HISTORY OF DISTAFF DAY: BACK TO WORK [D]istaff Day originated in medieval European traditions – where it marked the day after Epiphany (January 6) – and was an unofficial celebration traditionally observed on January 7. The Twelve Days of Christmas, a period of celebration and rest from labor, were now over. On Distaff Day, women traditionally returned to their domestic duties, particularly spinning wool or flax.

HISTORY OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN: A CENTURY-LONG LOVE AFFAIR Podcast version January 3 is the birthday of J.R.R. Tolkien. He was born in 1892, the same year as my grandfather. [I]f I were stranded on a desert island and could have only two works with me, it would be The Bible and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. His last work, edited and published by his youngest son and literary executor…

HISTORY OF NEW YEAR'S EVE Podcast version [N]ew Year's Eve, according to the Gregorian Calendar, is the last day of the year, known as Old Year's Day or St. Sylvester's Day. You may remember reading that Emperor Constantine was considered the first "Christian" Roman Emperor. St. Sylvester, the Bishop of Rome, baptized Constantine in the 4th century. 

My Top 5 Articles of 2025 [G]entle Readers, Happy End of 2025! Thank you for visiting my blog at billpetro.com. I publish my articles not only on: my blog, my free email newsletter, Medium, and Substack… Additionally, some of my readers find my articles through syndicate links on: Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Pinterest…

Christmas Presents: What Day Do You Open Them? [S]ome open presents Christmas Eve night, others open them Christmas morning. When do you open Christmas presents?

HISTORY OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL Podcast version [C]harles Dickens' novella A Christmas Carol was published in London on December 19, 1843. The first edition sold out by Christmas Eve. No other book or story by Dickens or anyone else (except the Bible) has been more enjoyed, referred to, criticized, or more frequently adapted to other media forms: theatre, opera, radio, film, TV, or comics.

HISTORY OF THE NUTCRACKER: THE BALLET THAT'S A CHRISTMAS TRADITION On December 18, 1892, The Nutcracker premiered at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, a week before Christmas. How did a ballet that doesn't mention the Nativity become a Christmas favorite?

HISTORY OF WHITE CHRISTMAS: THE MOST POPULAR CHRISTMAS SONG [B]ing Crosby's White Christmas is the best-selling Christmas song ever. It has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. Other estimates indicate over 100 million records have been sold, with at least 50 million of those being singles. It's a Guinness World Record! Most people associate the song with the 1954 movie…

Interview: What's the History behind Valentine's Day? Lisa Anderson recently interviewed me on her Boundless podcast/radio show. She asked me several questions about the history behind Thanksgiving Day, the customs we practice, who the Pilgrims were, and the backstory of Squanto, the Native American who spoke English. Here’s the blurb on the podcast: "Culture: What Really Happened at the First Thanksgiving?

HISTORY OF THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS Abraham Lincoln, on November 19, 1863, began his address in Gettysburg: Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. With only nine more sentences, he dedicated a new national cemetery, summed up the battle that had taken place there some four months earlier, cast a vision for the future of the Union, and harkened back to the…

NORTHERN LIGHTS AND CORONAL MASS EJECTION: METHANOGENIC CATTLE During the last couple of nights, we've had beautiful displays of Northern Lights in the northern skies of North America, from Alaska to Illinois. The cause of this is Coronal Mass Ejection. But the beauty of the aurora borealis hides a deadly threat. Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) are plasma and magnetic field explosions from the Sun's corona. When aimed at Earth, they trigger geomagnetic storms that affect infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on the surface. These storms can disrupt various systems, such as electric power grids, GPS navigation, and Netflix.

HISTORY OF ST. MARTIN'S DAY While St. Martin's Day is not widely celebrated in the U.S., except in more liturgical churches, St. Martin is more famous and influential than you might think. What is St. Martin's Day? November 11 celebrates Saint Martin's Day, also known as Martinmas. Irish tradition tells us it was called Old Halloween, or celebrated on November 10, …

Veterans Day used to be called Armistice Day, commemorating the ending of hostilities on the western front of World War I on November 11, 1918, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. At 5:45 am on that day, Germany signed the Armistice (truce) in the Forest of Compiegne, and the order was given for a cease-fire later that morning, after four years of war.

Hedy Lamarr, the Austrian-American actress and Hollywood legend known as "the most beautiful woman in the world," is remembered today, November 9, on the anniversary of her birthday for her pioneering work on the technology that would become the basis for today's WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth communications systems.

History of Jubilee Year: The Holy Year in Rome Podcast Version This year, 2025, is a Jubilee Year for the Roman Catholic Church, also known as a Holy Year. In my last article, I discussed how many would make the pilgrimage to Rome from Canterbury along the Via Francigena. What is the origin of a Jubilee Year, how has it been observed in the past, and what does it mean for this year?

History of Via Francigena: Pilgrimage to Rome Podcast version During the 2025 Jubilee Year for the Roman Catholic Church, millions of pilgrims will travel to the "Eternal City" of Rome, the seat of the Catholic Church. As I mentioned in my previous article, Rome is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations for Christians. The primary pilgrimage route since the Middle Ages is called the…

History of Pilgrimages: All Roads Lead to Rome? A pilgrimage is a temporary journey to a "holy" place for a variety of personal or spiritual reasons, including enlightenment, healing, or transformation. Thereafter, a pilgrim returns to their regular daily life. This is the first of three articles on pilgrimages in general and specifically the one to Rome during this Jubilee Year…

HISTORY OF GUY FAWKES NIGHT For our friends across the Pond November 5th is known as "Bonfire Night" or "Guy Fawkes Night," and across Britain, people set off fireworks, light bonfires, and burn effigies of Guy Fawkes. Historically, Guido Fawkes was an Englishman who, in popular legend, tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament with barrels of gunpowder.

Information Reformation: 5 Ways Martin Luther and the Gutenberg movable type printing press presaged the Internet explosion of information.

HISTORY OF ALL SOULS' DAY: AND DAY OF THE DEAD November 2 is All Souls' Day or Day of the Dead. As I mentioned previously in my article on the History of Halloween, Allhallowstide includes these three holidays: October 31: All Hallows' Eve (Halloween) November 1: All Hallows' Day (All Saints' Day, Feast of All Hallows, Hallowmas) November 2: All Souls' Day What's the Difference Between these Holidays? Halloween: we have already discussed this at length. All Saints' Day: commemorated those perished saints and…

HISTORY OF NOVEMBER November is the penultimate month of the year, meaning "next to the last." It used to be the ninth month (Latin: novem) until the ancient Romans shoehorned in January and February. November enjoys the distinction of being situated between the two biggest holidays in the American calendar… at least revenue-wise. October has Halloween, the #1 candy revenue holiday in America, and a sucrose-collecting bonanza for children nationwide.

HISTORY OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME – ENDING Daylight Saving Time, or DST, is a clever campaign to convince us that we're getting more daylight each day when, in reality, we've simply changed our clocks and then forgotten about it within two weeks. DST begins each year at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March in most of the United States and its territories; however, some places have not bought into this campaign: it is…

HISTORY OF OCTOBER 31: MARTIN LUTHER See my miniseries on the life of Martin Luther. On October 31, 1517, an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 propositions or theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, marking the beginning of the Reformation. Of course, the Reformation began long before that, but this date is a convenient coat-hanger for historians to mark the beginning of the Protestant* Reformation.

HISTORY OF ALL SAINTS DAY November 1 is All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day. The night before is known as "All Hallows' Eve," or Halloween. This day is also known as the: Feast of All Saints Feast of All Hallows Solemnity of all Saints Hallowmas, in the strictly religious sense When was it first observed, what are the practices, and how does it differ from All Souls' Day?

HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN Halloween (All Hallows' Eve) is the evening of October 31. In its strictly religious aspect, this occasion is known as the vigil of Hallowmas or All Saints' Day, November 1, observed by the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. In the fourth decade of the 8th century, Pope Gregory III moved this holiday to its present date (from May 13) to celebrate the feast of the dedication of a chapel in St.