August 2008 Events In China
August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, with March being the first month of the year. About 700 BC, it became the eighth month when January and February were added to the year before March by King Numa Pompilius, who also gave it 29 days. Julius Caesar added two days when he created the Julian calendar in 46 BC (708 AUC), giving it its modern length of 31 days. In 8 BC, it was renamed in honor of Emperor Augustus. According to a Senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, he chose this month because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt. Commonly repeated lore has it that August has 31 days because Augustus wanted his month to match the length of Julius Caesar's July, but t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reeve And Serfs
Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some English magistrates during the 10th and 11th centuries *Shire reeve, an official position that originated the term Sheriff *Vogt, an official in many European countries, often translated ''reeve'' Other uses *Reeve (surname), list of notable people with the surname *Reeve, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community *Reeve knot, a stopper knot *Reeve, a female ruff (bird), a wading bird *Reeve (Final Fantasy), Reeve (''Final Fantasy''), a character from the video game ''Final Fantasy VII'' *Reeve Electric Association Plant, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Franklin County, Iowa *"The Reeve's Prologue and Tale", from ''The Canterbury Tales'' by Chaucer *Leander Reeve House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Fra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Senatus Consultum
A ''senatus consultum'' (Latin: decree of the senate, plural: ''senatus consulta'') is a text emanating from the senate in Ancient Rome. It is used in the modern phrase ''senatus consultum ultimum''. Translated into French as ''sénatus-consulte'', the term was also used during the French Consulate, the First French Empire and the Second French Empire. Republic In the case of the ancient Roman Senate under the Roman Kingdom, it was simply an opinion expressed by the senate, such as the '' Senatus consultum Macedonianum'' or the ''Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus''. Under the Republic, it referred to a text promulgated by the senate on planned laws presented to the senate by a consul or praetor. Officially these ''consulta'' were merely advice given to the Republic's magistrates, but in practice magistrates often followed them to the letter.Byrd, 44 Despite only being an opinion, it was considered obligatory to have one before submitting the decision to a vote and moreover a host ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vulcan (mythology)
Vulcan ( la, Vulcanus, in archaically retained spelling also ''Volcanus'', both pronounced ) is the god of fire including the fire of volcanoes, deserts, metalworking and the forge in ancient Roman religion and myth. He is often depicted with a blacksmith's hammer. The Vulcanalia was the annual festival held August 23 in his honor. His Greek counterpart is Hephaestus, the god of fire and smithery. In Etruscan religion, he is identified with Sethlans. Vulcan belongs to the most ancient stage of Roman religion: Varro, the ancient Roman scholar and writer, citing the Annales Maximi, records that king Titus Tatius dedicated altars to a series of deities including Vulcan. Etymology The origin of the name is unclear. Roman tradition maintained that it was related to Latin words connected to lightning (), which in turn was thought of as related to flames. This interpretation is supported by Walter William Skeat in his etymological dictionary as meaning ''lustre''. It has be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vinalia
The Vinalia were Roman festivals of the wine harvest, wine vintage and gardens, held in honour of Jupiter and Venus. The ''Vinalia prima'' ("first Vinalia"), also known as the ''Vinalia urbana'' ("Urban Vinalia") was held on 23 April to bless and sample last year's wine and ask for good weather until the next harvest. The ''Vinalia rustica'' ("Rustic Vinalia") was on 19 August, before the harvest and grape-pressing. Vinalia Urbana The ''Vinalia Urbana'' was held on 23 April. It was predominantly a wine festival, shared by Venus as patron of " profane" wine (''vinum spurcum'') intended for everyday human use, and Jupiter as patron of the strongest, purest, sacrificial grade wine (''temetum''). In honour of Venus, whose powers had provided humankind with ordinary wine, men and women alike sampled the ''vinum spurcum'' of the previous autumn's pressing. As god of the weather on which the wine-harvest depended, Jupiter was offered a special libation of the previous year's sacred wi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Consualia
The Consualia or ''Consuales Ludi'' was the name of two ancient Roman festivals in honor of Consus, a tutelary deity of the harvest and stored grain. ''Consuales Ludi'' harvest festivals were held on August 21,Plutarch. "Life if Romulus", in ''Plutarch's Lives,'' trans. Aubrey Stewart and George Long. London and New York: George Bell and Sons, 1894XV/ref> and again on December 15, in connection with grain storage. The shrine of Consus was underground, it was covered with earth all year and was only uncovered for this one day. Mars, the god of war, as a protector of the harvest, was also honored on this day, as were the Lares, the household gods that individual families held sacred. During the celebration horses, mules, and asses were exempted from all labour, and were led through the streets adorned with garlands and flowers. Chariot races were held this day in the Circus Maximus, which included an odd race in which chariots were pulled by mules. In Roman mythology, the Consuali ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Portunus (mythology)
__NOTOC__ Portunus was the ancient Roman god of keys, doors, livestock and ports. He may have originally protected the warehouses where grain was stored, but later became associated with ports, perhaps because of folk associations between ''porta'' "gate, door" and ''portus'' "harbor", the "gateway" to the sea, or because of an expansion in the meaning of ''portus''. Portunus later became conflated with the Greek Palaemon. Portunus' festival, celebrated on August 17, the sixteenth day before the Kalends of September, was the Portunalia, a minor occasion in the Roman year. On this day, keys were thrown into a fire for good luck in a very solemn and lugubrious manner. His attribute was a key and his main temple in the city of Rome, the Temple of Portunus, was to be found in the Forum Boarium. Portunus appears to be closely related to the god Janus, with whom he shares many characters, functions and the symbol of the key. He too was represented as a two headed being, with each ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tiberinalia
The Tiberinalia is a Roman festival of late antiquity, recorded in the Calendar of Filocalus (354 AD), on August 17 ''( XVI Kal. Sept.)'', the same day as the archaic Portunalia. As a festival honoring Father Tiber, it may reflect renewed Imperial patronage of traditional Roman deities, in particular the dedication made to ''Tiberinus'' by the emperors Diocletian (reigned 284–305) and Maximianus. August's festivals deal with themes of agricultural bounty ensured by sun and water, centering on the Volcanalia of Volcanus (Vulcan) on August 23. The Portunalia, like the Volcanalia, was represented in large letters on extant ''fasti'', indicating that it was regarded as among the most ancient holidays that were on the calendar before 509 BC. Portunus was originally a guardian of gateways and only later by extension a harbor god, and his relation to Tiber or Tiberinus as god of the Tiber river is debatable; some have seen the Tiberinalia as assimilating the archaic Portunalia. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nemoralia
The Nemoralia (also known as the Festival of Torches or Hecatean Ides) is a three-day festival originally celebrated by the ancient Romans on the Ides of August (August 13–15) in honor of the goddess Diana. Although the Nemoralia was originally celebrated at the Sanctuary of Diana at Lake Nemi, it soon became more widely celebrated. The Catholic Church may have adapted the Nemoralia as the Feast of the Assumption. History A festival to Diana was held yearly at her Shrine at Lake Nemi near Ariccia on the Ides of August, a date which coincides with the traditional founding date celebrated at Aricia. The origins of the festival probably pre-date the spread of Diana's worship to Rome in the 3rd century BCE, and may extend to the 6th century BCE or earlier.Gordon, A.E. (1932). "On the Origin of Diana", ''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association'' 63 (1932, pp. 177-192) p 178. Records from the 1st century BCE describe worshipers traveling to the sanctuar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lychnapsia
In the Roman Empire, the Lychnapsia was a Roman festival, festival of lamps on August 12, widely regarded by scholars as having been held in honor of Isis. It was thus one of several official Roman holidays and observances that publicly linked the Isiac mysteries, cult of Isis with Imperial cult (ancient Rome), Imperial cult. It is thought to be a Roman adaptation of ancient Egyptian religion, Egyptian religious ceremonies celebrating the birthday of Isis. By the 4th century, Isiac cult was thoroughly integrated into traditional religion in ancient Rome, Roman religious practice, but evidence that Isis was honored by the Lychnapsia is indirect, and ''lychnapsia'' is a general word in Greek for festive lamp-lighting. In the Christianity in the 5th century, 5th century, ''lychnapsia'' could be synonymous with ''lychnikon'' (lamp-lighting at Vespers#Oriental Orthodoxy, vespers) as a Christian liturgy, Christian liturgical office. On the calendar Numerous lamp festivals were celebrated ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Supplicia Canum
The ''supplicia canum'' ("punishment of the dogs") was an annual sacrifice of ancient Roman religion in which live dogs were suspended from a ''furca'' ("fork") or cross ''(crux)'' and paraded. It appears on none of the extant Roman calendars, but a late source places it on August 3 ''( III Non. Aug.)''. In the same procession, geese were decorated in gold and purple and carried in honor. Ancient sources who explain the origin of the ''supplicia'' say that the geese were honored for saving the city during the Gallic siege of Rome. When the Gauls launched a nocturnal assault by stealth on the citadel, the geese raised a noisy alarm. The failure of the watch dogs to bark was thereafter ritually punished each year. Form of punishment The implement on which the dog was carried is called a ''furca'' by Pliny (1st century AD), who describes it as made of elder wood, and a ''crux'' by Servius (4th century). Plutarch uses a verbal form referring to a ''stauros'', "stake". After crucifi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's North Pole. Owing to Earth's axial tilt of 23.439281°, winter in the Northern Hemisphere lasts from the December solstice (typically December 21 UTC) to the March equinox (typically March 20 UTC), while summer lasts from the June solstice through to the September equinox (typically on 23 September UTC). The dates vary each year due to the difference between the calendar year and the astronomical year. Within the Northern Hemisphere, oceanic currents can change the weather patterns that affect many factors within the north coast. Such events include El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Trade winds blow from east to west just above the equator. The winds pull surface water with them, creating currents, which flow westward due to the Coriolis e ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |