culture

  • Columba the cosmic dove and celestial toilet humor

    Columba the cosmic dove and celestial toilet humor

    The Columba constellation, where celestial family drama meets cosmic bathroom humor! Let’s dive into a delightful corner of Chinese astronomy that proves even the heavens aren’t above a good potty joke. A Family Affair in the Sky In Chinese astronomy, Columba isn’t just a pretty dove fluttering across the night sky. Oh no, it’s a

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  • Jason and the Argonauts and the dove

    Jason and the Argonauts and the dove

    The Symplegades or Clashing Rocks, also known as the Cyanean Rocks, were, according to Greek mythology, a pair of rocks at the Bosphorus that clashed together whenever a vessel went through. They were defeated by Jason and the Argonauts, who would have been lost and killed by the rocks except for Phineus‘ advice. Jason let a dove fly between the rocks to see exactly how fast

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  • Asherah and Asherim notes

    Asherah and Asherim notes

    In the ancient Levant, doves were used as symbols for the Canaanite mother goddess Asherah. The Canaanite religion was the group of ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age through the first centuries AD. Canaanite religion was polytheistic and, in some cases, monolatristic. Some gods and goddesses were absorbed into the Yahwist religion of the ancient Israelites, notably El (who later became synonymous with Yahweh), Baal and Asherah, until

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  • Colomba pasquale, Italian Easter bread

    Colomba pasquale, Italian Easter bread

    Colomba pasquale [koˈlomba paˈskwaːle] or colomba di Pasqua [koˈlomba di ˈpaskwa] (“Easter Dove” in English) is an Italian traditional Easter bread, the counterpart of the two well-known Italian Christmas desserts, panettone and pandoro. The dough for the colomba is made in a similar manner to panettone, with flour, eggs, sugar, natural yeast and butter; unlike panettone, it usually contains candied peel and no raisins. The dough is then fashioned into a dove shape (colomba in Italian) and finally

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  • Dovecote cake and the founding myth of Marseille 

    Dovecote cake and the founding myth of Marseille 

    In Marseille tradition, the dovecote is a cake offered by pastry chefs at the time of Pentecost: cake made from almonds and melon, covered with sugar, generously colored, flavored with kirsch and inside is hidden a dove. This oval-shaped cake is adorned with a strip of marzipan on which is written: “whoever the dove will have in the year will marry”. This typically Marseilles tradition,

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  • In Judaism, The Guf or Treasury of Souls is sometimes described as a columbarium

    In Judaism, The Guf or Treasury of Souls is sometimes described as a columbarium

    In post-biblical Judaism, souls are envisioned as bird-like (Bahir 119), a concept that may be derived from the Biblical notion that dead spirits “chirp” (Isa. 29:4). The Guf, or Treasury of Souls, is sometimes described as a columbarium, a dovecote. This connects it to a related legend: the “Palace of the Bird’s Nest”, the dwelling place of the

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  • A columbarium is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremains of the dead

    A columbarium is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremains of the dead

    A columbarium (pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns holding cremains of the dead. The term comes from the Latin columba (dove) and originally solely referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons, also called dovecotes. Background Roman columbaria were often built partly or completely underground. The Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas is an ancient Roman example, rich in frescoes, decorations, and

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  • A dovecote or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves

    A dovecote or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves

    A dovecote or dovecot, doocot (Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in the Middle East and Europe and were kept for

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  • A tzompantli or skull rack was used for the public display of human skulls, typically of war captives or sacrificial victims

    A tzompantli or skull rack was used for the public display of human skulls, typically of war captives or sacrificial victims

    A tzompantli (Nahuatl pronunciation: [t͡somˈpant͡ɬi]) or skull rack was a type of wooden rack or palisade documented in several Mesoamerican civilizations, which was used for the public display of human skulls, typically those of war captives or other sacrificial victims. It is a scaffold-like construction of poles on which heads and skulls were placed after holes had been made in them. Many have been documented throughout Mesoamerica,

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  • Brno Ossuary holds the remains of over 50 thousand people

    Brno Ossuary holds the remains of over 50 thousand people

    Brno Ossuary is an underground ossuary in Brno, Czech Republic. It was rediscovered in 2001 in the historical centre of the city, partially under the Church of St. James. It is estimated that the ossuary holds the remains of over 50 thousand people which makes it the second-largest ossuary in Europe, after the Catacombs of Paris. The ossuary was founded in the 17th century,

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