The Spanish bogeyman was real

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Some superstitions hurt… a lot. One of them was the origin of the children’s horror story that was used in Spain to control the behaviour of the children and which, most likely, has caused too many nightmares in several people. Under the succinct threat of “I’ll call the bogeyman!”, children had no choice but to … Read more

Why does the year start on January 1st in our culture?

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It might seem a rhetorical question because of its obviousness. A year has 12 months, so it is logical to place the annual restart in the first month calends of the sequence. But this was not always the case. The beginning of the year for the Romans began on March 1st, the month that paid … Read more

A walk through the misteries and history of El Retiro (Madrid, Spain)

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The purpose of this article is to serve as a future guide for travelers visiting the Buen Retiro Park. More importantly, we hope it will help to fall in love with this fascinating place. It aims to serve as a magnifying glass to scrutinize the secrets that await us in the most unsuspected corners of … Read more

When Spain almost got involved in World War I

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It is well known that Spain did not participate in the tragic and destructive First World War. Both the country and its colonies remained neutral between 1914 and 1918. However, there were occasions when Spain was almost forced to participate in the conflict. In 1916, after two years of siege, French and English troops conquered … Read more

When sirens were birds

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Classic sirens have not always been the beautiful half women and half fish beings. The first descriptions characterized them half woman half bird, and they were daughters of Achelous, the Greek spirit-god of the homonymous river, or god Phorcys, and of the nymph Calliope according to some versions or of some muses according to others. … Read more

Ireland. Experiences in legendary lands (part 4). The end of the odyssey

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Part of every journey is always the end, and that is what we are going to present in this last article about our stay in Ireland. Do you want to know what was the Great Famine and the indelible mark it left on Irish people since then? Would you like to travel with us through … Read more

Excommunicated animals

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In an effort to ensure power and faithfulness to God, the Church has created all sorts of strategies. One of the best known is excommunication. Excommunication consists in the social and ecclesiastical exclusion of the condemned person from the sacraments. This punishment was imposed on people of all walks of life. But also to animals, … Read more

The punished St. Valentine

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Behind February 14, Valentine’s Day, lies the biography of a character who had a rather tragic and nothing “valentinian” ending. St. Valentine would have been a priest from Rome who was beaten and beheaded in 270 A.D. His crime: secretly marrying soldiers with their partners in defiance of the rule of Emperor Claudius II, who … Read more