Category: History

Witness the transformation across time and interpret the past of human societies while shedding light on the most prominent events.

Who Was Saint Nicholas in History?
Two separate historical figures are combined to become St. Nicholas. Among them is Nicholas of Myra, the bishop of the city of Myra in modern-day Turkey, Antalya. During the 3rd century, he was alive in the records. In contrast, there was also Nicholas of Sion who also lived close to Myra but in the 6th century. Every year on December 6th, if you’ve been nice, there will be something delicious in your boot. The origin of the Saint Nicholas tradition has long been a mystery. Who is the patron saint of numerous churches? How did Saint Nicholas transition from a devout Christian to Santa Claus?
Who was the real Saint Nicholas?
Saint Nicholas Of Myra Bishop, c. 342. (Image: W. Commons)
Saint Nicholas is a composite mythological character based on the lives of two individuals whose stories became intermingled in folklore. This hybrid character of Saint Nicholas allegedly stilled a storm and brought the dead back to life, among many other marvels. The tale goes that he helped a poor man who was on the verge of letting his three children into prostitution because he was so desperate for money.
When nothing worked, St. Nicholas sneakily pitched in by dropping gold coins through the window at night. Therefore, the legend of the selfless guardian who visits unobserved youngsters with gifts through the night took shape in this period, a theme that created Santa Claus.
Among the many saints venerated in the Middle Ages, St. Nicholas gained widespread acclaim, especially in Russia, where he eventually became a patron saint. The European merchant guild Hanseatic League chose Saint Nicholas as its patron saint since he was the patron saint of merchants and sailors along with the repentant thieves. Even now, churches dedicated to St. Nicholas stand as living proof of this fact in many Hanseatic towns. The St. Nicholas Memorial was built to honor those who lost their lives due to Nazi persecution.
How Martin Luther pushed St. Nicholas back
Martin Luther
People have been exchanging gifts on December 6 in honor of St. Nicholas Day since at least the 12th century. Martin Luther condemned the saint worship and St. Nicholas gifts as simple-minded for the Reformation. In this stead, he introduced the practice of exchanging presents in Christmas instead of in the Saint Nicholas Day. People all around the globe, and not only in the Catholic world, observe this tradition at Christmas now.
Martin Luther is implicitly responsible for the creation of the Christ Child icon. St. Nicholas, who had been in charge of the presents up until that point and who may be traced back to the canonized Bishop Nicholas of Myra, was an obvious target in Luther’s war against the worship of saints in general. This is why in 1535 Luther changed the tradition of distributing gifts to children and family members from St. Nicholas Day to Christmas. No longer did Saint Nicholas deliver the presents; instead, the “Holy Christ” did it. Eventually, this image was reduced to the Christ Child because it was too abstract for children and regular people.
The Christ Child is a character from Christmas plays and nativities, not the infant Jesus in the manger, as is often believed. Mary and Joseph were commonly escorted by a group of heavenly girls with white robes and golden hair, with the “Christ Child” (the newborn Jesus) acting as their leader. This figure was then modeled after the many depictions of saints and angels seen in churches.
Origin of Black Pete, Saint Nicholas’ companion
Traditional children novels portrayed Black Pete or Zwarte Piet, a fearsome dark-skinned assistant of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus who chastised misbehaving children. (Image: W. Commons)
However, beginning in the 19th century, Santa Claus was shown not just as a generous gift-giver but also as a harsh disciplinarian. He was typically joined by a scary figure known variously as “Black Pete” or “Zwarte Piet,” all of whom are intended to terrify youngsters. He often wields a rod in place of a bag of gifts. But he wasn’t always a bad guy. It was widely believed in the 19th century that the origins of St. Nicholas’ helper were in Pagan traditions. He traveled over the winter months to chase away bad spirits.
In Pagan rituals, Black Pete was not black but rather had soot on his face that made him look like one. In Northern Europe about 1,100 BC, Pagan Shamans began dressing in animal skins and blackening their faces with soot to represent fabled monsters of the underworld, providing a possible genesis for the companions of Saint Nicholas (and Santa Claus) with a dark complexion.
On the other side, there are legends that cast Black Pete in an even worse light. For instance, Black Pete was a clergyman who cursed children who were joyfully rejoicing and dancing on Christmas Day in the year 1021. Others place the beginnings of Black Pete in the Middle Ages, when the concept of “child horror” was employed to legitimize reforms in the classrooms. Whatever the situation may be, he was actually often portrayed as an enemy of Saint Nicholas.
How did St. Nicholas turn into Santa Claus?
St. Nicholas is traditionally represented with the gown and mitre of a bishop in Central Europe. However, in other parts, the popular image of St. Nicholas is that of a jolly elderly man with a white beard and a thick red cloak, somewhat unlike Santa Claus. But Luther’s reformation did widely relegate St. Nicholas to obscurity and make him morph into Santa Claus.
Santa Claus has been around in history for quite some time. For a long time, on the night of December 5-6, St. Nicholas stuffed the shoes and socks of the Catholic aristocracy. He had an assistant named Knecht Ruprecht, or Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) who would reward good and hardworking kids and penalize slackers.
Changes that resulted in the modern Santa Claus image occurred in the 19th century. Combining elements of Zwarte Piet (his boots, bag, and rod) with the childlike godfather of St. Nicholas with his red bishop’s regalia and gift-giving role (and his long white beard), the stereotypical Santa Claus was born.
Santa Claus, however, has evolved from playing the role of the loving but authoritarian father who pays the children for good behavior and punishes them for bad, to that of a more lighthearted character who wears a thick red fur coat and has a big round belly and red, chubby cheeks.
The image of modern Santa Claus
Today’s iconic “Merry Old Santa Claus” painting was a piece of Union propaganda meant to solidify the public’s perception of Santa. (Image: by Thomas Nast, Wikimedia Commons)
The German immigrant Thomas Nast is credited with giving St. Nicholas the look of today’s Santa Claus. In the United States, the cartoonist depicted Santa Claus with a white beard, red suit, and fur-trimmed hat as early as 1862. The plump, bearded man brought gifts to Union troops stationed up north. It was Union propaganda meant to solidify the public’s perception of Santa.
After that, Santa Claus had been portrayed in the art for decades with a striking resemblance to the modern-day version. Coca-Cola didn’t utilize this version of Santa Claus in a commercial until 1931, which later popularized the character worldwide for the first time in history.
Bibliography
1. Jean Blacker; Glyn S. Burgess; Amy V. Ogden, 2013, “The Life of St Nicholas: Introduction”.
2. George Ferguson, 1976, “St. Nicholas of Myra or Bari”, Signs and Symbols in Christian Art, Oxford University Press.
3. Jeremy Seal, 2005, Nicholas: The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus.
December 23, 2022
Operation Hydra: Bombs on Hitler’s rocket factory
On this night in August of 1943, over 600 Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers dropped their lethal payload over the northern edge of the island of Usedom. Peenemünde was the intended objective of the assault. In the quiet fishing town, the Army Experimental Station (HVA) and the Air Force’s “Peenemünde-West” testing facility were established, making them the two greatest secret projects of the National Socialists.
A fatal pact with the National Socialists
In 1936, Wernher von Braun, a pioneer in the field of rocketry, directed a team of scientists to begin developing rockets for military use. The engineer, who was both musically and scientifically talented, had always hoped to launch a rocket to the moon. In Peenemünde, von Braun, motivated by opportunism, establishes a disastrous alliance with the National Socialists, who give him almost limitless funding for his research.
Decapitating the multi-headed monster
The British effort, codenamed “Operation Hydra”, was aimed primarily at Von Braun and the other scientists. The monster, or Nazi rocket program, was to have its head severed in homage to the Greek story. The innovative weapons the British feared had to be eliminated before they could be employed in serial combat. The rockets’ performance seemed to be quite massive. Space was first reached by a huge “Aggregat 4” rocket in 1942, which was launched from Peenemünde. To counteract Allied air strikes, Nazi propaganda rechristened the “Aggregat 4” as the “Vergeltungswaffe” 2 (V2).
The British receive information about a German secret weapon
As early as 1939, the British received proof that the Wehrmacht intended to use rockets as part of its arsenal. The British needed to know precisely what they were going for and where it was before they could launch their surprise assault on Adolf Hitler‘s rocket production. The volume of ambiguous evidence, however, was too much to process. There were a lot of reports of him just sitting around doing nothing. Other reports have been discounted as frauds by the British defense, presumably by German counterintelligence. British aerial photographers were able to zero in on their objective, Peenemünde, with the aid of cutting-edge imaging gear. The assault may now commence.
A successful deception maneuver
On that August evening, the procedure went well. For bomber squadrons had previously flown over the island in the nights before, air alarms were sounded on the ground, but instead of dropping their bombs over the Army Experimental Station, the bombers eventually struck Berlin, proving the effectiveness of the initial deception tactic.
On the night of August 17-18, as the bombers once again headed for Peenemünde, most German interceptors were sent to the Berlin region, and the HVA officials at Peenemünde relaxed in the knowledge that they were secure. People might laugh about the purportedly repeated false alert rather than immediately heading to the bunkers.
A momentous mix-up
The attackers, however, were humans too, and they made some blunders. Despite the full moon’s helpful visibility in pinpointing the attack’s timing, the so-called pathfinders had a hard time finding their bearings due to the thin cloud cover and the ground’s fog lights. These “target marks” misled mariners into thinking the northern tip of Peenemünde was the true point of direction, whereas in fact it was the island of Ruden, which was located north of Usedom. It moves the whole assault south by nearly three kilometers.
Leading scientists die; von Braun survives
The living quarters of the scientists and the forced workers were destroyed along with the research and manufacturing facilities. The Historisch-Technisches Museum Peenemünde estimates that 700 individuals, including scientists, residents, and the vast majority of forced workers, were killed in the assault. Both the head of engine development, Walther Thiel, and the operations director of the development facility, Erich Walther, were killed in the attack.
Fortunately for us, von Braun was hiding in a bunker close to the design office and was unharmed by the bombardment. The operation was only partially successful from a military standpoint. The “V2” had been developed to a significant degree by this time, and building plans had been contracted out. On October 6, less than two months after the first strike, a second “V2” rocket blasts out of Peenemünde.
Tragic consequences for forced laborers
After the Peenemünde incident, the Nazis move manufacturing underground.
About 500 people were murdered in the airstrike at the Trassenheide community camp. For the roughly 2,500 forced laborers who had been deployed from the Karlshagen I and II camps since May 1943, the bombardment had significantly more far-reaching implications. As soon as practicable, the decentralized transfer of “V2” production to subterranean facilities that had been planned was put into action. Some of it would be sent to the subterranean Mittelbau-Dora facility in the town of Nordhausen, where workers were subjected to appalling circumstances.
As many people are killed in production as in actual combat
During the “V2” production, around 12,000 individuals were killed in the subcamps of the concentration camps and in the tunnels underneath them. Between 8,000 and 12,000 people were killed in wartime “V2” attacks on London and Antwerp. The vast majority of these victims were innocent bystanders. It follows that the manufacturing of the “V2” results in more fatalities than the weapon itself does.
Feared “wonder weapon”
Over the course of two years, from September 1943 to March 1945, over 3,200 “V2” rockets were launched. While Peenemünde was also responsible for the development of the flying bomb Fi-103 (“V1”), the “V2,” which stood about 14 meters in height and carried roughly 750 kg of explosives, lacked any kind of defense or early warning system. As a result, extreme fear was generated among the general public. However, the “V2” did not live up to the expectations of the German military. The so-called “wonder weapon” ends up not changing anything about the outcome of the battle.
Von Braun goes to the USA and continues to develop rockets
Rocket scientist Wernher von Braun worked for NASA after the war.
“V2” rockets were captured by the Allies after World War II ended. As the East-West war escalated, the United States and the Soviet Union were both eager to recruit German rocket scientists and engineers. Von Braun had joined the NSDAP in 1938 and subsequently became an SS-Sturmbannführer, but the Nazi scientist and rocket engineer soon found himself working for NASA on the Saturn V “moon rocket.” The 1969 moon landing was the fulfillment of a lifetime goal for the rocket scientist.
Bibliography:
1. Ramsey, Syed (2016). Tools of War: History of Weapons in Modern Times. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-86019-83-7.
2. Hewlett, Richard G.; Duncan, Francis (1969). Atomic Shield, 1947–1952. A History of the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Vol. 2. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 180.
3. V-2: Nazi Rocket Details Are Finally Revealed”. LIFE. Vol. 17, no. 26. 25 December 1944. pp. 46–48
4. Jones, R. V. (1998) [1978]. Most Secret War (pbk. Wordsworth Editions, Ware ed.). London: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 978-1-85326-699-7.
5. Middlebrook, M. (2006) [1982]. The Peenemünde Raid: The Night of 17−18 August 1943 (pbk. Pen & Sword, Barnsley ed.). London: Allen Lane. ISBN 978-1-84415-336-7.
6. Neufeld, Michael J. (1995). The Rocket and the Reich: Peenemünde and the Coming of the Ballistic Missile Era. New York: The Free Press. ISBN 9780029228951.
December 23, 2022
Three Wise Men: The Biblical Characters and Their Origin
On January 6, religious Christians celebrate the day the Three Wise Men came to pay their respects to the Christ Child in Bethlehem. The Bible says that the men, sometimes known as the Biblical Magi or Three Kings, visited the infant Jesus with gifts. What kind of kings, if any, did they really play? And were there really three of them?
Origin of the Biblical Magi
This may disappoint the coral singers of the Epiphany, but the Bible says nothing about the number of the kings. The Greek word “magoi” (which is where the English word “magi” comes from) is the source for Matthew’s use of the term “wise men from the east” to describe the travelers who followed the star to Bethlehem to find the infant Jesus. According to the Gospel of Matthew, it was Roman Jewish King Herod the Great (b. 20 BC) who sent the wise men.
The Greek word “magoi” means a practitioner of magic, including even astrology. The word was used for the well-read and cultured men of the day, for whom stargazing or alchemy represented a scientific showdown with the cosmos. Therefore, “wise men,” as later translated by Martin Luther, was a better wording than the magi. The whole theme was that the foreign aristocracy was visiting the infant Jesus.
Popular in Christmas myths and rituals all across the globe, the Three Wise Men are generally shown as aged, wise men in traditional Christian art. It is often held that the three wise men story symbolized the three major faiths of the time—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—and that the presents they brought Jesus signified his three main functions as king, priest, and sacrifice, at least for the Christian scholars.
How Many Magi Were There?
The Magi following the Bethlehem Star.
The idea that there should have been three magi is just an assumption with no historical value. The Biblical Magi brought three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. However, any number of individuals could deliver these three gifts. That is why some of the oldest murals about the Biblical Magi depict two men, while others have four. Only in the Middle Ages do the Biblical Magi become “three kings” or “three wise men.” One of the wise men had a dark complexion, and his name was Balthazar; his two companions’ names were Caspar and Melchior.
It’s not certain whether the Three Wise Men ever existed. Many Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) prophecies were used by Matthew to support the claim that Jesus was the promised Messiah. The story of the Three Wise Men from the East reads like a patchwork of many prophecies. The noblemen later became the focal point of Medieval Nativity scenes. Balthazar, the dark-skinned member of the pair, became a fan favorite and continues to be featured in dark skin as he was supposed to be of African origin.
The Bones of the Magi
Cologne Cathedral, Shrine of the Three Magi, created around 1181-1230 by the goldsmith Nicholas of Verdun. (Image: Beckstet, Wikimedia Commons)
You may not need to go back in time if you want to pay a visit to the Three Wise Men. Christians believe that their remains are housed in the Shrine of the Three Kings, a golden shrine located in Cologne Cathedral in Germany. The Shrine of the Three Magi created around 1181-1230 by the goldsmith Nicholas of Verdun.
The remains were one of the Middle Ages’ most priceless artifacts of cultural significance. The Milan Cathedral was the first location where the bones were stored. The artifact was a war booty given to Rainald von Dassel, Archbishop of Cologne, by Frederick Barbarossa after the latter’s 1162 conquest of the city.
Three men of varying ages were determined to be the source of the bones when they were inspected in 1864 by an anatomist in Bonn. At first glance, this seems meaningless. But the bones are still among the oldest authentic Christian artifacts since they were found on a piece of 2nd-century Syrian fabric, indicating that they were treasured as relics at an early date anyway.
The Chalking-The-Door Tradition
Chalking the door is a religious tradition for Biblical Magi. (Bill Barber, CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED)
Whether or not the Three Wise Men existed, the mythology still motivates hundreds of kids every year to dress up as nobles and chant their way around neighborhoods in search of donations for charity. The year and the initials of the wise men are chalked into the doors on the Fest of Epiphany on January 6 as follows: 20*C+M+B+23 (for 2023).
In time, Christians also interpreted these initials to mean “Christus Mansionem Benedicat” in Latin, or “Christ, bless this house. This “chalking the door” tradition was also a Scottish way of telling renters they had to leave, until recently.
-> See also: Christmas in Scotland: Traditions and Celebrations
Origin of Epiphany
Today, one of Christianity’s earliest celebrations—Epiphany—is encapsulated in a tradition that has its roots in legend: God incarnates as Jesus Christ. Epiphany has its roots in the early Christians’ celebration of Christmas, which was more interested in the metaphor of light than the romanticism of a manger.
It’s possible that the first Christians appropriated and reinterpreted this feast from various religions and also the Roman Emperor Cult. Because the church in the Roman Empire accepted the popular celebration of the unconquered sun god (“Sol Invictus”) and its symbolism as Christmas on December 25.
Even though January 6 is not as significant a Christian holiday as Christmas or Easter, it is nonetheless observed as a holiday in various countries, from Argentina, Bulgaria, and Egypt to the United States or Finland.
For a long time, January 6, the day of Epiphany, was a major celebration day. Until the middle of the 20th century, the first day of school usually began later than January 6th after the winter break in western countries. Since the public was aware that Christmas celebrations often continued until at least January 6.
Bibliography
1. Nigel Pennick (2015). “Pagan Magic of the Northern Tradition: Customs, Rites, and Ceremonies.” Inner Traditions – Bear & Company.
2. “An Epiphany Blessing of Homes and Chalking the Door”. Discipleship Ministries. 2007.
3. Essick Amber, John Inscore (2011). “Distinctive Traditions of Epiphany” (PDF). 2016.
December 23, 2022
Advent Wreath: The History and Meaning
A religious scholar made the first Advent wreath. The traditional Advent wreath is a dense wreath, often crafted from fir foliage, and adorned with four candles. The one before it, however, by Hamburg theologian Johann Hinrich Wichern, included a great deal more adornment with candles. This is the importance of the Advent tradition and its historical background.
The custom of decorating a home with an Advent wreath dates back to the 19th century. The Protestant-influenced Hamburg orphanage Rauhen Haus, founded in 1833 by Johann Hinrich Wichern, placed special emphasis on the holiday season. The kids were constantly asking Wichern in the days leading up to Christmas when Christmas would arrive. Foreseeing this inquiry, he fashioned a Christmas calendar of sorts in 1839 to help the youngsters pass the time.
The Pagan origin of the wreath
A Pagan ritual.
Historically, wreaths were created in Europe for use in pagan ceremonies connected to the four seasons and the celebration of new life. The Roman link of the wreath with honor and virtue was adopted by Christianity as its own. The object was later used by many cultures, including the ancient Romans, and found its way all the way to the Advent wreath of Christianity.
Leaves, flowers, and branches could be woven together to form a wreath, which could be worn around the head. It was customary to wear the wreath at special events and religious holidays. Similar to how characters from Roman and Greek mythology, as well as Roman and Greek kings and heroes, were shown wearing wreaths in art throughout the Middle Ages, so too did the Virgin Mary and other saints.
A lighted wagon wheel was the first Advent wreath
Unlike modern Advent calendars, which tally the days from December 1st to Christmas Eve, he used a wagon wheel with as many candles as there were days between the beginning of Advent and Christmas Eve. Every year, the number of days between the first Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve varies between 22 (when Christmas Eve occurs on the fourth Sunday of Advent) and 28 (when Christmas Eve occurs on the Saturday following the fourth Advent). They numbered 23 in 1839.
Johann Hinrich Wichern (1808-1881), the creator of the first Advent wreath.
The content of the first wreath
To honor those who have passed away, Wichern placed the wreath in the orphanage’s chapel. It was lit with 19 thin red candles and 4 large white ones. A fresh candle was lit each day of Advent, with smaller ones used throughout the week and larger ones reserved for Sundays. In this manner, the kids could keep track of the time until Christmas. One beneficial byproduct of the wreath was that it helped kids acquire basic counting skills.
The Advent wreath has become a global phenomenon
Until the turn of the century, the wreath was not widely used in Protestant churches or private homes unless it was additionally decked with fir foliage. It is also believed that the first wreath was displayed in a Catholic church in Cologne in 1925. Since at least the immediate postwar period, it has been widely available in every imaginable form all around the globe.
These days, you may get wreaths in a wide variety of materials, from terrycloth to plastic to porcelain to portable, collapsible wreaths. One thing that they all have in common is that, unlike the Wichern wreath, these wreaths only contain four candles, one for each Sunday in Advent. Since a wreath would need to be 3 to 7 feet (1 to 2 meters) in diameter to hold more than twenty candles, the rest have been abandoned throughout time.
However, the Wichern custom is maintained in the Rauhen Haus in Hamburg. This is where you may see the first-ever Advent wreath, created by Johann Hinrich Wichern in 1839.
The color of fir is a symbol of optimism
It’s likely that the Advent wreath’s continued popularity today may be attributed to the depth and clarity of the symbolism it conveys. The circle, with no beginning and no end, is a symbol of eternity and infinity, as well as, in Christian belief, the resurrection and, not to be forgotten, community.
One interpretation of the wreath’s four candles is that they represent the four cardinal points of the world. In the middle of ice and snow, in the cold and darkness, new life prepares itself, and the evergreen fir in winter is a cipher of that hope. Furthermore, there is a light in the early winter darkness that grows stronger each Sunday—a symbolic representation of the hope Christians have in Jesus.
The non-Christian origin of the Advent wreath
The Advent wreath actually evolved from a non-Christian practice. In the early Middle Ages, maids and servants could cite an unwritten rule that said they were exempt from working outdoors in the bitter winter. For this purpose, they would remove a wheel from the wagon they used to transport farm equipment to the fields from its storage spot in the barn and hang it either from the roof ridge or within the home above the chimney. However, evergreen branches were added to the design of the wheel since it was also thought of as a representation of the sun, and its return in the spring was hoped to be signaled by their presence.
December 23, 2022
The Real Origin of Santa Claus: Who Was He Really?
When and where did Santa Claus first appear in history? Perhaps one of the most endearing fabrications ever created is the character of Santa Claus. He travels great distances to deliver gifts to millions upon millions of homes throughout the world all at once, just in time for Christmas. But that’s not how the actual world works. Putting aside an adult’s rationale, this picture does make sense for kids who peek out of keyholes on Christmas Eve, giddy with excitement and amazement at the prospect of seeing the mysterious gift-giver in person but also for those who don’t actually believe in him.
The modern conception of Santa Claus was actually created by a Union propaganda cartoonist during the American Civil War.
Santa Claus and materialism
Despite the annual focus on materialism, there is more to the story of Santa Claus than meets the eye. His representation echoes a centuries-old custom that has a direct connection to generosity. There can’t be anything wrong with Santa Claus to start with since giving is caring, right?
However, criticism of the excesses of the holiday and of Santa Claus as a symbol of it has become as firmly associated with the fat, old, friendly man as his white ruffled beard, bushy eyebrows, red robe, and fur-trimmed cap. In some places, chocolate Santas appear on the shelves already in late summer.
Did Coca-Cola invent Santa Claus?
Artist: Haddon “Sunny” Sundblom (1899-1976) (Image: The Coca-Cola Company)
That pretty much sums up what Santa is like these days. Something that the soft drink manufacturer Coca-Cola had a hand in creating and popularizing. Effervescent specialists chose the round, vulnerable man as the face of a successful advertising campaign in 1931, when the globe had not yet recovered from the greatest economic crisis in history. However, Coca-Cola is not responsible for the existence of Santa Claus.
Who was the original Santa Claus?
Saint Nicholas Of Myra Bishop, c. 342.
Instead, Saint Nicholas is where Santa Claus gets his inspiration from. Since the 14th century, the 6th of December has been a day of gift-giving in honor of Saint Nicholas. However, why him specifically? As a personification, St. Nicholas combines the characteristics of two different historical figures.
One such person is Bishop Nicholas of Myra, who served in the 3rd century in what is now Turkey. Nicholas of Sion, a historical figure from the 6th century who lived in an area close to Myra, is also included in the legend.
Stories tell us how these two men’s lives merged to become the legendary character of Saint Nicholas of Myra, who, according to the myth, worked many miracles. Some of his miracles include calming a storm, reviving the dead, and rescuing three young ladies from a life of prostitution by sneaking gold into their father’s house at night. The legend of the selfless benefactor and guardian, Santa Claus, who visited unobserved youngsters at night to provide presents, was formed from this act of kindness.
Luther established the Christ Child
Martin Luther played the biggest role in the creation of Santa Claus.
But then the reformer Martin Luther came along, and he had a low opinion about paying tribute to the dead. He advocated turning attention away from cults of personality and onto God and Jesus. Even now, people celebrate St. Nicholas Day on December 6. In the Netherlands, they call him “Sinterklaas,” which is said to be the original name of “Santa Claus”.
It wasn’t until the Reformation of the 16th century that the great gift-giver was destined to be transformed into someone else. As early as 1530, Luther separated bishops from the role of “Holy Christian” of St. Nicholas and made him only the “giver of gifts.” Luther’s goals were fulfilled when the custom of exchanging presents shifted from the first of the month to Christmas, the later of the month.
Historians disagree on whether the “Holy Christ” was meant to represent a young version of Jesus or an angel-like being. But at that point, he had become the Christ Child after all these years. He was known to be shown with white robes and wings sometimes.
When did modern Santa Claus first appear?
An illustration for the “Old Santeclaus with Much Delight,” 1821.
Family gift-giving at Christmas has been a popular tradition through the years and decades, and it has also served as a teaching instrument: it is always the good people who receive presents. Santa Claus is a composite character, the result of a variety of traditions that grew more secular as the 19th century progressed and distanced themselves from the Christ Child and the original Saint Nicholas.
An anonymous artist in 1821 created eight illustrations for the poem “Old Santeclaus with Much Delight,” which depicted, among other things, a man in a scarlet coat riding a reindeer sled for the first time in history. It’s the earliest written account of Santa Claus’s arrival on Christmas Eve and the first time his reindeer or sleigh is mentioned (let alone depicted). The artworks included with this poem are the first-ever portrayals of Santa Claus to be published in print.
A tiny booklet titled “The Children’s Friend: A New-Year’s Present, to the Little Ones from Five to Twelve,” by American poet William B. Gilley was also released in 1821.
The American writer Clement Clarke Moore’s “The Night Before Christmas,” written two years later in 1823, is famed for its description of a bearded Santa Claus. When Christmas finally arrives, the gifts follow, and this long tradition is described in a poem by German poet August Fallersleben, “Tomorrow Comes Santa Claus,” in 1835. His Santa Claus brought the children sabers, rifles, and flags, which could be handy in a time stuck between the July Revolution (1830) and the German Revolution (1848).
The man behind the modern version of Santa Claus
Today’s iconic “Merry Old Santa Claus” painting was really just another piece of Union propaganda meant to solidify the public’s perception of Santa. (Image: by Thomas Nast, Wikimedia Commons)
At the end of the 19th century, newspapers and Heinrich Hoffmann’s “Struwwelpeter” children’s book both included additional passages and caricatures of Santa Claus. After a while, the big man stopped wearing his St. Nicholas bishop’s robes, miters, and crozier and instead switched to a cloak and pointed cap for the first time.
Luther’s reformation did at least relegate St. Nicholas to obscurity, and now Nicholas was morphing into Santa Claus. The cartoonist Thomas Nast, who settled in the United States after migrating from Germany in 1862, similarly depicted a plump, bearded man bringing gifts to Union troops stationed up north. Santa Claus had been portrayed in the art for decades with a striking resemblance to the modern-day version after that.
The modern conception of Santa Claus was actually created by a Union propaganda cartoonist during the American Civil War.
The evolution of gift-giving
Gift-giving has evolved from an act of unilateral giving to one of mutual “gratification” since the 1931 Coca-Cola commercial, which depicted Santa Claus on billboards for the first time throughout the globe. There are no examples of a gift exchange in the Christmas spirit as we understand it in the Bible.
Consequently, particularly in the first centuries of the Christian era, giving had to be viewed more as actual support for survival than as an expression of individual love, the enhancement of pleasure in life, or the hope for a happy union. Therefore, there was less of a symbiotic gift exchange between the origin of Christmas and Santa Claus.
Compared to Santa Claus, the gifts of the Magi (the “Three Wise Men“) at Christ’s birth can be seen more as a one-way exchange as their offerings recognized Jesus’ holy status at his birth.
Many people find it difficult to express such personalized love via Christmas presents. It’s not always simple to provide a gift that both pleases and delights the recipient, as well as meets their reasonable expectations. Equally ambiguous is the appropriate response to a gift that may not be to one’s liking. There’s always the option of putting the blame on Santa Claus. That’s essentially his job description as well.
Bibliography
1. Jean Blacker; Glyn S. Burgess; Amy V. Ogden, 2013, “The Life of St Nicholas: Introduction”.
2. Gerry Bowler, 2005. Santa Claus: a biography. McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7710-1668-4.
3. George Ferguson, 1976, “St. Nicholas of Myra or Bari”, Signs and Symbols in Christian Art, Oxford University Press.
4. Jeremy Seal, 2005, Nicholas: The Epic Journey from Saint to Santa Claus.
December 22, 2022
Origin of Christmas tree: From Pagan roots to modern tradition
Yes, there is no mention of a Christmas tree in the narrative surrounding Jesus’ birth. And the early Christmas trees did not appear until the 15th century. When Martin Luther and other reformers claimed the Christmas tree for the Protestants, the Nativity scene had hitherto been associated with Christmas only in the Catholic tradition. The habit of adorning the home with evergreens is traced to the Germans, and it finally spread to the United States in the 1830s. The custom didn’t fully take off until German Prince Albert offered one to his wife, Queen Victoria of England. Royal fever was propagated through illustrations of the couple in 1848 in front of a Christmas tree.
Christmas tree has been around for at least 4,000 years
The Samhain festival of the Celts is at least 4,500 to 5000 years old.
The Christmas tree custom, which has been around for at least 4,000 years, has its roots in Northern Europe, notably among the Celts. This is due to the Samhain festival of the Celts which is at least 4,500 to 5000 years old. The winter solstice represented the sun’s rebirth and renewal, hence its symbolism was significant. In the past, on December 24, it was usual to adorn the Christmas tree with edible items like fruit and ears of wheat. In order to compete with this pagan event, the Christian Church in the 4th century decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on the same day.
The Celts attributed a tree to each month of the year, and December’s tree was the one they identified with the celebration of the winter solstice. This custom predates Christianity by at least 2,500 years. In the 11th century, men used red apples as a garnish to represent the heavenly realm of Christianity. In Europe, an ordinary festive tree first made its appearance in Alsace, France, in the 12th century. The tree was given the moniker “the Christmas tree” only for the first time in 1521. Apples, chocolates, and miniature cakes were placed within, and the star of Bethlehem was carefully placed atop the tree as a symbol of the celebration.
Was the first Christmas tree a palm tree?
Probably not but the Christmas tree’s Arabic origin appears in the Koran in a passage with Maryam (or Mary), where she is astonished by childbirth pangs and rests against a tree. Arabic for “Jesus” is “Isa,” and he is born beneath a (Christmas) tree in this story. But this tree wasn’t your average tree; it was a palm tree.
The Pagan origin of the Christmas tree
A Pagan ritual with Donar’s oak (or Thor’s oak) behind.
The Christmas tree is an ancient custom and it seems likely that the modern Christmas tree has its roots in a more Pagan observance. Pagan people traditionally welcomed winter into their houses at the time of the winter solstice. These living, verdant branches were thought to ward off evil winter spirits while also promising safety and fruitfulness.
The custom of putting up a Christmas tree and decorating it dates back to ancient pagan customs. An evergreen tree was decked up with paper ornaments, candles, fruit, and nuts at the time. For this purpose, apples were employed more than any other fruit.
The Christmas tree also dates back to Saturnalia in ancient Rome when the Romans celebrated their god Saturn. In order to celebrate the arrival of spring at the winter solstice on 17–23 December, Pagan Roman families always brought their homes evergreen branches and adorned trees which later became the base of today’s Christmas tree.
Many of the customs we identify with Christmas originated in Saturnalia festivities which also originated in Pagan traditions such as candles, dancing, eating, wreaths, and gifts.
The Romans were familiar with the practice of using green branches to mark the New Year’s Eve celebration, since they did it themselves during the Kalends (the Roman New Year festival) by decorating their homes with laurel.
Evergreen branches were also utilized as a symbol of perpetual life when the Druids, ancient Celtic priests, decorated their temples in Northern Europe. As the “barbaric” Vikings venerated Balder, the sun god, evergreen trees were honored throughout Scandinavia.
Ra was a hawk-headed deity in ancient Egyptian religion who was crowned with a solar disk. The Egyptians celebrated the victory of life over death by decorating their dwellings with green palm rushes on the solstice, when Ra started to recover from his curse.
The Christian origin of the modern Christmas tree
Boniface felling the Donar Oak, painting by Heinrich Maria von Hess in 1834.
An Englishman named Saint Boniface (675-754) traveled to what is now Germany to share the gospel with the native Pagan tribes. The great tree known as Donar’s oak (Thor’s oak), which the new Christians had been worshiping and using for sacrifices, was knocked down by him in 723 or 724 with one mighty blow of his axe. A fir tree sprang from the hole where the tree had split in two.
Because it was a hallowed tree, the Tree of the Christ Child, Saint Boniface explained to the villagers that it held the promise of eternal life. Then, on Christmas, Boniface instructed them to bring a fir tree from the woods into their homes and adorn it with gifts of love and kindness. The result was the origin of the fir Christmas tree.
In the Middle Ages (between the 5th and 15th centuries), Pagan and Christian beliefs began to blend. Church leaders realized early on that they needed to reach out to illiterate members of the community by representing biblical themes in art. This practice gained momentum throughout the Middle Ages.
Among them all, the myth of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden had long been told. So, a “paradise tree” would be instructive for a paradise setting. It was imperative that this tree be evergreen, thus, a fir tree was chosen. Meanwhile, the red apple in the story was the symbol of knowledge, and therefore, it became an indispensable part of the Christmas tree, even today.
The original tale told around the green tree with the apple was not the Christmas story but rather the story of Adam and Eve and the snake. The “tree of paradise” became associated with the Christmas tale throughout time, and thus it may be seen as the progenitor of the Christmas tree that is now adorned with gifts of candy, cookies, and ornaments made of gold.
It is safe to say that the modern version of the Christmas tree with fir was created by Christians. Above all else, though, the actual Christmas tree is an emblem of expectation in many different faiths.
Fir trees in Germany were the first to be decorated
For the modern history of the Christmas tree, a decorated tree is first referenced in 1419 in conjunction with the bakers’ guild of Freiburg in Germany. Though the tree’s origins are still murky. For instance, 2020 marked the 510th anniversary of the adorned Christmas tree in Riga, Latvia.
Therefore, southwest Germany seems to be the birthplace of the decorated fir tree, which evolved from the practice of keeping evergreen branches inside the home, a Pagan tradition. A local legend claims that the Christmas tree trade took place in Strasbourg as early as 1535.
Candles were not offered, but the little yew, holly, and box trees adorned the parlor walls at the time. In 1570, the ritual spread north to Bremen, where guild houses of artisans hung apples, and nuts on their trees. Children were encouraged to take the edible decorations home and devour them.
The fir as a Christmas tree was popularized in the 19th century
In this illustration from December 1848, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and their children all gather around the royal Christmas tree.
Beginning in 1730, candles were also used to adorn Christmas trees. But initially, only Protestant households decorated trees with lights. During the liberation struggles against Napoleon Bonaparte at the turn of the 19th century, the fir tree became a popular decoration in homes of all faiths. Even non-Christians began to associate the tree with Christmas during this period.
At the tail end of the 19th century, the practice of adorning trees spread across Germany, first to the urban centers and later to the rural areas. Eventually, the Christmas tree made its way throughout Europe, helped by the links of German aristocratic families to other kingdoms.
Although the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree began in Germany, it was made widely known in the 1840s in Britain thanks to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The German Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was Victoria’s mother, therefore the little princess’s upbringing included a Christmas tree and all the trimmings. When the Illustrated London News released a depiction of the royal family gathered around a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle that year (1848), the practice of adorning an entire tree became more widespread in Britain.
Along with emigrants, German troops who participated in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) also helped spread the Christmas tree across the New World in the 1800s. Washington, D.C.’s first “Christmas Tree” was placed in front of the White House in 1891.
Origin of the notable Christmas trees
The National Christmas Tree of 1929. (Image: Congress’s Library)
The tradition of the “Christmas Tree” spread to the United States in the 19th century. In the United States, the Ellipse to the south of the White House has had a Christmas tree every year since November 1923, when First Lady Grace Goodhue Coolidge (1879–1957) approved the idea and gave the go-ahead to the District of Columbia Public Schools in Washington. The tree was officially dubbed the “National Christmas Tree” by its organizers.
Another well-known Christmas tree has its roots in WWII. It is the Norwegian fir that is displayed annually in London’s Trafalgar Square. Since 1947, London’s Trafalgar Square has featured a Christmas tree that has been sent from Oslo. This event is a tribute to the two nations’ resistance against Nazi Germany.
Trafalgar Square Christmas trees. Image: Wikimedia.
Similarly, at Christmastime, the Pope and everyone in Rome marvel at the beauty of a massive tree in St. Peter’s Square known as the Vatican Christmas Tree. It is customary to import the tree from a new nation every year.
The glistening Christmas tree even spread to Latin America after World War II. The ones with the means would buy a tree imported from Europe and adorn it with cotton flakes on Christmas Eve in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia.
