TODAY - MAY 28

 NIELS’ MORNING GREETINGS

ON: MAY 28

New 2021 edition

TODAY’s LENGTH:

This day is here in Belgium 8 hours and 5 minutes longer than December 21. Its length is 16 hours and 3 minutes – from 05.39 to 21.42.

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

TODAY’s NAME:

This day is called VILHELM’S DAY.  It has its name from Vilhelm ( in French: Guillaume ), who was duke of Gascogne. He was one of Charlemagne’s closest allies, and they were fighting together against the Moors in Spain. Later he became a very religious man, and he founded a monastery. According to the legend he even became so religious that he was able to walk into a red-hot oven with getting harmed. And when he died in 812 AC the bells in his monastery started ringing all by themselves.

In Belgium the day is called SAINT GERMAIN – after a bishop in Paris. He lived in the years 496-576 and founded the monestary Saint Germain des Prés.

 

TODAY’s EVENT:

1987:  The 19 years old German Mathias Rust is landing his Cessna plane on the Red Square in Moscow.  See photo.

 

TODAY’s QUESTION:

Coffee – what is the history? And why is it called coffee?

Coffee is very old. It goes back to the 6^th century AC, when a shepherd looking after his goats discovered, that his goats got very excited, when they were chewing the berries from a special tree. It took place in a place called Kaffe in Yemen in the south of the Arabian peninsular.

But it was only about 800 years later that somebody got the idea to roast the berries/beans and make a drink from them. Coffee had been invented – and it got its name from the place called Kaffe (coffee, café).

Until then it was only grown in the south of Arabia and in Ethiopia. Later it was exported to many places like South America by the Spanish and Java in Indonesia by the Dutch.

At an early stage the Coffee Houses got a great importance as meeting places. Not least in the Middle East due to Islam’s prohibition against wine and alcohol. The first coffee house in Europe was started in Venezia in 1645, and the European coffee houses and cafés became very important as centres for political, literary and scientific discussions. The Coffee House was the place from where news was spreading, and many of the British Empire’s institutions have directly been founded in the coffee houses in London.

So when you next time visit a Café you are expected to think great thoughts and breathtaking plans for the future!

 

QUESTION FOR TOMORROW:

Sandwich – what is the history behind that word?

47 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT EUROPE:

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

 

TODAY’s QUOTE & FAMOUS PEOPLE :

1.  Yesterday’s quote:

A compromise is just, usable and lasting, when both parties are dissatisfied with it right away.

           This has been said by the very experienced American politician

           Henry Kissinger.

2.  Today’s quote:

As none of today’s personalities has left important quotes you get one more by

Henry Kissinger:

The woman I dream about has more sex in her eyes than in any other of her body parts.

3.  Famous people born on this day:

1779:  Thomas Moore  ( died 1852 )

1884:  Edvard Benes  ( died 1948 )

1908:  Ian Fleming  ( died 1964 )

1925:  Bülent Ecevit  ( died 2006 )

 

4.  Famous people died on this day:

1787:  Leopold Mozart  ( 68 years )

1805:  Luigi Boccherini  ( 62 years )

2004:  Mads Stage  ( 82 years )

 

Niels Jørgen Thøgersen

niels4europe@gmail.com  

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

Mathias Rust in 2012