What Is The Origin Of…?

New Year and New Year’s Eve

Although the Romans ordered their months from January to December, it was not until the adoption of the Gregorian calendar – in 1751 in Great Britain – that the 1^st January marked the start of the new year. Prior to that, Lady Day (March 25^th) – the day when Mary was informed by Gabriel that she would bear God’s child – had been the start of the new year in England.

It is thought that Julius Caesar first had the idea that the new year should begin in January. January is named after the two-faced Roman god, Janus, and it is easy to see how it might be associated with the transition from one period to another. Roman new year festivities were characterised by drunkenness and disorder – sounds familiar!

According to Christian tradition, January 1^st was the day of Christ’s circumcision when he was given the name Jesus.

Of course, many cultures still celebrate the start of the new year at different times. The Chinese New Year or the Lunar New Year occurs on the new moon of the first lunar month – between 21^st January and 21^st February inclusive. In many states in India the new year is celebrated in April as do the Nepalis whose new year falls on the first of Baisakh, 12^th to 15^th April.

The Islamic new year falls on 1 Muharram, and since their calendar is based on 12 lunar months equalling 354 days, there can, on occasions, be two Muslim new years in the same Gregorian year.

The Scots have appropriated New Year’s Eve or Hogmanay as their own. As is often the case, there is some confusion about the origin of the word Hogmanay. The Scandinavian word for the feast preceding Yule was Hoggo-not while in Flemish hoog min dag means great love day. Probably, though, the origin is from the French, homme est ne, In France the last day of the year, when gifts were exchanged, was known as aguillaneuf and in Normandy gifts given at that time were known as hoguignettes.

In 1693 the Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence noted rather snootily, “it is ordinary among some Plebians in the south of Scotland to go about from door to door upon New Year’s Eve, crying Hagmane”.

First footing is still common in Scotland, a tradition designed to ensure good luck to the household. The first visitor should be male, dark and bear coal, shortbread, salt, black bun and whisky. Apparently, blondes were associated with Vikings who brought nothing but trouble.

Wherever you are and however you choose to celebrate the passing of 2012 and the beginning of the new year, I wish you a happy, prosperous, healthy and peaceful 2013. Don’t forget you can get a collection of the WindowThroughTime blogs for free by e-mailing wttoffers@gmail.com

What Is The Origin Of …?

Smart Alec

The original Smart Alec was a New York pimp, Alec Hoag, who operated in the 1840s. Partnered by his wife, Melinda, the couple would rob her “customers” while she otherwise distracted them.

They started simply enough by luring victims into dark alleys with the promise of a quick fumble but all they ended up with was Hoag relieving them of their property. Inevitably, some of the victims went to the police but Hoag simply cut some of the officers into a share of the spoils. His undoing started when financial difficulties caused him to renege on his arrangement.

Hoag further refined his technique by operating a scam known as the panel game con. The victim was lured to his apartment by Melinda who persuaded him to remove his clothing and put them on a chair at the head of the bed near a secret panel. When everything was ready, Melinda would close the curtain. Hoag would then rife through the victim’s clothes and relieve him of all his valuables. Soon afterwards, Hoag would bang on the door and Melinda would make out that her husband was returning, causing the victim to vacate the premises post. haste.

The police soon caught on to Hoag and arrested him and Melinda. However, Hoag managed to escape with the assistance of his brother but was soon recaptured.

Hoag was given the nickname “Smart Alec” by the police for being too clever for his own good. The phrase was then applied to other felons exhibiting the same level of craftiness and if first found its way into print in 1865.

In Graham We Trust – Part Twenty Three

 

Twenty five down, twenty one to go, twenty five points to find.

TMS 0 Brentford 0

There was an inevitability that the clash between TMS (one defeat in seven) and Brentford (unbeaten in ten and with five wins on the bounce) would end in stalemate. The surprise was that it ended goalless. However, TMS worked hard and the defence was resolute – showing the benefit of being unchanged for 5 games. Taylor might have won the game in the second half but his shot was cleared off the line. Still, we would have settled for a point at the start of the game.

TMS are down to the bare bones and the opportunity to bring new players in cannot come soon enough – but therein hangs a dilemma. TMS’ (modest) upturn in form has been due to a settled team and too much surgery could undo the work done in recent weeks to create a bit of daylight between TMS and the bottom four.

Helan, one of our unsuccessful loanees and surely the worst player on Man City’s books, was booked twice by the ref in the Owls’ game versus Huddersfield and did not see red – I know, I can’t understand what the linesman and assistant ref were doing. It is not the first time the Frenchman has been the victim of mistaken identity – earlier this season he was mistaken for a professional footballer.

Next up, away to Coventry who are unbeaten in nine.

 

The Best Thing About The Future Is That It Comes One Day At A Time

7

It seems as though our illustrious Chancellor is going to loosen his purse strings and give a grant of up to £21.5m to aid in the commercialisation of a new “wonder material” called graphene. Graphene was discovered in 2005. Manchester University academics Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physics for isolating the material and measuring its properties.

Graphene is sheets of carbon just one atom thick. It’s properties are impressive – it is completely transparent and conducts heat and electricity far more efficiently than any other previous technology. It is said to be up to 200 times harder than steel but is lightweight. Graphene can stretch up to 20 per cent and is anti-bacterial.

But it is tricky to work with – material so thin is difficult to isolate, manipulate and connect to other materials. The challenge is to do so in a way that makes graphene commercially viable as a material.

There have been numerous examples of “wonder materials” which have failed to meet the commercial test. High-temperature superconductors, which won their discoverers a Nobel in 1987, were supposed to give us power lines which would not lose energy and carbon nanotubes (discovered in 1991) were predicted to transform microelectronics. Neither has happened – mainly because they have proven to be difficult to work with in a way that makes them economic to replace existing materials. Whether this will be the fate that awaits graphene only time will tell.

As the country grapples to recover from recession, at least it is encouraging that some money is being found to try and give our scientific community the opportunity to steal a march on others.

 

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