J-M's History Corner

  J-M's History Corner Today – October 31st – is Halloween.  A day when many children dress up as goblins, witches, and other horrid things and go about getting treats from strangers (although this practice is becoming dangerous ). What is the origin of Halloween? Here is an interesting article on the subject: Few pagan festivals have a history as strange as Halloween. This day is the eve of Allhallows Day (All Saints Day) and is one of the most solemn festivals of the Roman Catholic Church. Ironically it is also a day which commemorates beings and rites with which Christendom has claimed to be at war. The “superstition” of Halloween is that from sundown October 31st until sunrise November 1st is that the unseen spirit world is closer to our world than at any other time. This is supposed to create a special opportunity for interactions between our world, and the world of… View original post 3,875 more words

  I realised that despite my website’s tagline, I haven’t done many genealogy posts.  So, here’s one. Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (born 21 April 1926), full name  Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor , has served as Head of the Commonwealth and  Supreme Governor of the Church of England and reigned as Queen of the United Kingdom , Canada , Australia and New Zealand since 6 February 1952, as Queen of Pakistan from 6 February 1952 until 21 March 1956, as Queen of South Africa from 6 February 1952 until 31 May 1961, as Queen of Ceylon from 6 February 1952 until 22 May 1972, as Queen of Ghana from 6 March 1957 until 1 July 1960, as Queen of Nigeria from 1 October 1960 until 1 October 1963, as Queen of Sierra Leone from 27 April 1961 until 19 April 1971, as Queen of Tanganyika from 9 December 1961 until 9 December 1962, as Queen of Jamaica since 10 August 1962, as Queen of Trinidad and Tobago from 31 August 1962 until 1 August 1976, as Queen of Uganda from 9 October 1