National daylight saving time in the US: Uniform Time Act of 1966

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Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, Alabama, Arizona, chaos, Clyde Reed, daylight saving time, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Gordian knot, Harley Staggers, House Interstate Commerce Committee, Idaho, Indiana, Interstate Commerce Commission, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Lyndon Johnson, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, standard time, state legislatures, Tennessee, Texas, time zones, Uniform Time Act of 1966, United States, US Congress, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming

Daylight saving time starts again today (March 11) in the United States. This excerpt from my book on the history of daylight saving time around the world, The Great Daylight Saving Time Controversy, looks at the lead-up and result of the Uniform Time Act of 1966. The US had suffered a chaotic time with daylight saving since the end of World War II with states and municipalities basically going their own way. By 1966, 18 states plus the District of Columbia had daylight saving throughout, 13 states had daylight saving in part of the state and 19 had it in no part (see the table that shows which states were in which category towards the end of chapter 13 of my book; I can’t reproduce it here).  Here’s the excerpt …

Congress had become increasingly concerned over the years by the haphazard approach to daylight saving across the country, especially in those states where individual counties and municipalities went their own way. Many bills for uniform time were introduced but few made it to either house for debate and a vote. In February 1948, Kansas senator Clyde Reed had a bill for national daylight saving from the last Sunday in April until the last Sunday in September each year. But Congress didn’t seem game to look at universal daylight time so soon after the controversies it had brought during the war. He got little support. One senator wrote him a letter strongly opposing the measure, closing with “Disgustingly yours”.

New representative Harley Staggers of West Virginia introduced the first of his annual daylight saving bills into Congress in 1949 “after citizens from cities as well as rural areas complained of the confusion resulting from the ‘two-clock system’ during the summer months”, he said. A few of his bills got to the committee hearings stage but no further. In 1959, he gave up on daylight saving and tried a bill for standard time, just keen to get all of the country’s clocks on one time or the other rather than have a confusing mess each summer. Next year, he was back with daylight saving and, for the first time, his bill got a hearing by the House Interstate Commerce Committee. In 1962, his bill was for standard time again.

Bodies such as the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations were keen for Congress to enact uniform daylight saving. More bills were drafted, including by Staggers and other members, often with his involvement. A New York newspaper [The Kingston Daily Freeman] described the US time problem as a Gordian knot that “needs to be slashed with one mighty cut”. The ICC described the system as one of “increasing chaos”. More and more farmers agreed that a uniform time system, even if it included daylight saving, was better than the present costly and confused patchwork of times.

A House commerce subcommittee approved by a vote of 9 to 8 a bill introduced by Staggers in 1964 that did away with the term “daylight saving” and instead used the four existing time zones, Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern, and added a new one, Atlantic time. From late April to late October, the whole of the area covered by each time zone would shift one zone to the east. For example, the Mountain zone would move to the Central zone, meaning that the region would be on Mountain Standard Time in winter and Central Standard Time in summer. People in the Eastern zone would be on Atlantic Standard Time in the warmer months. While the bill had no binding provisions for states and communities to go along with it, the author felt few areas wouldn’t welcome uniform time. Common start and end dates would be mandatory for any location using the scheme. Federal agencies and interstate transport bodies would have to comply. The Senate Commerce Committee approved a similar bill. But the current Congress session ended without the bills progressing further.

With Harley Staggers now chairman of the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee from January 1966, bills for nationwide daylight saving were thought to have a better chance of getting through the chamber. The issue was his hobby horse. His varied background before being elected to Congress, including science teacher, head coach, sheriff, brakeman, rubber maker, silk mill worker, field hand, highway right of way agent, county rent control director, state director of the Office of War Information, and lieutenant commander and navigator in the US Naval Air Corps, perhaps enabled him to see the daylight saving time issue from more perspectives than most people. He gave the matter high priority.

The committee was looking at a plan where states that chose to adopt daylight saving used set dates of the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October and for a whole state to either use it or stick with standard time. This differed from a bill the Senate had passed the previous year that allowed local option. The House passed its own bill by a ratio of better than three to one on 16 March and sent it to the Senate. But the upper house added an amendment that permitted a state to split into two parts and have daylight time in one part and standard time in the other. Staggers called for a meeting to sort out differences. The updated bill required uniform changeover dates in all areas observing daylight saving in 1966 and for each state to use either standard or daylight time from 1967. If a state wanted to exempt itself from daylight saving, it had to legislate by 1 April of that year.

The Senate agreed to the compromise on 29 March 1966 and the House passed the bill by a vote of 281 to 91 next day. President Lyndon Johnson signed it on 14 April and it became the Uniform Time Act of 1966. After two decades of time turmoil, the United States seemed to have at last sorted out daylight saving with federal legislation rather than leaving it to states and communities. Railroad stations wouldn’t need clocks with two hour hands anymore. Many people thought time would no longer be a problem. Not so. [end of chapter]

With the Uniform Time Act, the US states had to decide if they were going to have daylight saving or stick to standard time all year. In 1966, counties, cities and towns in 13 states had chosen whether to use advanced time, legally or otherwise. Local areas would now have to go with whatever their state decided to do. Many businesses as well as television, radio, trains, planes, bankers and golfers liked daylight time, while farmers, theatre owners, restaurants, bowling alleys, and families with children heading off to school before sunrise didn’t want it. By and large, it was a city versus country dispute.

State legislatures swung into action and numerous bills were introduced in 1966 and 1967 to exempt no fewer than 25 states from daylight saving: Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and South Dakota in the midwest, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas in the south and Arizona, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in the west. Three state legislatures weren’t due to hold regular sessions in 1967: Kentucky, Virginia and Mississippi. Another complexity was that 12 states were split between two time zones and the western part of some of them had often used daylight saving in the past, meaning that both parts were on the same time in summer. The Uniform Time Act would cause the two areas to be an hour different all year.

Committees met, houses debated, and groups lobbied. …

(end of excerpt)

The Great Daylight Saving Time Controversy can be obtained from Amazon, Kobo and Apple in various countries around the world. Here’s the link to the US Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Daylight-Saving-Time-Controversy-ebook/dp/B06Y2R5KQ7

 

 

 

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No link between company tax rate and economic growth

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Australia, Canada, company tax, corporate tax, downturn, economic growth, employment, France, GDP, Germany, government debt, GST, jobs, labor, personal tax, Scott Morrison, sugar hit, tax cuts, tax havens, Trump, UK, United Kingdom, United States, US

In Australia, our treasurer Scott Morrison still wants to reduce the corporate tax rate from 30% to 25%, mainly it seems because the US has reduced its rate from 35% to 21%. I commented as follows on Morrison’s Facebook page …

This is the greatest load of twaddle since climate change denial. There is no evidence that corporate tax cuts lead to growth and jobs. There are so many other factors influencing growth.

The UK has had seven cuts to its corporate rate in 10 years from 30% to 19% and its GDP growth is down to 1.7%. Its top personal rate came down from 50% to 45% in 2013. Its GST rate is 20%.

France’s corporate tax rate has been 33.3% since 2007. GDP growth has increased to 2.3% over the last year after being around 1% for a number of years. Its top personal rate went up to 50.3% in 2012 from about 46% and its GST rate is 20%.

Germany’s corporate tax rate has been 29-30% since 2008. GDP growth has increased from 1.8% to 2.8% over the last year. Its top personal rate is unchanged at 47.5% and GST is unchanged at 19%.

Canada’s corporate rate has been at 26-27% since 2012 after reducing four times from 31.4% in 2008. Growth fell to 0.3% in 2015. Growth is now up to 3.0% despite the top personal rate increasing from 29% to 33% in 2016. It has a social security rate of 14.4%.

The US corporate rate has been around 35% since the late 1980s and overall the economy doesn’t seem to have suffered. Add another 5% on average for state income tax. GDP growth is currently 2.3%. Top personal rate went from 35% to 39.6% in 2013. Social security rate is 21.3%.

Our corporate tax rate has been 30% since 2002 (average rate is 17% and effective rate 10.4%). But our GST is only 10%. Our GDP growth is up to 2.8% although it would be around 1% if federal government expenditure was reduced to equal revenue. Quite a few countries might have a corporate rate lower than ours but they have a much higher GST while personal rates are similar. GDP growth varies among countries but there doesn’t seem to be any correlation between tax rates and GDP growth rates.

Most countries have a large government debt, and tax cuts at this stage will make this worse. As a few commentators have suggested, tax cuts will be like a sugar hit. There might be some short term gains (including for tax havens, I presume) although these will be small and uncertain, but there will be long term pain, especially if there is another world downturn.

We don’t need to get into a race to the bottom with the US. Our investment from overseas grew 39% in six years under Labor and has continued to increase steadily. Trump met with his bankers in the 1990s when he was busy sending his casino broke. One of them said later that talking to Trump was like talking to someone who had skipped economics and accounting classes at college.

New DST book

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amazon, Apple iTunes, Australia, Brazil, Canada, daylight saving, daylight saving time, DST, ebook, Google, Kobo Books, UK, United Kingdom, United States, US

The Great Daylight Saving Time Controversy is the encyclopedia or bible of DST. It includes the origins of daylight saving time and the history of the scheme in every country that has ever used it, plus each state of the United States, Australia and Brazil and each Canadian province. Read about the battles between supporters and opponents, the efforts of daylight saving time champions, the chaotic situations that emerged particularly in the US and Canada, and all the pros and cons of the measure.

Here’s where to obtain a copy of the book:

Amazon

Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/Great-Daylight-Saving-Time-Controversy-ebook/dp/B06Y2R5KQ7

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Great-Daylight-Saving-Time-Controversy-ebook/dp/B06Y2R5KQ7

NZ: as per US

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Daylight-Saving-Time-Controversy-ebook/dp/B06Y2R5KQ7

US: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Daylight-Saving-Time-Controversy-ebook/dp/B06Y2R5KQ7

Kobo Books

Australia: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy

Canada: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy

NZ: https://www.kobo.com/nz/en/ebook/the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy

UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy

US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy

Apple iTunes

Australia: https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy/id1224081657?mt=11

Canada: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy/id1224081657?mt=11

NZ: https://itunes.apple.com/nz/book/the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy/id1224081657?mt=11

UK: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy/id1224081657?mt=11

US: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy/id1224081657?mt=11

Google

Australia: https://books.google.com.au/books?id=kpmbDgAAQBAJ&dq and click on Angus & Robertson

Or check out these articles:

https://chrispearce52.wordpress.com/2017/06/09/how-daylight-saving-time-beat-terrorism/

https://chrispearce52.wordpress.com/2017/05/28/daylight-saving-time-origins-and-history/

https://chrispearce52.wordpress.com/2017/05/05/five-star-review-on-the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy/

The Great Daylight Saving Time Controversy

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Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Benjamin Franklin, Brazil, calendars, Canada, clocks, daylight saving, daylight saving time, double summer time, Europe, Harley Staggers, John Steer, New Zealand, North America, Robert Garland, South America, standard time, summer time, Tasmania, Thomas Sidey, United Kingdom, United States, William Willett

My latest ebook, The Great Daylight Saving Time Controversy, has just been published by Australian eBook Publisher. It’s available at the various Amazon sites, Kobo, Apple and Google. See links below (Amazon links come up as images; the first one is the Australian site and the second one is the US site).

The book examines the origins of daylight saving, including the historical development of calendars, clocks, standard time, and the idea of changing the clock to give more daylight late in the day. It looks at the history of daylight saving in every country that has ever used the measure. It also analyses daylight saving in each state of the US, Australia and Brazil, and each Canadian province.

It features many intriguing and often prolonged battles between advocates and critics of daylight saving in countries around the world, as well as lighter moments. It highlights the determination of daylight saving time champions such as the UK’s William Willett, the US’s Robert Garland and Harley Staggers, New Zealand’s Thomas Sidey and Tasmania’s John Steer. It delves into the chaotic daylight saving situations that emerged, notably in the US and Canada, but also elsewhere. Every country and sometimes each state has a different and usually controversial story to tell.

See the contents page of the ebook below. Length is about 400 pages in Word/pdf format.

Contents:

Preface

Part I: Origins of daylight saving time

1   Calendar chaos

2   Counting the hours

3   Benjamin Franklin’s humour

4   Railways impose their time

5   William Willett’s dream

Part II: Daylight saving in UK and Europe

6   Wartime imperatives

7   United Kingdom sticks with daylight saving

8   UK’s single double summer time saga

9   Western Europe well ahead of the sun

10  Mixed feelings in rest of Europe

Part III: Daylight saving in North America

11  United States adopts measure late

12  Daylight saving mayhem

13  What’s the time? You choose

14  National daylight saving again

15  Canadian clock chaos

16  Saving daylight in deserts and on tropical islands

Part IV: Daylight saving in Australia and NZ

17  Apple Isle leads the way

18  Southern states in and out of sync

19  Contentious in the Sunshine State

20  Daylight saving sets in the west

21  The long road to daylight saving across the ditch

Part V: Daylight saving in the rest of the world

22  Asian countries opting out

23  No longer popular in South America

24  Never favoured in Africa

25  Antarctica: Daylight saving without daylight

Future of daylight saving time

Notes

Appendix: Daylight saving by country and state by year

Links:

https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy/id1224081657?mt=11

https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/the-great-daylight-saving-time-controversy

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=kpmbDgAAQBAJ&dq=%22great+daylight+saving+time+controversy%22&source=gbs_navlinks_s

Publisher:

http://www.australianebookpublisher.com.au/

 

History of May Day

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Australia, Bealtaine, bonfires, Britain, Catholic, craft gilds, crop cycles, dancing, Diana, Druids, Europe, fires, Flora, Floralia, France, Germany, Goddess of the Hunt, International Working Men’s Association, labor, Labor Day, May 1, May Day, May Queen, maypole, Middle Ages, Morris dancing, New Year's day, organized labor, pagan festivals, paganism, Puritans, rebirth, Robin Goodfellow, Romans, United States, Virgin Mary, Walpurgis Night, workers

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

May Day has its origins in ancient pagan festivals and crop and pastoral cycles in many societies across Europe. May 1 is the start of the warmer six months of the year in the northern hemisphere after often bitterly cold winters and this was cause for celebration of new life. The Druids, who thrived in Britain prior to the Roman invasion in the first century, celebrated May 1 as the day of their Bealtaine, or Beltane, festival or feast. At the same time, Germany and surrounding areas celebrated Walpurgis Night, a similar ceremony.

The Druids regarded this day as their New Year’s Day where they lit large fires, a ritual practised in many parts of the world. The fires were thought to help the sun become stronger in the coming weeks and months leading up to mid summer, thereby assisting crops and animals to thrive. The Druids drove their cattle through the edges of the fires as this was thought to purify the beasts, while young couples would run through the smoke to bring them good fortune. In Europe, the bonfires were thought to drive off the dead and the evil spirits.

The religious aspect of May Day continued after the Romans arrived in Britain. The main ritual of the Romans on May Day was the worship of their goddess of flowers, Flora. This ceremony had been conducted in romanized Europe for some time. Flora was associated with spring and growth as well as fertility and new life. The festival of Floralia was held at this time, celebrating the start of new life, or the rebirth, and was accompanied by much eating, drinking and dancing, as well as flowers. The old customs of Bealtaine became part of the Floralia festival.

These May Day celebrations continued until the Puritans were in power in the 16th and 17th centuries, where the religious aspects especially were checked. After the Puritans were defeated, May Day became more of a secular festival of having fun, in the form of fetes and carnivals. Some religious connections remained though, such as the Catholic custom of paying homage to the Virgin Mary on this day.

Many current May Day traditions have their roots in paganism, such as the maypole and the May Queen. The maypole became a feature in English towns and villages during the Middle Ages. Residents would find a tall, thin trunk is the woods, bring it to town and drive it into the ground. A town or village always wanted to have a taller maypole than a neighbouring center. Maypoles were adorned with ribbons, flowers and other decorations which varied between regions.

People danced around the maypole, and still do to this day. Dancers hung on to the ribbons and weaved around each other as they circled the pole, men or boys in one direction and women or girls in the other. Eventually, the pole was entwined with ribbon and participants finished up at its base. Maypole dancing became popular in many European countries too. Indeed, it has its origins in Germanic paganism.

Morris dancing also became a favourite activity on May Day. This is a choreographed dance by groups of dancers with sticks or pieces of cloth, sometimes performed around a maypole or as part of a parade. Morris dancing can be traced to the 15th century and has no ties to paganism. A May Queen is often picked to head a May Day parade, which was originally led by Diana, the Goddess of the Hunt. The queen, usually a student from a local secondary school, is dressed in white and reads a speech to start the dancing and other festivities.

In many countries, achievements of organized labor are often celebrated on this day and May Day has become synonymous with Labor Day by whatever name. This link stems from a connection between traditional May Day activities and working people. Craft gilds and other groups organized May Day ceremonies and feasts back when the Puritans were in power, much to the rulers’ annoyance. In the 17th century, the mythical Robin Goodfellow became the mock king or priest on May Day and received much flak from working class participants.

May Day has become a celebration by workers of their struggles in the 19th and 20th centuries to gain an eight hour day and other conditions of employment, the right of women to work, and other issues. In the United States, workers fought for an eight hour day after the Civil War, culminating in a widespread strike on 1 May 1886, with six people killed in Chicago. Australia and a number of European countries held large meetings on May Day around 1886 to 1890, supporting a workers’ holiday on this day. In France, May 1 was made an international labor holiday by the International Working Men’s Association in 1889. Since then, many nations have celebrated their labor day on May Day.

The popularity of Australian rules football outside of Australia

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AFL, Algiers, Arafura Games, Argentina, Australia, Australian Football League, Australian rules football, Barassi, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Canberra, Cape Town, Catalonia, China, Croatia, Darwin, Denmark, East Timor, Egypt, England, Falcons, France, Gaelic football, Geelong, Germany, gold rush, Greece, Honolulu, India, Indonesia, International Cup, Ireland, Japan, London, Malaysia, Melbourne, Mosquitoes, Nauru, New South Wales, New Zealand, Norway, overseas, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, popularity, Portland, Queensland, rugby, Samoa, San Francisco, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Sydney, Tonga, Toronto, United Arab Emirates, United States, Victoria, Vietnam, World War I, World War II, Yokohama

(originally published in 2008 to Helium writing site, now gone)

Australian rules football is becoming increasingly popular in a number of other countries. This is mainly due to expatriate Australians living overseas as well as the media and others promoting the game internationally. Leagues exist in at least 25 countries in all continents.

The first overseas countries to play Australian football were New Zealand and South Africa by Victorian gold miners who had been attracted to these countries by gold rushes. By 1900, New Zealand had 115 clubs. At the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival in 1908, the New Zealand team beat two Australian states, New South Wales and Queensland, although rugby was very much the predominant code in those states at the time. During World War I (1914-1918), Australian servicemen played the game in England, France, Belgium and Egypt. Overseas games then almost disappeared, with the notable exception of the annual match between England’s Oxford and Cambridge universities.

Gradually, other overseas countries began playing Australian rules football. Nauru, an island nation north-east of Australia, adopted it in the 1930s after Nauruan children returned from stints in Australian schools. It soon became the national sport. