like? And what is the history behind it? 

See photo below.

It was "born" in 1901.  The government asked different artists to make a proposal. And this one won.

You want to have an explanation of the flag?

First of all, it is - as you see - blue. Dark blue. Perhaps because Australia on all sides is surrounded by the dark blue oceans.

In the upper left corner (the "north-west" corner) you have the British flag, Union Jack. Why? Because Australia for many years was a British colony. It belonged to Britain. The Australians want to keep that link in their memory.  I have written about the British flag earlier and explained what it looks like it does.

Underneath Union Jack you see a big seven-pointed star. It symbolizes the different parts of Australia:

the 6 states (Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia) and the Northern Territories.  Seven all together. The star is called the Commonwealth Star, because

Australia with its states and territories is also called the Commonwealth of States.

To the right of the flag you have the so-called Southern Cross.  They are a special constellation of 5

bright stars, which you can see on the southern hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere (f.ex. in Britain, in Denmark and in Greece) we cannot see the Southern Cross. We can always see another very well-know star constellation. It is called the Great Bear. And it cannot be seen on the Southern hemisphere.

The Southern Cross on the Australian flag has five stars. They have names with the first five letters in the Greek alphabet:  Alpha Crucis, Beta Crusis, Gamma Crusis, Delta Crusis and Epsilon Crusis.

The Southern Cross has been used as a symbol for Australia for many hundred years.

The Australian flag was flown for the first time on 3 September 1901.  Therefore, the day September 3 is still today The Australian National Flag Day.

Everybody can use the flag. But you are not allowed to use it at night - unless you put a spotlight on it.

 

QUESTION FOR TOMORROW:

The Greek flag - what is its history? And why does it look as it does?

47 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT EUROPE:

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

 

EUROPE - DO YOU KNOW ?

Yesterday's European question was:

How much of the United Kingdom's imports comes from the other member countries of the European Union:

46,4 % ?   49,2 %  or   51,8 %  ?

The correct reply is:  51,8 %

 

The European question for tomorrow is:

How many countries take part in EU's Schengen cooperation (2020), which since 1995 has abolished permanent borders between the participating countries?

22 countries?  26 countries ?  or  27 countries ?

 

TODAY’s QUOTE & FAMOUS PEOPLE :

1.  Yesterday’s quote:

        The question: Who should be boss? is like asking: Who should be tenor in the

             quartet? The man who can sing tenor, of course.

             This was said by the American industrialist  Henry Ford II.

2.  Today’s quote:

        Women who already with their clothes on show everything has nothing to make the

               man curious.

               Who among today's personalities has said those wise words?

 

3.  Famous people born on this day:

1638:  Louis XIV ( ”The Sun King ”)  ( died 1715 )

1791:  Giacomo Meyerbeer  ( died 1864 )

1940:  Raquel Welch

 

4.  Famous people died on this day:

       1997:  Mother Teresa  ( 87 years )

            1997:  Georg Solti  ( 85 years )

 

Niels Jørgen Thøgersen

niels4europe@gmail.com  

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