A Christmas tree is an essential part of the holiday season, bringing delight to both children and adults. And today, towns and cities fight to have the biggest and best Christmas tree in the middle of their biggest square. A clipped tree usually dies within 40 days. But scientists have found a way to increase their life to 75 days.
December 22, 2022
In 1930, Jazz Musicians Gave a Concert for Cows
A group of female jazz musicians, The Ingenues, serenaded cows in a 1930 American barn. Was it because no one else was interested in hearing them? Regardless, the musicians had picked a captive audience that couldn’t just leave. In 1930, photographer Angus Boyd McVicar came upon them in a Madison, Wisconsin, cow barn.
The astonished cows
There are a lot of cows in Wisconsin. A lot. We now have 1.3 million dairy cows for every 6,000,000 people on the land. As a result, it is one of the top milk-producing states in the country. Only around 8,000 dairy farms remain now, compared to the 125,000 that existed in 1930. However, annual milk production has increased from 5 million to 14 million tons.
On August 8, 1930, the “Capital Times,” a local newspaper, told its readers the story of the barnyard serenade: Under the title “Twelve musicians play for a herd of cows,” the publication reported on a meeting between an “enthusiastic band of girls” and “astonished cows” at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for a social experiment. The goal of the experiment was to compare the milk production of a cow that had been exposed to the soothing sounds of a trombone with that of a cow that had been subjected to the monotony of daily life.
The university’s cowshed and dairy had served as a vital educational and research resource for the dairy industry since the turn of the 20th century. The purpose of the research was to increase milk production for dairy farmers and ranchers by optimizing cow-raising and feeding practices, eliminating illness, and artificially inseminating the herd.
Consequently, studying the effect of music on milk production made sense. More so since the jazz band The Ingenues had recently finished a three-night run at the Revue Theater in town. The name originated from the fact that naïve female performers used to be referred to as “ingenues,” a phrase that described a common kind of theme in musicals and plays.
They had performed in every civilized nation
The Ingenues. The Band Beautiful (1928). (Image: Arizona.edu)
It wasn’t hard at all to find opportunities for performance for Chicago’s 25 young women in the orchestra. Among the many stops on their 60,000-mile voyage were Cairo, Melbourne, and London.
buy ampicillin online http://rxdc.com/images/html/ampicillin.html no prescription pharmacy

The Ingenues were not afraid of difficulty, performing in every civilized nation and even in those regions that weren’t nearly as civilized.
The article said that the group’s tour manager’s peace was disrupted only by the energetic women’s need to purchase mementos. One time, he allegedly stopped them from spending their pooled funds on a white elephant in India.
It’s possible that the Madison varsity cattle concert was planned to help the musicians get over the loss of the elephant. There was no definitive outcome from the experiment because “the cows were too astonished by the unusual treat to respond in an anticipated way,” as reported by the newspaper. For reliable results, it was said that more thorough documentation over a longer time frame was required. The band members advocated for scientifically-minded bands to perform every day during milking time.
The idea that playing music to cows makes them produce more milk has survived into the modern day. An English farmer in 2009 hired an opera singer to perform for his cows with the help of an ice cream firm. The cows were uninterested, and they proceeded to eat in their usual stoic fashion. Additionally, there were also scientific experiments.
The increase in milk production
University of Leicester psychologists conducted the largest study to date in 2001. For nine weeks, they listened to the sounds of around a thousand animals every day for twelve hours. The udders were on average 3% fuller (or 0.73 liters) when slow music was played.
The British found that by playing soft music during milking, they were able to reduce the tension the animals felt throughout the process, resulting in increased production. They also made a playlist of barn songs, including “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed, “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M., and “Symphony No. 6” by Beethoven, while “Space Cowboy” by Jamiroquai and “The Size of a Cow” by Wonderstuff were not well received by the cows.
Those who didn’t believe it still had their doubts. It was noted in 2014 by Canadian agricultural researcher Anne Marie de Passille that there had been no further large-scale tests to validate the findings.
buy valtrex online http://rxdc.com/images/html/valtrex.html no prescription pharmacy

Such studies are both difficult and costly to carry out.
Nevertheless, many American dairy farms do play music, often of the Spanish or country kind, as reported by the U.S. magazine “Modern Farmer” in 2014. Some researchers attribute this to staff members’ individual tastes. According to De Passilles, “they are individuals, and we didn’t select them for their taste in music.
buy bull 100 online http://rxdc.com/images/html/bull-100.html no prescription pharmacy

[…] Why would they all like the same music?”
December 21, 2022
Bertha Benz: The Woman Who Revolutionized Transportation
She fixed the car with a hairpin and a garter and got gas from pharmacies. Bertha Benz, Karl Benz’s wife, drove the first cross-country car trip with their newly developed automobile in 1888. It was quite the ordeal, what with the nighttime fog and everything. Also, there was the risk of law enforcement, for the simple reason that what Bertha Benz was doing was dangerous and strictly illegal.
When writing his memoirs in the autumn of 1885, Karl Benz was already certain that his motor vehicle was more than just an abstract concept with no real-world significance. The “Satan’s vehicle,” as its detractors dubbed it, traveled for kilometers with ease at speeds of up to 12.5 miles (20 km) per hour. To protect his idea, Benz filed for a patent. The patent was received by him on January 29, 1886.
The Benz Patent-Motorwagen Number 3 of 1886, used by Bertha Benz for the highly publicized first long distance road trip, 106 km (66 mi), by automobile. Image: Wikimedia.
The 2.5-horsepower @ 500 rpm engine of the Model III.
Almost overnight, the “horseless carriage” gained widespread attention. There was little question that this motorized velocipede would quickly amass a large fan base. However, the detractors’ opinions were more widely heard. They called the gasoline automobile a joke and insisted that the road should be reserved for horses.
There were just no takers for the three-wheeled motor vehicle. The expected growth in the economy never happened. At this point, Karl Benz was ready to throw in the towel for good: “Now I realized that I was at the bottom, at the very bottom, and had to knock like a beggar at the doors of humanity and its culture.”
Bertha Benz, his wife, had had enough of waiting around. She was confident in the future of the “self-propelled vehicle” and set out to show its viability to everyone, even her cynical husband. But he was unaware of Bertha’s intentions. He was too timid to take such a risk, and there was no way Karl would have approved it. Early in the morning of August 1, 1888, Bertha and her two boys, Richard and Eugen, together with the automobile, vanished.
Time to leave
Bertha Benz in 1870.
Bertha Benz, then 39 years old, became the first person to drive an automobile for a long distance on August 5, 1888, when she and her sons Richard, then 13, and Eugen, then 15, traveled from Mannheim to Pforzheim in a Model III without informing her husband or obtaining permission from the authorities.
They had quietly left on the very first cross-country car journey in the history of the automobile. An unexpected window of opportunity had presented itself. Sister Bertha Benz of Pforzheim, Germany, had just given birth. Bertha Benz was keen on paying her a visit. When you could just get in your self-propelled car and head on the road, there was no use in taking the train. Immediately, her boys set off on the reckless journey that would make Bertha Benz famous. As she later reflected on her life, “I was probably the first woman driver in the world.”
When they finally got the vehicle onto the road at night, they still had around 60 miles (100 km) to go. The beginning was rocky. The automobile wouldn’t start until the third try. Sighing with relief, the trio settled into the driver’s seat and sped out into the semidarkness, giddy with anticipation. That was the furthest distance any automobile had ever traveled in the history of cars. It was possible that they just wouldn’t make the 66-mile (106-km) trip. The car was not expected to last on such a long-distance trip.
Bertha Benz Memorial Route Monument (Image: Travelingboy)
Also, there was the risk of law enforcement being able to prevent them since what they were undertaking was illegal. The authorities had maintained a close eye on Karl Benz to ensure that he adhered to the terms of his driving permits and only tested his motorcars on designated roads and at certain hours.
The vehicle was restricted from leaving the city limits of Mannheim. For good reason too, since many incidents might have been avoided if the horses hadn’t been so afraid of this clattering, smelling monster of a car. The factory gate was guarded 24 hours a day by the police to prevent any unauthorized exits.
Prior to this landmark journey, motorized drives were often trial runs of a few miles that ended back where they started. This adventurous journey, taken in one direction over wagon tracks, spanned a total distance of around 106 kilometers (66 mi).
The world’s first gas station
At 1888, Bertha Benz and her sons Eugen and Richard were driving through Germany from Mannheim to Pforzheim when they stopped in Wiesloch to refuel the car at the pharmacy. (Image: Mercedes-Benz Group Media)
After just a short distance, though, the first difficulties began to surface. White clouds of steam were billowing out of the copper water tank above the cylinder. There was an immediate demand for cooling water. Bertha Benz and her boys located a well and refilled their water supplies. Then, not far from Wiesloch, they had emptied the gas tank.
Apparently, Karl Benz hadn’t realized how enduring his car would be. The residents of Wiesloch circled the car out of curiosity. One kid approached Bertha Benz and said, “Are you part of the vanguard of a circus?” A greengrocer cried out, “Holy sandbag!” “There’s a woman above!” One of them asked if they had lost their horses.
Despite all the comments, mom and the boys kept their cool. They were perplexed at the empty tank. Then they came up with a fantastic plan. The car’s fuel, Ligroin, was also offered as a cleaning product in drugstores. As a result, they pushed the vehicle to the Wiesloch drugstore. The proprietor was taken aback, but he sold the adventurers all of his Ligroin nevertheless, making him the world’s first gas station attendant.
Mother and sons, taking turns driving, traveled several miles between water sources and drugstores. And every time they tried to use it, they had problems with the technical aspects. However, every issue had been resolved. The automobile stopped working shortly after Weingarten due to a congested fuel supply. Bertha Benz quickly removed her hat pin, inserted it into the clogged hose, and the obstruction was removed. The “horseless carriage” had another breakdown near Söllingen. The short circuit was produced by a cable that had worn through. Instead of just letting the insulation fall apart, Bertha Benz replaced it by using her garter.
