May 1, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
Once again, spring is finally upon us, after a long and drich winter. Like every year, we will celebrate May Day the Greek way–with a nice wreath of flowers. This year, we’ll have the wee one to help with that (for once, we won’t scold her when she...
Apr 29, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
Easter was celebrated yesterday in Greece and I came across this video describing some of the Greek traditions, courtesy of the Greek Reporter: Interestingly enough, I only did four of them yesterday and hadn’t even heard of two ones (the burning of Judas and...
Apr 7, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
Regular readers will be familiar with my fascination with Medieval manuscripts. I recently came across on Vintage News a detail I wasn’t aware of: that Medieval knights were often pictured fighting giant snails. Scrolls and manuscripts dating back to the 13th...
Mar 25, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
Americans may be familiar with the Greek Independence Day parade, celebrated throughout the States this time of the year. Even though the parade may take place any day between now and April, in Greece, it always falls on March 25th. To understand why this is such a...
Mar 23, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
Everyone knows the story of Merlin, the wizard genius behind Arthur’s reign. As the Vintage News reports, a chance discovery by historians at the University of Bristol added a new angle to the old tale: dragons. The historians found a set of important...
Mar 13, 2019 | Fun Historical Facts
As readers of, well, pretty much any of my books will know, I’m not big on descriptions. I favor a swift pace and paint images with broad strokes. This extends even to my characters’ names: I eschew names unless they’re absolutely necessary. So, my...
Dec 31, 2018 | Fun Historical Facts, Maps and Infographics
2018 is almost officially over, and you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s one for the history books. For too many, things went horribly wrong. Or so the general consensus seems to be. And yet, there are plenty of silver linings as well. All you need to do is...
Dec 25, 2018 | Fun Historical Facts
For this year’s Christmas wishes, I will start with a lovely rendition of one of my favorite carols, Carol of the Bells, sung here by Voices of Lee: The carol itself piqued my curiosity when I read a two-line description of its origins. According to this, it was...
Dec 1, 2018 | Fun Historical Facts
The English language is a strange one, for sure, thanks to the Isles’ long history of war and conquest. Each wave of conquerors left its mark on the language, from the Romans to the Vikings and Normans. Antiquated rules can cast long shadows, as seen even today...
Nov 13, 2018 | Fun Historical Facts
I don’t often share obituaries on my blog but this one is an exception as it is about an unsung hero: Todd Bol, whose Little Free Library brought books to the street corner. He died Oct. 18 at a hospice center in Oakdale, Minn. at the age of 62. It All Started...
