Did you know?
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July 5th is:
Tynwald Ceremony
The Isle of Man, located off the coast of England in the Irish Sea,
was once the property of the Vikings. It was here that they established
their custom of holding an open-air court for the settling of disputes
and the passing of laws. They held their “Thing,” or tribal parliament,
in an open space, usually near a hill or mound, because they feared the
magic associated with roofed buildings and wanted everyone to have easy
access to the meeting.
Today, the Tynwald Ceremony—whose name comes from the Norse Thing vollr,
meaning a fenced open parliament—is held at St. John’s on Tynwald Hill.
According to local lore, this hill contains soil from each of the Isle
of Man’s 17 ancient parishes. The ceremony takes place on July 5, which
is Old MIDSUMMER DAY,
when the Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Man exits a special service
at St. John’s Chapel and is accompanied to the hill by church and state
officials. The chief justice reads a brief summary of every bill that
has been passed during the year—first in English, and then in Manx, the
old language of the island. This formality, once concluded, symbolizes
the fact that the inhabitants of the Isle of Man have acknowledged the
acts of the British Parliament and have incorporated them into the laws
of their land. From Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary |
Quotation of the Day
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Judgment
Oliver Wendell Holmes "Nature has but one judgment on wrong conduct—if you can call that a
judgment which seemingly has no reference to conduct as such—the
judgment of death."
From Respectfully Quoted
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