Month: March 2020

The Gundestrup Cauldron

The Gundestrup Cauldron is a silver religious vessel from the 1st century BCE that was found in 1891 in a peat bog in Denmark. At 2.3 ft (69 cm) in diameter and 1.4 ft (42 cm) in height, it is the largest European example of Iron Age silverwork ever found. The way that the lavishly decorated artifact had been dismantled and stacked suggests that it had been hidden, not lost. There are differing theories as to its origin because the style and workmanship are Thracian, yet the imagery is what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Tambura

The tambura is a pear-shaped, unfretted lute, usually with four strings, used as a drone in Indian music. It produces a characteristic buzzing sound that is used to set the harmonic foundation for a song without contributing to the melody. The Indian tambura may be related to the Turkish tambur as well as many other similarly-named Asian lutes. Though readily available, electronic tamburas are seen as inferior. Many tamburas are carved from wood, but some are made of what other organic material? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Shwedagon Pagoda Festival

The people of Myanmar celebrate their local pagodas or temples on the full moon day in the month of Tabaung (February-March in the Gregorian calendar). The largest celebration is held at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, the former capital city of Myanmar. Visitors to the pagoda take the opportunity to make offerings and to pray. This ancient temple, which is more than 2,500 years old, is 300 feet tall and has a dome covered in gold and precious jewels. The dome, with its two tons of gold and more than 5,000 diamonds, glitters so brightly that it can often be seen by airplanes flying overhead. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

St. Gregory of Nyssa

Born around 330 CE in what is now Turkey, St. Gregory was a professor of rhetoric, a priest and bishop, and a defender of orthodoxy. He was prominent in the First Council of Constantinople and became a leading defender of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. His most important theological writing was his Oratio catechetica, a classic outline of Orthodox theology, but a handful of his letters also survive. Which of St. Gregory’s relatives are also saints? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Edward R. Murrow’s See It Now Airs McCarthyism Episode (1954)

In the early 1950s, US Senator Joseph McCarthy persecuted scores of people he deemed subversive in a series of widely-publicized hearings that whipped the public into an anti-Communist frenzy. In 1954, journalist Edward R. Murrow produced an episode of his TV show See It Now that criticized the Red Scare and turned public opinion against McCarthy using the senator’s own words. Murrow later invited McCarthy to respond. What happened when the senator accepted? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Magha Puja

This important Buddhist holy day is celebrated in India, Laos, and Thailand, where it is a national holiday. The day commemorates the occasion when 1,250 followers ordained by the Buddha arrived by coincidence at Veluvan Monastery in Rajagriha, Bihar, India, to hear him lay down monastic regulations and predict his own death and entry with Nirvana. On this day there are sermons in the temples throughout the day, and monks spend the day chanting. Each person carries flowers, glowing incense, and a lighted candle in homage to the Buddha. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Neolithic Revolution

The Neolithic Revolution was humanity’s ground-breaking transition from a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a more settled one based on farming and raising livestock. It began roughly 11,000 years ago, as the last ice age ended and weather became more stable. At this time, people began to build permanent dwellings and founded the first cities. They invented tools for farming and storing food and developed specialized labor, manufacturing, and trade. What were the first cultivated crops? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary