History of Hanukkah

In 175 B.C. the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes came into power and tried to force Judeans to assimilate. The Seleucids captured the holy Temple of Jerusalem and defiled it by erecting an altar to the Greek god Zeus inside. Writing in the first century A.D., Jewish historian Josephus recorded the brutal plundering of Jerusalem and treatment of Jewish dissidents who were “whipped with rods, and their bodies torn to pieces, and were crucified, while they were still alive, and breathed. . . . And if there were any sacred book, or the law found, it was destroyed: and those with whom they were found miserably perished also.”

A priest named Mattathias and his sons rose up in rebellion. His son Judah the Maccabee (the “Hammer”) took his father’s place in the fight and led the Jewish people in many victories over the Seleucids. In 164, Judah won back Jerusalem and restored the Temple, cleansing and rededicating it.

Hanukkah, which means “dedication,” commemorates the miracle of light that occurred when Judah rededicated the Temple to the Hebrew god. Here's how Hannuakh is celebrated.

Story of the lost boy

In the 17th century, it was declared that the current Panchen Lama, would be reincarnated in a child. Following the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, a search was undertaken to discover his reincarnation.

A quarter-century prior, a six-year-old kid was perceived as the resurrection of the Panchen Lama, the second-most elevated positioning figure in Tibetan Buddhism. He expeditiously vanished. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is perceived by the Dalai Lama as the rebirth of the Panchen Lama, one of the most noteworthy positioning profound pioneers in Tibet, yet this decision was dismissed by the Chinese government, which arrested the kid. The Chinese government named Gyancain Norbu the eleventh Panchen Lama in late 1995. 

A half-year after Gedhun's snatching, China reported that it had chosen a Tibetan kid called Gyaltsen Norbu to turn into the Panchen Lama. Since his determination, Gyaltsen, who lives in Beijing, has just infrequently visited Tibet. His visits are cautiously stage-oversaw and intensely policed Tibetans actually allude to him as the 'Panchen Zuma', or 'bogus Panchen'. 

In May 1996, China conceded that Gedhun and his family were being held at a mystery area and China's envoy to the UN asserted that, "(Gedhun) has been put under the security of the public authority in line with his parents." He didn't state where Gedhun was being held. 

In February 1998, American priests visiting Tibet were informed that Gedhun was in Beijing, yet in March 1998, the bad habit legislative head of Tibetan Autonomous Region Yang Chuantang revealed to Austrian delegates that he was really living in Lhari - the spot of his introduction to the world. In April 1998, a third area was advanced when a British columnist was informed that Gedhun was examining, perhaps in Gansu Province. 

The Chinese government still refuses to reveal Gedhun's whereabouts or respond to requests from the United Nations and Western governments to check on his wellbeing.

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Oddest Rules the Royal Family Must Follow

A Royal's life is not all fun and games, but some of the rules for being a Royal are so strange that they may surprise you. 

In fact, there are several rules which must be strictly adhered to. Some of these regulations are more strictly enforced than others but each one has a purpose.

Ra Ra Rasputin

Grigori Rasputin is one of history's generally baffling and censured figures. Brought into the world in a little Siberian town, Pokrovskoye, in 1869, Rasputin was the just one of his seven kin to endure youth. He got no conventional training and didn't figure out how to peruse or compose until he was a grown-up. Hitched at 17 years old, he appeared to be bound for an existence of obscurity in the Siberian hinterlands. However, when Rasputin heard the call of God in 1897–or, as per a few records, fled town to get away from discipline for horse burglary he set out on an impossible way that made him the most famous man in Imperial Russia. 

In death as throughout everyday life, Rasputin stays a puzzle. Is it safe to say that he was a misconstrued otherworldly searcher, the same number of in cutting edge Russia accept? Here are some unusual recallings of Rasputin.

Mysteries of Underwater

These sea creatures are so alien-like that we can’t believe they aren’t from outer space! But, believe it or not, all of these animals can be found right here on planet Earth! Check out these 5 sea creatures who are out of this world!

(Merry) Christmas!

Dream of the rituals for the holidays. They probably entail stringing lights around an evergreen, racing during the season to the mall to find the right gift, and baking more cookies for Christmas than you might ever think. Although Americans somehow celebrate Christmas, this holiday looks very really different all over the globe. 

In other nations, Christmas rituals will range from the enchanting to the strange to the terrifying. Here are 15 of the weirdest holiday customs from around the world.

In the Memory of...

Our planet is without question one of the most visually stunning planets in the entire solar system. As far as we’re aware, our planet is the only planet capable of sustaining life, and as a result, some of the species and creatures we have living in our world are simply awe inspiring. We have animals and creatures of all shapes and sizes, living in a vast array of different habitats. Some thrive in freezing conditions, whilst others thrive in extremely warm conditions. Some live on land, whilst others live in water. Some eat meat, whilst others eat vegetation, the list could go on and on. What’s even more relevant, however, is that there are actually a number of extinct creatures that we will almost certainly never see again.

Read more at Endangered List

The First Men to Fly over Everest

In 1918, a British mountaineering physiologist, Alexander Kellas, originally suggested the concept of a flight expedition over Mount Everest in his journal "The Possibility of Aerial Reconnaissance in the Himalayas." 

