Lord Mayor’s Show

The second Friday in November is Lord Mayor’s Day in London, the day on which the city’s Lord Mayor is admitted to office. The following day is the Lord Mayor’s Show, a series of civic ceremonies held since 1215 that culminate in a parade to the Law Courts. Today, the Lord Mayor rides from Guildhall to the Law Courts in a scarlet and gold coach drawn by six matched horses. Accompanying the coach is an honor guard of musketeers and pikemen in period dress, as well as many bands and numerous floats decorated to reflect the interests or profession of the new Lord Mayor. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Astrid Lindgren (1907)

Lindgren was a Swedish children’s book author and screenwriter best remembered for writing the series of books featuring the character Pippi Långstrump, or Pippi Longstocking. Pippi, an unconventional, assertive, and extraordinarily strong girl—recognized by her fiery red hair worn in braids that stick out sideways from her head—was featured in many of Lindgren’s hundreds of books, which sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide. What other memorable characters did Lindgren create? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Magyars

The Magyars, a nomadic people, migrated from the Urals to the Northern Caucasus region around 460 CE. They remained there for roughly 400 years, until the advance of the Pechenegs forced them west into what is now Romania. They arrived in Hungary towards the end of the 9th century, displacing the resident Huns and Slavs. The Magyars currently comprise 92% of the Hungarian population; consequently, the words Magyar and Hungarian are used interchangeably. What is the origin of the latter term? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Holland Tunnel Opens to Traffic (1927)

The Holland Tunnel, which connects Manhattan to Jersey City, was designed specifically for automobile traffic and included ventilator systems to reduce carbon monoxide exposure. One of first examples of ventilated design, the tunnel was an engineering marvel of the time. Construction required workers to spend large amounts of time under high pressure. Upon exiting the tunnel, they underwent a depressurization process that prevented them from developing what painful physiological condition? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Feast of St. Frances Cabrini

The first American citizen to be proclaimed a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, Francesca Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917) was born in Italy. She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart in 1880, and went on to establish orphanages, schools and hospitals in many American cities, as well as in Europe and South America. She was canonized on July 7, 1946. Her feast day is commemorated in many places, but particularly at Mother Cabrini High School in New York City, in whose chapel she is buried, and at every establishment of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Esaias Tegnér (1782)

Tegnér was the most popular of the Swedish romantic poets. An optimistic nationalist in his youth, he wrote the militant anti-Russian Svea and Axel, followed by Frithjof’s Saga, which is based on collections of Scandinavian sagas and is considered the masterpiece of the Swedish Gothic tradition. The son of a pastor and a bishop himself, his sermons and speeches are classics of the Swedish language. Subject to periods of madness, he composed what epic poem in an asylum? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Hieratic Writing System

Hieratic, first used around 3,000 BCE, was the basic writing system of the ancient Egyptian pharaonic period and provided a simpler alternative to the contemporaneous hieroglyphic system. It was generally written with ink on papyrus and was often used to compose administrative documents and letters, as well as legal, literary, and religious texts. Much of what is now known about the lives of common Egyptians has been deciphered from such texts. What writing system is descended from hieratic? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary