I plan to observe Resurrection Day

How about eggs and chocolate bunnies?

 

Calm down. So will a lot of people. Not sure why it's got you so riled...every year a zillion people do the same, and some people object. Just the way it is. Take a deep breath, enjoy the chocolate even if it's in the shape of a bunny, and have a great Easter.

 

Don't tell anyone...but I ate a Cadbury egg last night.

Mmmmm....

 

We can all thank the Catholic Church for the pagan ties to our holidays.

 

Do you think there really was a lost day?

 

Lost day?

BTW, before we moved to Alaska, we used to shop at all the after Easter sales to buy the leftover Cadbury eggs and Reese's peanut butter eggs, because they were drastically marked down.

Here, the price doesn't go down, and just before they run out, the price goes up. The same holds true with corned beef after St. Patrick's day. Instead of going on sale, the last few will cost you more.

 

Joshua, chapter 10
"12": Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
"13": And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
"14": And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.

 

Is THAT why we wear ties?

 

Well, neck ornamentation as a sign of rank did technically originate with Roman soldiers, but neck ties as we know today originated more with bankers and stockbrokers and were considered a sign of wealth and financial power.

And it seems to me that there was a really long day and not a missing day.

 

but neck ties as we know today originated more with bankers and stockbrokers and were considered a sign of wealth and financial power.

You were closer the first time. The modern necktie has its origins in the distinctive neckwear of Croatian mercenaries who were fighting in France in the 17th century. (It's possible the word cravat is a corruption of the word Croat.)

Most men's fashions prior to WW1 had their origin in military dress.

The modern four-in-hand necktie is but one variation that survived out of a near-infinite number of varieties of cravat that were popular in France in the 1600s.

 

Now now, Ransom...we don't need to learn the indepth history of "the Devil's instrument," the necktie.

"Cravat"...That is the word for today. I will now use the word for today in a sentence:

"Last time I wore a necktie, it nearly choked the cravat out of me."

 

The cravat is not like the modern neck tie at all. Now, it's true that the long tie is descended from the cravat, but the long tie as we know it appeared in the 1850's-1860's, with the added difference added in the 1920's of cutting them cross-grain so they would hang straight.

The earliest known neck tie was worn by China's first emporer, Shih Huang Ti, who was buried in 210 BC, as well as his guards. (I thought it was the Romans.) Historians don't know why they wore them, because no one else in China did, but because silk was a luxury, it was possibly a sign of honor.

In 113 AD, Trajan erected a column to commemorate a victory over the Dacians, and there are at least 3 distinct types of neckwear: One like a bandana you would see on a coboy, another was a piece of cloth wrapped around the neck and tucked into the armor, and the third looks like a shorter version of the modern neck tie.

Most Romans thought they looked sissified, but don't tell that to a legionnaire! They wore them. Perhaps as signs of honor, just as the Chinese guards did.

But, the modern version that was popularized in modern times was a sign of wealth and power, and as such, I don't think they belong on preachers in church. At least, sounds like a good excuse... er, reason to me!

Oh, that, and the fact that there are health problems associated with them. Primarily a danger from operating machinery and from doctors going from patient to patient, but also pulmonary problems due to restricted blood flow.