One of Kraków’s most unique and singular Christmas traditions is the popular creation of ‘Christmas cribs’ or ‘szopki.’ While many churches across the country display elaborate nativity scenes during the holiday season, ‘szopki krakowskie’ (as the local variety are called) are so idiosyncratic to Kraków, that they were just added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Something of a strange cross between a nativity scene, gingerbread house and garish dollhouse, szopki krakowskie are the bizarre result of a slowly evolving folk tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages.
The Tyr rune has been declared a legal symbol, and the Nordic Resistance Movement’s freedom of assembly, expression and association will no longer be restricted, according to a Swedish court of appeal.
British actor Rowan Atkinson who is world-famous for his role as Mr Bean denounced ‘cancel culture’ this week. He calls it the 21st-century digital equivalent of a revolutionary mob out on a witch hunt.
Most European regimes introduced the shutdown of national economies, restrictions on freedom of movement and other policies known as lockdown. This was allegedly in response to the spread of Sars-Cov-2, a respiratory virus.
The Helsinki Police Department has been indicted of breaching human rights after footage was shared widely online showing police officers pepper-spraying seated Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters.
At the beginning of the New Year, Hungarian political analyst Tamás Fricz took a detached view on the century’s most important conflict: the efforts of the global elite to transform politics, the economy, society and everyday life.
As a guest at a medieval manse, I recall my bravado when late at night I was invited to enter the unsealed wooden door of a forbidding garret. My hosts stood well back as cautiously I opened the door to peer into a blackness. Other than the darkness I couldn’t see anything but was aware of what I describe tersely as a hideous malevolent entity inviting me to enter. Slamming the garret door shut I fearfully retreated.
January 6th is a very important holiday in Spain as the entire country celebrates the Epiphany, or Dia de Los Reyes Magos. On the eve of Epiphany (January 5th), every city, town, and village prepares for the arrival of the Three Kings of the Orient by organizing various processions and fiestas, including the famous La Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos, an exciting parade and a cultural experience in its own right.
The Alliance for the Unification of the Romanians (AUR): An Inside View: As the after effects of the Romanian Parliamentary Elections, which took place on December 6, 2020, begin to subside, the newest revelation of the Romanian political scene is just preparing to take centre stage.
Unpopular lockdowns, a despairing public amidst soaring bankruptcies and evictions offers a backdrop to a police service increasingly seen as the state’s heavies employed to ruthlessly suppress the slightest dissent and opposition to unpopular laws.
Michael Walsh Stories and Books 
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