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Still painting this 127cm Churchill in Taupe & #GlobeFacts returning to the winter solstice (see previous posts for more). The Iranian festival of Yalda is celebrated on the longest night of the year. In pre-Islamic times, it heralded the birth of Mithra, the ancient sun god, and his triumph over darkness. Zoroastrian lore holds that evil spirits wander the earth and the forces of the destructive spirit Ahriman are strongest on this long night. People are encouraged to stay up most of the night in the company of one another, eating, talking, and sharing poetry and stories, in order to avoid any brushes with dark entities. Beliefs about the presence of evil on the longest night are also echoed in Celtic and Germanic folklore. December 21, 2012 corresponds to the date 13.0.0.0.0 in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar used by the ancient Mayans, marking the end of a 5126-year cycle. Some people feared this juncture would bring about the end of the world or some other cataclysmic event. Others took a more New Age-y view (literally) and believed it heralded the birth of a new era of deep transformation for Earth and its inhabitants. In the end, neither of these things appeared to occur, leaving the world to turn through winter solstices indefinitely, or at least as long as the Sun lasts. #WorldFacts via Mental Floss | www.bellerbyandco.com

As Sam lays a gore on what will be a Prussian Blue Livingstone, we are getting back to modern day pirates. Go back one post for part I. There are typically three categories of pirates. The first is the fisherman. They are valuable for their seafaring skill and knowledge of the open waters. The second is the ex-militiaman. They previously fought for local warlords and clans. The third is the technical expert who operates equipment such as GPS devices. The closest Somali word for pirate literally translates as "ocean robber" but most of the pirates prefer a term translated as "saviors of the sea". With the use of motherships, the range of pirate skiffs has been extended well into the Indian Ocean. Pirates generally access the ships via ladders that they bring with them. They will then typically use RPGs and small arms to intimidate the crew. #GlobeFacts continue tomorrow with part III. Via List25. Globes : www.bellerbyandco.com

"Here be dragons" means dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of a medieval practice of putting illustrations of dragons, sea monsters and other mythological creatures on uncharted areas of maps. Although several early maps, such as the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, have illustrations of mythological creatures for decoration, the phrase itself is an anachronism. There are just two known historical uses of this phrase in the Latin form "HC SVNT DRACONES" (i.e. hic sunt dracones, 'here are dragons'). One is on the Hunt–Lenox Globe (c. 1503–07), on which the term appeared around the east coast of Asia. This might be related to the Komodo dragons on the Indonesian islands, tales of which were quite common throughout East Asia. The other appearance of the term is on a globe engraved on two conjoined halves of ostrich eggs, dated to 1504. . Earlier maps contain a variety of references to mythical and real creatures, but the Lenox Globe and the egg globe are the only known surviving maps to bear this phrase. Furthermore, the two maps may be closely linked: an investigation of the egg globe performed by collector Stefaan Missinne concluded that the Hunt–Lenox Globe is in fact a cast of it. "'Here be dragons,' [is] a very interesting sentence," said Thomas Sander, editor of the Portolan, the journal of the Washington Map Society. "In early maps, you would see images of sea monsters; it was a way to say there's bad stuff out there." The classical phrase used by ancient Roman and Medieval cartographers was HIC SVNT LEONES (literally, "here are lions") when denoting unknown territories on maps. #GlobeFacts. Pictured : 36cm Britannia Blue. Globes : www.bellerbyandco.com

Legend has it that the Greek goddess of love–Aphrodite–was born in Cyprus. The country is also known as the playground of the Gods. Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The island country is divided into two parts. The North and the South. The northern part is called the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” while the southern part is called the “Independent Republic of Cyprus” or the “Greek Cyprus.” Cyprus is the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. Some of the world’s oldest water wells can be found in Cyprus. The largest bank in Cyprus is owned by the Cypriot Orthodox Church. The church also plays a significant role in the social and political life of the island’s people. Alexander the Great seized the island from the Assyrians, Egyptians and Persians in 333 BC. Cyprus became independent from the British in 1960, on August 16th. However, they celebrate their independence day on the 1st of October every year. The island nation had seen its golden era during the Copper and Bronze Ages. At that time, the country was among the wealthiest of nations. #CyprusFacts #TurkeyFacts via TheFactFile. Globes : www.bellerbyandco.com Pictured : 23cm Mini Desk Globes, centred on Champagne.. behind it is Turquoise & at back Mint Green. A snippet of Cool Blue in the foreground.

The Mint Green Cassini awaiting a collection from its new owners & a 23cm Mini Desk Globe in progress. Continuing on with #GlobeFacts Sweden… on the subject of Midsummer's Eve. Raising and dancing around a maypole (majstång or midsommarstång) is an activity that attracts families and many others. The traditions surrounding the maypoles vary locally, as does the design of the poles, although the design featuring a cross and two rings is most common nowadays. A perhaps more original incarnation is the one still in use in the Swedish landscape of Småland where the pole carries a large horizontally suspended ring around it, hanging from ropes attached at the top of the pole. This perhaps more original form of course strongly reinforces the procreation symbolism. The cross-arm may be a latter-day attempt to Christianize the pagan symbol into the semblance of a cross, although not completely successful. Common in all of Sweden are traditional ring dances, mostly in the form of dances where you are alternating dancing and making movements and gestures based on the songs, such as pretending that you are scrubbing laundry while singing about washing, or jumping as frogs during the song Små grodorna ("The little frogs"). The ring dancing is mostly popular with small children. The central part played by young children in the celebration emphasise the procreation aspect of the celebration. Yet another pointer in this direction is the custom that young maidens expect to dream of their future mate if they pick seven different flowers and place them under their pillow when they go to bed on this day only. Greenery placed over houses and barns was supposed to bring good fortune and health to people and livestock; this old tradition of decorating with greens continues, even though most don't take it too seriously! To decorate with greens was called att maja (to May) and may be the origin of the word majstång, maja coming originally from the month May, or vice versa. #SwedenFacts | Globes : www.bellerbyandco.com

Latitude and longitude are part of the geographic coordinate system and they help us to map every point on the Globe. Latitude represents the coordinates going horizontally around the Globe whereas longitude represents the coordinates going vertically. Latitude is an invisible horizontal line that runs around the Earth from East to West. It begins at the Equator where its coordinates are 0°. The Equator divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Countries with a latitude of 0° include the Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Indonesia and Brazil. The lines of latitude run parallel to the Equator in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, starting at 0° and counting to 90° North and 90° South. The North Pole has the latitude coordinate of 90°N (North) and the South Pole has the latitude coordinate of 90°S (South). Longitude is the invisible vertical line that runs around the Earth from North to South. The Prime Meridian is where its coordinates are 0°. Cities with a longitude of 0° include Greenwich and Cambridge (UK), Lleida (Spain) and Le Havre (France). Longitude divides the globe into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres along the Prime Meridian. The Prime Meridian originated in Greenwich, London which is why the longitude of 0° is set there. It runs through the UK, France, Africa and several seas. New York has a longitude coordinate of 74°W (West) and Cairo has a longitude coordinate of 31°E (East). Latitude and longitude coordinates are written as decimals with up to 4 decimal places to make sure they are accurate. For example, New York is 74.0059°W. If you combine a latitude coordinate with a longitude coordinate you can plot any point on the Earth. For example, 64.1265° N, 21.8174° W takes you to Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland. Simple right? Will continue #GlobeFacts with some 0° cities tomorrow. Globe : Britannia Blue 80cm globe. www.bellerbyandco.com I photo : Jade Fenster