Thomas Grey Wicker (June 18, 1926 – November 25, 2011) was an American journalist.  He was a political reporter and columnist for The New York Times.

Background and education
Wicker was born on June 18, 1926, in Hamlet, North Carolina, to Delancey David, a railroad freight conductor, and Esta Cameron Wicker. He served in the Navy in World War II. Wicker was a 1948 graduate of the University of North Carolina. He won a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in 1957. In 1993, he returned to Harvard, where he was a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School.

Career

The New York Times
Wicker began working in professional journalism in 1949, as editor of the small-town Sandhill Citizen in Aberdeen, North Carolina.  He eventually worked for other newspapers, including The Winston-Salem Journal and The Nashville Tennessean.  By the early 1960s, he had joined The New York Times. At the Times, he became well known as a political reporter; among other accomplishments, he wrote the paper's November 23, 1963, lead story of the assassination of President Kennedy, having ridden in a press bus in the Dallas motorcade that accompanied Kennedy. Wicker was a shrewd observer of the Washington, D.C. scene. In that capacity, his influential "In The Nation" column ran in the Times from 1966 through his retirement in 1991. In an exit-interview Q & A with fellow Times reporter R. W. Apple, he reflected on one primary lesson of his years in the capital. Apple asked whether Wicker had "any heroes" in political life.
I think it tends to work the other way. Which doesn't mean that I look at all those people with contempt—quite the opposite. But the journalist's perspective makes you see the feet of clay and the warts, and that's a good thing. I found them in many cases to be truly engaging human beings and admirable persons but not really, in the long run, impeccable heroes, or even just heroes without the "impeccable." We should try to see people as clearly as we can. Then if a hero does come into view, why, we can give him his due.

Books

Wicker wrote many different books throughout his life. He is the author of several books about U.S. presidents including:
 Kennedy Without Tears: The Man Beneath the Myth (1964)
 JFK & LBJ: The Influence of Personality Upon Politics (1966)
 One of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream (1991)
 Dwight D. Eisenhower (2002)
 George Herbert Walker Bush (2004)
Other works Wicker penned include:
 The Kingpin (1953), a novel about politics
 The Devil Must (1957), a novel
 The Judgment (1961), a novel
 Facing the Lions (1973), a novel about a presidential campaign involving a candidate modeled on Sen. Estes Kefauver
 A Time to Die: The Attica Prison Revolt (1975), this book recounted the events at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York, during September 1971; it received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Fact Crime book and inspired a 1980 made-for-TV movie
 On Press: A Top Reporters Life In, And Reflection On, American Journalism (1978)
 Unto This Hour (1984), a novel of the American Civil War, during the Second Battle of Bull Run (1862)
 Donovan's Wife (1992), a novel about the sleazy side of politics
 Prison Writing in 20th-Century America (1992)
 Tragic Failure: Racial Integration in America (1996)
 Easter Lilly: A Novel of the South Today (1998), a novel about a murder in the South
 On the Record: An Insider's Guide to Journalism (2001)
 Shooting Star: The Brief Arc of Joe McCarthy (2006)

In addition, Wicker penned three standalone detective novels under the pseudonym "Paul Connolly":
 Get Out of Town (1951),
 Tears Are for Angels (1952)
 So Far, So Evil (1955)

Politics
Wicker's work earned him a place on the master list of Nixon political opponents. He wrote the essay on Richard Nixon for the book Character Above All: Ten Presidents from FDR to George Bush (1995). Wicker was mentioned in a 60 Minutes report from the 1970s which detailed how, along with other journalists and members of Congress who supported desegregation busing, Wicker and the others nevertheless sent their children to DC private schools.

NSA monitoring of Wicker's communications
In a secret operation code-named "Project MINARET," the National Security Agency (NSA) monitored the communications of leading Americans, including Wicker and other prominent U.S. journalists, Senators Frank Church and Howard Baker, such civil rights leaders as Martin Luther King Jr., and prominent U.S. athletes who criticized the U.S. war in Vietnam. A review by NSA of the NSA's Minaret program concluded that Minaret was "disreputable if not outright illegal."

Death
Wicker died from an apparent heart attack, on November 25, 2011, at the age of 85.

References

External links

Ubben Lecture at DePauw University; March 12, 1993
Tom Wicker biography via PBS.

Tom Wicker papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.

1926 births
2011 deaths
American male journalists
American historical novelists
Edgar Award winners
The New York Times writers
Nieman Fellows
Novelists from North Carolina
People from Hamlet, North Carolina
People from Rochester, Vermont
20th-century American novelists
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American male novelists
20th-century American male writers
Novelists from New York (state)
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American male writers

Tom Wicker


The olive warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus) is a small passerine bird. It is the only member of the genus Peucedramus and the family Peucedramidae.

This species breeds from southern Arizona and New Mexico, USA, south through Mexico to Nicaragua. It is the only bird family endemic to North America (including Central America). It was in the past classed with the Parulidae (New World warblers), but DNA studies suggest that it split early from the other related passerines, prior to the differentiation of the entire New World warbler/American sparrow/Icterid group. It is therefore now given a family of its own.

It is an insectivorous species of coniferous forests. Though it is often said to be non-migratory, most New Mexican birds leave the state from November to late February. It lays 3–4 eggs in a tree nest.

Taxonomy
The olive warbler was originally placed in the New World warbler (family Parulidae) genus Dendroica, a group which it closely resembles, particularly in having nine primaries and similar skin. In spite of being assigned to its own genus in 1875, its affinities were a source of contention. The shape of the basihyal bone in the skull, and aspects of its behaviour led to the suggestion that it was instead an Old World warbler in the family Sylviidae. That it was not in the family Parulidae was supported by the arrangement of muscles in the legs. DNA–DNA hybridization placed the olive warbler as an early branch of the finch clade (which included the finches, cardinals and Hawaiian honeycreepers) and the New World sparrow clade (which includes the tanagers, icterids and New World warblers), and a 1998 study of mitochondrial DNA confirmed its status as being far removed from the New World warblers.

The generic name of the olive warbler, Peucedramus, is derived from the Greek peuke for a fir tree and dromos for runner, (from trekho, meaning run), a reference to its feeding habitat and behaviour. The species name, taeniatus, is from the Latin taenia for a headband, and atus for possessing, a reference to its facial markings. The original specific name for the species was olivaceus; however that name was preoccupied and the name was changed.

Description
The olive warbler is a medium-sized warbler,  in length and weighing . It shows clinal variation in size, with more northern populations being larger than southern ones, a phenomenon known as Bergmann's rule. The olive warbler is a long-winged bird. The plumage of the male is mostly grey body with some olive-green on the wings and two white wing bars. The male's head and breast are "tawny-orange", and there is a black patch through the eye. In the female and juvenile, the orange is replaced by yellow, and the black mask is more diffuse. In addition to differences in size, plumage varies geographically as well, with southern birds having more brightly coloured plumage.

The song consists of clear whistles rendered as hirrJI hirrJI hirrJI, plida plida plida chir chir, etc. The male sings throughout the year, with the frequency of the singing increasing in late winter and reaching a peak in early spring. During the year the male sings the most during the midmorning, but during spring the male sings constantly during mornings and late afternoon. Song is usually delivered from the canopy or other tall trees.

Distribution and habitat

The olive warbler is distributed from the southwestern United States to Nicaragua, making it the only bird family endemic to North America. In the northern part of its range it has a continuous distribution from Yavapai County, Arizona and the southwestern tip of New Mexico along central Mexico to southern Mexico. It has a disjunct distribution across the rest of its range, with populations in Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico, and further south in southwest Guatemala and from northern El Salvador and central Honduras to northern Nicaragua.

The olive warbler is a bird of mountains and highlands. In northern areas of its range it occurs from  above sea level or more, in some parts of its range it may not occur below . In Oaxaca in Mexico it occupies a range of between  further south in Guatemala it ranges down to  and at the southern end of its range it can be found as low as  in Honduras and in Nicaragua it occupies a belt of forest from  . They typically inhabit conifer forests, such as ponderosa and sugar pine forests in Arizona, Abies common fir forests, oak, and pine forests in central Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. These forests range from humid to semi-arid. In coastal regions stands of palms may be used, and in the Valley of Mexico pine and alder forests are inhabited.

Over most of its range the species is , but there is evidence that the most northerly populations are partial migrants. Birds in Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico apparently move away from their breeding grounds, although what exact movements are made is unclear. It has been suggested that they are either "down slope migrants", moving to lower elevations, or dispersive, as some records show their presence in Texas. Birds attributed to the northern race P. t. arizonae have been recorded near Tepic, in Nayarit. Nevertheless, some birds remain in the northern areas of their range year round.

Diet and feeding
The olive warbler is an insectivore, taking insects and other arthropods. No specific information exists about the actual prey species taken, except that they will take the larvae of Tortricidae moths. It forages in forests in the canopy and subcanopy. In feeds in the outer branches and twigs. It mostly feeds in the branches of ponderosa pines, but also feeds in the branches of grey and silverleaf oaks.

References

Further reading

olive warbler
Birds of Mexico
Birds of Guatemala
Birds of Honduras
Birds of Nicaragua
Birds of Central America
Fauna of the Chihuahuan Desert
Native birds of the Southwestern United States
olive warbler
olive warbler

Olive warbler


Mozart and Salieri () is a poetic drama by Alexander Pushkin. The play was written in 1830 as one of his four short plays known as The Little Tragedies, and was published in 1832. Based on one of the numerous rumours caused by the early death of Mozart, it features only three characters: Mozart, Antonio Salieri, and a non-speaking part in the blind fiddler whose playing Mozart finds hilarious, and Salieri is appalled by. It was the only one of Pushkin's plays that was staged during his lifetime.

The relationship between the two composers was also dealt with in 1832's "Szenen aus Mozarts Leben", a singspiel by Albert Lortzing.

Mozart and Salieri was the inspiration for Peter Shaffer's 1979 play Amadeus, which Shaffer adapted for the 1984 film of the same name.

Adaptations
 1897 – Mozart and Salieri, opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
 1914 – Mozart and Salieri, silent film by Victor Tourjansky.
 1979 – Little Tragedies, a 1979 Soviet television miniseries.

External links
 , English translation.
 A production of the play as an audiodrama .

References

1830 plays
Biographical plays about musicians
Plays by Aleksandr Pushkin
Plays adapted into operas
Russian plays adapted into films
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in fiction
Cultural depictions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Cultural depictions of Antonio Salieri
Plays based on real people

Mozart and Salieri (play)


Nicolas Marceau (born June 23, 1964) is a Canadian economist, university professor, politician and former Minister of Finance. He was previously a professor of economics at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

He was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in a by-election on September 21, 2009, representing the electoral district of Rousseau as a member of the Parti Québécois. He was named minister of finance and the economy in September 2012 after the PQ won the 2012 general election.

Personal life and education
Marceau was born in Montreal. With roots in Quebec City, his paternal grandfather and his father, Claude, were physicians; Claude was an ENT surgeon who was friends with Parti Québécois founder René Lévesque. Nicolas and his sister lived with their mother in LeMoyne after their parents' separation when he was a young child. As a university student he worked four summers at the Île Sainte-Hélène municipal swimming pool before finding a summer job at Les Coopérants life insurance company in the internal audit department—his only experience in the financial sector before becoming Quebec's finance minister.

His education includes bachelor and master of science degrees from Université de Montréal and a doctorate from Queen's University, all in economics. His thesis supervisor was Robin Boadway.

Marceau speaks both French and English fluently. He has four daughters.

University career
He was an economics professor at Laval University from 1992 to 1996, and at Université du Québec à Montréal from 1996 to 2009. He has published 29 articles in academic journals in the field of public economic policy, including in The American Economic Review. He won UQAM's teaching award five times, and was a co-recipient of the 2002 Harry Johnson Prize.

In 2001 he was a member of the Seguin commission which examined the possible fiscal imbalance between the federal and provincial governments.

Political career
In June 2009 Pauline Marois asked him to run for office at a time when the PQ was looking to increase its economic credentials, following the departure of François Legault. He was elected as a member of the National Assembly of Quebec in a September 2009 by-election, and was Official Opposition critic for finance from 2010 to 2012. He became finance minister in 2012 immediately after the PQ won a minority government in the Quebec general election of 2012. His first budget brought controversy because of backing out of the party's election promise to eliminate the province's health tax. He has continued to emphasize a priority of eliminating Quebec's deficit.

References

External links

1964 births
Canadian economists
Finance ministers of Quebec
French Quebecers
Living people
Members of the Executive Council of Quebec
Parti Québécois MNAs
People from Lanaudière
Politicians from Montreal
Université de Montréal alumni
Academic staff of the Université du Québec à Montréal
21st-century Canadian politicians
Academic staff of Université Laval

Nicolas Marceau


Reslosound - also known as Reslo were British manufacturers of electrical musical equipment. In particular they were very well known for the RB Ribbon microphone. This is sometimes referred to as the "Beatles Mic" as they were used a great deal in the Cavern in Liverpool England as well as many other live music venues, recording studios and broadcasters in the 1960s. Notably the BBC used them and they could be seen in many programmes including their flagship sports programme Grandstand. Ribbon microphones in general are making a big comeback over the last few years and many producers (including Mick Glossop)  and musicians are using the Reslosound microphones again after finding their sound provides a warm classic tone.

References

Extensive online microphone collection - http://www.coutant.org/reslo/index.html
Retrieved on 09/12/2008
Mick Glossop Producer - http://homepage.mac.com/mickglossop/page24/page28/page28.html
Retrieved on 09/12/2008

Microphone manufacturers
Audio equipment manufacturers of the United Kingdom

Reslosound


The Omagh bombing was a car bomb attack by the Real Irish Republican Army in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, on 15 August 1998. It killed 29 people and injured 300 others.

References

1998 in the United Kingdom
1990s building bombings
1990s crimes in the United Kingdom
1990s in Northern Ireland
1990s murders in Europe
Attacks on buildings and structures in Northern Ireland
August events
Building bombings in the United Kingdom
Car and truck bombings in Europe
County Tyrone
Explosions in Northern Ireland
Irish Republican Army
Mass murder in Northern Ireland
Mass murder in the 1990s
Massacres in the United Kingdom
Terrorist incidents in the 1990s
The Troubles
Car and truck bombings in the 1990s

Omagh bombing


Fishbourne Roman Palace (or Fishbourne Villa) is a huge Roman villa from the 1st century AD, about thirty years after the Roman conquest of Britain. It is near the south coast in the village of Fishbourne, Chichester in West Sussex. It was built on the site of a Roman army supply base built during Claudian invasion in 43 AD.

The palace is by far the largest known Roman residence north of the Alps. At about 500 feet (150 m) square, it is larger than Buckingham Palace. It is about the size of Nero's Golden House in Rome or the Roman villa at Piazza Armerina in Sicily. In plan it closely mirrors the layout of the emperor Domitian's palace, the Domus Flavia, completed in AD 92 on the Palatine Hill in Rome.

The rectangular palace surrounded formal gardens, the northern half of which have been reconstructed. There were extensive alterations in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, with many of the original black and white mosaics being overlaid with more sophisticated coloured work, including the perfectly preserved dolphin mosaic in the north wing. More alterations were in progress when the palace burnt down in around 270, after which it was abandoned.

One theory is that it was built for Sallustius Lucullus, a Roman governor of Britain of the late 1st century. Two inscriptions recording the presence of Lucullus have been found in nearby Chichester and the dating of the palace to the early AD 90s, would fit. If the palace was designed for Lucullus, then he may have only used it for a few years: the Roman historian Suetonius says Lucullus was executed by the delusional emperor Domitian in or shortly after AD 93.

References

Other websites
 Official webpage

Buildings and structures in West Sussex
Archaeological sites in England
Roman buildings and structures
Mosaics
1st-century buildings and structures

Fishbourne Roman Palace


Hyattstown is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located on Maryland Route 355 in upper Montgomery County, not far from the border with Frederick County.

Established in 1798 by founder Jesse Hyatt, the town featured the Hyattstown Inn, a one-room school-house, a butcher, a blacksmith, and other commercial venues. These historical commercial buildings are now private homes.

Quarries nearby supplied slate for roofing the old United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Hyattstown was the location of an 1862 Civil War artillery battle between General Nathaniel Prentice Banks' troops and General Stonewall Jackson's troops.

Hyattstown Christian Church, a Disciples of Christ congregation established in 1840, still operates today.

The old station building (ca. 1895) for the Rock Creek Railway and Kensington Railway streetcar lines was moved to Hyattstown from Chevy Chase in 1980.

References

Unincorporated communities in Montgomery County, Maryland
Unincorporated communities in Maryland
Populated places established in 1798
1798 establishments in Maryland

Hyattstown, Maryland


Chinese New Year, known in China as the SpringFestival and in Singapore as the LunarNewYear, is a holiday on and around the new moon on the first day of the year in the traditional Chinese calendar. This calendar is based on the changes in the moon and is only sometimes changed to fit the seasons of the year based on how the Earth moves around the sun. Because of this, Chinese New Year is never on January1. It moves around between January21 and February20.

The Chinese New Year is one of the most important holidays for Chinese people all over the world. Its 7th day used to be used instead of birthdays to count people's ages in China. The holiday is still used to tell people which "animal" of the Chinese zodiac they are part of. The holiday is a time for gifts to children and for family gatherings with large meals, just like Christmas in Europe and in other Christian areas. Unlike Christmas, the children usually get gifts of cash in red envelopes (hongbao) and not toys, clothes and electronics.

Chinese New Year used to last 15 days until the Lantern Festival on the year's first full moon. Now, it is a national holiday in the Republic and People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. It is also celebrated in some parts of Thailand. In some places, only the first day or three days are celebrated. In the PRC, nearby weekends are changed to create a 7-day-long "Golden Week".

The traditional new years in Vietnam (Tet) and in Korea (Korean New Year) are almost always on the same day as Chinese New Year but are sometimes different. The Japanese New Year used to work the same way but has been very different since some changes in the 19th century. Losar and Tsagaan Sar, the traditional Tibetan and Mongolian new years, are very close to the Chinese New Year but different ways of thinking about the moon's changes and adding months can make them happen weeks apart from the Chinese festival.

Name

The Mandarin Chinese name of the holiday is Chūn Jié, which means "Spring Festival". This is why it is often called the "Spring Festival" by Chinese speakers of English, even though the holiday always occurs in the winter months of January or February. Its name is written  in traditional Chinese writing and  in the easier writing now used by mainland China and Singapore. The Republic of China began to use this name in the 1910s, after it began to use the European calendar for most things.

Before that, the holiday was usually just called the "NewYear". Because the traditional Chinese calendar is mostly based on the changes in the moon, the Chinese New Year is also known in English as the "Lunar New Year" or "Chinese Lunar New Year". This name comes from "Luna", an old Latin name for the moon. The Indonesian name for the holiday is Imlek, which comes from the Hokkien word for the old Chinese calendar and is therefore also like saying "Lunar New Year".

Another old name for the holiday was Lìchūn, meaning "Early Spring". In Chinese, this is also a special name for the sun's place from about February4 to 19 each year, when the sun is 45 to 30° ahead of its place on the 1stday of spring. The name is not often used to talk about the Chinese New Year any more. On Taiwan, the real Lichun has been called "Farmer's Day" since 1941. A year between two Chinese New Years without it is thought to be unlucky for marriages.

Day of the New Year

Chinese New Year always starts on a new moon, when the Moon is between the Earth and Sun and it looks all dark in the night sky. Because new moons happen about every 29.53 days but the year set by Pope GregoryXIII is 365.2425 days long, the Chinese holiday moves to different days each year. The Chinese calendar adds a 13th month every so often to keep the seasons in the right place, so the first day of the new year always happens between January21 and February20 on the 2nd or 3rd new moon after the 1st day of winter. The chart on the right gives the day of each Chinese New Year from 1996 to 2031.

Traditional counting
In the past, the Chinese emperors did not number their years from one place. Instead, they gave names to eras (groups of years) any time they wanted. Since they still changed its number at every new year festival, the first year of a new era might only be a few days long. One example of this is the "1st year of Kaiyuan" during the Tang, which lasted a week or so in 713 AD. In the same way, people in China and around East Asia did not count their ages from zero or add one year at every birthday. They counted birth as the start of their 1st year and added another year upon the 7th day of the New Year, which they called People's Day (Rénrì). This came from an old story about how a goddess named Nüwa made all the animals. The day she made people was used as the common birthday for everyone. In this way, people sometimes called a baby who born on the 6th day of the New Year a 2-year-old only a few hours after its birth. (Today, it is much more common in China to count age starting at zero and add years at birthdays, like in English-speaking countries.)

Animals of the New Year

The Chinese used to keep time using 2 different lists of characters, known in English as the 10Heavenly Stems and the 12Earthly Branches. The stems were the 10 days of the week under the Shang dynasty, each with its own sun and a special gift to different dead family members of the king. The branches were parts of the almost 12-year path that Jupiter takes around the sun. Each is said to be yin (dark or female) or yang (bright or male), so that when they are put together they make a list of 60 pairs. (The current list began in 1984 and will end in 2043.) Later, each of the stems was also said to match one of the 5 Chinese elements—wood, fire, dirt, metal, or water—and each of the branches was said to be a different animal: Rat, Ox & Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster & Chicken, Dog, and Pig. The Han Chinese list begins with the Year of the "Wood Rat"; the Tibetan list is much the same but begins with the Year of the "Fire Rabbit".

Today, Chinese people don't use these lists to count hours, days, or years but many still pay attention to the animal of the year when someone was born. Just like with the European zodiac, some people think the year's animal can change how someone thinks and acts. They even think it can change whether a marriage will be a happy one or not. Newspapers pay writers to give them ideas for how lucky different animals will be during the coming week. Many parents even time their children's birth within a year or two to give them the best animal sign: a Chinese primary school might have full classrooms of "golden Dragon" students but noticeably fewer "dirt Rats". For those who do believe such things, it is important to notice that the traditional Chinese calendar's year starts at a different time from the usual year. People may say that 2017 is the "Year of the Rooster and Chicken" but the people born in January or early February 2018 will still be "Roosters" and "Chickens" and those born in the first few weeks of 2017 were still "Monkeys".

History

Chinese tradition said that the Chinese calendar began during the 60th year of the reign of the Yellow Emperor in 2637 BC, with New Year celebrations beginning in that year. As far as we now know, it's much less old than that. Parts of the old ways of counting time given above are at least as early as 1250 BC, during the Shang times. Most of it was known by the Zhou (11th–3rd centuries BC). The 5 elements and small points were set by the Han (2nd century BC–2nd century AD). From eastern China, the calendar and its new year spread to nearby places like Vietnam (111 BC), Korea (before 270 AD), Japan (604), and Tibet (around 641). It also followed the overseas Chinese to their new homes in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and other places.

The Shang kings (16th–11th centuries BC) gave special gifts to their gods and dead family members during the winter of each year. Under the Zhou, people were having harvest festivals like today's Mid-Autumn Festival by about 1000 BC. Over time, common people started to give gifts to their gods and their dead family members, just like the king. Parts of the harvest festival stopped being thanks and celebration of the last year. They moved to before the planting of the seeds and became wishes and celebration of good luck in the next year.

By the early Han, people were counting their birthdays from People's Day on the 7th day of the New Year. The order of animals' birthdays was said to be Roosters and Chickens on the New Year, Dogs on the next day, Pigs on the day after that, Goats on the 4th, Oxen and Cows on the 5th, Horses on the 6th, and then people. About the same time, people started burning bamboo to make loud noises to welcome the New Year and scare away bad things.

People started carefully cleaning their homes, having large family dinners, and staying up late on the day before Chinese New Year by the end of the Three Kingdoms (3rd century). By the end of the Jin in the 5th century, these things had become a common part of Chinese life. Some Taoist magicians may have made gunpowder as early as the Han or Jin, but they certainly had it by the 9th century at the end of the Tang. Over the next few centuries, fireworks and firecrackers replaced burning bamboo as a way to chase away anything bad and to welcome in the New Year.

Dragon dances had appeared by the time of the Han. People thought that Chinese dragons like Yinglong and Shenlong were kinds of gods who had power over where the water in rivers and canals went and when the water in clouds would fall as rain. Because this was very important for farming, dragon dances could happen all through the year when rain was needed. Different parts of today's dragon dances began at different times, with some at least as old as the Song (about 1150) and others very new, like using special paint that glows under black light.

Lion dances were probably newer. China has not had its own lions since the spread of people out of Africa into the rest of the world. The earliest lions in Chinese books were gifts to the Han emperor from Parthia and other people who lived along the Silk Road connecting Chinese and Roman businesses. There was lion dancing under the Tang and in Japan by the 8th century, but people still thought of it as a foreign dance used by Buddhists. Today, people talk about "Northern" and "Southern" kinds of lion dances. The special northern kind began under the Southern Song (12th–13th century). The special southern kind began in Guangdong later, maybe under the Ming (14th–17th century).

As part of other changes, the Meiji Emperor of Japan ordered in 1873 that the new year celebrations of his country would be held on January1. Today, even most of the traditional Japanese celebrations now occur on that day, not at the same time as Chinese New Year. In 1928, the Nationalist Party of China tried to change the Chinese celebrations to January1, too, but this completely failed as the Chinese people protested or ignored the new laws and continued as usual.

In 1965, some people tried to change Indonesia's government, making its army less powerful. They failed and Suharto said they were working for Indonesia's Communists, who were working with Mao Zedong's Communist China. In 1967, Suharto helped make laws against using Chinese language or culture, including any celebration of Chinese New Year. These laws were not changed until after the fall of Suharto in 1998. Indonesia made Chinese New Year a national holiday for everyone a few years later in 2003.

In 1967, as part of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, the PRC's government did not celebrate or allow special time off work for the traditional new year. The State Council said that the people of China should "change customs" and have a "revolutionized and fighting Spring Festival". Public celebrations returned by the time of Deng Xiaoping's Opening Up Policy in the 1980s. In particular, the government helped with dragon and lion dancing, thinking that it was part of the special culture of Chinese people. Since the year 2000, Chinese New Year has been one of the PRC's Golden Weeks: there are three days of paid time away from work during the first few days and two weekends around it are moved to make a 7-day-long holiday. These Golden Weeks copied a similar Japanese idea.

In 2015, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah set out tough new laws about the celebration of Chinese New Year in Brunei. This followed earlier laws like it about Christmas and is part of introducing traditional Islamic law to the country.

Events

Mainland China

People in China usually try to be together with their family for at least the first few days of the holiday. Because of the large number of Chinese people and the many people who work away from their hometowns, all this "spring traveling" (chunyun) is the biggest movement of people in the world every year.

Houses are cleaned completely. In former times, sacrifices were made to the gods and dead family members in the days before the holiday. A "reunion dinner" happens in the evening of the last day of the traditional year ("New Year's Eve"). Older and married people give younger ones cash in red envelopes known as hongbao in Mandarin Chinese or laisee in Cantonese. China Central Television puts on a long show with many star actors, singers, and dancers. It is usually the most-watched TV show in the world each year. Lately, its ads have also become some of the world's most expensive, although they are still behind those during the US Super Bowl.

Children don't need to go to bed early and stay up to midnight. Around 12 o'clock, the new year is welcomed with public fireworks and private firecrackers. Children are told that these remember a monster called "Nian" ("Year") who was scared away by a town's loud noises and bright lights on a Chinese New Year long in the past.

During the first few days of the new year, many people visit the homes of their grandparents, parents, and other relatives, as well as their closest friends. More hongbao may be given. Temples also have special fairs with lots of street food. There are Peking opera and martial arts shows and lion and dragon dances in major cities. Lion dancers usually have two people inside each lion. People feed the lions green plants and hongbao, and the lions keep the money and spit out the plants. The dragon dancers usually hold the Dragon up on poles and chase a pearl held by another dancer. The dragons can be very long. So far, the longest was in Hong Kong in 2012. That one was a little over  long. Hong Kong also has special horse races at its racetrack. A 100,000 people sometimes come to the big race on the 3rd day of the New Year, which has a lion dance and other shows. Guangzhou has several special flower festivals.

The day of the new year's first full moon is called the Lantern Festival. Many streets and homes are decorated with old paper lanterns. In the past, this was one of the few days of the year when the women of families with lots of money could go outside their homes. They walked the streets nearby with their maids and could say hello to people outside their family. This still causes the festival to make people think of young adults meeting their future husband or wife.

Taiwan

In Taiwan, most events and traditions are the same as those in China. The most important special event is the Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival, where fireworks are shot straight into the people watching the show. Being hit is supposed to bring good luck, but this used to be very unsafe. Today, people wear special hard hats (helmets) and thick clothes to protect them from the fire and fireworks. Another special event is the "Bombing of Master Handan" in Taitung, where people throw firecrackers straight at the members of a parade who are wearing only red underwear and towels. Taiwan's Hakka people have a tradition like this, where firecrackers are thrown at dragon dancers as they parade through towns. The dragon is then burnt up at the end of the dance. Taipei's City Lantern Festival also goes on for most of the holiday, not just during the 1-day Lantern Festival at the end.

Philippines

Chinese New Year is a national holiday in the Philippines. People do not get money without working, but anyone who does have to work on the "special non-working day" gets 130% of the usual pay. Binondo—sometimes considered the world's oldest Chinatown—sees a lot of traditional celebrations, such as lion and dragon dances. Its people also try to pay back any money that they owe before the New Year.

In 2001, Davao City stopped letting people use fireworks because its people were hurting themselves too much. Their leader Rodrigo Duterte became president of the country and said that he wanted to stop fireworks everywhere. As president, however, he has so far continued to let people use them.

Indonesia

Chinese New Year () is a 1-day national holiday in Indonesia. Chinese people have lived there since at least the 15th century, when Zheng He's ships visited its islands for the Yongle Emperor of the Ming, and many more came when the Netherlands held the islands as a colony. Suharto stopped Chinese Indonesians from celebrating Chinese New Year in 1967. Some people had tried to change the government in 1965 and Suharto said Indonesian Communists and their friends in the PRC had done it. Things changed after the fall of Suharto in 1998, and Indonesia made Chinese New Year a national holiday for everyone in 2003.

Dragon and lion dances are common at shopping centers, which sometimes have special sales to let Chinese people buy new (often red) clothes to wear for the holiday. People cannot use fireworks in most of Indonesia, but some cities like Jakarta let people use firecrackers.

Some older Chinese traditions still survive in Indonesia. Like in the Philippines, people try to pay back any money they owe before the New Year. People also try not to lend any money during the holiday, because they think it will make them have to keep lending money for the whole year. Doors and windows are opened on the day before the New Year to "let the old year out", and people wake up early the next morning so they don't stay lazy the whole year. The red envelopes of money (Hokkien:âng-pau) are given on the morning of New Year's Day, not at dinner on the night before it. Many make special trips to one of Indonesia's Chinese temples at some time during the holiday.

It is also still common to leave some food at the table for dead family members and to give them gifts as the New Year begins. Chicken is usually eaten with the head, tail, and feet still on, showing "completeness". White rice is eaten but fresh white tofu is not, because in Chinese culture its color makes some people think of death and bad luck.

Malaysia

Most of Malaysia gets two days off work for Chinese New Year: the New Year itself and the day after it. The largest celebrations happen around Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur, at the Kek Lok Si Temple in George Town, in Ipoh, and on Jonker Street in Malacca. Some people still follow the tradition that the second day is used for married women to visit their parents, after visiting her husband's family on Chinese New Year's Day. Most Chinese Malaysians take the entire week off of work, despite the shorter length of the national holiday. Traditional Chinese use the 3rd day of the New Year to visit the resting places of family members who died in the last 3 years; people without a death in their family stay home.

An unusual tradition in Malaysia is the idea of "open house" dinners, especially on the 2nd and 3rd night of the holiday. Guests, friends, and even strangers from different races and religions can be let in to enjoy large dinners together. The Malaysian government even has its own "open houses" at community halls.

In addition to fireworks at the beginning of the New Year, many people light them on the 9th day of the holiday to celebrate the birthday of the Jade Emperor, the boss of the Chinese gods. The day was used for a special Hokkien New Year, the story going that, one time in the past, the Hokkien people had to hide from robbers for 8 days in a sugarcane field. Because of this story, lots of sugarcane is used for Malaysian decorations for Chinese New Year.

Teochew-style Yusheng, a fish-and-noodle dish, is extra common in Malaysia, where it is called "yeesang" or "prosperity toss". A restaurant in Seremban started getting people to eat it by throwing it high in the air for good luck in the 1940s, and people had so much fun that they have done it ever since. Properly, it should have 7 parts and be eaten on the 7th day of the holiday, but people now eat it in different ways, too. Another common dish is "steam boat", a kind of seafood hot pot. As in other Chinese places, eating and giving away oranges and tangerines is common in Malaysia. A special tradition is for women with no boyfriend or husband to throw an orange into the sea to find a man. Some now write their telephone numbers on the oranges they throw, and men will use boats to go out and get the fruit.

Many people in Malaysia who believe in Islam and Hinduism have also started giving red envelopes full of money—which Malaysians call "ang pow" from its Hokkien name âng-pau—during their own holidays, like Eid ("Syawal") and Divali ("Deepavali"). The Islamic ang pow usually have Arabic designs, and the Hindu ones are often purple.

Singapore

Singapore, like Malaysia, has a national holiday for Chinese New Year and the day after it. It also sees lot of "steam boat" hot pot dinners. In 1972, the government stopped people from using their own fireworks during the holiday. Worried that people would find the next celebration less fun, they began the Chingay Parade the next year in 1973. In 1977, Indians and Malays joined the parade, which happens on the 8th day of the New Year. The parade is now the biggest in Asia, with more than 10,000 people in it and floats that showing every animal of the circle of Chinese years and the money god Cai Shen. More than 100,000 come to see it in person, and millions of people see it on TV. There are still government firework shows, and the people of Singapore now make noise during the holiday by hitting bamboo sticks together.

Holiday shopping and street shows are centered on Chinatown. Its Wishing Tree is filled with cards that tell people's hopes and dreams. The money from selling the cards is used for the area's activity center for the old.

Downtown, the holiday is used as a showcase for Chinese arts and customs. The Chinese Festival of Arts starts on the 5th day and runs for the rest of the holiday until the Lantern Festival. The National Gallery, Stamp Museum, and Asian Civilizations Museum let people in for free on some of the days of the holiday. For more than 10 years, Singapore has held a big lion dancing contest with teams coming from other countries across Southeast Asia. During the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the New Year, there is the River Hongbao show on the Marina Bay Floating Platform and along the waterfront.

Brunei
Chinese New Year, the day before it, the day after it, and the Lantern Festival are national holidays in Brunei. The country has had a large number of Chinese people since the 1930s and 40s, and the sultan sometimes comes to their New Year celebrations. Since 2015, however, Brunei has set out tough Islamic laws that try to stop Muslims from joining or even seeing the Chinese celebrations. Lion dances are allowed only at the last Chinese temple in Brunei, at Chinese schools, and at the homes of the Chinese. Only Chinese people can join the dance. People cannot use fireworks or firecrackers, and dances must stop during the hours of Islamic prayers. Breaking these rules risks as much as B$20,000 and 5 years of jail.

Korea

The Chinese New Year celebrations in North and South Korea are known as Korean New Year. The time in Beijing is 1 hour different from the time in the Korean capital cities of Pyongyang and Seoul. About one time every 24 years, this makes the Korean New Year start on the day after the Chinese New Year.

The Korean holiday is very close to the Chinese one, with families gathering, children being very nice to their parents and grandparents, and older people giving gifts of money to the young. The Korean holiday has different traditional foods and games, though.

Vietnam

The Chinese New Year celebrations in Vietnam are known as Tet. Like the Korean New Year, it sometimes happens on a different day. In 1967, North Vietnam changed its time so that its capital Hanoi is now 1 hour different from Beijing. This means that the new moon happens a day earlier in Vietnam about one time every 24 years. Vietnamese people also add a 13th month to their calendar at a different time from the Chinese, who always try to put the 1st day of winter in their 11th month. In some years, this makes Tet happen in the month after the Chinese New Year.

Like in Korea, the Vietnamese New Year is mostly the same as China's, with families gathering, children saying nice things to their parents and grandparents, and older people giving gifts of money to the young. There are some different foods and traditions, like their New Year tree or special games. Some of the differences come from changes in China: Tet sees more people do nice things for their dead family members. In China, most of the traditions like that were moved to Tomb Sweeping Day at the  beginning of April.

Other places
The largest US and Canadian celebrations happen in Chinatowns. People eat Chinese food, give gifts, and have dragon parades that sometimes include marching bands. There is no national holiday with time off work, but different events go on for the full traditional 2 weeks up to the Lantern Festival.

In the United Kingdom, the celebration in London's Chinatown and Trafalgar Square drew 500,000 people in 2015.

The holiday is also so important to China that many world leaders will take time to send their good wishes to China and the Chinese people.

Customs

Most traditional customs have to do with getting more good luck for the new year and staying away from anything unhappy.

People hang up decorations, especially pairs of Chinese poems (couplets) on either side of their doors. Some put pictures of Taoist gods on the doors to scare away bad things. Live plants suggest growth, and flowers suggest coming fruits. Pussy willow is common in some places because its Chinese name sounds like "money coming in". It is very common for big decorations to look like the animal for the new year, so that 2017 had Rooster and Chicken pictures and statues and 2018 will have Dogs.

People used to welcome the New Year with anything that made loud noises, including drums, cymbals, or even woks and pots. The exact traditions were different in different parts of China. Fireworks and firecrackers became more and more common everywhere, but lately many places have stopped letting most people use them because of the danger of people hurting themselves, of fire, and of dirt in the air that can make people sick. There are still big firework shows in most big cities with many Chinese people, but the city government will do everything and other people just watch.

Visits to people's houses are done in new or well-kept clothes. People wear more red than usual, which makes them think of happy times like weddings, and wear less black and white, which makes some think of sad times like funerals. Red underwear is very common and is most commonly worn during New Years which have the same animal as the wearer's birth year (so, at ages 12, 24, 36, and so on). In Malaysia, it has even become common to give people such red underwear as gifts and for non-Chinese to wear all-red clothes during the season of the Chinese New Year.

There are some common things people say to wish good luck to each other, the most important being gōngxǐ fācái ("congratulations that you are now rich"). People try not to say bad words, tell ghost stories, or talk about death. Some even stay away from the number four, which sounds like "death" in Chinese. Crying babies are also thought to be bad luck, and family members will try to keep children happy during visits.

There are some old customs that only a few people or even no one does any more. People still do their "spring cleaning" before the holiday but, in old China, they did not sweep or wash clothes on New Year's Day itself. They were afraid of cleaning away good luck together with the dirt. For the same reason, some people did not wash their hair and were very careful not to break any tools. The 5th or 6th day after New Year, when they cleaned and threw away or burned all the trash, was a day for "sending off" the God of Being Poor, one of the sons of Zhuanxu. Today, it's more common to clean things as they get dirty, like on other days. Few do anything special about the God of the Poor. In the same way, people near Beijing thought that it was unlucky to cook or steam food for the first 5 days of the New Year. They would cook all of their next week of food 2 days before it, so it was ready for the reunion meal. They would add yeast to their dumpling skins the day before that, on the 28th day of the 12th month. The skins would have enough time to be ready but not enough time to go bad. Today, people cook or eat out all through the week. It is easy to buy ready-made skins at supermarkets, keep their homemade skins fresh in fridges, or just buy all their dumplings from nearby shops and there is nothing special about the 28th day. On People's Day, the 7th day of the holiday, people used to wear special headbands and thought good weather meant good luck for everyone in the coming year. Everyone used it to count their age, even when it was not their birthday. None of that is common any more.

Some traditions have been ended by the Chinese government. People used to run to be the first to set off fireworks and firecrackers at the beginning of the New Year at midnight, wherever they were. The dirty air this caused in big Chinese cities made children and old people sick. Now, the police stop people from doing this in many cities.

Taoist traditions that are less common now are giving gifts to the home's kitchen god on the 23rd or 24th day of the 12th month of the old calendar. People said the kitchen god watched the house for the Jade Emperor, the boss of the Chinese gods. The special decorations and gifts were given to him so that he would say nice things. The gods would then be nicer to the house for the next year. The kitchen god was thought to return to the house on the 4th day of the New Year. During the time he was "away", people used to feel they could get away from some hard rules about family life without anything bad happening. In the past, love matches would marry during those days with less rules and expense than a full wedding. Today, the days after the Chinese New Year are a common time for weddings but this is because everyone has time off work and not because of any ideas about luck or worry about the gods. In the same way, people used to give animals to Cai Shen, the god of money, on the 2nd or 5th day of the holiday. People used to take a break from visits on "Red Dog Day" (Chìgǒu Rì), the 3rd day of the holiday, when an angry god was said to bring bad luck to anyone walking around outside. Now, fewer and fewer people worry about those things.

Food

The reunion dinners on the day before Chinese New Year are often the largest and most expensive of the year. Some families use special and expensive foods to gain face; others use meaningful foods to bring luck. Jiaozi (a kind of dumpling) are common in northern China. People think they look like the old Chinese silver bars and hold luck inside. Egg rolls and spring rolls like lumpia can also be made to look like golden bars, and oranges and tangerines are thought to look like gold coins. Noodles like yimian or Filipino pansit are eaten uncut to wish for long life. Some dishes are eaten because their Chinese names sound like lucky words, such as "fish" and "well-off". In Cantonese, "vegetable" sounds the same as "having money" (choy) and "leek" sounds the same as "counting-and-planning" (suan). Because of this Cantonese people in China and in other countries try to have some during the New Year holidays. Niangao, called "tikoy" in the Philippines, is a kind of cake made from fried sticky rice and sugar. It is very common in southern China. In Chinese, its name sounds like nián gāo ("the year gets better") or niánnián gāoshēng ("getting better year after year"). Some people also think its stickiness is like a glue and use it as a wish for holding their family together. Indonesians call their niangao "basket cakes" because they mold theirs in bamboo baskets. They also have some special flavors in addition to vanilla and chocolate like pandan, a tree with good-smelling leaves. Some people fry tikoy with eggs; basket cakes are often steamed with pieces of coconut meat. Because most Chinese people in the Philippines speak Hokkien and not Mandarin Chinese, they also like to eat pineapples. In Hokkien, the word for "pineapple" sounds like the word for "having a lot of money".

Some Chinese also put out "Trays of Togetherness", dishes with eight different parts and eight different kinds of snack foods. Some common things to put in these trays are kumquats, longans, pieces of coconut meat, peanuts, candies, and melon and lotus seeds. Eight is a lucky number to many Chinese people, like seven in Europe and other places. These dishes are very common among Malaysian and Indonesian Chinese.

For the Lantern Festival, the special food is yuanxiao, small balls of sticky rice in a sweet soup. Lichun always happens near the Chinese New Year as well. It is celebrated by eating spring pancakes (chūnbǐng).

Notes

References

Holidays of the People's Republic of China

Chinese New Year


Mani Menon, born 9 July 1948 in Trichur, India, is an American surgeon whose work has helped to lay the foundation for modern Robotic Cancer Surgery. He is the founding director and the Raj and Padma Vattikuti Distinguished Chair of the Vattikuti Urology Institute at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI, where he established the first cancer-oriented robotics program in the world. Menon is widely regarded for his role in the development of robotic surgery techniques for the treatment of patients with prostate, kidney, and bladder cancers, as well as for the development of robotic kidney transplantation.Menon is the recipient of the Gold Cystoscope award (American Urological Association, 2001), Hugh Hampton Young award (American Urological Association, 2011), the Keyes Medal (American Association of Genitourinary surgeons, 2016), the prestigious B.C. Roy award (Awarded by the President of India, for his achievements in the fields of urology and robotics).

