It's Harvest time
The 1st August, traditionally known as Lammas meaning 'Loaf Mass', was a festival to mark the annual wheat and corn harvest. On this day farmers made loaves of bread from the new wheat crop and gave them to their local church. They were then used as the Communion bread during a special mass thanking God for the harvest. The custom ended when Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church.
Barack Obama was born on the 4th August 1961
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The Edinburgh Festival starts on the 5th
On the 6th August 1991 Tim Berners-Lee released his text-based web software to the public creating the beginnings of the World Wide Web and general public use of the Internet.
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On the 7th August 1840 an Act of Parliament in the UK prohibited the employment of children under 16 as chimney sweeps. Small boys (starting at the age of 5 or 6 years) were employed to climb up chimneys to clean the inside of the flue. The poor boys came down covered in soot, and with bleeding elbows and knees. They often got stuck or froze with terror in the cramped darkness - in these cases the Master Chimney Sweeper, would simply light the fire underneath to 'encourage' them to get on with their work. Horrible times.
Elvis Presley died on the 16th August 1977. He is widely known just as Elvis, and is referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll".
On the 17th August 1978, three American balloonists made the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a hot air balloon.
On the 25th August 1609, the Italian astronomer and philosopher Galileo Galilei demonstrated his new creation the telescope.
Martin Luther King Jr's famous speech 'I have a Dream', was delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on the 28th August 1963
August seems to have always been an impactful month!
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot going and gone on!
DeleteWow what an interesting month. Do you know that Elvis never liked being called the King of rock and roll, he said that was Fats Domino.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that, but I agree with him, many would say Fats Domino started the rock n roll movement.
DeleteI can hardly believe that small children used to be sent up chimneys to clean them. Utterly barbaric. Thank goodness the practice was eventually outlawed and children are no longer treated as human brooms.
ReplyDeleteChildren were treated very badly in those days, made to do all manner of horrible dangerous work. Getting the work done was the only priority.
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