#february of the calendar council

[thedeafprophet]

The thing with early writing with Feb is really is such a prime local of Bad Faith Revs writing

but jokes on them, 'Deranged Anarchist Villain" is in fact sentence that will make me like a character better

[fallenlondonnpcfight]

A Moment’s Peace? We’ll See About That

[freefromlightandlaw]

February: If you're thirsty, we have scotch, gin, and vodka. And for your convenience, all in the same bottle.

[meangirlbracket]

Mean Girl Bracket - Round 1 Poll 2

[house-of-mirrors]

Also on the topic of cardinals honey: never forget lmao

[incorrectfallenlondonquotes]

August: Hey, I've never had a nightmare before and I kinda wanna know what they're like. Can you help me out?

May: Sure! See you soon!

April: -This is so fucking powerful it burnt off my eyebrows.-

[zeebreezin]

With the return of Dracula Daily and our good friend Jonathan Harker, I’ve been left to ponder the age old question: if we had to make one FL NPC the Inexplicably Stereotypical American, who should it be?

My money’s on February Calendar Council, personally.

[apenitentialprayer]

May 11, 2023

Earlier today, Pope Francis declared that 21 Coptic Orthodox Christians, who were beheaded by Islamic militants in Libya in 2015, would be added to the Roman Martyrology. Francis made the announcement during an audience with Pope Tawadros II, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The “21 Coptic New Martyrs of Libya,” as they are called, were martyred on February 15, 2015. Less than a week later, they were declared saints in the Coptic Orthodox Church by Pope Tawadros. The Copts celebrate their feast on the anniversary of their death, February 15, and it appears that this will also be their feast day on the Roman calendar.

The world was shocked in February 2015, when a 5-minute video was uploaded to the internet by ISIS militants. The video showed the 21 kidnapped men in orange jumpsuits being beheaded on a beach near the Libyan city of Sirte. 20 of these martyrs were Egyptian Copts who had gone to Libya to do construction work. The last member of the group, Matthew Ayariga, was a fellow worker from Ghana. It is said that he told the executioners, “Their God is my God. I will go with them.” There has been some question over whether he was already Christian or whether the witness of his 20 coworkers led to his conversion, but nevertheless, his Christian witness and solidarity are inspiring. It was reported that as they died, they chanted hymns and prayed aloud.

The deaths of these men as Christian martyrs is undeniable. The extraordinary photos of Blessed Miguel Pro, a Catholic priest who was executed by the Mexican government in 1927 during the Cristero War — taken just moments before the he was shot by the firing squad — are perhaps the only other photographic images recording a Christian martyrdom as it happened. And yet the recognition of the 21 martyrs as Catholic saints is unprecedented for several reasons.

The primary reason, of course, is that the Coptic Orthodox Church is not in full communion with Rome. The Copts are Oriental Orthodox (as opposed to Eastern Orthodox), because they split from the other Christian churches in the year 451 at the Council of Chalcedon due to differences over the nature of Christ. They are also referred to as “Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches.” This means that they recognize the first three ecumenical councils, whereas the Eastern Orthodox recognize seven, and the Catholic Church recognizes 21 ecumenical councils.

After more than 15 centuries, our hope of reunion may seem remote. After all these years, the two Churches have independently developed their own traditions, theologies, forms of worship, and prayers. Yet some things have remained the same. Both Churches have maintained apostolic succession and the sacraments: Pope Francis is the successor of St. Peter and Pope Tawadros is the successor of St. Mark. In recent decades, the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church has become closer. For example, in 2017, Popes Francis and Tawadros made a joint statement indicating mutual acceptance of the validity of baptism in both Churches.

Pope Francis has praised the Martyrs of Libya many times, and today he recalled our shared baptism, as well as the blood of martyrs that enriches the Church. He said, “These martyrs were baptized not only in the water and Spirit, but also in blood, a blood that is the seed of unity for all of Christ’s followers.” In the past, the pope has discussed how we must realize that we, the baptized, have much more in common than what divides us. This shared recognition of sainthood between the two Churches is a significant step towards Christian unity.

This sets a new precedent. In 1964, when the Ugandan Martyrs were canonized by Pope Paul VI, St. Charles Lwanga and the other 21 Catholics among his companions were declared saints. The 23 Anglicans who were martyred alongside them were mentioned briefly in the pope’s homily, when he said, “And we do not wish to forget, the others who, belonging to the Anglican confession, met death for the name of Christ.”

Another reason why today’s announcement is unique was that Pope Francis did this by an official act. The Roman Martyrology is the official list of saints officially recognized by the Latin Church. Many Eastern Catholic Churches have their own processes for canonizing saints according to their traditions. Historically, when groups of Eastern Catholics have come into full communion with Rome, they will bring along their saints and prayers and traditions. Many of these saints aren’t officially canonized by Rome, and they are usually only venerated in their own tradition. By inscribing the names of these martyrs in the Roman Martyrology, Pope Francis has made it clear that these martyrs are to be venerated by Roman Catholics as saints.

Finally, in declaring them saints today, Pope Francis sidestepped the typical canonization process. They are saints, without having passed through the usual stages of Servant of God, Venerable, and Blessed. This “skipping” of steps is commonly referred to as “equipollent canonization.” Essentially, when a pope declares someone a saint by an official act, that person is recognized as a saint in the Church. This is not the first time Francis has moved a case along in this way. For example, when he canonized Popes John XXIII and John Paul II in 2014, he waived the requirement of a second miracle for John XXIII so that the two popes would be canonized on the same day. In 2013, he elevated the Jesuit Peter Faber, whose status had lingered at “Blessed” since 1872.

Perhaps the most interesting case is that of St. Gregory of Narek, an Armenian monk venerated as a saint in the Armenian Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church. Unexpectedly, Pope Francis named him the 36th Doctor of the Church in 2015. Living from in the mid-10th century through the early 11th, St. Gregory lived at a time when the Armenian Church was not in communion with Rome. After several failed attempts at reunion, the Armenian Catholic Church was officially recognized as an Eastern Catholic Church in 1742. Interestingly, the Armenian Catholic eparchy of Buenos Aires (established in 1989 by Pope John Paul II) is called the Eparchy of Saint Gregory of Narek. Perhaps this is how Pope Francis became familiar with the saint.

We Christians are blessed with a wide variety of saints from all sorts of backgrounds. They help make up the beautiful tapestry of the people of God — praying for us, interceding for us, and inspiring us. This is something worth celebrating.

21 Coptic New Martyrs of Libya, Pray for Us!

Mike Lewis. Bolded emphases added.

[beardedmrbean]

The murder of a politician in a bustling area in India's Mumbai city has sent shockwaves across the country.

Baba Ziauddin Siddique, 66, was shot on Saturday night near his carwhile he was leaving his son's office. He died later in hospital.

The killing of Siddique, an influential politician who was part of the coalition governing Maharashtra state - of which Mumbai is the capital - has set off a political blame-game.

The motive for the murder is not clear yet, but for many it has brought back memories of the 1990s, when politicians and film stars were frequently targeted by Mumbai's underworld.

Police have arrested three people so far and say investigations are continuing. Local media reports say the arrested men are part of a notorious gang whose leader is currently in jail.

Who was Baba Siddique?

Born in the eastern state of Bihar, Siddique migrated to Mumbai at the age of five with his father, a watchmaker.

He started his political career in the 1980s as a student leader with the Congress party, soon leading its youth wing in Mumbai. He then entered local council politics before being elected to the state’s legislature three times in a row and becoming a minister in 2004 for about four years.

In February, he left the Congress to join the Nationalist Congress Party which, along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena, currently governs state.

Apart from his political activities, Siddique also made headlines for his glitzy iftar parties held during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which were attended by top Bollywood stars.

It was at his iftar party in 2013 that superstars Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan ended their much-discussed rift with a hug - that propelled "the annual Siddique affair into a must-watch event on the city’s social calendar", Midday newspaper wrote in 2016.

How was Siddique killed?

The politician was shot outside his son’s office as he was about to enter his car in the busy Bandra area.

Police said three shooters fired six-seven rounds, hitting Siddique's abdomen and chest, and fled the scene. A bystander was also injured as a stray bullet hit his leg.

Investigators said they had recovered two pistols and 28 live rounds of ammunition from the arrested men.

Siddique had three police guards - local media reported his security was upgraded days ago - but the suspects reportedly distracted them by setting off a "smoke firecracker".

What is the state of the investigation?

Police have been granted custody of the arrested men for a week. They say they are on the lookout for their accomplices.

“We have set up 15 teams and investigation is on to identify who provided logistical support to the shooters,” senior police official Datta Nalawade said.

While the police have not confirmed it, several reports citing sources have linked the arrested men with the notorious Bishnoi gang. The gang's leader Lawrence Bishnoi is an accused in several cases and is currently in a high-security prison in Gujarat state.

Within hours of the shooting, a man claiming to be a member of the gang posted on Facebook that they were behind Siddique’s killing. Police have not yet confirmed the authenticity of the post.

Though Bishnoi has been in jail since 2015, he frequently makes news. Many social media accounts claiming to belong to him or his associates have often posted his selfies from jail. He even gave interviews to a TV channel in 2022, prompting an investigation.

Many of the reports on Bishnoi are based on police sources and it’s not clear how he conducts the gang's operations while in prison.

The gang's name popped up in connection with the murder of Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moosewala in 2022.

In April, police arrested two gang members for allegedly firing shots outside the apartment of actor Salman Khan in Mumbai.

On Monday, the Canadian police also said it believed the Bishnoi group had connections to Indian government agents who were using the gang to target Sikh separatists on their soil. India has not officially responded to the police claims.

What else has happened?

Siddique’s killing is the first major assassination of a politician in Mumbai since the 1990s when high-profile killings of politicians, businessmen and Bollywood celebrities by criminal gangs of the Mumbai underworld were not uncommon.

Local media reports said he had received a death threat two weeks ago, which led to his security being upgraded.

His killing within days of that has put the state government on the backfoot, with Maharashtra set to hold assembly elections soon.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called the murder “a complete failure of law and order in Maharashtra”, and Delhi's former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the incident had scared not only the people of Maharashtra “but the entire country”.

Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde has defended his government.

“[The culprits] will not be spared no matter who they are, be it the Bishnoi gang or any underworld gang… Those who are receiving threats, their safety is the state government’s responsibility and it will fulfil its responsibility,” he said.

[scotianostra]

Did you know that up until 1599 that Scotland celebrated Christmas day on December 17th.

So Happy Christmas Day folks, Old style!!

King James VI, via an act of his Privy Council, decided that Scotland should come into line with other “well governit commonwealths.” but generally well governed France, the date for New Year's Day was changed from the 25th of March and imposed as the 1st of January.

So the day after the 31st of December, 1599, became the 1st of January, 1600. Insular England didn't make the 1st of January the official start of the year until 1752. For more facts about New Year check this link out here.

Most folks, if asked, will say that New Year's Day falls on the 1st of January each year. It was not always so, either in the United Kingdom in general or in Scotland, in particular. Come to think of it, it still isn't so in many parts of the world. New Year's Day is generally accepted as being the day that marks the beginning of a new calendar year and also the day on which the year count is incremented, but neither was that always so and still isn't so in the Jewish calendar. The 1st of January is certainly the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar and it was also the first day of the year on the ancient Julian calendar as used in Rome. Despite that apparent synchronisation, January the 1st on the Julian calendar currently corresponds to January the 14th on the Gregorian calendar.

In terms of other cultures, the Hijri or Islamic New Year begins on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. In 2011, it fell on the Gregorian 26th of November. However, the Islamic year is 11 to 12 days shorter than the Gregorian year, so there's also a perennially shifting differential between the two calendars. The Hindu New Year falls according to the time and date the Sun enters Aries on the Hindu calendar, which normally means the 13th of 14th of April, depending on the Leap year. The Jewish New Year is celebrated on Rosh Hashanah, which takes place between sunset on the evening before the first day of Tishrei and nightfall on the second day of Tishrei. Strange to say, Tishrei is the seventh, rather than the first, month of the Hebrew calendar. In terms of the Gregorian calendar, Rosh Hashanah will fall between September the 5th and October the 5th. The Chinese, on the other hand, celebrate New Year's Day as the first day of the lunar calendar, corrected every three years, for solar deviations. The date normally falls between the 20th of January and the 20th of February.

Until 1599 in Scotland, the New Year began on the 25th of March, which was in line with England. However, on the 17th of December, 1599, King James VI, via an act of his Privy Council, decided that Scotland should come into line with other “well governit commonwealths.” As a result of Jamie Saxt looking over his shoulder at the likes of 'well governed' France, the date for New Year's Day was changed from the 25th of March and imposed as the 1st of January. So the day after the 31st of December, 1599, became the 1st of January, 1600. Insular England didn't make the 1st of January the official start of the year until 1752, the year it adopted the Gregorian calendar and way after James VI became James I of England.

According to the 'Register of the Privy Council', “The Kingis majestie and Lordis of his Secreit Counsall undirstanding that in all utheris weill governit commouns welthis and cuntreyis the first day of the yeir begynis yeirlie upoun the first day of Januare, commounlie callit new yeiris day, and that this realme onlie is different fra all utheris in the compt and reckning of the yeiris ...his Majestie with the advise of the Lordis of his Secreit Counsall statutis and ordanis that in all tyme cuming the first day of the yeir sal begin yeirlie upoun the first day of Januare...”

Jamie's Privy Council was a powerful legislative and administrative body, which was very useful to him. The King had much more influence over the Privy Council than he ever did over the more independently minded Scottish Parliament. The Privy Council act of the 17th December, 1599, went on to command royal officials, clerks, judges, notaries, &c., “in all tyme heireftir” to date all “thair decreittis infeftmentis charteris seasings letteris and writtis quhatsumeuir according to this p[rese]nt ordinance.” They also seemed to have had a shortage of commas in those days.

Scotland has had a chequered past regarding Christmas, perhaps that is why New Year has always been a wee bit mair special to us than the Yuletide season. Why was this? Well you can trace it back to an act of the Scottish Parliament in 1640 that made the celebration of Yule illegal.

Things had started going sour when those spoilsport Calvinist began to get a foothold, the earliest origins of the church falling out with Santa was actually some years previous, when in 1583, Glasgow Kirk at St Mungo’s Cathedral threatened those those who celebrated Yule with excommunication, this was serious in those god fearing days and would have condemned your eternal soul to hell, a fate worse than the death that would precede this!

Why was this? Well there are no celebrations of Christmas, after the Nativity itself recorded in the Bible. Therefore there should be none in Scotland, even singing a Christmas carol was considered a serious crime. After almost 60 years of build-up they eventually passed it into law. They also looked to the old testament for there religion, more or less ignoring the "papist" new one, as for the Virgin Mary, what was she but a heathen goddess dressed up in Roman garb? So she was dropped, along with all the other saints to whom benighted Papists addressed their prayers.

The law was officially repealed in 1712, but it was still generally frowned upon.

Punishments for celebrating Yule were harsh, and there was no public holiday for the Scottish people on Christmas Day.

This next part might surprise many of you, after centuries of not having, what the Yanks call "The Holiday season" Scotland eventually began to shake off it's bad relationship with Christmas, when in 1958 it became an official holiday!

January 2nd has for years been our additional festive season holiday, it wasn't until 1971 that Boxing Day officially became a holiday

After centuries of social, religious and political change, Christmas in Scotland has become a very unique celebration.

And as in times long past, we treat this time of year as a holiday season, rather than a single day. Christmas flows into Hogmanay in a glow of family, friends, fun and feasts – and that’s about as traditional as you can get, so raise your glass, turn to your loved ones today and wish them a Happy Christmas.

The first pic shows a full extract from the Scottish National Archives, the third is what is thought to be the first officially printed Gregorian Calender the basis for most calendars in the Western World.

[sunless-smash-or-pass]

[thedeafprophet]

Sorry i forgot how fuckin hilarious the text for Marrying September. its so good

February you are a woman of a certain age WHY are you acting like a schoolyard bully (affectionate)

[fallenlondonnpcfight]

Bracket Announcement

Submissions on this blog for propaganda have been turned on. The first round will be broken up over four days. The individual matchups are as follows:

Day One (October 2)

The Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel vs The Viscountess of the Viric Jungle

The Clay Highwayman vs Poor Edward

Mr Hearts vs Lettice the Mercy

February of the Calendar Council vs Mrs. Miriam Plenty

Day Two (October 3)

The Captivating Princess vs Mr Iron

The Quiet Deviless vs December of the Calendar Council

Furnace Ancona vs the Paisley

The Bishop of Southwark vs Virginia

Day Three (October 4)

The Jovial Contrarian vs the Dawn Machine

September of the Calendar Council vs Mr Wines

The Affectionate Devil vs the Lady in Lilac

April of the Calendar Council vs the Bishop of St Fiacres

Day Four (October 5)

Sinning Jenny vs the Tentacled Entrepreneur

Feducci vs the Solicitor-Baroness

The Gracious Widow vs the Anchoress

The Once-Dashing Smuggler vs the Youthful Naturalist

[freefromlightandlaw]

September: Why is March making that funny noise?

February: He's English, September. That's the way they talk.

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in Irish History | 18 February:

In the Liturgical calendar, today is the Feast Day of Colmán of Lindisfarne, also known as St Colmán (he was Bishop of Lindisfarne from 661 until 664). Colman resigned the Bishopric of Lindisfarne after the Synod of Whitby called by King Oswiu of Northumbria decided to calculate Easter using the method of the First Ecumenical Council instead of his preferred Celtic method. After his resignation…

[house-of-mirrors]

I posted the fic about the Bazaar as a modern publishing company. Now I need to write about modern AU calendar council. Specifically thinking about cyberpunk dystopia (not necessarily the neon future!)

January maintains a free online library full of texts and articles, fighting against the paywall culture of academia and censorship. Also a skilled hacker targeting energy systems to draw attention to infrastructure vulnerabilities caused by the failings of neoliberalism.

February leaks information to the worldwide media at the most opportune times to incite unrest. On the side, she's quite good at online gaming tournaments and has an intense rivalry with user knifeandcandle.

March is an online persona maintained by several individuals to reduce the risk of compromise in the great game which has been taken to the next level by technology. Behind the development of several "leaky" apps, spyware, and wiretaps.

April has no online presence, off the grid for her safety after her role in a costly attack to physically destroy servers at powerful companies. In a world of increased surveillance, she lurks somewhere outside the city with no cameras. You can, however, contact her on clear nights over radio waves, with encoded transmissions.

May is rumored to be one of the very first shareholders for Bazaar Publishing. This aside, has a telehealth webpage that's the height of the spiral with redirecting links, popups, eyestrain colors, and recommendations that seem too personal. Ads pop up during your regular browsing, similar to seeing the merry gentleman about. It's nearly impossible to get an actual appointment unless they email you first, confirming a stay you never reserved. The hotel has bowling alley carpeting and neon lights. I feel like it should have an arcade.

June is the founder of a secretive engineering and technology startup, rumored to be taking funding from shady sources in the private sector. Little is known about her wherabouts or activities, except her last known IP address was at a testing site on a remote island.

July is a whistleblower, leaking confidential documents and warning the public about transactions and political schemes that can lead to their destruction. Fighting a constant war against misinformation, in which she works closely with September.

August is active on twitter and reddit. I don't need to say more. He also promotes accessibility in technology and the web.

September has a podcast and is constantly finding new ways to bypass censors and promote truthful news sources. He runs a blog dedicated to history and culture, where he also shares his poetry. This man is so anti-advertisements.

October is a merciless hacker. Rumors persist she's so skilled and uncatchable because she found a way to project her consciousness into the computer. Several of the most costly ransomware and DDOS attacks bear her signature.

November operates on the black market, overseeing illegal commerce. She works not only in arms dealing and contraband, but in getting restricted supplies to places that need help.

December is an enigmatic figure of the dark web that no one has ever seen or heard, someone you can't contact but rather contacts you through heavily encrypted txt files, identifiable only through a borzoi icon. Some say they're just a myth or a virus. Some say they're an alien, tapping into satellites.