Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and it’s often said that the greetings card company Hallmark invented the celebration in a ploy to sell cards. But is this really true? And if not, why do we celebrate romance on the 14th of February and who was Saint Valentine?...
‘Truth is stranger than fiction. It has to be! Fiction has to be possible, and truth doesn’t!’, declared Mark Twain. While it’s hard to imagine that reality could be wilder than works of fiction, we might find ourselves surprised if we dive into the...
Freethinkers Day has just passed, being celebrated on 29 January each year, and also known as Thomas Paine Day, in memory of the courageous freethinker born on January 29, 1737 in Norfolk. But what exactly is Freethinking? In a world where we are exposed to a myriad...
Joan of Arc is believed to have been born on the 6th January 1412. To mark her birthday, here we take a brief look at who she was and why she has become a household name. Background Joan of Arc was born in Domrémy, northern France, during the Hundred Years’ War. The...
31st December is a day of celebration in many countries across the world, as the old year draws to a close and the hope and prosperity that accompanies the arrival of a new year is embraced. In Scotland, this is a time of particularly great festivity, through the...
With Christmas just over a week away, there are constant reminders all around us of Father Christmas – that jolly man with a white beard adorns everything from Christmas tree decorations to boxes of chocolates. For many, Father Christmas – or Saint Nicholas –...
