December’s Word for Wednesday theme is festive food and drink. So far we’ve looked at mulled wine, mince pies, and eggnog. Today’s festive food is the Brussels sprout. This Christmas dinner vegetable is often debated – some people love Brussels sprouts, others can’t stand them. A Brussels sprout is a small green cabbage-like bud that grows on a stalk. The word dates to 1740, though the first written description of this type of vegetable dates to the 1580s. Brussels sprouts have long been associated with Flanders, specifically Brussels, in Belgium. The name Brussels is of Germanic origin and comes from ‘brocca&r...
On November 11th every year, Armistice Day is commemorated to mark the Armistice (a truce to suspend hostilities) signed at eleven o’clock on eleventh day of the eleventh month 1918, ending the First World War. However, despite the armistice several hostilities continued in other regions. The commemoration has widely been re-dubbed Remembrance Day or in the U.S All Veteran’s Day due to subsequent conflicts. This ceremony honours all veterans, living, dead or still in action and a separate day is observed solely to honour the war dead ‘Memorial Day’, a commemoration more akin to Armistice Day. The word Armistice is yet another Latin compound, ‘arma’ meaning arms and ‘stice’ coming from ‘s...
Thursday of this week marks World Refugee Day, established to 'honour the courage and strength of men, women and children who are forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence.' It also helps to raise awareness of the refugee situation around the world. The day is celebrated on the 20th of June to coincide with the older Africa Refugee Day, a cause that is also widely celebrated. The term refugee means literally, one who flees in search of refuge. It comes from the French refugié, the past participle of refugier (to take shelter, protect). Originally, the term was synonymous with asylum seeker until the First World War where civilians fleeing...
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