Month: March 2020

Whale Festival (Mendocino)

Gray whales spend their summers in the Bering Sea but migrate every year to the waters off the coast of Mexico, where females give birth to their young. Since the whales prefer to hug the coast as they make their long journey, they are often visible to those living in seaside towns. The neighboring northern California towns of Mendocino and Fort Bragg hold their whale festivals on consecutive weekends in March. Their celebrations include whale-watching cruises, wine tasting, seafood chowder tasting, nature walks, and visits to the Cabrillo Point lighthouse. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Zouaves

The original Zouaves of the early 1800s were members of elite French military units in North Africa. Usually Algerian recruits, they were recognized for their distinctive, colorful uniforms and precision drilling. They were well known in their day, and at the dawn of the American Civil War, a Zouave craze swept the US. Dozens of “Zouave” units sprang up on both sides of the conflict. Their uniforms, modeled after traditional Zouave attire, were not well suited to the conflict. Why? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Troubadours

Troubadours were members of a class of poet-musicians that flourished in southern France and northern Spain and Italy from the 11th to the 13th century. They wrote and performed in the local Occitan language and cultivated an intricate lyric poetry that reflected the ideals of chivalry and courtly love. Often knights themselves, they were favored in royal courts and enjoyed great freedom of speech. Though usually amatory in nature, some troubadour compositions address other topics, like what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Amalaka Ekadashi

Among Hindus, who respect all animate and inanimate things because they are manifestations of the Universal Spirit, this is a day for worshipping the Amalaka tree, where Vishnu is believed to live. An Amalaka tree is ceremonially bathed and watered, a fast is observed, and Brahmans are given gifts. Amalaka Ekadashi also marks the beginning of the Holi or spring festival in India, where people splash each other with colored water and red powder and indulge in eating and drinking. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Lake Guatavita

Lake Guatavita is a small crater lake in the mountains of Colombia that has been the site of a centuries-old treasure hunt. It is likely the source of the legend of El Dorado, which allegedly began prior to the 16th century, when a local Chibcha chief would ritually coat himself in gold dust, bathe in the lake, and cast offerings of gold and jewels into the water. Since the arrival of the Spanish, numerous attempts have been made to recover the supposed treasure. What strategies have been tried? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Tlacaxipehualiztli (Festival of Xipe Totec)

Among the Aztec Indians of Mexico, Xipe Totec was a god of war. The observance of his festival took place in March according to the Gregorian calendar. Xipe Totec was often referred to as “Our Lord the Flayed One” (or, “the Flayer“), and images of him show the god wearing a human skin. The Festival was an occasion for Aztec warriors to mimic the god. They killed their prisoners of war and removed their skins from their bodies. They would then wear these skins for the entire 20-day month and hold mock battles, after which they would discard the now-rotting skins into caves or bury them. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Pursuit of Goeben and Breslau

At the outbreak of WWI, Germany ordered its two ships in the Mediterranean—the Goeben and Breslau—to head for Turkey in an attempt to draw the Ottoman Empire into the war. Meanwhile, Winston Churchill ordered British ships to find and intercept them. The British accidentally stumbled across the Germans near Algeria and gave chase. Why did Churchill later describe the outcome of the chase as more ruinous than any that “has ever before been borne within the compass of a ship”? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary