1225
For Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Christmas was a time to let the dead past bury its dead.
The death of Tennyson’s close friend Arthur Henry Hallam left familiar Christmas Eve customs such as the holly and the music and the dancing full of sad memories for him. He responded positively, however, embracing the deeper message of Christmas Day: a new beginning, a New Year.
Picture: © Chris-Downer, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted December 29 2016
1226
Elizabethan adventurer Sir Francis Drake combined sailing round the world with really annoying the King of Spain.
Elizabethan adventurer Sir Francis Drake was only the second man in history to circumnavigate the globe, a feat he achieved in 1580 aboard the famous ‘Golden Hinde’. His attention was not, however, concentrated exclusively on making historic discoveries.
Picture: © Martin Addison, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted December 29 2016
1227
The sounds of an English country Christmas helped Tennyson in his deep mourning for an old friend.
The material trappings of Christmas – the tree, the lights, the presents, the dinner and its customs – are sometimes the only things left to cling to when faith wavers, as Tennyson found, mourning his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam.
Picture: © David Dixon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted December 27 2016
1228
By Divine providence, the shocking murder of Good King Wenceslas led to a flowering of Christian faith in Europe.
In the early 10th century, Bohemia (in today’s Czech Republic) had only just received the Christian gospel, and tribal paganism was still strong. Wenceslaus played a vital part in spreading light and reason into Europe’s superstitious dark ages — and so did his brother, who hated him and his religion alike.
Picture: © Stefan Bauer, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.5.. Source.
Posted December 27 2016
1229
British expats in Valparaíso kicked off the Chilean passion for soccer.
On June 19th 1895, Chilean football acquired its first governing body. It was the first major step towards Chile’s immensely popular football league, and it was Chileans of British descent who were behind it.
Picture: © Pablo Conreras H., Wikimedia Commons Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0.. Source.
Posted December 23 2016
1230
Scandinavian tradition says that the daughter of King Harold was consort to one the great rulers of Kievan Rus’.
After Vladimir I adopted Christianity in the 10th century, the rulers of what would become Russia became prime candidates for dynastic marriage into the great royal houses of Europe. An example of particular interest to the English is the Princess Gytha, daughter of King Harold Godwinson, who married Vladimir’s great-grandson, Vladimir II Monomakh.
Picture: Photo by Vash Alex kun, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted December 22 2016