October 31st in History
October 31st….
1517 Martin Luther sends his Ninety-five Theses to Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz, precipitating the Protestant Reformation.
1756 Giacomo Casanova escapes from "The Leads" prison in Venice by climbing onto the roof.
1815 Cornishman Sir Humphry Davy patents miner's safety lamp.
1863 The Maori Wars resume as British forces in New Zealand, led by General Duncan Cameron, begin their invasion of the Waikato.
1917 British War Cabinet gives final approval to issue the Balfour Declaration to support a "national home for the Jewish people" in what is then Ottoman-controlled Palestine.
1918 The Spanish flu kills 21,000 people in the US in a single week.
1923 160 consecutive days of 100°F begin in Marble Bar, Australia.
1951 Zebra crossings came into use for the first time in Britain, in Slough, Berkshire.
2008 Officials asked for the Welsh translation of a bilingual road sign which in English read - "No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only." When the automatic e-mail came back from Swansea council it read "Nid wyf yn y swyddfa ar hyn o bryd. Anfonwch unrhyw waith i'w gyfieithu" and this was duly printed on the road sign. Only later was it discovered that the Welsh part of the sign said "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated."
Yn 2008, gofynnodd swyddogion am gyfieithiad Cymraeg o arwydd ffordd dwyieithog, a oedd yn dweud yn Saesneg: "Dim mynediad i gerbydau nwyddau trwm. Ardal breswyl yn unig." Pan ddaeth yr e-bost awtomatig yn ôl gan Gyngor Abertawe, roedd yn dweud: "Nid wyf yn y swyddfa ar hyn o bryd. Anfonwch unrhyw waith i'w gyfieithu" – ac fe'i hargraffwyd ar yr arwydd ffordd yn unol â hynny. Dim ond yn ddiweddarach y darganfuwyd bod rhan Gymraeg yr arwydd yn dweud: "Nid wyf yn y swyddfa ar hyn o bryd. Anfonwch unrhyw waith i'w gyfieithu."
31 Oct 1969
David Bowie appeared at a Halloween night at the General Gordon, Gravesend, England. The gig lasted about 15 minutes, after Bowie sang 'Space Oddity' to everyone’s delight and then dragged a stool on stage, along with a huge book. He then sat and read poems and was booed off stage.
………….
And Finally…
From History of Wales
·
Nos Galan Gaeaf – Halloween.
This is a time when Christian and pagan traditions have become intertwined. The festival of Halloween derives from All Hallows or All Saints Day, which was a major Catholic festival. In rural Welsh communities, this time of year was celebrated as the end of the gathering of the harvest and the beginning of winter. The 1st November became known as Calan Gaeaf and the night before, Nos Galan Gaeaf or Ysbrydnos (Spirit Night) and over the years, many traditions became associated with this time;
* The Harvest Mare - Cornstalks were fashioned into the shape of a horse and hung above the hearth. However the women would try and prevent this happening, by soaking it with water and it was the men's job to try and get it inside, still dry.
* Coelcerth - A fire was built, with everyone placing a stone with their name on it, around the fire. If anyone's stone was missing the following morning, they would die the following year.
* Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta - This was reportedly, a black sow without a tail, accompanied by a headless woman that would roam the countryside.
* Touching ground ivy was thought to make you have nightmares about hags and witches.
* In order to see into the future, boys would place leaves of ivy under their pillows and girls would grow a rose around a large hoop, which they would jump through three times before cutting the rose and placing it under their pillow.
* In Pembrokeshire, if people looked into a mirror on Halloween, they would see witches and demons in their sleep.
1517 Martin Luther sends his Ninety-five Theses to Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz, precipitating the Protestant Reformation.
1756 Giacomo Casanova escapes from "The Leads" prison in Venice by climbing onto the roof.
1815 Cornishman Sir Humphry Davy patents miner's safety lamp.
1863 The Maori Wars resume as British forces in New Zealand, led by General Duncan Cameron, begin their invasion of the Waikato.
1917 British War Cabinet gives final approval to issue the Balfour Declaration to support a "national home for the Jewish people" in what is then Ottoman-controlled Palestine.
1918 The Spanish flu kills 21,000 people in the US in a single week.
1923 160 consecutive days of 100°F begin in Marble Bar, Australia.
1951 Zebra crossings came into use for the first time in Britain, in Slough, Berkshire.
2008 Officials asked for the Welsh translation of a bilingual road sign which in English read - "No entry for heavy goods vehicles. Residential site only." When the automatic e-mail came back from Swansea council it read "Nid wyf yn y swyddfa ar hyn o bryd. Anfonwch unrhyw waith i'w gyfieithu" and this was duly printed on the road sign. Only later was it discovered that the Welsh part of the sign said "I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated."
Yn 2008, gofynnodd swyddogion am gyfieithiad Cymraeg o arwydd ffordd dwyieithog, a oedd yn dweud yn Saesneg: "Dim mynediad i gerbydau nwyddau trwm. Ardal breswyl yn unig." Pan ddaeth yr e-bost awtomatig yn ôl gan Gyngor Abertawe, roedd yn dweud: "Nid wyf yn y swyddfa ar hyn o bryd. Anfonwch unrhyw waith i'w gyfieithu" – ac fe'i hargraffwyd ar yr arwydd ffordd yn unol â hynny. Dim ond yn ddiweddarach y darganfuwyd bod rhan Gymraeg yr arwydd yn dweud: "Nid wyf yn y swyddfa ar hyn o bryd. Anfonwch unrhyw waith i'w gyfieithu."
31 Oct 1969
David Bowie appeared at a Halloween night at the General Gordon, Gravesend, England. The gig lasted about 15 minutes, after Bowie sang 'Space Oddity' to everyone’s delight and then dragged a stool on stage, along with a huge book. He then sat and read poems and was booed off stage.
………….
And Finally…
From History of Wales
·
Nos Galan Gaeaf – Halloween.
This is a time when Christian and pagan traditions have become intertwined. The festival of Halloween derives from All Hallows or All Saints Day, which was a major Catholic festival. In rural Welsh communities, this time of year was celebrated as the end of the gathering of the harvest and the beginning of winter. The 1st November became known as Calan Gaeaf and the night before, Nos Galan Gaeaf or Ysbrydnos (Spirit Night) and over the years, many traditions became associated with this time;
* The Harvest Mare - Cornstalks were fashioned into the shape of a horse and hung above the hearth. However the women would try and prevent this happening, by soaking it with water and it was the men's job to try and get it inside, still dry.
* Coelcerth - A fire was built, with everyone placing a stone with their name on it, around the fire. If anyone's stone was missing the following morning, they would die the following year.
* Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta - This was reportedly, a black sow without a tail, accompanied by a headless woman that would roam the countryside.
* Touching ground ivy was thought to make you have nightmares about hags and witches.
* In order to see into the future, boys would place leaves of ivy under their pillows and girls would grow a rose around a large hoop, which they would jump through three times before cutting the rose and placing it under their pillow.
* In Pembrokeshire, if people looked into a mirror on Halloween, they would see witches and demons in their sleep.
61-69, M
