Yahoo!7 Answers Blog Australia

Aaah Easter. As a child it was synonymous with Easter egg hunts and overloading on delicious, sweet chocolate. For many it’s a time of reflection and giving thanks. For most of us, it’s a welcome four day break from what has already been a tough year.

We all know that Easter is associated with new life. There are the obvious Christian connections and also rebirth is connected with the fact that it’s Spring in the northern hemisphere. But the origin of Easter is quite fascinating.

The word Easter comes from the Anglo Saxon word for April Eostremonath … They say Eostre simply means opening or dawn – Eostremonath being the first month of the Angle-Saxon year. More

So what’s that all got to do with bunnies and eggs? According to KC:

Rabbits and eggs are both symbols of the fertility goddess Eostre/Ishtar/Ostara. Her symbol is also the moon, in which some cultures see a rabbit instead of a face. Eggs also symbolise the moon and are the ultimate symbol of creation and new life. The basket is a symbol of the womb in which this new life is carried.

The feast day is pagan and was widely celebrated way before the time of Jesus. Like pretty much all holidays, it was adopted by Christians to help get more converts. However, since the point is to celebrate new life and the hope of continuance, Christian symbols of a Resurrection day and the old pagan symbols mean the same thing. Just like Christmas, we are all celebrating the same thing, just using different symbols. More

How about Passover, how does that fit into Easter? According to combat_medicus:

Easter is a Christian Holiday celebrating the rebirth of Christ after he was crucified. Passover is a Jewish Holiday and Old Testimant Christian Holiday (Judeo-Christian), both of which are about the same time of year. The passover holiday is called passover because they believed that if you put lambs blood on your door that the spirit would “pass over” your home and leave your first born child unharmed. More

So even though it’s not Spring in Australia, I’ll definitely pop a chocolate egg in my mouth on Sunday morning and think about the new life this day represents… and be thankful there’s an extra day of holiday for all my thinking! Happy Easter!

Caitlin
Community Manager

Around the middle of March each year, many of us put on our favourite green outfits, find a new taste for dark stout beer and practise our bad Irish accents with phrases such as ‘Top o’ the morning to ya‘.

Yep it’s almost St Patrick’s Day, the day of celebration for Ireland’s patron saint. Both in and out of the Emerald Isle, St Patrick’s Day is a popular event that is celebrated by many, regardless of their heritage. It’s funny though, no other country in the world commands such a party. For example, England’s patron saint is St George but you’d never think of heading to the local English pub for a pint of ale on St George’s Day, would you? That is, if you even knew when St George’s Day was… Why is that? According to Christine:

When mass emigration occurred in the 19th century, the Irish stuck together and built up communities, like the Italians, Greeks etc, whereas the British did not for some reason. So its natural in a foreign land that large ethnic communities would keep their traditions alive more so than others. More

St Patrick’s Day is particularly popular in America, where many are descendents of the Irish. In fact, in Chicago, they even dye the river green to celebrate (see the picture to the right).

They use a vegetable-based dye that is harmless to fish. The powder actually starts out orange and then turn green when it’s mixed in the water. More

The Americans seem to have taken St Patrick’s on as their own and many Irish say they don’t even celebrate the day in the same fashion as the rest of the world:

We don’t dye our rivers green or drink green beer, we don’t sit down to a feast of cabbage and corned beef, or go around pinching someone who isn’t wearing green. These are all American customs. In Ireland, the older folks go to mass, the rest of us celebrate with the Patrick’s Day festival, which lasts for 5 days. On the day itself, we go to the parade, then hit the pub and dance the night away. Check out www.stpatricksday.ie and see all that goes on over the week. More

Who is this St Patrick anyway? There must be more to the day than drinking Guinness and wearing green.

St. Patrick was an Englishman who was taken prisoner by the Irish Pagans. He was returned to his family but God told him to go back and convert the Pagans. With help from God he returned and taught them about the Holy Trinity using a three leaf clover as an example. Thus, the clover is a universal sign for St. Patrick’s Day. More

How about you? Are you going to do anything special for St Patrick’s Day this year?

Caitlin
Community Manager

I first got into Yahoo!7 Answers by accident.  A friend used it & she said it was really good – one day curiosity got the better of me, and I’m still here.
– Spellbound: Level 7, 66% Best Answer, 31,011 points and counting!

Every so often, we profile some of the amazing answerers we see on the site like relationships expert Love Guru, sports devotee Trusylver and economics advisor Victor. Today is no exception. Meet Spellbound: our resident history expert. Russia is his real passion but he is able to answer on many subjects. Don’t just take our word for it, here are some of his Best Answers…

• Did Joseph Stalin command the army during the Second World War?
• Why did the Art capitol move from Paris post-War?
• What was the significance of the Soviet satellite nations?

Spellbound in his own words…

I’ve always enjoyed history, probably that comes from being taken round castles in North Wales as a child, but I also think that the past is alive, because the consequences of actions taken hundreds of years ago can have a direct impact on our lives – Magna Carta being an obvious example.

Spellbound is educated as a Russologist specialising in the late Soviet period. He finds the USSR fascinating, saying, ‘as Churchill said of it: ‘Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’.”

His favourite question is: Why did Germany surrender in 1918?

The reason I like this question is that it is a clear question, the questioner sounds as though they are interested in the topic – it’s not just for homework help, and the although the question may be a simple one, to answer the question well requires a detailed, well thought out answer.

If I had a history teacher like Spellbound during high school, I may have paid more attention!

Caitlin
Community Manager

Know someone who’s “wow-ed” you on Answers? Think somebody deserves to be celebrated as next Featured User on the Answers Blog? We want to hear from you!

Email the Answers team a link to the user’s profile or answers to y_answrs_team_au@yahoo.com.au

This week, countries all over the world are celebrating 200 years since scientist Charles Darwin was born. People are doing their bit to celebrate evolution and we are no exception. While many Answers users may be marking the day (it was the 12th February) in their own way, few people are as qualified as biologist Calimecita, who we just happened to spot sporting a tribute to him in her Answers nickname. This is what Darwin Day means to her, in her own words…

“First and foremost, I don’t like the idea of “idolising” a person. Charles Darwin was a man, an individual that was clearly as multidimensional as each of us, and therefore any analyses of him as an individual can and will be very complex – and also widely contradictory.

Yet here I am, celebrating his birthday anniversary – even with my Answers nickname,  – Why?

Because what I’m celebrating is the fact that a single individual’s intellectual production can be a major contribution to the human species. To me, that is truly inspiring. So what did he do?

In an outstanding example of conceptual synthesis, Charles Darwin was able to “catch” concepts and data that were “floating around” in different spheres of human knowledge, put them together and come up with a new corpus of ideas (it’s important to note that Alfred Russell Wallace achieved the same synthesis separately – and that perhaps without him, Darwin’s work would not have been published at the time). This corpus integrates the fact of evolution with the mechanisms that make it possible (Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection), and has been since that time the cornerstone of biological science.

The famous geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky once said “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”. I’ll just add that even though it is possible to use a non-evolutionary approach to study some aspects of biology, everything just makes much more sense in the light of evolution.

In my daily work, I’m constantly trying to understand the evolutionary processes that underlie the diversity I see. My awareness of evolutionary mechanisms does not detract from my appreciation of life… On the contrary, it enhances the delight I feel when I find myself not only contemplating life on Earth, but also studying and understanding a part of it and trying to make my own tiny contributions to our collective knowledge of biological evolution.”

Calimecita

* Read more about Calimecita’s work here and here and here.

Questions on evolution:

• How does evolution apply to the use of insecticides and antibiotics?
• What is Darwin’s theory about evolutionary progression?
• Why was Darwin considered to be a “revolutionary?”
• Are ants an argument against Darwin’s theory of Evolution?
• Who submitted “Theory of Evolution” other than Darwin?

“I won’t send a picture of myself since Answers is meant to be confidential but here is a picture of my great-grandfather taken in about 1908 because people say I look more like him every passing year.  He was then about the same age I am now.”

Every so often we come across an Answers user so wonderful we have to share them with you all as a Featured User. Given this, meet Victor: author and expert contributor with nearly 70% Best Answer percentage who’s been with us since spring ‘06. Why did he join? He saw someone write that recession and inflation were the same thing. And when someone else answered that the French Revolution came before American Independence, well, he had to step in. Answers has been the better for it ever since.

Some great Answers by Victor:

* How did Napoleon’s downfall lead to his death?
* How long is it going to take for the economy to completely fail?
* What does the expression ‘economies of scale’ pertain to?
* Was the enlightenment period a positive or negative influence on Europe?
* In Physics why does equation E = MC2 use the square function?

Get more Best Answers from Victor…

Meet Victor…

Answers Team: What do you enjoy about answering?

Victor: “Two parts to it.  First, I like to think that my answers are interesting and may be helpful for someone who needs to know.  Secondly, it’s a kind of competition with myself: how much do I know about this subject that I can write down? I’m willingly ignorant about some things and wouldn’t ever answer on those, but some subjects are very close to my head and heart, and I stick to those.”

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?  Where are you based?

“I spend about half the year in South London and the rest at Igatpuri, Maharashtra, India because my wife is Indian and there is a big family there.  Although I’ve worked in education and the Civil Service, I’m self employed now, so I can find work in both places and India is nicer than UK between November and April.  At this moment, therefore, I’m at Igatpuri which is 19 degrees north of the Equator and about 73 degrees east of London.”

You seem to answer in some quite diverse categories, such as history, economics and mathematics – can you explain a little about your interest in these areas?

“I went to university in the early 1960s and studied mathematics and economics, and then did a Masters 15 years later in management sciences [maths in business and engineering].  I’ve written books on these subjects.  However, my real intellectual love is history and I’ve studied that formally and informally since childhood – but you can’t make a living from it!  I did a minor in my BA in history, especially the development of government and democracy in Europe and North America.  As you see, I’ve a big interest in a range of subjects and special knowledge is some of them.”

Does work, education or your own personal experiences inform your choice answering?

“Mostly, I answer from personal knowledge or from academic research interests.  If a question is about business, management or government then I can answer from experience, and the same goes for maths and economic theory.  History involves judgement as well as knowledge and I try to bring both into my answers.  For a time, some weeks ago, I was a Top Contributor in History but then that status was removed.  I don’t know why or if the removal indicates something I’ve done wrong.”

Can you tell me more about where you live (some of the year) in India?

“Igatpuri, to be honest, has been a rail station and truck stop until this past 5 years. Now it’s a boom town because of the dual carriageway highway from Mumbai to Nashik, and the opening of the big Mahindra diesel engine plant. The town is a pilgrimage centre because of the Vipissanar meditation centre and ashram, and the old temple of Ghatendevi (goddess of the mountain).  The elephant statues at Ghatendevi are carved out of wood and covered in stucco, which is whitened each year.”

“The town is located at about 1300 metres (4400 ft) above sea level and the mountains behind the town rise to about 1900 metres (6000 ft).  Igatpuri is in the Nashik District of Maharashtra, which is the centre of the Indian wine-making industry and produces some very fine vintages, similar in style to California and some Australian types.  See, for example www.tigerhillvineyards.com.”

If yours is anything like my family, Christmas is pretty much the same year in year out. Up early for tea and to see what’s in our stockings; the extended family arrives late morning and we all celebrate with brunch and champagne. Then into the kitchen for cooking and a sprinkling of petty family disputes over how the turkey dried out (again) and who forgot to add pumpkin to the baking tray. All arguments are forgotten when we sit down to a delicious lunch, charge our glasses and don our daggy Christmas hats. It’s a much loved tradition that is relished by all.

Once in a while this routine changes and some of us spend Christmas in a completely unique way. We asked the Answers community for the most unusual Christmas they’ve ever had…

Christmas Day, 1979, in what was then the Rhodesian bush, linking up with heavily armed `freedom fighters’ so they could move to staging camps prior to the country’s first `free and fair’ elections. The entire Christmas-New Year period was a strange mix of parties, peacekeeping, investigations, sightseeing, mine clearing and winning the confidence and trust of black and white Zimbabweans. Maybe the highlight was organising the repatriation of thousands of refugees from Botswana, Mozambique and Angola so they could return and take part in the rebuilding of their nation. I didn’t miss the Christmas pudding at home with the family, thousands of miles away; neither did my colleagues from 11 different countries. We all felt the job was too important. Pity it turned out the way it did.

– UbiqueMIB

Christmas Day Darwin 1974… Huddled in a bathroom with my 6 brothers and sisters, Mum and Dad and some neighbours while our house disintegrated around us in 250km/h winds. We didn’t get our Christmas presents that year….

- Sean K

Years ago – I had just moved to Adaminaby – small town in the Snowy Mountains – It was Xmas Eve, about 5pm. Suddenly I heard singing, we all went out the front door, and there was a small truck with the town’s business people in the back, singing Xmas carols. Then, out of the blue, it started to snow. What is amazing, is that it never snows in December in Australia (it’s summer), and I have never witnessed people in Australia driving around singing carols, as they do in other parts of the world. It was something special that I will always cherish.

– brubru

At a Christmas lunch up in the hills with family, my uncle came out and summoned us all in to the living room. There was a large adult Koala sitting there and wouldn’t move when we tried to shoo him out.

– shai m

First year I was married, we hiked the Grand Canyon on Christmas day, just the 2 of us. We saw reindeer in the canyon and a lot of wildlife. The lodge served a Christmas feast. It was quiet, romantic, and a great experience.

– cricket

Caitlin
Community Manager

Australia is a pretty diverse nation, and while Christmas is the dominant celebration for this time of year, many of us are are celebrating a different kind of festivity. Answers user Jelly123 was curious about these celebrations and got some very interesting responses!

What do other religions celebrate instead of Christmas?

Muslims have two main festive occasions. One is called Eid ul Adha, which this year fall on the 8th December. This particular festive occasion honours Abraham’s willingness to submit to the Will of God. The other called Eid ul Fitr, which marks the end of the month of Ramadan (The Fasting Month). I usually put up fairy lights in the house for the 3 days. Other friends of mine, get their kids to decorate their houses with lanterns, balloons, streamers and even tinsel! My kids find presents on the couch in the morning, but they can’t open them until after the 7am-8am Eid prayer at the mosque. Many families cook special desserts/biscuits that signify Eid. Last year my Eid biscuits were gingerbread men & women, this year it was jam drops. I’m still experimenting with different desserts, looking for that perfect Australian Eid dish. The Pavlova is already reserved for birthdays, so I’m still looking. On Eid night, we come home at night feeling bloated and on a massive sugar high from all the desserts. The kids count the money they’ve been given by relo’s and play with their pressies. Take away the tree, Santa, the roast ham & the alcohol laden pudding and it’s exactly the same as Xmas.

- Mon

I’m a Hindu living in Australia. We just put some decorations so we don’t look different from the house next door, which blinds people every time we go outside. We also buy each other gifts because everyone likes them and because every time we go into a shop, the sign “BUY A GIFT FOR A LOVED ONE” is standing in your face and shop attendants kep badgering you.

- Chris S

I’m a non-practicing Hindu Sydneysider and Hinduism’s most auspicious festival’s Diwali – the festival of lights. Mythologically, it marks the arrival of Lord Rama back into the town of Ayodhya (which yes, is really a town in the East-South Eastern region of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh) after 14 years of exile and of course the defeat of Lankan King Ravana (who’d kidnapped Rama’s wife Sita). Diwali, like most major religious events are based on the lunar calendar (it always falls on a new moon) and falls usually between late October – mid November.

Sikhism’s major event is ‘Guru Nanak Jayanti’ (Anniversary of the first ‘Guru’ or preacher of Sikhism, Nanak) who branched out of Hinduism to preach the relatively new faith, Sikhism, somewhere in the late 15th century. Sikhism’s faith is revolved around the teachings of 10 major ‘Gurus’ – the first being ‘Guru Nanak‘ and the last being ‘Guru Gobind’.

- Silverwater006

For Nichiren Buddhists who chant Nam myoho renge kyo, (which include people you would know such as Tina Turner, Orlando Bloom, Miranda Kerr, Herby Hancock, Patrick Duffy, Annie Lennox and the list goes on) – the main day to celebrate is New Year’s Day, marking the beginning of a new round of opportunities for turning poisons into medicine and contributing towards world peace -Kosen Rufu.

- C

This time of the year for Jews is the festival of Channukah/Hannukah (different variations of spelling) and we light the channukah candles each night for seven days representing the oil in the channukah story. We receive presents each day (8 days) however the meaning of channukah isn’t about present giving, it’s just become bigger and more commercialised in countries where Christianity is the majority. I usually get a small present each day. For instance a fifteen year old girl might receive something like this: 1st day – costume jewellery + channukah gelt, 2nd day – a pair of shoes, 3rd day – hello kitty stationary, 4th day – box of chocolates, 5th day – make up, 6th day – twilight book, 7th day – juno dvd, 8th day – Britney Spears CD.

- wikiUSMdawg

Regardless of religion, race or creed, we hope you have a wonderful festive season!

Caitlin
Community Manager