Dirty with oil but proud about it
The route Bertha Benz took on her legendary trip. (Image: Mercedes-Benz Group Media)
The next unforeseen difficulty arose not far behind Wilferdingen. The combustion engine car’s meager 2.5 horsepower rendered it unable to scale the steep inclines. This hill was ironically called “See You For.” To get the car up the hill, they pooled their efforts and then raced down it at breakneck speed since the brakes weren’t made for such speed. As Bertha Benz acknowledged, they were lucky to escape any harm.
Oily, dusty, and perspiring, the three explorers arrived in Pforzheim’s central square after midnight. Bertha Benz sent the unknowing Karl a telegram that said, “Happily arrived in Pforzheim.” His anger at the “plot of the three family members” was too much for him to process at once. As Karl’s memoirs reveal, “after the initial shock,” he felt “a secret pride.”
Despite popular belief, Bertha Benz’s first long-distance car journey did not get the massive amount of media attention that she hoped for. But it spurred Karl Benz on to greater things and is now seen as a crucial step on the road to commercial success for his revolutionary motorcars. A few weeks later, Karl Benz unveiled the automobile at the Motor and Working Machines Exhibition in Munich, where it won the prestigious “Great Golden Medal.”
25 Benz automobiles were sold between 1886 and 1894, with the majority going to the countries of France, England, and the United States. By 1899, Benz & Cie had grown to employ over 430 people and was making four-wheeled automobiles in large quantities.
Bertha Benz memorial route in Nußloch. (Image: 4028mdk09-CC BY-SA 3.0)
December 21, 2022
How Albert Kahn built Detroit, the industrial superpower of its time
December 21, 2022
Fordlandia: How Henry Ford’s Utopia Turned into a Dystopia
December 21, 2022
Almost 170 more Nazca lines discovered
Strange and mysterious artworks. Another 168 Nazca geoglyphs have been found in the Peruvian Andes. Animals including llamas, birds, huge cats, snakes, and whales, as well as some human figures, are shown in the 1,700- to 2,100-year-old ground drawings. The inhabitants of the Nazca civilization made them by moving away the darker surface stones to expose the brighter background. Now that they have identified a large enough sample of geoglyphs, the researchers want to employ AI-powered analysis to assess their prevalence and interpret their likely significance.
In order to reveal the white sandy surface underneath these geoglyphs, the black stones at the surface of the ground had to be removed. (Image: Yamagata University)
Peru’s Nazca Lines are one of the world’s most enigmatic clues to lost civilizations. Large ground pictures, such as birds, spiders, cats, and monkeys, as well as 12.5 miles (20 km) long lines and abstract designs, were scratched into the hard desert soil by members of the Paracas and Nazca civilizations for generations.
It is possible that some of these geoglyphs are astrological markers, while others were made as part of ceremonies or to honor unusual species that have since died off.
Geoglyphs discovered by an AI
Traces of ancient rivers and many geoglyphs may be found all throughout Peru’s Nazca Plateau. (Image: Yamagata University)
Archaeologists headed by Masato Sakai of Japan’s Yamagata University used drones and aerial images to scour the desolate stone desert outside the Peruvian city of Nazca for further geoglyphs between June 2019 and February 2020.
In their investigation, they looked in places where many Nazca lines and ground pictures had already been discovered.
buy symbicort online https://medilaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/jpg/symbicort.html no prescription pharmacy

An AI system was used to examine the pictures, and it was able to pick up geometric patterns that were almost invisible to the naked eye.
One of the Nazca lines pictures discovered in the Nazca plain by Peruvian and Japanese scholars from Yamagata University. (Image: Yamagata University)
Actually, the researchers uncovered new drawings unseen before. 168 new, unidentified Nazca ground pictures. This brings the total number of geoglyphs documented in the Nazca region to 358.
The motifs, the largest of which may span several meters in length, were likely created between the years 100 B.
buy isotretinoin online https://www.indcheminternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/jpg/isotretinoin.html no prescription pharmacy

C. and 300 A.D. The Nazca uncovered the geoglyphs’ outlines by moving away the stones and crusts encased in black desert varnish.
There are animals, humanoids, and geometric designs
In the Peruvian Andes, archaeologists have discovered more relics of ancient civilizations in the form of ground drawings. (Image: Yamagata University)
Birds, cats, snakes, llama-like ungulates, and even orcas are just some of the species shown in the recently found Nazca drawings. Also seen among the geoglyphs are humanoids, lines, and other rudimentary geometric designs. These ground drawings typically cover a distance of less than a dozen feet. Most often, you’ll find them on the outskirts of long-lost trails in the stony wastes.
buy zithromax online https://medilaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/jpg/zithromax.html no prescription pharmacy

buy lasix online https://www.indcheminternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/jpg/lasix.html no prescription pharmacy

It is still not entirely clear why the Nazca and, earlier, the Paracas civilizations made these somewhat huge ground drawings. The criteria through which they chose their motivations are also debatable.
Future assessments of the distribution of the different ground pictures and their themes, aided by AI, are expected to provide additional insight into this question for archaeologists working in the area.
In 2017, an archaeological park was formed in a region close to the heart of the Nazca lines due to the very high concentration of geoglyphs in that location. It has grown to include 77 of these geoglyphs, with the stated goal of protecting them against future human development.
December 21, 2022
Henry Ford’s Ties to the Nazis: How Ford Became Detroit’s Dictator
Henry Ford was a leader in business and philanthropy who also inspired Hitler. As an American automobile manufacturer, Henry Ford won a special Nazi prize in 1938 for inspiring the German dictator with his anti-Jewish theses and for revolutionizing assembly line manufacturing. It was Henry Ford’s 75th birthday on July 30, 1938. The German Ambassador to Cleveland Karl Kapp gave the eulogy signed by Adolf Hitler, a longtime fan of the automaker Henry Ford, before an audience of almost 1,500 notable Detroiters.
When the crimson box with the golden Maltese cross surrounded by four miniature swastikas was unveiled in front of Ford’s eyes, he grinned with pride. Henry Ford received Nazi Germany’s highest honor for foreigners, the Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle, before anybody else in the United States.
In 1943, forced laborers from the Buchenwald concentration camp made up nearly half of the workforce at Ford’s Cologne subsidiary plant. “The assembly lines Ford would like to forget,” the headline proclaims.
Since the 1920s and 1930s, when Ford Motor Company fought with General Motors for the lucrative German market, Henry Ford had had strong connections with Germany. Adolf Hitler told a Detroit reporter in 1931 that he was inspired by Henry Ford’s anti-Semitic writings and that the American method of mass manufacturing was something he aspired to. The future Reich Chancellor already had a picture of the factory’s founder, Henry Ford, hanging on the wall next to his desk.
Logic and numbers
Henry Ford was admired by many as a generous donor. Many people who were underrepresented in the workforce, including African Americans and Eastern European immigrants, were recruited to work in his factories. They had excellent working conditions at his factories, with no one required to put in more than eight hours a day, five days a week.
Henry Ford (1863-1947) with his legendary Model T.
When many manufacturers were still paying their workers $1 per day for working 10-12 hour shifts, Ford was already paying $5 a day by 1914 and eventually $6 a day a few years later. Ford’s factories introduced a unique concept: The employees were expected to operate at their peak levels of productivity only after getting enough rest and focusing on their tasks at hand.
To be sure, Henry Ford wasn’t only motivated by a desire to do good. Now that they had disposable income and time on their hands, the businessman’s employees were now his clients. Ford automobiles were very affordable because of massive manufacturing efficiencies. The manufacturers’ procedures were completely standardized and simplified. Production could be broken down into discrete phases with the advent of the assembly line, meaning that workers didn’t need extensive training.
The atmosphere at the factory was quite relaxing. Constantly bright and airy, they never seemed stuffy. According to Ford, there wouldn’t be any dark places in the factory where somebody might harbor negative ideas. Henry Ford was also a stickler for tidiness, and not only at the factory. In his autobiography “My Life and Work,” released in 1922, he argued that “You can’t have morals without cleanliness.”
Ford’s Gestapo
To work for Ford was a dream for many people, but it wasn’t without its drawbacks. Ford had a very specific sense of what it meant for an employee to be a “real American,” therefore the high minimum salary was contingent on meeting certain requirements. Ford specified in great detail the exact house furnishings, diet, and recreational activities that were required of all incoming immigrants.
For this reason, Ford Motor Company had its own Sociology Department to encourage and, more importantly, keep tabs on the employees’ personal lives. Employed sociologists would pay unexpected visits to the homes of employees in order to keep tabs on them. Disobedient workers had their pay docked if they were caught in the act.
Because Ford did not trust his son Edsel, he had a former prize boxer keep an eye on him around the clock.
Former boxer Harry Bennett ran the service department of Ford, which gained notoriety for its invasive monitoring practices. Bennett was well-connected in the criminal underworld of Detroit. He grew his office into an espionage and anti-union juggernaut, using ruthless force against union organizers and employees alike. During the mid-1930s, the group earned the unofficial moniker “Ford’s Gestapo” due to its history of brutality, which included the beating of nonviolent protestors.
Arguments against Jews
Henry Ford’s “The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem”.
Henry Ford ran the Ford Motor Company from the outset like a tyrant. Probably because of this method of leadership, he was dubbed the “Mussolini of Highland Park” by the “New York Times” in 1928. So, Ford may have been “helpful” to his workers, but he also established his own surveillance state.
However, Ford not only carried himself like a dictator, but he was also a firm anti-Semite, much like Hitler. Ford’s newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, which he ran from 1919 to 1927, was an embodiment of this sentiment. Articles such as “More than any other race he [the Jew] exhibits a decided aversion to industrial employment, which he balances by an equally decided adaptability to trade,” portrayed the Jews as lazy and exploitative. A number of legal challenges to the newspaper’s content led to Ford’s decision to shut it down.
The Jew is a race that has no civilization to point to, no aspiring religion, no great achievement in any form.
Henry Ford, The Dearborn Historian.
“The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem”, Ford’s collection of anti-Semitic pamphlets first published in the Dearborn Independent, was released in 1920. The book‘s main argument was that a unified “global Jewry” had used its economic might to become the dominant force in the globe.
In the 1920s, Hitler read the book and praised it as a source of motivation. The 1921 German edition quickly became a bestseller among Nazi Party supporters. Ford also underwrote the American edition of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which came out the same year. It was the compilation of fake protocols designed to illustrate a global conspiracy of “international Jewry,” which was most likely the earliest common conspiracy theory in history.
Dealing with two faces
There was never a face-to-face meeting between Henry Ford and Adolf Hitler. But it wasn’t necessary. Henry Ford reaped considerably more benefits from Nazi Germany than just the medal he was given. Ford Motor Company was the third-largest provider of arms to the United States Army during World War II, and Ford factories in Nazi Germany produced thousands of military vehicles for the German Wehrmacht. Ford supplied almost one-third of their trucks.
While the Allies were bombing Cologne (Köln), Ford’s German company was still raking in the dough. Most notably, in 1943, Ford hired half of its German workforce from prisoners of war. At Buchenwald, there was also a special Ford-Köln commando beginning in August 1944. Henry Ford passed away before the years-long court battles over compensation for the remaining forced employees could be resolved. On April 7, 1947, at the ripe old age of approximately 84, Ford passed away.
Besides Henry Ford, there were other foreigners who accepted the Nazi command with honor. Other leaders of state, like Benito Mussolini and General Francisco Franco, had been honored before him. Charles Lindbergh, an American aviator, was awarded the Cross of Merit by the German Economics Minister and Gestapo creator Hermann Göring in Berlin in October 1938. In 1940, IBM president Thomas J. Watson, who had previously worn the cross, gave it back.
December 20, 2022
Yugoslav Wars: Conflicts in the Former Socialist Federal Republic
The Yugoslav conflicts occurred between 1991 and 2001, after the collapse of communism and the independence of numerous Yugoslav republics. They led to the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the independence of several nations. The Yugoslav Wars are a series of wars that occurred in Eastern Europe between March 31, 1991, and November 12, 2001. This historical event resulted in the independence of Croatia, Slovenia, Kosovo, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, among others. Additionally, the Yugoslav Wars signified the collapse of the communist administration in these lands. Over a period of more than a decade, it is believed that these wars produced between 130,000 and 140,000 deaths, including both troops and civilians.
The conflicts in Yugoslavia, sometimes known as the Third Balkan War or the War of Ex-Yugoslavia, were distinguished by multiple war crimes and ethnic cleansing, notably the genocide of the Bosnians. During this time period, there were six significant wars, including the Ten-Day War, the Bosnian War, and the rebellion in the Republic of Macedonia. The subsequent peace accords included international acknowledgment of the new nations’ establishment.
What Is the Date of the Yugoslav Wars?
Bosnian Serb troops in the streets of Srebrenica in July 1995. Photo: EPA FILES/STRINGER.
There are numerous significant dates in the succession of the various Yugoslav Wars. The Ten Day War, which started on June 26, 1991, and concluded on July 7, 1991, is the first. The Croatian War lasted from August 17, 1990, until November 12, 1995. The conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina occurred concurrently from April 6, 1992, until December 14, 1995. Regarding the Kosovo conflict, it occurred between March 6, 1998, and June 10, 1999. The Preševo Valley dispute occurred between June 12, 1999, and June 1, 2001. The Albanian uprising in Macedonia lasted from January 22, 2001, until August 13, 2001.
What Is the Origin of the Wars in Yugoslavia and Their Link With Religion?
The Yugoslav conflicts are caused by a variety of factors. Beginning at the turn of the 20th century, ethnic tensions increased in the 1980s. The political turmoil was worsened by the growth of nationalist currents, public upheavals, and aspirations for independence. These were brought about by constitutional reforms, robust economic decisions, and significant electoral shifts. Furthermore, nationalism exacerbated the divides among Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Muslims.
Who Were the Fighters in the Yugoslav Wars?
During the conflicts in Yugoslavia, a series of groups emerged. In the Balkan wars, Slovenian, Croatian, Bosnian, Kosovo, and Albanian combatants fought against Yugoslav and Serbian armies. NATO soldiers also participated in the battle, particularly during the Bosnian and Kosovo conflicts. After the massacre at Raak, the international organization intervened in the latter war.
How Did the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina Unfold (1992–95)?
The conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina started on April 6, 1992, after the country’s proclamation of independence. The Croatian and Bosnian combatants fought against the Serbs. The United Nations Blue Helmets intervened from the beginning of the conflict in peacekeeping operations. While Bosnian Croats and Muslims signed a peace accord in 1994, two ethnic cleansings occurred the following year. In September 1995, thanks to Operation Deliberate Force, NATO’s participation brought an end to the fighting.
How the Kosovo War Unfolded (1998–99)
The ethnic and political tensions between Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo extend back to the 15th century. The nationalist claims reached their peak on March 6, 1998, the day the fighting began. Despite international efforts at mediation, the war intensified. Numerous war crimes and civilian atrocities took place.
buy prednisone online https://montgomeryanimal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/jpg/prednisone.html no prescription pharmacy

They represented the majority of the casualties (approximately 10,000 deaths out of 13,000). The withdrawal of the Serbian government from Kosovo was prompted by NATO bombs. The war concluded on June 10, 1999.
How Did the War in Yugoslavia End?
International institutions such as NATO ended the Yugoslavian conflicts through their involvement. Subsequently, the states’ declarations of independence led to the gradual dissolution of Yugoslavia into distinct nations. The last war of this time period was the 2001 Albanian uprising in Macedonia, which pitted Macedonians against Albanians. The resistance lasted seven months and culminated in the Ohrid Agreement, which included provisions to ameliorate the living circumstances of Macedonia’s Albanian minority.
What Is the Bosnian Genocide?
From July 11 to 13, 1995, the Bosnian genocide primarily included the atrocities at Srebrenica and Žepa. This atrocity was committed by the Bosnian Serb Republic. 33,000 people were killed through ethnic cleansing, including more than 8,400 in the two previously mentioned cities. Numerous war crimes, including as arbitrary detention, rape, murder, and torture, were attributed to the Serbian army.
What Were the Results of the Yugoslav Wars?
In February 1989, President Slobodan Milošević of Serbia addressed a crowd of thousands of cheering supporters in Belgrade. Credit: AP Photo/Martin Cleaver.
Depending on the source, the number of armed and civilian casualties in all Yugoslavian conflicts is between 130,000 and 140,000. More than 2.4 million people have been displaced as a result of the wars. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) prosecuted war criminals, including the former Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milošević. Millions of weapons remained in circulation after the wars ended, fueling the European criminal market.
Which Country Replaces Yugoslavia?
The Yugoslav conflicts caused the progressive disintegration of the nation, resulting in the formation of seven republics. Croatia and Slovenia both came into existence on June 25, 1991. The Republic of Macedonia was founded on September 8, 1991. Then came Bosnia-Herzegovina (1 March 1992), Montenegro (21 May 2006), Serbia (22 May 2006), and Kosovo (17 February 2008).
What Is the Difference Between Serbian and Croatian?
Serbian and Croatian are the same language, known as Serbo-Croatian, from a linguistic standpoint. However, there are several distinctions. The Croatian alphabet is Latin, whereas the Serbian alphabet is Cyrillic. This stylistic distinction also reflects the theological contrasts and influences between Orthodoxy (Serbian) and Catholicism (Croatian).
buy kamagra oral jelly online https://montgomeryanimal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/jpg/kamagra-oral-jelly.html no prescription pharmacy

YUGOSLAV WARS: KEY DATES
4 March 1989 – Pro-Serb demonstrations in Croatia
After Slobodan Milošević came to power on March 4, 1989, the first pro-Serb rallies occurred. In response to the expansionist goals of the leader, Serbs and Croats dread nationalist groups. Certain Serbian symbols were equated with the Third Reich and Nazism during these events.
March 28, 1989 – Kosovo and Vojvodina lose their autonomy
Slobodan Milošević abolishes the autonomy of Vojvodina and Kosovo in order to construct “Greater Serbia.” Contrary to the federal state’s constitution, the act is deemed a true coup d’état, although it did not result in bloodshed among Croats and Slovenes.
June 25, 1991 – Slovenia and Croatia secede
In Croatia, the Zagreb Parliament declares independence, while in Slovenia, President Milan Kucan announces the country’s independence in tears. Since Tito’s death in 1980, the Republic of Yugoslavia, declared in 1945, had been crumbling. The federal government of Yugoslavia promptly sent its forces to Croatia, marking the beginning of a six-month conflict. The international community recognized the two nations in January 1992.
January 15, 1992 – Croatia recognized by the EEC
The European Community acknowledges the Croatian state, which declared its independence seven months earlier, 75 days after Germany and around thirty other nations. Croatia’s entry into the UNO will likewise be swift. The United Nations engaged in the war between Serbia and Croatia. The hostage-taking of blue helmets by the Serbs in 1995 will result in a less mild level of involvement.
April 27, 1992 – The Third Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
On April 27, 1992, after the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia in 1991, Serbia and Montenegro established the Third Federal Republic. Civil war followed as a result of Slobodan Milošević’s nationalist policies and his authoritarian administration based, among other things, on opposition persecution and arbitrary detention.’
August 3, 1992 – The UN condemns “ethnic cleansing” in Bosnia
The UN Security Council condemned the Serbs’ establishment of prisoner camps for Croats and Muslims. A few days earlier, the American press had reported about “death camps” in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and entry to these places had been denied to the Red Cross. After Bosnia-Herzegovina proclaimed its independence, a civil war erupted between Serbs, Croats, and Muslims.
buy singulair online https://montgomeryanimal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/jpg/singulair.html no prescription pharmacy

In October 1995, with the arrival of the blue helmets, a truce would be declared, with the fighting having taken approximately 300,000 lives.
December 14, 1995 – Signature of the Dayton Agreement
The Dayton Agreement, which was signed in Paris on December 14, 1995, marked the end of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Dayton Agreement was approved by the presidents of Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia after discussions that took place in the United States from November 1 to November 21, 1995.
27 May 1999 – Slobodan Milošević enters court
As the Kosovo conflict approached its conclusion, Slobodan Milošević was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) prosecuted him. In June 2001, the former Serbian leader’s trial proceeded in The Hague, Netherlands.
December 20, 2022
People Worshipped Mao’s Mangos and the Fruits Were Not Even Real
There was a huge crowd waiting to see the mangos. They wanted to reach out and touch them, smell them out. The Beijing Textile Factory came to a halt on that August day in 1968. Hundreds of people filed in silence to the beautifully adorned altar where Mao Zedong had placed his gift. When the employees realized that Mao had really brought them a mango, they bent down before it as a show of their profound gratitude.
They gathered again a few days later. The employees once again formed a queue and waited. This time, a big pot of water was waiting for them upfront, and every one of them got a teaspoon. The liquid could have a hint of mango flavor if you let it linger on your tongue for a while. There was also a whiff of moldiness.
A mango parade. The fruit cult was a boon for the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda department. Massive papier-mache mangos were wheeled through Beijing as part of the National Day celebration on October 1, 1968.
Many Chinese workers grew to associate the free mangos that Mao gave them with his dedication to the working class.
Mangos became a symbol of the “Great Chairman’s” righteousness, toured the nation like pop singers, were promoted as products, and were worshiped like relics during the brief but bizarre chapter of Mao Zedong’s deadly Cultural Revolution that started in the summer of 1968. Despite the reality that most of them were only dummies.
A bloody decade of torture and killing
Soldiers on the Chinese border examine a wax mango dummy. As this fruit had never been seen in China before, it piqued the interest of many locals. (Credit: Museum Rietberg)
Ten years of mass killing and torture had been unleashed by Mao Zedong’s proclamation of the start of the Chinese Cultural Revolution in 1966. He urged students and schoolchildren to destroy the existing Chinese Communist Party (CCP) structure on purpose so as to build a new one. Using acts of violence against dissidents, traditional cultural places, and religious organizations, the “Red Guards,” as the student groups dubbed themselves, spread “the Red Terror” across China.
The country was on the verge of civil war as “Red Guards” fought violent power battles with one another. Mao was unable to bring them together, so in the summer of 1968, he dissolved the “Red Guards” and established workers’ propaganda squads to carry out the Cultural Revolution in their stead.
When the members of the workers’ and peasants’ propaganda squad took back control of the Tsinghua University from the Red Guards in 1968. Mao rewarded them with 40 mangos.
In an effort to remove the Red Guards from Beijing’s illustrious Tsinghua University, he sent 30,000 manufacturing employees there on July 27. With spears and sulfuric acid, they fought back, killing five and injuring 731. The Red Guards were eventually overwhelmed and surrendered because of the large number of employees.
On August 4, 1968, the foreign minister of Pakistan, Mian Arshad, presented a box of mangos to Mao Zedong during a meeting. Mao decided to reward the worker soldiers at Tsinghua University by presenting them with 40 mango fruits.
Funding for psychedelic fruit consumption
Workers at a Beijing Textile Factory celebrate one of Mao’s mangos in October 1968. (Credit: Rainer Wolfsberger)
Only a small percentage of Chinese people were familiar with mangos. Wang Xiaoping, a contemporaneous witness, spoke about the fruit in 2013: “A few who were very well informed stated it was an extraordinarily rare and valuable fruit, like the mushroom of immortality, […] yet no one had the least notion what this fruit looked like.”
The reception of Mao’s gift was just as enthusiastic. The official party publication Renmin Ribao reported about the euphoria in Beijing on August 7, 1968.
Even though they were typically only wax dummies, mangos transported by special train to the provinces were sometimes anticipated by hundreds of thousands of people.
Almost immediately, a crowd formed around the attendees. They yelled and sang with unbridled fervor. Their eyes welled up with tears, and they prayed over and again that the Great Leader and Chairman Mao may have a long and healthy life. To disseminate the good news, they assembled work brigades and planned a variety of celebrations to last all night.
The propaganda coup was successful since the mangos were sent from the university to all the factories whose employees had participated in the July 27 coup. They saw the mangos as a sign of Mao’s approval and the end of the “Red Terror.” They were literally able to get their propaganda message out to the populace because of this.
To ridicule a mango is to face the death sentence
Soon, factories in Beijing started mass-producing fake mangos like this one so that they could give one to every worker.
Mao’s personal physician, Li Zhisui, said in his 1994 memoirs that when the arrival of the mango was celebrated at the Beijing Textile Factory, “the fruit was sealed in wax, hoping to preserve it for posterity.” Unfortunately, the decaying mango became immediately apparent. As a practical matter, the Revolutionary Committee decided to boil the spoiled fruit in a huge vat. Next, “each worker drank a teaspoon of the water in which the holy mango had been cooked,” as Li puts it.
Li claims that when Mao found out about the workers’ reverence, “he began laughing.” When seen in the context of Mao’s political career, this looks callous now, because just a few years earlier, he had precipitated a famine (the Great Chinese Famine) with the “Great Leap Forward” campaign that killed millions of Chinese and pushed others to cannibalism.
During the height of the Mao Zedong personality cult, buttons bearing images of the “Great Chairman” were widely distributed. From 1966 to 1971, China reportedly manufactured between 2.5 and 5 billion units.
Mangos were responsible for Mao’s rise to prominence in 1968, and he was eventually worshipped for them. Many manufacturers used formaldehyde to preserve their mangos, which were supplied by hospitals. During an interview in February 2016, Zhang Kui revealed that wax mangos, each with its own glass shrine, were created to give to each worker. Numerous fake mangos ended up in Chinese homes by the thousands.
Although many places of worship were demolished during the Cultural Revolution, a new path was being forged out of a yearning for spirituality. According to Li Zhisui, mangos were elevated to the status of holy relics. A warning was given to anyone who handled the waxed mango shrine improperly. According to the Daily Telegraph, in 2013, a dentist from a tiny community was hanged for deliberate disparagement after he compared a mango to a sweet potato.
Mango cigarettes are a hit
Two packs of Chinese mango cigarettes. In 1969, the Mango brand was the most sought after by Chinese smokers for lighting up a smoldering stalk. The company hoped to cash in on the fruit’s reputation as a panacea for longevity. (Credit: Museum Rietberg, Switzerland)
Mango mania quickly spread across the nation. Since September, all provinces have been receiving shipments of phony fruit. The mangos were treated like rock stars and sent on a tour on special trains. On September 19th, half a million people waited in Chengdu for one of the wax mangos to arrive, just as they had in other places.
The leading manufacturer of machine tools in Beijing even hired a plane to transport a mango to its Shanghai counterpart factory. The automobile that transported the fruit to the airport was followed by a crowd of observers and drummers. In Guizhou province, hundreds of armed peasants battled to the death over a black-and-white photocopy of a mango.
The Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda department capitalized on the increasing popularity of mangoes by creating a wide range of mango-themed goods.
The CCP’s propaganda machine benefited from the global mango frenzy. It mass-produced items including mango-patterned enamelware and washbowls, mango-inspired brooches and dressing tables, and mango-scented soap. There was a market for everything from mango cigarettes to mango-themed bedding. In addition, huge papier-mache mangos were wheeled through the streets on October 1 as part of the national holiday parade.
In little over a year and a half, the popularity of the mango cult began to decline. The disillusionment with the prospect of a world free of fear may have been a contributing factor. There was probably nothing more to it than mangos simply losing their exotic allure. Some employees even found a new use for the waxed mangos by turning them into candles.
A mango movie in 1976
Large parades honoring Mao Zedong’s mangos were held all around China in October 1968, not just in Beijing.
The ailing Chairman Mao, now in his dotage, made fewer public appearances as his health deteriorated. An effort to resurrect the mango cult in 1974 failed when Imelda Marcos, the wife of the Philippine dictator, delivered a box of mangos on a state visit to Mao, who was already wildly ill. Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing, had previously supplied fruit to the Chinese laborers and did so again. The expected excitement, however, never materialized; the mango’s formerly potent symbolic significance had long ago worn off.
Jiang made one last effort. She financed the 1975 film The Song of the Mango, about twins who join opposing “Red Guards” at the height of the mango craze. They came to terms with the fact that they must still acknowledge the proletariat’s authority, and, as a result, they welcomed the arrival of mangos with a joyous procession through Beijing’s streets.
As a member of the influential “Gang of Four,” Jiang was detained by the Communist Party’s left-wing within a week of the film’s 1976 debut, and all copies of the mango film were banned. Unfortunately, Mao did not survive to witness the mango show’s debut. His death occurred in Beijing on September 9, 1976, not much earlier.
Mao’s tomb was the subject of an architectural contest. The idea that the chairman should be buried under a massive concrete mango stood out.
December 20, 2022
How John Dunlop Reinvented the Tire for His Kid
December 19, 2022