Walpurgis Night

Walpurgis Night is a holiday celebrated on April 30 or May 1, in large parts of Central and Northern Europe. The festival is named after Saint Walpurga, born in Wessex in 710 and died on 25 February 779. Historically the Walpurgisnacht is derived from pagan spring customs. In the Norse tradition, Walpurgisnacht is considered the "Enclosure of the Fallen". It commemorates the time when Odin died to retrieve the knowledge of the runes, and the night is said to be a time of weakness between the living and the dead. Bonfires were built to keep away the dead and chaotic spirits that were said to walk among the living then this is followed by the return of light and the sun as celebrated during May Day. Due to Walpurga's holy day falling on the same day, her name became associated with the celebrations. Early Christianity had a policy of 'Christianizing' pagan festivals so it is no accident that St. Walpurga's day was set to May 1st. The closing sequence of Fantasia, Night on Bald Mountain / Ave Maria is intended to portray Walpurgisnacht and not Halloween.

Whirligig of Oratory.

The following article appeared on line today in The New York Times This Date in History. I thought it was an interesting bit of history in light of my recent trip to Northern Ireland. I have always been fascinated by Irish-American financial support in Ireland. I sometimes think that a lot of Americans don't understand the situation in Ireland. One of the most surprising things about the Belfast Tour was being told point blank - that the troubles are not over!

"The Tall Sycamore of the Wabash in His Whirligig of Oratory.

"The Senate gave him full swing, and he handled the British Lion in a masterly way."--Washington News.

Artist: Thomas Nast

---

his Harper's Weekly cartoon by Thomas Nast presents Senate firebrand Daniel Voorhees of Indiana whirling the British Lion by its tail over the issue of Irish-Americans arrested by the British police.

The relations between the United States and Great Britain fluctuated over the nineteenth century. A low point came during the Civil War, when British shipbuilders outfitted Confederate warships and the Union feared the British government would formally recognize the Confederacy (they did not). Relations began to improve after the Treaty of Washington (1871) resolved outstanding issues from the war, but there were still occasional disputes.

One of the most serious controversies arose in the early 1880s over American support of Irish nationalists. During the Land War (1879-1882), angry tenant farmers in Ireland boycotted and protested against their British landlords and government officials. In reaction, the British Parliament enacted a temporary Coercion Act in 1881, which allowed British agents in Ireland to arrest and detain the agitators indefinitely without trial (thus suspending the traditional right of habeas corpus--to be charged with a crime or released). Under the new law's authority, the British arrested Charles Stewart Parnell, president of the Irish Land League, and several of his colleagues.

Some of those arrested claimed (naturalized) American citizenship, which set off a firestorm of protest in the United States. Many Irish-Americans contributed their time or money to affiliates of the Land League or similar Irish-nationalist organizations, and their large numbers made them an influential force in American politics. Secretary of State James Blaine demanded release of the American citizens, but the British refused, fearing such an act would incite further protests and violence. James Russell Lowell, the U.S. minister to Great Britain, worked behind the scenes for their release, even though he was vilified in the Irish-American and Democratic press.

The issue remained deadlocked for several months until William Gladstone, the British prime minister, decided that it was better to work with the moderate wing of the Irish nationalists, represented by Parnell, than to provoke the extremists. On April 2-3, 1882, the British released Parnell and all of the prisoners except for three. Irish-Americans and their political spokesmen, however, were not satisfied. Frederick Frelinhuysen, the new U.S. secretary of state, criticized the detentions, while Senator Voorhees (pictured in the cartoon) marshaled his renowned oratorical skills against the British policy. The scene brings to life the phrase "twisting the Lion's tail," which refers to an American tweaking the British government, especially through exaggerated rhetoric

The assassination of high-ranking British officials in Dublin, Ireland, on May 6, 1882 (the "Phoenix Park murders") led to widespread condemnation of the violence means used by some Irish nationalists. In reaction, the British Parliament enacted the Prevention of Crime Act, which substituted judicial tribunals for jury trials and gave sweeping powers to British authorities in Ireland. Secretary of State Frelinghuysen denounced the policy as a violation of civil liberties. The last of the prisoners were set free when the Coercion Act expired in October 1882. The stance of American politicians on the issue of Irish nationalism would continue to be important through the 1880s, as would British irritation at support among some Irish-Americans for violence resistance in Ireland."

Robert C. Kennedy

Date and Time or Time and Date

As I was waking up this morning, I was thinking about writing a blog. It has been awhile since I last wrote one and I searched my brain for a topic. I could write about the weekend, the kids or recent trips I have taken. I began writing the blog with no clear topic in mind. I tackled what I call the housekeeping first - the updating of dates, history and lists. One of my favourite chores of blog writing is up dating the section on This Date in History. I use Wikipedia and cross reference it with the NY Times to verify. So here I was reading along the wikipedia section on 28 April and see the following entry:

1902 - Using the ISO 8601 standard Year Zero definition for the Gregorian calendar preceded by the Julian calendar, the one billionth minute since the start of January 1, Year Zero occurred at 10:40 AM on this date.

Huh? No clue on this end! What did this mean? Of course I followed the link to ISO 8601. Who knew that there were people who standardized time and date. Here was something to write about - however small a topic it may seem.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) set the international standard for date and time representations. One of the problems I encounter with being bi-lingual (speaking American and English) is the date. It is often confusing to figure out the numerical date. Here in England the date is 28 April and in the USA the date is April 28, so it can be 28/04/08 or 4/28/08. Today is easy because you know that the number 28 is too large to be a month!

A notation like 01/02/03 could mean 1 February 2003 or 2 January 2003. I can usually figure it out but it gets confusing trying to remember who uses what notation system. Someone has the wrong end of the stick again and needs to get with the program!

ISO 8601 is a standard with a view to achieving one simple, logical and coherent format for all dates, times, and periods of time requiring to be represented so their website states. I appreciate time. I never seem to have enough of it or I am wasting it away. I hate wearing a watch. Jeff time is a whole other blog. Ok, I am with the ISO on standardization;now if they could add more hours to the day.