As a professional mountaineer and physiology specialist, Kellas claimed that they could develop a means not only to fly airplanes competently at such high altitudes but also to take valuable reconnaissance photos with the right precautions and the right equipment at a given time.
In November 1932, the team chose two modified Westland Wallace aircraft for the expedition. The two-seat aircraft had open cockpits and were equipped with Bristol Pegasus S3 engines. Lord Clydesdale flew a modified Westland PV-3 accompanied by Colonel Blacker while Lieutenant MacIntyre and Photographer Bonnett followed in a PV-6 model prototype. Both received modifications, including hearing and oxygen equipment. Both aircraft would become the first to fly over Everest.

Read more about this here

Some Record-breaking Events!

For the last 64 years, Guinness World Records has continued to amaze generation after generation by chronicling the limits of what humans are capable of. For the 2020 edition, Guinness World Records expands its book with new records that highlight the trends and technologies of our day and age. Some of these "quirkier" records include bottle flipping, gravy wrestling, and dinosaur flash mobs, while records like "most drumbeats with a prosthetic arm" and "largest humanoid vehicle" shine a light on how new technologies are expanding human potential.

Masking during Spanish Influenza

From the earliest recognition that a more deadly form of influenza was spreading quickly in fall 1918, US public health authorities recommended masks for doctors, nurses, and anyone taking care of influenza patients.

Newspapers provided instructions on “How to Make Masks at Home” and published photographs of masked nurses. Masks were just one of the “non-pharmaceutical interventions” or “social distancing” policies, to use modern terms, adopted to contain the epidemic, along with closing schools, prohibiting public gatherings, and advising changes in personal behavior.

However, many people refused to wear them during the Spanish Flu of 1918, saying that government-mandated mask enforcement violated their civil liberties. An “Anti-Mask League” was even formed in San Francisco to protest the legislation.

Wow Moments of the Universe

Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured by NASA, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Let's have a look at some of them!

Explore more at NASA

The Tumult of 1947

India split into two independent countries after achieving independence from the British Raj (India and Pakistan). With about 25 million residents relocating to their new homes, a massive demographic swap emerged and what ensued was utter confusion. When the lines were drawn, a vast evil loomed over the population that was transitioning to a foreign nation. This major incident was characterised as a black stain on the history of the two countries with religious riots along with acts of injustice and brutality.

Indian independence came at a high price: a bloody partition that destroyed a million people and forced millions of people from their homes. These photos capture the 1947 tumult.

(In)famous Events Of the French Revolution

During the French Revolution, photographs were significant, from the grandly painted masterpieces that helped establish revolutionary law, to the simple sketches that appeared in cheap pamphlets. To guide you through the cases, this set of photographs from the Revolution has been ordered and annotated.

Read more at Pictures from the French Revolution

Wow Moments of the Universe

Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured by NASA, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Let's have a look at some of them!

Explore more at NASA

Annual World Press Photo Competition 

The vote for Press Photo of the Year is taken during the World Press Photo Awards, hosted by the Dutch foundation World Press Photo. The creator of the winning entry receives €10,000 along with "the most prestigious and coveted award in photojournalism."[1]

Besides Press Photo of the Year, the 20-member jury awards three more prizes in eight categories (general news, spot news, sports, contemporary issues, daily life, portraits, nature and long-term projects), whereby both individual images and photo series are recognised for excellence.

The main prize is given to the image that "... is not only the photojournalistic encapsulation of the year, but represents an issue, situation or event of great journalistic importance, and does so in a way that demonstrates an outstanding level of visual perception and creativity."

The Infamous Stock Market Crash

Stock market crash of 1929, also called the Great Crash, a sharp decline in U.S. stock market values in 1929 that contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Great Depression lasted approximately 10 years and affected both industrialized and nonindustrialized countries in many parts of the world. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. In the aftermath of Black Tuesday, America and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the Great Depression (1929-39), the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world up to that time.

Read more at: Britannica
Image source: History

It was a Christmas Miracle!

Christmas Truce of 1914 came only five months after the outbreak of war in Europe and was one of the last examples of the outdated notion of chivalry between enemies in warfare. It was never repeated—future attempts at holiday ceasefires were quashed by officers’ threats of disciplinary action—but it served as heartening proof, however brief, that beneath the brutal clash of weapons, the soldiers’ essential humanity endured.

During World War I, the soldiers on the Western Front did not expect to celebrate on the battlefield, but even a world war could not destroy the Christmas spirit.

Building our Floral Knowledge

In the world of floristry beauty is an everyday thing, but as with most things in life, beauty is often in the eye of the beholder. Flowers make an ideal gift for a friend, family member or loved one.

In fact, there’s a bouquet to suit all occasions, but the chances are you’ve never seen any of the remarkable, rare, weird and wonderful flowers we’re about to share with you…many of which, will give each and every bouquet of daffodils, roses or carnations a run for their money.

Have you spotted these flowers?

Flowers make the world so beautiful and colorful. Flowers are very popular, like roses, dahlias, lilies, sunflowers, and so on that you gift or have been gifted. Mother Nature, however, has also blessed us with a few rare flowers you may have never seen or heard of. In their own ways, they are stunning and original. In the part 2 of Unique Flowers, lets explore and learn more about them.

Learn more about Unique Flowers