Month: February 2020

Blood Brothers

Many cultures around the world have long held that unrelated people can be bound to each other as kin through a ceremony in which their blood is mingled. The Scythians mixed participants’ blood with wine and drank it from a shared cup, while the Lydians licked the blood from each other’s nicked forearms. Blood brother ceremonies persist even today, though they have fallen out of favor due to the risk of disease. In Greece, what tradition establishes blood brotherhood without any actual blood? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Bräuteln

The Wooing a Bride Ceremony in Sigmaringen, Germany, is part of a Carnival custom that dates back to 1648, during which the lucky bachelor was carried at the head of a colorful procession around the town square. Today the custom continues. On Shrove Tuesday any man who has married in the last year, who has just moved into town with his wife, or who has arrived at the 25th or 50th anniversary of his marriage is invited to be brautelt. Heralds dressed in traditional costumes carry the men around the town pump to the accompaniment of drummers and pipers. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Courtly Love

Courtly love was a medieval European philosophy of nobly and chivalrously expressing one’s love for a noblewoman, who was often married to another. This form of adulterous, romantic love arose in part because upper-class marriages at the time were generally arranged for economic or political purposes. Its exact origins are obscure, but its literary origins are traceable to the works of Ovid and the troubadours, whose songs bore Middle Eastern ideas about love. Who else wrote about courtly love? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Maslenisa (Russian Butter Week)

Carnival is known as Butter Week or Maslenitsa in Russia because Russians consume so many rich foods throughout this week, the last before the Lenten fast. Bliny, Russian-style pancakes served with sour cream or butter, are eaten all week long and have come to symbolize the feast. In many areas people enjoy winter sports such as sledding, ice skating, and snowball fights. In some places people mark the end of Carnival by making huge hand-sewn dolls that represent winter and tossing them onto burning bonfires. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Viking Longships

Longships were the boats used by the Vikings of Scandinavia and Iceland for trade, exploration, and warfare between the 8th and 11th centuries. Long and narrow, the boats were designed for speed and were propelled by teams of rowers, sometimes aided by sails. They were shallow enough to land on beaches and light enough to be carried over land. They were also double-ended and could reverse direction quickly. Why, according to legend, were crows brought along on some longship voyages? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Carnival in Cologne (Kölner Karneval)

Pre-Lenten activities are especially festive in Cologne, Germany. The celebration begins officially on the 11th day of the 11th month at 11:11 p.m., and the festival calendar is filled with 300 costume balls and performances of original songs and humorous speeches. These events lead up to the final “crazy days” just before Ash Wednesday, when the Lord Mayor of Cologne receives the Triumvirate of Carnival—Prince Carnival, the Cologne Virgin (played by a man), and the Cologne Peasant. The prince gets the keys to the city and rules the city until Carnival ends. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary