Happy St Knut's Day

St. Knut's Day is a holiday celebrated in Sweden and Finland on January 13. Although King Knut has been suggested to originate from Denmark, it is not a national holiday in that country. King Knut, or more commonly, Canute IV of Denmark, who ruled Denmark from 1080 - 1086 and who claimed the throne of England, is honoured as a saint for his virtue and generosity. He declared that Christmas should be celebrated for twenty days, officially ending the season on 13 January. The days between Christmas and Saint Knut's Day are filled with celebrations. Christmas trees are taken down on St. Knut's Day, and the candies and cookies that decorated the tree are eaten.

St Knut's feast day is recognised by the Roman Catholic Church as being on 19 January.


References
The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Ed David High Farmer. Oxford University Press, 2004. See the entry on St Canute.


Photograph Details: Nikon D40. Focal Length: 20mm, exposure 1/60 sec, ISO-200 F-stop f/3.8

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Happy Seijin Shiki Part 2!

The answer to yesterday's connundrum - He's copying his papa!

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Happy Seijin Shiki !

Today is the second Monday of January. Just another normal day for most of the world, but for the Japanese, it is know as 成人式 (seijin shiki) - or coming-of-age day. Many cultures all around the globe have some form of recognition when someone becomes an adult. Most commonly, they are in the form of legal rights when an adolescent turns from a minor into an adult.

For example it allows individuals the right to vote, drink, gamble, get married without parental consent (although this is 16 in Scotland), and sign contracts. Up until 1st October 2007 the legal age for smoking in England was 16, but in most European countries the age is 18.

Stained Glass

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Coloured glass has been produced since ancient times. Both the Egyptians and the Romans excelled at the manufacture of small coloured glass objects. The British Museum holds two of the finest Roman pieces, the Lycurgus Cup, which is a murky mustard colour but glows purple-red to transmitted light, and the Portland vase which is midnight blue, with a carved white overlay.

I'm a fermata - Hold me...

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