The first day of the New Year is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth. Many people, especially Buddhists, abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure longevity for them. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year's Day, so all food to be consumed is cooked the day before. Also, the first day of Chinese New Year is a time when families visit the oldest and most senior members of their extended family, usually their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents.
Kung Hei Fat Choi
Here is your Today in History -
February 7, - Almost exactly Forty-four years ago today a cheery quartet of moptops arrived in the United States, where they helped bring about a social revolution whose effects can be felt to this day.
The Beatles came from Britain, sometimes known as England, a little island in the North Atlantic from which many people have come to the United States over the years, some of them without guitars.
The British (or English), like so many other Europeans, have a long and storied history. Although it took the French to perfect the guillotine, the English (or British) made up for in zeal what they lacked in technological savvy, and next week is the anniversary of three British (or English) queens having their heads hewn from their shoulders. Specifically:
On February 8, 1587, after nineteen years in prison, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded.
On February 12, 1554, Lady Jane Grey, Queen for nine days in 1553, was beheaded.
On February 13, 1542, Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's Vth wife, was beheaded.
If you can get to an English (or British) pub next week, order a beer with extra head and see if they get the joke. Be prudent, however, as people will sometimes react in unexpected ways when asked for any kind of head at all.)
February 7, 1812 -
New Madrid earthquake shakes Missouri with an estimated magnitude of 8.2, as strong as any in the West. The quake destroys 150,000 acres of forest, and would have caused massive damage had it occurred in modern times.
February 7, 1845 -
An 'intemperate' vandal, William Lloyd, entered the British Museum and smashes the irreplaceable Portland Vase into over 200 pieces. The elaborate glass amphora was created when Augustus was Caesar and is about ten inches high. It takes months to repair.
On February 7, 1898, the trial of Emile Zola began in Paris. He lost, but then eventually he won. He accused someone of something. Or vice-versa. Long story. It all began in the backwoods of Illinois... no, that was Lincoln. Never mind
February 7, 1914 -
Charlie Chaplin first appears as "The Tramp", as his first film Kid Auto Races at Venice is released at Keystone Studios. The Tramp, as portrayed by Chaplin, is a bumbling but usually good-hearted character who is most famously presented as a vagrant who endeavors to behave with the manners and dignity of a gentleman despite his actual social status. However, while he is ready to take what paying work that is available, he also uses his cunning to get what he needs to survive and escape the authority figures who will not tolerate his antics.
February 7, 1968 -
"It became necessary to destroy the town to save it." -- U.S. Army Major, regarding the village of Ben Tre, Vietnam, in an AP dispatch.
February 7, 1969 -
Beatle George Harrison has his tonsils removed. He had them destroyed to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. I wonder how much they would have gone for on Ebay?
February 7, 1989 -
Washed up tennis player Bjorn Borg has his stomach pumped after he overdoses on sleeping pills in Madrid, Spain.
On February 7, 1990, the Soviet Communist Party gave up its monopoly on power. They were forced to sell of most of their properties on Baltic Avenue.
And so it goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment