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Spring Cleaning
Spring cleaning is the practice of thoroughly cleaning a house in the springtime. The practice of spring cleaning is especially prevalent in climates with a cold winter. In many cultures, annual cleaning occurs at the end of the year, which may be in spring or winter, depending on the calendar. The term is also used metaphorically for any kind of heavy duty cleaning or organizing enterprise. A person who gets their affairs in order before an audit or inspection could be said to be doing some spring cleaning. History Some researchers trace the origin of spring cleaning to the Iranian Nowruz, the Persian new year, which falls on the first day of spring. Iranians continue the practice of ''khaneh tekani'' ( Persian: خانهتکانی; literally "shaking the house") just before the Persian new year. Everything in the house is thoroughly cleaned, from the drapes to the furniture. Another possibility has been suggested that the origins of spring cleaning date back to the ancie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Housekeeping
Housekeeping is the management and routine support activities of running an organised physical institution occupied or used by people, like a house, ship, hospital or factory, such as tidying, cleaning, cooking, routine maintenance, shopping, and bill payment. These tasks may be performed by members of the household, or by persons hired for the purpose. This is a more broad role than a cleaner, who is focused only on the cleaning aspect. The term is also used to refer to the money allocated for such use."housekeeping" ''''. Retrieved 2 June 2013. By extension, it may also refer to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bedikat Chametz
Bedikat chametz, or bedikas chametz (, : ) is the search before the Jewish Holiday of Pesach for chametz. The search takes place after nightfall on the evening before Pesach (the night of the 14th of the Hebrew month of Nisan, as stated in the Mishnah tractate Pesachim). When Pesach starts on Saturday night, bedikat chametz takes place on Thursday night (two nights before Pesach). The Process A candle is lit in addition to electric lights. Flashlights can be used to assist as well. A blessing is recited if the search is performed on the 14th (or on the 13th when the 14th is on a Friday), but not when an earlier search is performed for various reasons. Since according to some, a blessing in vain – a ''bracha levatala'' – occurs if no chametz was found in the house, there is a widespread custom to 'seed' the area to be searched. Prior to bedikat chametz, several (usually ten) pieces of chametz are hidden around the house. These pieces must be small and should be wrapped s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equinox
A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and set "due west". This occurs twice each year, around 20 March and 23 September. More precisely, an equinox is traditionally defined as the time when the plane of Earth's equator passes through the geometric center of the Sun's disk. Equivalently, this is the moment when Earth's rotation axis is directly perpendicular to the Sun-Earth line, tilting neither toward nor away from the Sun. In modern times, since the Moon (and to a lesser extent the planets) causes Earth's orbit to vary slightly from a perfect ellipse, the equinox is officially defined by the Sun's more regular ecliptic longitude rather than by its declination. The instants of the equinoxes are currently defined to be when the apparent geocentric longitude of the Sun is 0° a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Japan Times
''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by Motosada Zumoto on 22 March 1897, with the goal of giving Japanese people an opportunity to read and discuss news and current events in English to help Japan to participate in the international community. The newspaper was independent of government control, but from 1931 onward, the paper's editors experienced mounting pressure from the Japanese government to submit to its policies. In 1933, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed Hitoshi Ashida, former ministry official, as chief editor. During World War II, the newspaper served as an outlet for Imperial Japanese government communication and editorial opinion. It was successively renamed ''The Japan Times and Mail'' (1918–1940) following its merger with ''The Japan M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toshigami
Ōtoshi (大歳神, Ōtoshi-no-kami; lit. "Great-Age God") or Nigihayahi (饒速日尊 Nigihayahi-no-mikoto), commonly known: Toshigami (年神, lit. "Year God") or Ōtoshi (大年神, Ōtoshi-no-kami; lit. "Great-Year God") is a Kami of the Shinto religion in Japan. He is the son of the Shinto deity Susanoo and the female deity Kamu'ō-ichi-hime (神大市比売), and also the older brother of Uka-no-mitama (宇迦之御魂神, Uka-no-mitama-no-kami), commonly known as Inari (稲荷神, Inari-no-kami). Kamu'ō-ichi-hime is the youngest sister of Kushinadahime, who are both the daughters of Ōyamatsumi (大山津見神). Ōyamatsumi (大山津見神) is the half-brother of Susano'o. Also, he is the father of Mitoshi (御年神, Mitoshi-no-kami/ Otoshi-no-kami) by his wife Kaguyo-hime (香用比売) and the grandfather of Wakatoshi (若年神, Wakatoshi-no-kami), son of Hayamato (羽山戸神, Hayamato-no-kami). The term consists of two Chinese characters, and , meaning a dei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edo Period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, a stable population, perpetual peace, and popular enjoyment of arts and culture. The period derives its name from Edo (now Tokyo), where on March 24, 1603, the shogunate was officially established by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period came to an end with the Meiji Restoration and the Boshin War, which restored imperial rule to Japan. Consolidation of the shogunate The Edo period or Tokugawa period is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's regional '' daimyo''. A revolution took place from the time of the Kamakura shogunate, which existed with the Tennō's court, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hogmanay
Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 January) or in some cases, 2 January—a Scottish bank holiday. The origins of Hogmanay are unclear, but it may be derived from Norse and Gaelic observances of the winter solstice. Customs vary throughout Scotland, and usually include gift-giving and visiting the homes of friends and neighbours, with special attention given to the first-foot, the first guest of the new year. Etymology The etymology of the word is obscure. The earliest proposed etymology comes from the 1693 ''Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence'', which held that the term was a corruption of a presumed grc, ἁγία μήνη () and that this meant "holy month". The three main modern theories derive it from a French, Norse or Gaelic root. The word is first recorded in a Latin entry in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae. Their blood is not totally contained in vessels; some circulates in an open cavity known as the haemocoel. Insects are the most diverse group of animals; they include more than a million described species and represent more than half of all known living organisms. The total number of extant species is estimated at between six and ten million; In: potentially over 90% of the animal life forms on Earth are insects. Insects may be found in nearly all environments, although only a small number of species reside in the oceans, which are dominated by another arthropod group, crustaceans, which recent research has indicated insects are nested within. Nearly all insects hatch f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dust
Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in homes is composed of about 20–50% dead skin cells. The rest, and in offices, and other human environments is composed of small amounts of plant pollen, human hairs, animal fur, textile fibers, paper fibers, minerals from outdoor soil, burnt meteorite particles, and many other materials which may be found in the local environment. Atmospheric Atmospheric or wind-borne fugitive dust, also known as ''aeolian dust'', comes from arid and dry regions where high velocity winds are able to remove mostly silt-sized material, deflating susceptible surfaces. This includes areas where grazing, ploughing, vehicle use, and other human behaviors have further destabilized the land, though not all source areas have been largely affected by an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vacuum Cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal. Vacuum cleaners, which are used in homes as well as in industry, exist in a variety of sizes and models—small battery-powered hand-held devices, wheeled canister models for home use, domestic central vacuum cleaners, huge stationary industrial appliances that can handle several hundred litres of dirt before being emptied, and self-propelled vacuum trucks for recovery of large spills or removal of contaminated soil. Specialized shop vacuums can be used to suck up both solid matter and liquids. Name Although ''vacuum cleaner'' and the short form ''vacuum'' are neutral names, in some countries (UK, Ireland) ''hoover'' is used instead as a genericized trademark, and as a verb. The name comes from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
April
April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. It is the first of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the second of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. April is commonly associated with the season of autumn in parts of the Southern Hemisphere, and spring in parts of the Northern Hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to October in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. History The Romans gave this month the Latin name '' Aprilis''"April" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 1, p. 497. but the derivation of this name is uncertain. The traditional etymology is from the verb ''aperire'', "to open", in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to "open", which is supported by comparison with the modern Greek use of άνοιξη (''ánixi'') (opening) for spring. Since some of the Roman months were named in honor of divinities, and as April was s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clean Monday
Clean Monday ( el, Καθαρά Δευτέρα), also known as Pure Monday, Ash Monday, Monday of Lent or Green Monday, is the first day of Great Lent throughout Eastern Christianity and is a moveable feast, falling on the 6th Monday before Palm Sunday which begins the Holy Week preceding Pascha Sunday (Easter). The common term for this day, "Clean Monday", refers to the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods. It is sometimes called "Ash Monday", by analogy with Ash Wednesday (the day when the Western Churches begin Lent). The term is often a misnomer, as only a small subset of Eastern Catholic Churches practice the imposition of ashes. The Maronite Catholic Church, Chaldean Catholic Church and the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church are notable amongst the Eastern rites employing the use of ashes on this day. Date Clean Monday is part of the paschal cycle, and as such it depends on the paschal computus which may differ between denominations and churches. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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