A Handful of Holiday Histories

09/22/21 • 36 min

Everyone has their favorite holiday, but do you know how your favorite holiday came into being? The answers may surprise you. For instance, in 12th century England, New Yearâs Day was celebrated on March 25th, but the ancient Celts celebrated their New Year (Sumhain) on November 1st. So why do we now celebrate the New Year on January 1st? And why do we now use the Gregorian Calendar as opposed to the Julian Calendar? Also, did the Druids really use human sacrifices during their celebrations? And why would shepherds be tending their flocks in the middle of December? Did slavery still exist after June 19, 1865? Here in our 30th episode we answer every single one of those questions and much more!
Episode Notes:

King Numa Pompilius (c. 700 BC) is credited with adding January and February to the old 10-month Roman calendar, but March 1st remained New Yearâs Day for Romans until the Julian calendar was developed around 45 BC.
President Abraham Lincoln did not, in August of 1862, write to Horatio Seymour, former and future Governor of New York, about slavery and the Union, but rather to Horace Greeley, editor of The New York Tribune.
As promised, here is Rebeccaâs Spotify playlist, âOctober Songsâ.

Books:

A Brief History of the Calendar by David Harper, PhD, FRAS
New Yearâs Day Wikipedia article
The Civil War Day by Day by E.B. Long
Lincoln by David Herbert Donald
Halloween by Ruth Edna Kelley
A Brief History of the Druids by Peter Berresford Ellis
The Christmas Encyclopedia by William Crump
Historical Dictionary of Catholicism by William J. Collinge

Film:

The Wicker Man (1973) â with Edward Woodward, Diane Cilento

King Numa Pompilius (c. 700 BC) is credited with adding January and February to the old 10-month Roman calendar, but March 1st remained New Yearâs Day for Romans until the Julian calendar was developed around 45 BC.
President Abraham Lincoln did not, in August of 1862, write to Horatio Seymour, former and future Governor of New York, about slavery and the Union, but rather to Horace Greeley, editor of The New York Tribune.
As promised, here is Rebeccaâs Spotify playlist, âOctober Songsâ.

Books:

A Brief History of the Calendar by David Harper, PhD, FRAS
New Yearâs Day Wikipedia article
The Civil War Day by Day by E.B. Long
Lincoln by David Herbert Donald
Halloween by Ruth Edna Kelley
A Brief History of the Druids by Peter Berresford Ellis
The Christmas Encyclopedia by William Crump
Historical Dictionary of Catholicism by William J. Collinge

Film:

The Wicker Man (1973) â with Edward Woodward, Diane Cilento

Previous Episode

Macbeth: Fact or Fiction?

Shakespeareâs Macbeth is a fascinating figure- resourceful, brave, insightful, reflective, but itâs his inordinate ambition that leads to his downfall. Can the same be said of Scotlandâs real Macbeth? Here in Episode 29, we unpack the characters in Shakespeareâs play Macbeth alongside their historical (or mythical) counterparts including Banquo, Malcolm, McDuff, even the witches. We also let you in on a few theatre traditions involving âThe Scottish Playâ as well as why you can never say the word Macbeth in a theatre.
Episode Notes:

The word Bard means poet and because William Shakespeare was from the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, he was known as the Bard of Avon. Even though the title was never officially bestowed, in 1769 the Shakespearean actor David Garrick is credited with organizing the Shakespeare Jubilee for which he wrote a song referring to Shakespeare as the Warwickshire Bard which seems to have eventually morphed into The Bard of Avon. Here is a link to Garrick's original song, https://www.bartleby.com/333/77.html
Sir Laurence Olivier played the title role in Macbeth at the Old Vic Theatre in London in 1937.

Books:

Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Holinshedâs Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland by Raphael Holinshed
Scotland: The Story of a Nation by Magnus Magnusson
The Reign of Elizabeth 1556-1603 by J.B. Black
The History of Scotland by Sir Walter Scott

Film:

Macbeth (1948) Directed by and starring Orson Welles
The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971) Directed by Roman Polanski, starring John Finch
The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) Directed by Joel Cohen, starring Denzel Washington

Next Episode

Jack The Ripper

During the late summer and fall of 1888, a district in East London was being terrorized by an unknown Victorian serial killer. In a September 25th letter addressed to the Central News Agency, the yet to be identified murderer boasted of his recent killings and signed the letter âJack the Ripperâ. That name has endured for over 133 years, and the case remains open to this day. Why are we still fascinated by this case? With over 100 suspects, why was it never solved? Here in Episode 31, we walk you through the facts of what is known about the most notorious murderer the world has ever known.
Books: