A winter fairy tale: deer in the background of the northern lights.
November is the height of the northern lights season. This fascinating natural phenomenon can be observed in northern latitudes twice a year for several months.
A Musical Odyssey
European culture offers a feast of quality music that accompanies the more discerning on a journey from womb to tomb. Perhaps these suggestions will inspire you to explore and enjoy the finest music created by Europe’s most gifted musicians over centuries. Do feel free to YouTube or purchase any of the following titles that will familiarise you with music that will continue to enhance your life. Think of each track as a glass of sublime aphrodisiacal wine. I think you will return again and again.
Saint Catherine’s Day – November 25
Saint Catherine’s Day is 25 November. It has retained its popularity throughout the centuries. It commemorates the martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Origins and customs.
Erntedank: Thanksgiving Customs in Germany and the USA
In the German-speaking countries, Thanksgiving is an autumn harvest celebration called Erntedank or Erntedankfest (“harvest thanksgiving festival”). The observance usually takes place in September or October, depending on the region. Similar harvest festivals are common in many countries and regions around the globe.
The Cossack Inferno
100 years ago, in November 1920, the White Guards evacuated from the Crimea. Off media radar is one of the most horrific holocausts to stigmatise the half-human race. The proud Cossack had long suffered stigmatisation, hate and horror by the Bolsheviks. On November 14, 1920 one of the largest flotillas in European history was moored off the bay at Sevastopol in Crimea. The rescue by armada included 150 ships of every size and type imaginable. Most but not all were ships of Imperial Russia.
After living in shed, 8-year-old earns enough to get family a home
East LA family moves from shed to apartment, thanks to money from 8-year-old son’s plant business.
Here Comes Santa Claus – With Face Masks and Plexiglass
NEW YORK — Santa Claus is coming to the mall — just don’t try to sit on his lap.
Despite the pandemic — and the fact that Santa’s age and weight put him at high risk for severe illness from the coronavirus — mall owners are going ahead with plans to bring him back this year.
OLD AGE IS AN ILLUSION
The human condition is to segment life; for instance, Shakespeare’s ‘seven ages of man’. Life is a little like the seasons so dress for the season whatever the weather is doing. Or like the ticking clock, ‘if that is the time then tired I must be.’
Child Learning Assisted by Verse
Children under 6 years of age are as nature intends very good at memorising any information. It’s not news at all that the best and most pleasant way to develop children’s memory is poems and songs.
The Ottery Tar Barrels Burning Festival
Every year on November 5th, for reasons lost in antiquity, the villagers of Ottery St Mary, Devon in England’s West Country race through the streets carrying heavy barrels full of flaming tar in one of the quirkiest of British traditions. The West Country has a history of torchlight processions and a tradition of burning barrels and rolling them down the streets, but Ottery is the only village where barrels aren’t rolled but carried above the head. The tradition is believed to have started in the 17th century, possibly when someone decided that rolling barrels were tame and carrying barrels on the shoulders was far more appealing.
Michael Walsh Stories and Books 
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