Early years and urological career
Menon developed a novel technique to measure androgen receptors in the human prostate. At the age of 34, Menon became the chairman of the Urology department at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. During early career, his major contributions were in the field of kidney stone disease where he helped develop the use of intra-operative ultrasonography as an aid to renal stone management  and also devised methods to quantify citrate and oxalate levels in urine using ion chromatography.

Robotic surgery
In 1997, Menon was recruited to become chairman of urology at Henry Ford Hospital in to revive the prostate cancer program.  In 2001, Henry Ford Hospital's urology department would receive a $20 million donation from the Vattikuti foundation. The donation helped establish the Vattikuti Urology Institute (VUI) and would allow Menon's team to explore minimally invasive means of treating prostate cancer.  Menon and the staff at the VUI developed robotic procedures in general (for example, for bladder and kidney cancer) and prostatectomy in particular. The robotic prostatectomy developed by Menon is called the "Vattikuti Institute Prostatectomy". Specialised laparoscopic instruments are used for the procedure. During the operation, images from a 3-D camera are projected to a remote console. The surgeons operates in virtual reality, observing the images on a screen. This technology serves to make the surgery less invasive and more precise. Menon has performed nearly 4,000 robotic prostatectomies and is considered a world authority on the use robotic surgery for prostate cancer. Under the leadership of Dr. Menon, the VUI established the first ever robotic training program in the world; for prostatectomy in 2000, for cystectomy in 2003  and for nephrectomy in 2006  and most recently, in 2013, for kidney transplantation (trial ongoing).

In his years as Director of VUI, Menon has trained and mentored fellow surgeon, Ashutosh Tewari. To this day, Menon and Tewari collaborate on clinical manuscripts, research abstracts, conference lectures, and other projects. Both surgeons have significantly influenced the field of robotic surgery as it applies to urology, refining patient outcomes as well as boosting the surgical robot industry.

In November 2011, Dr. Mani Menon was the keynote presenter and surgeon at prominent hospitals in six of India's major cities as part of the Vattikuti Foundation "Road Show".  The Road Show was designed as a way to educate the medical community and public in India about the benefits of robotic surgery. The undertaking began in Gurgaon, and when it was over, two weeks later, 28 robotic procedures would demonstrate procedures in Urology and gynecology to interested audiences. Lectures and media interviews helped the public gain an understanding.

Honors and awards

See also
Vattikuti Urology Institute
International Robotic Urology Symposium

References

External links
Dr. Mani Menon's website

American surgeons
Indian emigrants to the United States
Johns Hopkins University alumni
1948 births
Living people
Scientists from Thrissur
Fellows of the American College of Surgeons

Mani Menon


Princess Augusta of Cambridge (Augusta Caroline Charlotte Elizabeth Mary Sophia Louise; 19 July 1822 – 5 December 1916) was a member of the British royal family, a granddaughter of George III. She married into the Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and became Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Early life
Augusta was born Princess Augusta of Cambridge on 19 July 1822 at the Palace of Montbrillant, Hanover. Her father was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the seventh son of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her mother was Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel. As a male line granddaughter of a British monarch, she was titled a British princess with the style of Royal Highness. The young princess was baptized at the same palace on 16 August 1822, by Rev Edward Curtis Kemp (Chaplain to the British Ambassador to the Court of Berlin, The Rt. Hon. Sir George Rose).
Three of her godparents were present at the baptism:
Princess Frederick of Hesse-Kassel (her maternal grandmother)
Princess Luise Henriette of Nassau-Usingen (her maternal great-aunt)
Princess Louise, Countess von der Decken (her maternal aunt)
The rest were not present, possibly being represented by proxies:
The Duke of York and Albany (her paternal uncle)
all of her five living paternal aunts (by blood)
The Queen Dowager of Württemberg
The Princess Augusta Sophia
The Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg
The Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh
The Princess Sophia
The Electress of Hesse (wife of Wilhelm II, her mother's cousin)
The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (her maternal aunt)
Princess Charles of Hesse-Kassel (wife of her maternal uncle)

The Princess spent her earlier years in Hanover, where her father was the viceroy on behalf of his brother, George IV.

Princess Augusta had one brother, Prince George, later 2nd Duke of Cambridge; and one sister, Princess Mary Adelaide, later Duchess of Teck. As such, Princess Augusta was an aunt to Mary of Teck, later  consort of George V.  Additionally, Princess Augusta was a first cousin through her father to Queen Victoria and through her mother to Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel, the wife of King Christian IX of Denmark.

With her mother, she was part of the royal party at the 1838 coronation of Queen Victoria.

Marriage
On 28 June 1843, Princess Augusta married her first cousin, Frederick William of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, at Buckingham Palace, London. (The two were also second cousins on their fathers' side.) Upon marriage, Augusta became the Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and, on 6 September 1860, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz following the death of her father-in-law.

The marriage of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess produced two children:
 Duke Frederick William of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (born and died in London, 13 January 1845)
 Duke Adolphus Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (22 July 1848 – 11 June 1914); succeeded his father as Adolphus Frederick V in May 1904.

Later life
Although she spent most of her adult life in Germany, the Grand Duchess Augusta retained close personal ties to the British Royal Family. She frequently visited her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, at her Kensington Palace apartments.

After her mother's death in 1889, the Grand Duchess acquired a house—thereafter known as Mecklenburg House—at 16 Buckingham Gate, London, where she spent a portion of the year until advanced old age made it impossible for her to travel abroad.

In making preparations for the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1901, the Duke of Norfolk consulted her on matters of etiquette and attire. This was due to her presence at the coronation of King William IV and Queen Adelaide seventy-one years earlier. She was nine years old at the time and kissed the Queen's hand. She was also able to provide details of the coronation of Queen Victoria.

The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was particularly close to her niece, the future Queen Mary.  However, old age prevented her from attending the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary on 22 June 1911.

Following the outbreak of World War I, the British Government suspended the annuity she had been receiving as a member of the British Royal Family under the Annuity, Duchess of Mecklenburgh Strelitz Act 1843. During the war, the Swedish Embassy passed letters from the Queen to her aunt, who still lived in Germany.

As an elderly lady, she was known for being cantankerous. She was also known as being quite shrewd and intelligent.  In his book, Queen Mary (London, 1959), the Queen's official biography, James Pope-Hennessy reports that the Queen's aunt Augusta was not fond of the new science of photography, fearing it would intrude deeply into the private lives of Royal personages; at pp. 101–105 he offers a masterly sketch of this formidable lady.

The Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz died on 5 December 1916 in Neustrelitz and was buried in Mirow. As the longest-lived grandchild of George III, she was the last link to the British branch of the House of Hanover.

At the time of her death, she was 94 years, 4 months and 16 days old, making her the longest-lived British princess by blood, until Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, a male-line granddaughter of Queen Victoria, surpassed her in 1977. Her will was sealed and in 1920 her estate was valued at £57,282 (or £1.7 million in 2022 when adjusted for inflation).

Titles, styles and honours

Titles and styles
19 July 1822 – 28 June 1843: Her Royal Highness Princess Augusta of Cambridge
28 June 1843 – 6 September 1860: Her Royal Highness The Hereditary Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
6 September 1860 – 30 May 1904: Her Royal Highness The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
30 May 1904 – 5 December 1916: Her Royal Highness The Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Honours
 :
 Royal Family Order of George IV
 Companion of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, 1878
 :
 Dame of the Order of Louise, 1st Division
 Ladies Merit Cross
  Hesse and by Rhine: Dame of the Grand Ducal Hessian Order of the Golden Lion, 1 July 1889
 : Dame Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Saint Catherine

Ancestors

References

External links

Princess Augusta of Cambridge | House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

1822 births
1916 deaths
Nobility from Hanover
House of Hanover
British princesses
Hanoverian princesses
Daughters of British dukes
Duchesses of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Grand Duchesses of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Hereditary Grand Duchesses of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Companions of the Order of the Crown of India
Mothers of monarchs

Princess Augusta of Cambridge


Anuttaraupapātikadaśāh is the ninth of the 12 Jain āgamas said to be promulgated by Māhavīra himself. Anuttaraupapātikadaśāh translated as "Ten Chapters about the arisers in the Highest Heavens" is said to have been composed by Ganadhara Sudharmaswami as per the Śvetámbara tradition.

Subject matter of the Agama
It contains stories describing those who succeeded accumulating pious karmas and succeeded in attaining the highest heavens being reborn as devas on account of good deeds.

English translations
Popular English Translations are  :-
Illustrated SRI ANUTTARAUPAPATIKADASA SUTRA Prakrit Gatha - Hindi exposition - English exposition and Appendices Ed. by Pravartaka Amar Muni, Shrichand Surana Saras, Eng. tr. by Surendra Bothra

Jain texts

Anuttaraupapātikadaśāh


Worcester Regional Airport  is three miles (5 km) west of Worcester, in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The main property lies within municipalities of Worcester and Leicester, with supporting facilities in Paxton. Once owned by the City of Worcester, the airport has been owned and operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) since June 2010.

The airport code is believed to have originated from the word "Worcester". "W" cannot be used as the first letter of the identifier for airports in the United States, and "ORC" was already assigned. The origin of the "H" is unclear and might have been arbitrary.

History

Early years

Worcester's entry into the world of aviation began in 1925, when city officials commissioned a study to examine sites for the city's first airport. On the list of sites was land owned by a wealthy local citizen, Whitin Whitall. In 1927, Whitall, independently of the city commission, set up an airport on his land in North Grafton,  above sea level. This two-runway airport opened for leisure travel on October 12, 1927.

As air travel became more popular, airport expansion was the subject of a second study commissioned by the city. The Grafton airport was deemed too small to accommodate the air travel needs of the region. The location of the present airport, Tatnuck Hill, on the borders of Worcester, Leicester, and Paxton, was high on the commission's list. One problem noted by the commission was the weather: at  above sea level, the Tatnuck site was often surrounded by fog. Despite this problem, the city eventually chose Tatnuck as the new site, and construction began in 1944. The airport was ceremoniously opened on May 4, 1946, and started regular passenger service one week later on May 10, 1946. That same year, Northeast Airlines was operating nonstop Douglas DC-3 service to New York Newark Airport, Boston and Lawrence, MA as well as direct one stop DC-3 service to Portland, ME.  The Grafton airport remained in operation until 1951, when the owners, due to the dwindling traffic, decided to dismantle the airport. The land was redeveloped as a residential neighborhood. Leicester Airport, a small private airfield also built during the first half-century of aviation, was active until the 1970s. It still sits, now mostly overgrown in the shadow of Worcester Regional which in 1969 was served by Northeast Airlines with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jet and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 turboprop flights nonstop to New York LaGuardia Airport as well as to nearby Boston and Manchester, NH.

Northeast Airlines was then acquired by and merged into Delta Air Lines which in 1973 was continuing to serve Worcester with McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jet service nonstop to New York LaGuardia Airport and Manchester, NH as well as direct, no change of plane DC-9 jet service to Atlanta, Boston and New Orleans.  By late 1979, Delta was operating all of its flights into Worcester with Boeing 727-200 jetliners with nonstop flights to New York LaGuardia and Manchester in addition to direct, no change of plane 727 jet service to Boston, Houston, Jacksonville, FL, Orlando and Miami.  However, Delta was no longer serving the airport by the early 1980s. In 1981, two commuter airlines were serving Worcester:  Bar Harbor Airlines operating Convair 600 and Beechcraft 99 turboprop aircraft with nonstop service from New York LaGuardia, Hartford and Manchester, and Precision Airlines operating shuttle service into the airport with thirteen nonstop flights operated every weekday from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) flown with small Piper Navajo twin engine piston aircraft.

Millions of dollars were spent replacing the old terminal, which hosted a half-dozen airlines before its demolition. In the mid-1980s and early 1990s, major carriers, such as Piedmont, Northwest Airlines, Continental, and USAir all flew mainline jets into Worcester. In addition, smaller carriers, like New York Air and Presidential Airways also had jet service. The small terminal had two ground level jetways built to accommodate the growth. One by one, those carriers left.

2000–2020

In 2001, Pan American Airways (1998-2004) was operating daily nonstop Boeing 727-200 service to Orlando, Florida via the Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB).

Allegiant Air commenced commercial service to ORH with flights to Orlando/Sanford, Florida (SFB) on December 22, 2005, and expanded to four flights per week in March 2006. Allegiant announced on August 22, 2006, that they would cut ties with the airport, citing high fuel costs and passenger loads in the 80% range as the reason for departure. The announcement of flights ending took people by surprise as service was popular and well-regarded by the flying public throughout Allegiant's entire tenure at the airport.

On September 4, 2008, Direct Air announced they would begin service to Worcester beginning in November 2008, with flights from Orlando/Sanford, Florida and Fort Myers/Punta Gorda, Florida. The flights were originally operated by Virgin America using Airbus A320 aircraft. However, Direct Air was required to return the aircraft in June 2009 to suffice Virgin's rapidly expanding domestic routes. At this point, Direct Air began operating flights using Boeing 737-400s owned by Xtra Airways. Due to this being a wet-lease agreement, there were times where the aircraft was unavailable and other aircraft had to be chartered for the flights. Such examples include service with Airbus A320 from USA 3000 and Boeing 757 from North American Airlines. In March 2009, Direct Air added additional flights to Myrtle Beach, SC. In July 2010, Direct Air expanded their Worcester service further to West Palm Beach, Florida. The airline had further plans to launch flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Nassau, Bahamas, but in March 2012 Direct Air suspended all operations and later filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 12, 2012.

On April 3, 2013, JetBlue announced daily flights to Orlando, Florida, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, starting November 7, 2013. This came after over a year of negotiating with the airline that included a competition among local residents to help advertise the city. This became the first mainline service out of Worcester in over a decade. The airline currently uses the 100-seat Embraer 190 for their flights, although occasionally they are substituted for the 162-seat Airbus A320.

A revamp of the defunct airline Air Florida had planned to fly out of Worcester at the beginning of 2015 as a scheduled charter operation. However, the airline never got off the ground.

On November 17, 2015, Rectrix Aviation opened a new fixed-base operator building and hangar in Worcester. Rectrix also launched flights between Worcester and Cape Cod in the summer of 2017 with their newly established commercial airline operation, Rectrix Shuttle. After two summers Rectrix replaced Worcester with Westchester County Airport on their route map ending the service after two summers due to low demand.

On February 28, 2017, JetBlue announced it would expand its service at the airport, adding a daily non-stop flight to New York City. JetBlue did not provide a start date, but airline officials said the new flights would not begin until after the landing system was operational. The first revenue flight to New York left Worcester at 6 AM on May 3, 2018. Despite the same reliability found at Logan with the new landing system flights to JFK after three years have been 40-50 percent full. Although JetBlue had later suspended all flights due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, the airline had announced intentions to resume services at the airport in the future, later announcing service would resume in August 2021.

On April 9, 2018, American Airlines announced it would begin daily non-stop service from Worcester to Philadelphia on October 4, 2018. On June 4, American Airlines announced it would add a second daily flight and would be changing the schedule of the initial flight. The service would operate twice-daily on 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145s. Despite the efforts to add an additional frequency, Piedmont announced in February, only four months into service, a reduction to only one daily flight, starting in June 2019 due to low demand. American has since ended service to Worcester as of June 2020.

On August 28, 2018, Delta Air Lines announced it would begin daily non-stop service from Worcester to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, operated by Delta Connection, which began on August 1, 2019, using 50-seat Canadair CRJ-200 regional jets.

2020–present
On January 25, 2020, Delta announced it would begin cutting back flights by dropping its Saturday flight due to low demand. There was initially speculation that the Saturday flight would possibly return in May, but the future of service remained uncertain, with Delta experiencing 50-60 percent loads to Detroit.

By late 2020, as with airports across the rest of the country, Worcester was concentrated on the return to service prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. JetBlue had suspended service indefinitely, while American had once again removed Worcester from its route map and ended service after only two years, leaving Delta as the last airline operating out of Worcester to maintain minimum service through the CARES Act. Although JetBlue had announced intentions to return in the future, both Delta and JetBlue were no longer required to do so by the government after October 1, 2020, once the CARES Act expired.

On January 13, 2021, within the documentation for their Northeast Agreement alliance with American Airlines, it was initially confirmed that JetBlue's station at the airport was closed permanently, along with Oakland and Long Beach, once again leaving Worcester with no scheduled commercial service. JetBlue later announced on May 26, 2021, that it would resume service at the airport, though service to Orlando has yet to resume. Delta Air Lines on August 18, 2021, announced that it would also resume service at the airport through its regional franchise Delta Connection with 75 seats. American Airlines announced on August 28, 2021, that it would resume service to Philadelphia in November, with flights operated by regional franchise American Eagle. However, this was short lived because American announced that they would move its flight from Philadelphia to its hub at New York-Kennedy so it could use their larger Embraer 175's which allowed for premium service and more connections through JetBlue's base at Kennedy and their hub at Kennedy under the Northeast Alliance.

Massport
The airport had been under an operating agreement with Massport, the Massachusetts Port Authority, for several years. Under the agreement, the city and Massport paid the operating deficit together.

 July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2005 – Massport pays 100% of operating deficit not including debt service
 July 1, 2005 – June 30, 2006 – Massport pays 85% of operating deficit not including debt service
 July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2007 – Massport pays 68% of operating deficit not including debt service

By law, Worcester had to transfer ownership of the airport to Massport sometime in 2009 or 2010. As of July 1, 2010, Massport became the owner and operator of the airport.

Other uses
Worcester Regional Airport was used for shooting of the films Captain Phillips, Knight and Day, The Judge and The Sea of Trees.

Terminal and facilities

Worcester Regional Airport covers 1,000 acres (4 km2) and has two runways: 11/29 is 7,001 x 150 ft (2,134 x 46 m) and 15/33 is 5,000 x 100 ft (1,524 x 30 m). Runways 11 and 29 have ILS equipment. EMAS pads are located at the starting thresholds of runways 11 and 29.

The airport passenger terminal has a total of six gates, four with jetways and two ramp level gates for regional carriers. The gates can accommodate aircraft ranging up to a Boeing 757 in size. The terminal has two baggage carousels and a TSA installed passenger and baggage screening system on the first floor. The airport is equipped to handle up to 250,000 passengers a year in the current configuration and can seat up to 400 passengers at any given time. Currently, the airport has four ticket counters, 2 baggage claims, and four on-site rental car companies. Currently, parking is $7 dollars per day at Worcester Regional. Two Mirage Express cafes are located inside the airport.

WBZ-TV operates a doppler weather radar station at the airport.

Atlantic Aviation is the fixed-base operator at the airport.

Ground transportation
Four rental car agencies are located in the terminal building at Worcester Regional Airport. Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Thrifty all have concession stands across from the baggage claim.

The Worcester Regional Transit Authority (WRTA)'s route #2 bus connects Union Station, a regional MBTA Commuter Rail, Amtrak, and bus transportation hub in the Downtown Worcester district, with the airport. Union Station is the western terminus of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Framingham/Worcester Line, with eastbound service to Back Bay and South Station in Boston. Additionally, service via Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited Boston section to/from Albany, New York, with connections to Chicago (formerly also the Regionals Inland Route) stops at this location, as does intercity (Peter Pan Bus Lines), (Greyhound Bus Lines), and other local WRTA bus services at Union Station.

The airport presently lacks a direct connection to an Interstate Highway. However, a number of interstate routes such as I-290, I-90, I-190, I-395, I-495, and routes: MA-9, MA-122, and MA-146 provide access through smaller access roads. Travel time to reach the airport is approximately 5–10 minutes after exiting Interstate I-290, Worcester's primary access via interstate highway from the north and the south also with direct access to the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Category III landing system

On April 28, 2016, Massport approved funding for the installation of a Category IIIb instrument landing system at ORH. The geographic location of the airport, on top of the tallest hill in the city reaching approximately 1,000 feet above sea level, leaves Worcester on average with 40 more days of fog a year than nearby Boston. The installation of the Category IIIb landing system will allow capable aircraft to land and depart in virtually all weather conditions. The installation of the landing system also included the addition of a jug-handle taxiway at the approach end of Runway 11.

The ILS system was completed in December 2017 and went live on March 19, 2018. Completion of the ILS allowed JetBlue to add a flight from Worcester to New York-JFK, operated with an Embraer 190 aircraft capable of autoland. The same aircraft is used for flights to Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando likewise are also able to use the ILS. However, American's flight to Philadelphia was operated by an Embraer 145 aircraft which was not able to use the newly installed Category III system which led to many weather cancellations and diversions during their second brief tenure.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Historical service

Northeast Airlines, 1946–1972 (merged with Delta Air Lines)
Mohawk Airlines, 1965–1971 (merged with Allegheny Airlines)
Statewide Airlines, 1965–1966
Executive Airlines, 1969–1972
Allegheny Airlines, 1971–1975
Delta Air Lines, 1972–1980, 2019–2020, 2021–
Pilgrim Airlines, 1974–1975
Precision Airlines, 1978–1981
Bar Harbor Airlines, 1980–1998
Piedmont Airlines, 1986–1989 (merged with US Airways)
Continental, 1987–1988
Northwest, 1988–1990
US Airways Express, 1988–2003
Continental Express, 1990–1998
Carnival Air Lines, 1993–1994
Florida Shuttle, 1993–1994
United Express, 1998 (April–November)
Pan American Airways, 2001–2002
American Airlines, 2000–2002, 2018–2020, 2021–
Allegiant Air, 2005–2006
Direct Air, 2008–2012
JetBlue, 2013–2020, 2021–
Rectrix Shuttle, 2017–2018

Source:

Historical service
Bar Harbor
Boston
New York

Source:

Statistics

For the 12-month period ending March 31, 2023, the airport had 24,376 aircraft operations, an average of 66 per day: 76% general aviation, 7% scheduled commercial, 9% military and 9% air taxi. At that time, there were 55 aircraft based at this airport: 49 single-engine, 3 multi-engine, 2 jet, and 1 glider.

On June 10, 2016, JetBlue and the City of Worcester celebrated the 300,000th passenger since beginning service in 2013.

At its peak in 1989, Worcester Airport served about 354,000 passengers in a single year. In 2009, the airport served fewer than 50,000 passengers, though 107,000 passengers used the airport in 2011 and 192,000 in 2019.

During the COVID pandemic which slowed air travel across the globe, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported that for the period from 1 September 2019 through 31 August 2020, the airport managed to serve over 106,000 passengers, with JetBlue transporting more than 75% of all passengers.

Annual traffic

Top destinations

Accidents and incidents
On the morning of October 25, 2015, Dr. Gary Weller crashed his light Mooney M20M plane into nearby woods while attempting to take off in cold weather on Runway 11. The crash, which occurred just south of the airport, was caused by a mechanical crankshift failure, which caused the plane's engine to lose power and subsequently the plane to stall. While there were no ground injuries, Dr. Weller died on the scene.

On February 2, 2021, a Piper PA-46 from Martha's Vineyard crashed in nearby Leicester while attempting an emergency landing at ORH. No one on the ground was injured, but the pilot and two others on board were injured in the crash.

See also
 List of airports in Massachusetts

References

External links

 Worcester Regional Airport (official website)

 The Economic Impact of Worcester Regional Airport (ORH)
 Worcester Regional Flight Academy

Massachusetts Port Authority
Airports in Worcester County, Massachusetts
Transportation in Worcester, Massachusetts
Leicester, Massachusetts

Worcester Regional Airport


Júlio Ximenes Sênior (March 13, 1901 in Uberaba, Minas Gerais – April 11, 1975 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro) was a Brazilian scientist and medical doctor, in the research field of biochemistry, microbiology, and was also a career Brazilian Army officer.

Military career
He attained the rank of brigadier-general during World War II. He had also served as a captain in São Paulo during the Revolution of 1930, which ultimately brought twice-Brazilian president, Getúlio Vargas, into power for the first time. Dr. Ximenes sustained injuries in these conflicts, and was decorated for bravery under fire.

During his military life, he and his family were relocated all over Brazil, including to very remote military outposts of the Amazon, and Mato Grosso do Sul. He was later permanently transferred to Rio de Janeiro, then capital of Brazil, where his family were amongst the first inhabitants of a burgeoning Copacabana, the legendary Carioca beach.

He served as requisitioner-general of the Brazilian Army, a position requiring tact, as well as honesty, as pharmaceutical companies were insistent that their stock be chosen over the other.

In fact, President Vargas once said of the General, "Ximenes is a rare Brazilian: a completely incorruptible man".

Béchamp versus Pasteur
In 1957, having combed the archives of several countries for almost a decade, he wrote Béchamp versus Pasteur, a Portuguese-language monograph on Antoine Béchamp's battles with arch-rival, Louis Pasteur on the topic of germ theory (specifically, pleomorphic theory). He later published in 1960 a French-language version, Béchamp contre Pasteur, which received numerous citations in France, including towards the end of his life, a Palmes Académiques from the French government in recognition of his distinguished services in the field of scientific research.

The English-language edition was published in 1963, entitled Béchamp against Pasteur (Their Ideas And Their Fights), and notably all 3 editions were written and translated by the author himself (he credited his daughter with help in the English version, though he was fluent in English).

Death
He is buried in famed Rio de Janeiro cemetery, Cemitério São João Batista, which has been referred to as the Brazilian Père Lachaise. His grave is located a few yards away from his renowned contemporary, the Hollywood actress, Carmen Miranda, and where fellow Franco-Brazilian pioneer aviator, Alberto Santos-Dumont, is also buried.

References

Béchamp Contre Pasteur, at the University of Miami

Copies in 3 languages are archived in 6 Universities amongst them at the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Oxford, the University of Paris I: Panthéon-Sorbonne, as well as the one shown, at the University of Miami (personally inscribed by the author's hand, 1965).

Brazilian scientists
1901 births
1975 deaths
People from Uberaba
Burials at Cemitério de São João Batista

Júlio Ximenes Sênior