A Brief History of St Patrick’s Day
The 17th March, St Patrick’s Day, is celebrated, certainly in the in the US, with a seemingly endless cornucopia of party like events, they even dye the Chicago River is green the Saturday before each St. Patrick’s Day. But what is the story behind the Saint and his relationship to Ireland where he is the official patron saint?
Bonus Question : Is Hell Exothermic or Endothermic?
We at guernseydonkey.com are always keen to promulgate that ever exapanding ‘body of knowledge’ we like to call “intenet fluff”. Accordingly we recycle here for your delectation a story that seems to have begun its life way back in 1997 when the internet was still young. Multiple examples now exist and its opening often varies – who the setter supposedly was and at what institution – but the core of the piece is always the same. Enjoy! 🙂
Why Did the Magi Bring Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh?
Since the early days of Christianity, Biblical scholars and theologians have offered varying interpretations of the meaning and significance of the gold, frankincense and myrrh that the magi presented to Jesus. The latest one is that the magi “from the East” may have presented Frankincense to the baby Jesus for its’ healing properties.
How Was the Christian Bible Put Together ? Who Wrote it All ?
How Was the Christian Bible Put Together ? Who Wrote it All ?
An Ancient Mystery Solved … Hierapolis, “The Gates to Hell” & Instant Death
One of the world’s most chilling ruins is the Ploutonion at Hierapolis, “the Gates to Hell”. Here crowds watched priests lead animal sacrifices down into a cave, where they died mysteriously as if dragged down to the underworld. No one knew how they did it, that is, until very recently.
Surprising Science : Would You Adam & Eve it … They DID exist!
Reality is sometimes stranger than we’d ever credit. Believe it or not but Scientists are actually saying that they can prove that Adam & Eve, that is a single set of ancestors, are parents to us all!
Is it Possible to tell what Jesus looked like ?
Jesus is arguably the most influential person in history as well as the most painted figure in all of Western art, but paradoxically we have no idea what he looked really looked like when he walked the earth.
5 Classic Christmas Carols and their Origins
They say the old songs are the best and when it comes to Christmas Carols they may well be right. In this article we look at the origins of several popular carols both sacred and secular.
Christmas Traditions – The First Ever Nativity Play
Even in modern, secular Britain there is one tradition that still holds sway at Christmas – The Christmas Nativity Play. In this article we look at the 800 year old origin of this Christmas institution.
Who was Mary Magdalene ?
Possibly one of the most maligned and mis-understood charaters in the Bible. Mary Magdalane has been variously described as a Prostitute, an Apostle and even the wife of Jesus. But who was she really?
Christmas Factoid : Jesus’ Mum didn’t call him Jesus
This is one of those things we all think we know until some bright spark pops up to say .. “that’s not true”. So here is the low-down on why Jesus’ Mum didn’t call him Jesus.
Was Jesus a Real Person ?
Should we regard the Jesus described in the New Testament as a myth. That is that Jesus either didn’t do the things he’s said to have done in the New Testament, or even that there was a real person on whom the Jesus legend was based ?
In this article we look at evidence OUTSIDE of the Bible.
The Day St George lost his head … literally
On the 23rd April 303 AD in Nicomedia, (near today’s Istanbul), St George of dragon fame was beheaded on the orders of the Roman emperor Diocletian. As you’re no doubt aware he went on to become the patron saint of Englend, and quite a few other places as well as it happens. The story of his life and death is no less fascinating.
The Death of a Saint and the Start of a Romantic Tradition – The Martyrdom of St Valentine
Monday 14th 270 AD was quite a day for Bishop Valentine of Interamna (now Terni in Umbria), for on that day, in Rome, he was stoned to death and then beheaded on the orders of Emperor Claudius II Gothicus.
Onward Christian Soldiers : When the Salvation Army took on the Nazis – In Guernsey
The German Occupation of the Channel Islands is a dark period of the islands history. A time when slave labourers were worked to death in the islands to help complete Hitlers Atlantic wall defence system. Practical resistance was virtually impossible. However one courageous member of the Salvation Army stands out – Major Marie Ozanne
