Southeast of the ancient Greek city of Corinth is a large archeological site at Epidaurus: The great Temple of Asclepius, the god of healing. As early as the 4th century BCE, Greeks travelled to this temple to find a cure for sick bodies and souls. The sprawling temple complex was a combination of health spa, hospital, and worship center for the cult of Asclepius. A species of non-venomous snakes played a significant role in these healing ...
Continue Reading → ShareThis Friday, March 1, has particular significance if you are Welsh – March 1 is St. David’s Day; and St. David, who died sometime between 569 and 600 CE, is to Wales as St. Patrick is to Ireland. There will be parades in honor of Wale’s patron saint in cities like Ceredigion, Aberystwyth, and Caernarfon as well as a few others that non-Welsh speakers find equally unpronounceable. Leeks are everywhere on March 1 because the ...
Continue Reading → ShareEaster comes very early this year. It is the last Sunday of March. We’ll be waving palm branches by mid- March. An early Easter means an equally early Lent. Ash Wednesday falling on Valentine’s Day may therefore have caught some of us by surprise. We aren’t really prepared to think about “giving something up” for Lent when we have all those left over Valentine’s Day chocolates ...
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