#TodayInHistory – December 12
December 12 – Some important events on this day. 627 👉🏼 Battle at Nineveh: Byzantine Emperor Heraclius beats Sassanid forces during Byzantine-Sassanid War 1694 👉🏼 The Royal Society censures Edmond […]
The oldest candy store in the world is in England, and has been selling traditional sweets since 1827…
The oldest sweet shop in England, as its name not by chance suggests, is the oldest sweet shop in England. Of course, It’s a right claim, but also modest, as […]
#TodayInHistory – December 11
December 11 – Some important events on this day. 1282 👉🏼 Llywelyn ab Gruffydd/Llywelyn the Last, last native Prince of Wales is killed at Cilmeri, near Builth Wells, south Wales. […]
10# A spider for Christmas?
Long, long ago, on one Christmas Eve, the spiders were banished from homes as they were cleaned for Christmas and their webs were broken. They just managed to survive, and […]
#TodayInHistory – December 10
December 10 – Some important events on this day. 1510 👉🏼 Muslim ruler of Goa, Yusuf Adil Shah and his Ottoman allies surrender to Portuguese forces led by Afonso de […]
Fairy Rock, the place where according to local legends fairies used to dance in the moonlight and invite handsome young men into their grottoes ~
The ancient engine house of Saltom Pit is the first large-scale mine ever sunk below sea level. It sits at the base of Fairy Rock on the coast of Whitehaven, […]
#TodayInHistory – December 9
December 9 – Some important events on this day. 536 👉🏼 Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city, returning the old capital to its […]
8# The legend of Christmas Robin
The little red-breasted, cheerful robins, often called also the Christmas robins, indicate the season of sun and spring. This rather ordinary bird holds such tremendous importance to Christmas that probably […]
#TodayInHistory – December 8
December 8 – Some important events on this day. 1326 👉🏼 Daitokuji temple, Rinzai line, established in Kyoto by Daito Kokushi 1609 👉🏼 Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan opens its reading […]
The last flight: the tragic story of the worst aviation accident in Slovenian history
A piece of white marble on a grave is actually a rich symbol. White stone, that symbolizes purity and innocence, by origin from Pohorje Mountain above Maribor, Slovenia, indicates the […]
#TodayInHistory – December 7
December 7 – Some important events on this day. 43 BC 👉🏼 Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman orator and politician is assassinated in Formiae 1696 👉🏼 Connecticut Route 108, one of […]
6# Why do we kiss under the mistletoe?
Kissing under sprigs of mistletoe, one of the most famous symbols of Christmas, is a well-known holiday tradition. However, this little plant’s history as a symbolic herb dates back thousands […]
#TodayInHistory – December 6
December 6 – Some important events on this day. 1196 👉🏼 Northern Dutch coast flooded, “Saint-Nicolas Flood” 1240 👉🏼 Mongols under Batu Khan occupy and destroy Kiev; out of 50,000 […]
5# The legend of the noble evergreen trees
It is Christmas time: fresh Christmas trees are just about on every street corner, or waiting to be cut, taken home and dressed in holiday sparkle. But how did evergreen […]
#TodayInHistory – December 5
December 5 – Some important events on this day. 771 👉🏼 Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman 1349 👉🏼 500 Jews […]
Carrageen Moss Pudding – a sweet, silky Irish pudding with a seaweed as secret ingredient ~
Ever seen “carrageenan” at the end of an incomprehensible list of ingredients on the back of your ice cream tub (or your toothpaste tube, too)? Probably you didn’t know that […]
4# The legend of Madelon and the Christmas rose
Christmas is the season of giving gifts showing love towards one another (well, more or less). But this does not mean that the gifts are the sole expression of your […]
#TodayInHistory – December 4
December 4 – Some important events on this day. 1154 👉🏼 Adrian IV elected Pope. The only Englishman to become pontiff, Nicholas Breakspear was a member of the family which […]
Abandoned Bunkers of Salpalinja, Finland
In the early 1940s, tensions were high in Finland, as locals suspected that the Soviet Union, not satisfied with the territorial gains they had made during the Winter War (1939–1940), […]
3# The story of Babushka and the three kings
For many, Christmas is a time of merry making and gift giving, of bonding with friends and family and of spending time in the warm glow of love. And, of […]
#TodayInHistory – December 3
December 3 – Some important events on this day. 1586 👉🏼 Sir Thomas Herriot introduces potatoes to England from Colombia 1676 👉🏼 Battle of Lund (Scanian War): Swedish army of […]
The legend of the ghost playing the bagpipe at Edinburgh Castle
Every self-respecting Scottish castle has its own ghost, whether scary or melancholy, based on the history of each individual manor. In Edinburgh Castle, the best known in Scotland, a ghost […]
#TodayInHistory – December 2
December 2 – Some important events on this day. 1409 👉🏼 The University of Leipzig opens 1620 👉🏼 English language newspaper “Namloos” begins publishing in Amsterdam 1682 👉🏼 Anthony Ashley […]
Clare Island Lighthouse, an Ireland hidden gem
A visit to Clare Island Lighthouse, Ireland, is absolutely something different.First, you can leave your car behind at Roonagh Pier on the Mayo mainland and, journey across the water for […]
1# The myths and legends behind Christmas
Christmas is usually considered a Christian festival, but it’s probably the most syncretized holiday on the calendar. The Puritans banned it in England during Cromwell’s dictatorship, from 1647 to 1660, […]
The fish dish that killed a King…
England’s King Henry I died aged 66 on this day, December 1, 1135 after eating what was described at the time as “a surfeit of lampreys”. Of course, his death […]
#TodayInHistory – December 1
December 1 – Some important events on this day. 1135 👉🏼 England’s King Henry I died aged 66 after eating what was described at the time as “a surfeit of […]
The Hardy Tree: the churchyard ash tree surrounded by hundreds of gravestones placed there by author Thomas Hardy
Inside an ancient churchyard in London an ash tree is encircled with hundreds of overlapping gravestones, placed there by classic novelist Thomas Hardy. The cemetery, alongside London’s St. Pancras Old […]
#TodayInHistory – November 30
November 30 – Some important events on this day. 1016 👉🏼 Cnut the Great [Canute], King of Denmark, claims the English throne after the death of Edmund ‘Ironside’ 1406 👉🏼 […]