Tag Archives: traditions

FACT: trick-or-treating started with kids threatening old people

By Ryan | Published: October 31, 2009

I’m pretty sure every newspaper runs the same filler piece today about the origins of Halloween, with the All Hallows Day, so-on and so-forth. I know I’ve heard the story many times. What was new to me that I dug up was the origin of the phrase trick-or-treat. The first recorded use of the phrase [...]

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FACT: Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights

By Ryan | Published: October 17, 2009

Starting today, and for the next five days, people of the Hindu religion will be celebrating Diwali. This is the biggest annual celebration in south Asia. The festival is about a triumph of good over evil, lightness over dark, and my personal favourite; knowledge over ignorance. The mythology behind Diwali is two stories of the [...]

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FACT: it was once believed that yelling would help basil grow

By Ryan | Published: August 22, 2009

Basil is my favourite herb. If I have a can of tomato soup, I add basil. When I get a can of tomato basil soup, I add basil. I’m crazy for basil. Apparently, that’s  a good thing. Basil has a history of being tied to a lack of mental stability. In the 17th century, a [...]

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FACT: in Spain there is a baby jumping festival

By Ryan | Published: August 20, 2009

In the north of Spain, in the town of Castrillo de Murcia they have an odd variation on the theme of baptism. Once a year, as the grand finale of the El Colacho festival, the participants gather near the church for the jumping of the babies. New born infants are laid out on mattresses in [...]

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