Today is Samhain in the northern hemisphere, and Beltane in the southern one. This is an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter. Some refer to such festivities and the like as Celtic Pagan, Pagan Celtic or simply Pagan. This is completely wrong, so bad, in fact, that it is beyond wrong. Pagan was originally ancient hate speech used as a hash tag for the "other" and not ever by any of those to whom it was applied.
The term pagan comes to us from the beginning of the Christian ascendancy in fourth century Rome where it referred to those practicing religions other than Christianity and/or Judaism. It was derogatory, but a lot of the Roman military and mercenaries were, at that time "pagan". Once past that barrier, and for most of European history, it was used to indicate those who must be converted or exterminated and whose religions and all related observances and cultural artifacts were to be eliminated and destroyed. A good example is the "Northern Crusades". The same "convert or kill" (or sometimes enslave) ideology was applied to all those not under a Christian king, regardless of whether or not they practiced a religion, by the Bull Dudum Siquidem and assorted related Bulls.
As part of the conversion campaign, the church used a scheme whereby they co-opted all of the major holidays and festivals of the "others". Those such as Yule associated with the winter equinox were supplanted and replaced by Christmas, the spring festivities like Eostre were submerged and subsumed into Easter. Samhain was replaced by a combination of two special "holidays" All Hallows, and All Hallows Eve. That effort largely failed as All Hallows Eve devolved into Halloween, which is quite secular and commercialized. Through it all, Samhain, in an altered and diluted form survived in memory, language, and among some modern celebrants.
Dia de Los Muertos Is actually November first and second, but a lot of places and people have unoficially extended it to include October 31 as well.
On this day in history:
0683 -- The Kaaba suffered severe fire damage. 1517 -- Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door. 1822 -- Emperor Iturbide tried to dissolve the Mexican Empire's congress. 1863 -- General Duncan Cameron's troops started the Invasion of the Waikato. 1913 -- The first automobile highway across the US was dedicated 1913 – The Indianapolis Streetcar Strike and subsequent riot began. 1941 -- They finally finished Mount Rushmore 1941 -- The Reuben James became the first U.S. Navy vessel sunk by the enemy in WWII. 1956 -- France and the UK started bombing Egypt to make them reopen the Suez Canal because "all your canal are belong to us" 1984 -- Indira Gandhi was assassinated 2000 -- The first resident crew was ferried to the ISS by the dirty no-good Russkies 2011 -- The human population hit seven billion
Some people who were born on this day:
Some people you don't have to satirize, you just quote 'em.
~~ Tom Paxton
1711 -- Laura Bassi, physician, physicist, and academic who achieved many firsts for a woman in Europe 1760 – Katsushika Hokusai, artist and printmaker 1795 -- John Keats, poet who famously looked into Chapman's Homer 1831 – Paolo Mantegazza, neurologist, physiologist, and anthropologist 1835 -- Adolf von Baeyer, chemist and academic, synthesized Indigo 1848 -- Boston Custer, soldier, died with his brother George at the Greasy Grass 1860 -- Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the US Girl Scouts 1876 -- Natalie Clifford Barney, poet and playwright 1883 -- Marie Laurencin, painter and illustrator associated with cubists 1887 -- Chiang Kai-shek, dictator of the island of Taiwan 1892 -- Alexander Alekhine, chess player and author 1895 -- B. H. Liddell Hart, soldier, historian, and theorist, advocated mobile warfare 1896 -- Ethel Waters, singer and actress 1902 -- Julia Lee, blues singer, songwriter and pianist 1908 -- Muriel Duckworth, feminist, peacenik, activist 1912 -- Dale Evans, singer, songwriter, and cowgirl actress 1922 -- John Baptiste Illinois-Jacquet, saxophonist and composer 1922 -- Norodom Sihanouk, politician, ousted by US for being neutral; replaced with fascist pig Lon Nol 1930 -- Booker Ervin, saxophonist 1937 -- Tom Paxton, singer, songwriter and guitarist 1939 -- Ali Farka Toure, singer, songwriter and guitarist 1945 -- Russ Ballard, singer, songwriter and guitarist 1961 -- Larry Mullen, Jr., drummer and songwriter 1962 -- Raphael Rabello, guitarist and composer 1974 – Roger Manganelli, singer, songwriter, and bass player 1983 – Adam Bouska, photographer and activist, founded the NOH8 Campaign
Some people who died on this day:
More and more we are into communications; and less and less into communication.
~~ Studs Terkel
1723 -- Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, meh 1806 – Kitagawa Utamaro, artist and printmaker 1879 -- Joseph Hooker, general whose name became a slang term for certain camp followers 1926 -- Harry Houdini, a veritable Houdini 1962 – Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion, astronomer 1984 -- Indira Gandhi, politician 1986 – Robert S. Mulliken, physicist and chemist, 1993 -- Federico Fellini, director and screenwriter, easily an 8.5 1996 – Marcel Carné, director and screenwriter, esp. Les Enfants du Paradis
2000 -- Ring Lardner, Jr., journalist and screenwriter, blacklistee 2008 -- Studs Terkel, historian and author 2013 -- Bobby Parker, singer, songwriter and guitarist
Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such: First day of the Day of the Dead Samhain/Beltain Hop-tu-Naa Saci Day (Brazil)
Today's Tunes
The Reuben James
Adolf von Baeyer
Boston Custer
Ethel Waters
Julia Lee
John Baptiste Illinois-Jacquet
Booker Ervin (dada mix???)
Tom Paxton
Ali Farka Toure
with Ryland Cooder
Russ Ballard
Larry Mullen Jr.
Raphael Rabello
General Joseph Hooker
Bobby Parker
Oh yeah, Halloween --
Just for grins:
Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?
Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com