TODAY - February 3

 

NIELS’ MORNING GREETINGS

ON: FEBRUARY 3

New 2021 edition

TODAY’s PERSON:

I have today selected the American-French author GERTRUDE STEIN. She was born on this day in 1874 In Pennsylvania, and she died in Paris in 1946. Her German-Jewish family had emigrated to the US, when it lived part of her childhood in California, as her father was in charge of the famous Cable Cars in San Francisco.  From 1903 she lived in Paris – like many Americans, who considered France to be much more interesting than their old colonial master, England.  Gertrude Stein and her American female partner, Alice B. Toklas, made their home in Paris a special meeting place for avant-garde artists.  They met every Saturday.  Among them were famous people like Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and James Joyce.

Gertrude Stein also wrote many books like “The Making of Americans”.

One of her mottos were:  We are always the same age inside!

See her photo below.

TODAY’s LENGTH:

Today is here in Belgium 1 hour and 25 minutes longer than December 21.  Its length is 9 hours and 22 minutes – from 08.15 to 17.38.

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

TODAY’s NAME:

This day has two names: ANSGAR’s  DAY. And  BLASIUS’ DAY.

The benedictine monk Ansgar is also called the Nordic Apostle. He was born in September 801 in Amiens in today’s France. He became Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, which then also had the entire Nordic region under its responsability. First he built in agreement with the King a church in Hedeby. Later came the first church in Ribe at around 855 AC.  Ansgar was soon expelled from Denmark and went to Sweden. Here he founded the Church of Sweden at Birka.

Ansgar died in Bremen on 3 February 865.  He was later made ​​a saint.

Blasius was a bishop who had to live as a hermit because of his faith. He blessed all wild animals. He was killed because of his faith in 316 AC.  He has since become the patron of doctors. In the Middle Ages everyone with a sore throat praied for his help.

This day is in Denmark also called Blæsemisse  ( Blasius Mas ). It was the feast of all horn blowers. And ythe saying was that on this day you should put some straw or hay on your staircase. If it blew away, the spring was on its way. The wind would show a change in the weather so cold and frost was  about to disappear. If the straw stayed, spring was delayed.

The Day’s name in Belgium is also SAINT BLAISE.

TODAY’s EVENT:

1981:  Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes the first female prime minister of Norway.

 

TODAY’s QUESTION:

Trojan horse – where does that expression come from? And what does it mean?

It comes from ancient Greece. The Greek poet Homer ( 8^th century BC) writes in his book The Odyssee about the 10-year Greek siege of Troy in Asia Minor.  Then they built a huge horse of wood. A number of Greek soldiers were hiding inside the horse. Then the Trojans were tempted to bring the nice horse inside their city. And during the night the Greek soldiers came out and conquered and ravaged the city of Troja.

The expression a Trojan horse is, therefore, since used to describe a special war trick. The same method was used by some prisoners in a German KZ camp to get out of the camp hidden in a big box.

The indirect sense of the expression means that you use sneaky, hidden methods to obtain what you want.

In the Internet world a Trojan horse is a small programme, which looks useful, but which in reality risks destroying a lot in your computer.

 

QUESTION FOR TOMORROW:

The Peter Principle – what is that? And what does it mean?

 

47 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT EUROPE:

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

 

TODAY’s QUOTE & FAMOUS PEOPLE :

1.  Yesterday’s quote:

Ireland is like an old sow, which eats her own piglets

            This was said by the famous Irish poet James Joyce.

2.  Today’s quote:

People get throughout the day so much information that they lose their common sense

Who among today’s persons said that?

3.  Famous people born on this day:

1809:  Felix Mendelsohn Bartholdy  ( died 1847 )

1857:  Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen  ( died 1927 )

1874:  Gertrude Stein  ( died 1946 ) – see more above and below.

1889:  Carl Th. Dreyer  ( died 1968 )

1898:  Alvar Aalto  ( died 1976 )

1907:  James A. Mitchener  ( died 1997 )

1947:  Paul Auster

1948:  Henning Mankell  ( died 2015 )

 

4.  Famous people died on this day:

865:    Ansgar  ( 64 years )

1468:  Johann Gutenberg  ( 70 years )

1924:  Woodrow Wilson  ( 68 years )

1959:  Buddy Holly  ( 33 years )

Niels Jørgen Thøgersen

niels4europe@gmail.com  

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