Resource Journals Essay Example For Students

Resource Journals Essay 12-19-2001Entry# 1Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of just about everything. He is the national saint of Russia and Greece and churches named after him number in the thousands more than 400 in Great Britain alone. He is the patron saint of judges, murderers, pawnbrokers, thieves, merchants, paupers, scholars, sailors, bakers, travelers, maidens and poor children. Saint Nicholas was born in the Middle East about 350 miles northwest of Bethlehem in the fourth century. Perhaps the most famous story of all tells how he helped three unfortunate young sisters who all had suitors but had no dowries because their father, a poor nobleman, could not raise the money. So they could not marry. Now the bishop Nicholas was a shy man and did not like to give money directly, so he thought of a way to give it anonymously. When the first daughter was ready to marry, the good bishop tossed a bag of gold into the house at night. Later, when the second daughter and third daughter prepared to marry he d id the same thing. But when the third daughter prepared to marry, the poor nobleman was determined to find out who had been so generous. So he kept watch and saw the bishop drop another bag of gold into the house. It has been said that Saint Nicholas climbed on the roof and dropped the third bag of gold down the chimney where it landed in a stocking hung to dry, giving us a reason to hang up Christmas stockings today. Nicholas begged him to keep the secret, but, of course, the news got out. From then on, whenever anyone received an unexpected gift, they thanked Nicholas. Six hundred years later, the Russian Emperor Vladimir visited Constantinople and heard all the wonderful stories about Bishop Nicholas and decided to make him the patron saint of Russia. The stories even spread to the Laplands to the people of the reindeer sleds. Statutes and pictures had shown him holding the three bags and when taken as the patron saint of the merchants, the bags became gold balls, representing m oneylenders and today, pawnbrokers in Italy. The anniversary of Nicholas death, December 6th, either 345 A.D. or 352 A.D., is so close to Christmas that, in many countries, the two merged. I think Saint Nicholas is the helper of all that lives; from criminals to babies. Anyone who needed help he would help.Like the three sisters he helped when they had suitors but no dowries. He gave them money to go get them. 12-17-2001Entry# 2Saint Nicholas was not left to rest in peace after his death, for in those days the bodies of holy men were of great value, not only spiritually but commercially. News leaked that the Venetians were coming to carry off the saints body. The merchant seamen of the port of Bari in southeastern Italy were determined to divert them. On May 9, 1087, they made a raid on Myra, took the Saints remains and carried them back home to Bari, where they are to this day in the beautiful Basilica of Saint Nicholas, which was built to house them. During the Reformation all saints fell into disrepute in parts of Europe that took to the Protestant faith. In 1545 Martin Luthers children received gifts from the Holy child, after previous receiving them from Saint Nicholas. Parents quickly began using these visits to encourage good behavior from their offspring. It was also known that bad children received switches from Saint Nicholas. Dutch children were told that Saint Nicholas, or Sint erklaas, sailed from Spain with a Moorish helper. They filled their shoes with hay and sugar for his horse and woke up to find the shoes filled with nuts and candies. Black Peter walks along with Sinterklaas. He wears animal skins or sometimes the colorful clothing of the medieval Moor and gives a switch to parents of bad boys and girls. Some say the bad children are taken away in the sack that Black Peter carries on his back. I think that he should have been left to his rest. But he was taken by the Venetians to his own private housing in beautiful Bari. I also think that was a easy way to make the children behave. That is what I think about it. 12-17-2001 Entry# 3Santa is indeed a very popular figure around the world. To Christians in the African Republic of Ghana, Father Christmas comes from the jungle. In Hawaii he comes by boat. On the Nerang River in Australia he rides water skis, wears a white beard and red bathing trunks. In Brazil Grandpapa Indian, Vovo Indo, brings gifts. In China, Santa Claus is called Dun Che Lao Ren, which means Christmas Old Man. He brings presents to good children. Being a culturally diverse and worldly fellow, Santa has many interpretations: Ghosts of the field cleared the way for Saint Nicholas in parts of the Alps. Behind them came a man wearing a goats head, and a masked demon with a birch switch. In Germanys Berchtesgaden district, twelve young men dressed in straw and wearing animal masks danced along after Saint Nicholas, ringing cowbells. The German Saint Nicholas also comes with a helper. He has different names in different parts of Germany: Knecht Ruprecht or Krampus in southern German; Pelzebock in the northwestern part of the country; and Hans Muff in the Rhineland. Swedish children wait eagerly for Jultomten, a gnome whose sleigh is drawn by the Julbocker, the goats of the Thor, the god of thunder. He dresses in red and carries a bulging sack on his back. In Denmark the gift bringer, Julemanden, also carries a sack and is drawn by reindeer. Elves called Juul Nisse are said to come from the attic, where they live, to help Julemanden. In Poland the childrens gifts are said to come from the stars and in Hungary angels bring them. In Syria childrens gifts come from the youngest camel on January 6th, which is Three Kings Day. Italian children also receive gifts on Three Kings Day, but the gift bearer is La Befana. La Befana refused to go to Bethlehem with the wise men when they passed her door because she had not finished her sweeping. In Russia the same ageless wanderer is called Baboushka. She gave the wise men the wrong directions and on the eve of Three Kings Day she wanders from house to house, peering into the faces of children and leaving gifts. English children wait for Father Christmas, known to their ancestors as Christmas itself. In France gifts are also brought by Father Christmas, Pre Noel, or the Christ Child himself. In Austria and Switzerland the Christkindl bears gifts. In some tow ns Christkindl is a beautiful girl-angel sent down from heaven to give gifts. Improvisation based on text EssayI think even though Bin Laden was one of 52 siblings he tried to rule all. Because he toke over Saudi Arabia saying it was insufficiently Islamic. 10-19-2001Entry # 8To help prevent further attacks, the bush administration recently asked congress to adoptbroader, tougher counter terrorism measures. The antiterrorism act of 2001, the bush administration proposal calls for more than 50 provisions that the government said are needed to combat terrorism. Many lawmakers and civil libertarians urged caution inpassing new antiterrorism laws. Historian David M. Kennedy called the past-attack period a potentially dangerous moment for lawmakers. In times of war or national emergency, Kennedy added, the U.S government has passed laws that seemed vital at the time but in his sight violated citizens rights. I think they should have done something earlier after the first attack. I also think that the antiterrorism act is a good thing to start. 12-17-2001Entry# 9As cars circle the track in Indianapolis, Indiana, each year, another, quieter race is talking place. The drivers are young; some are high-school students. One year, drivers raced from Albany, New York, to the finish line in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Although the cars can reach speeds of almost 70 miles per hour, they spent five days traveling the 250 miles between the two cities, a snails pace compared to the Indy 500. The name Tour De Sol offers a clue to what the annual race is about. Sol means sun in Latin, and the young drivers rely on energy from the sun. Lift the hood of a tour de sol car, and you will not find a methanol or gasoline engine. 12-17-2001Entry#The countries of Southwest Asia obtain water from different sources. In Saudi Arabia, the wealth of the nations oil resources helps fund the desalination plants along the Persian Gulf. Without desalination, there would be little fresh water available for cities or irrigation farming. Many other countries in the region, however, do not have the money to build and run such plants. Israel, either vast expanse of desert, depends on several methods to obtain fresh water. Since1964, much of Israels water has been supplied by a pipeline called the National Water Carrier, which carries water from the Sea of Galilee to tel Aviv and down the coastal plain toward the Negev Desert. Israel also relies on Desalination plants and conserves water in agriculture through the use of drip irrigation