Countries & Customs
The man who wore scarecrow’s clothes
Thursday, May 6th, 2010Miserly Robert Farries, schoolmaster of New Abbey near Dumfries in Scotland, decided that he would only wear clothes that he could take from scarecrows. Between 1792 and 1806, he wore nothing else!
Even an Ancient Egyptian Mummy needs a passport!
Saturday, February 6th, 2010…AND DID YOU PACK YOUR CASE YOURSELF, SIR? The ancient Egyptian mummy of famous King Rameses the Great, or Rameses II as he is more commonly known had his own real-life passport! On the passport it listed his occupation as “King (deceased)”! In 1974, the mummy had to be flown from the Cairo Museum to [...]
Think you know about “Robbie Burns”? Er, who’s that?
Monday, January 25th, 2010The famous Scottish bard, the Ayrshire ploughman, the people’s poet – Robert Burns was called many things – but was not known by the contraction, “Robbie” in his lifetime. Nor Rabbie. He was known as Robert, or Rob; and he refers to himself as Rantin’ Robin in a poem, but Robbie was a later, sentimental invention. [...]
Christmas trees used to be hung upside down!
Thursday, December 24th, 2009Best available evidence reveals that Christmas trees were originally hung upside down from ceilings, rather than sitting the right way up in tubs. The Christmas tree originated in pagan mid-winter festival symbology, with sacred ash and oak branches being introduced to the hearthside. When Christianity came along, the symbol was adapted to suit the new [...]
Hallowe’en is 31st October, right? Well, think again…
Monday, October 26th, 2009We all know Christmas is on 25th December, and Bonfire Night is remembered on the 5th November, and Hallowe’en is on 31st October, and….wait a minute…not everywhere it’s not!
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