Month: August 2019

Feast of the Blessed Sacrament

The Festival of the Blessed Sacrament held annually in New Bedford, Massachusetts, coincides with a similar festival on the Portuguese island of Madeira. The American festival, which was first held in 1914, celebrates the safe arrival of the Portuguese immigrants who came to New Bedford in the early 19th century. Preparations go on throughout the year, and the events include a parade, Portuguese folkloric dancers and singers, Portuguese specialties such as cabra (goat) and bacalhau (codfish), and a colorful procession to the Immaculate Conception Church. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

L’Anse aux Meadows

Located on the northern tip of Newfoundland, Canada, L’Anse aux Meadows is the site of the first known European settlements in the New World. Norse settlers may have established as many as three settlements there near the end of the 10th century. After fighting each other, the settlers and the Inuit—whom the Norse called Skraeling—established a regular trade relationship, but the settlements were soon abandoned. What evidence indicates that the Norse settlers may have traveled farther south? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Feast of Porcingula

On the Feast of Porcingula (named after the shrine in Portiuncula, Italy), Native Americans at the Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico hold a celebration that combines both traditional Indian and Roman Catholic elements. On August 2, a mass is sung in honor of Santa Maria de los Angeles, after which the priest of Jemez accompanies her image to the shrine in the plaza. Throughout the festival, the Pecos “bull” (a dancer carrying a framework that resembles a bull) is prodded with sticks and tormented in mock bullfights. After that the corn dance is performed before Santa Maria’s shrine. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Iron Pillar

The approximately 24-foot- (7-meter-) tall, 6-ton iron pillar located in the famous Qutb Minar complex of Delhi, India, is one of the world’s foremost metallurgical curiosities. A testament to the advanced skill of ancient Indian ironsmiths, it is the last remaining part of a Hindu temple erected by 5th-century ruler Chandra Gupta II. Although it is about 1,600 years old, the pillar has never corroded. What theories have scientists advanced to explain the pillar’s resistance to corrosion? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival

Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke (1903-1931) was an American jazz cornetist, pianist, and composer whose unique style on the horn and tragically short life made him a Jazz Age legend at the age of 28. Held in Davenport, Iowa, this annual four-day jazz festival, popularly known as the “Bix Bash,” features concerts by some of the world’s best jazz bands as well as the Bix Jazz Society Youth Band, tours of Bix’s boyhood home, a jazz liturgy at the First Presbyterian Church, and a concert at Bix’s grave in Oakdale Memorial Gardens. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Fugue

A fugue is a musical composition characterized by the systematic imitation of one or more themes in counterpoint. In the exposition, which begins the piece, the theme is repeated successively in similar form at different pitch levels by different voices. The fugue emerged gradually from the imitative polyphony of the 13th century and reached its pinnacle with Bach, who, along with Handel, inspired the later fugues of Mozart, Beethoven, and others. What is a counterfugue? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary