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Valentine's Day, one would expect, celebrates the loving legacy of some third century saint. Of course, like the rest of pop history, that's all bunk. The origin of Valentine's Day has nothing to do with Roman martyrs, arising--depending on who you believe--out of ancient myths that tell stories of suckling wolves or mating birds...
...origins of our tacky celebrations apparently derive not from the martyr but from one of two other sources. Historians place the Roman festival of Lupercalia in the middle of February and suggest that a pagan bacchanal might have developed over the course of centuries into our tamer celebration of romantic love. Alternatively, a poetic mistake might have placed the dawning of spring in the middle of winter...
...amber figurines carved during the classical period relate either to death or to fertility and rejuvenation. Amber may have been used by Egyptians in the mummification process, possibly because it is a powerful desiccant, or drying agent. It was also valued as a medicine. According to Pliny the Elder, Roman peasants used it to cure diseases of the neck and head. In the New World, the Maya burned it as incense to treat a variety of ailments...
MANAGUA, NICARAGUA: Hundreds of thousands of jubilant Roman Catholics turned out Wednesday to celebrate with Pope John Paul II at an open-air Mass. In a nation that is nearly 80 percent Catholic, the Pope's arrival is considered a blessing. Welcoming him, President Violeta Chamorro, a devout Catholic, said the visit could help heal old wounds in a nation still recovering from a decade-long civil war. "Thanks to divine providence, peace has returned to your country and to all of Central America," the Pope told the crowd. In 1990 elections, Chamorro defeated the leftist Sandinistas, who controlled...
Women in comas have given birth before, usually to children conceived before the women were stricken. And by tradition, barring a living will, doctors honor a family's perception of a coma victim's wishes. The New York woman had been a devout Roman Catholic. Says Ellen Moskowitz, a lawyer and ethicist at the Hastings Center, "It seems reasonable to conclude this is the kind of decision she would have wanted...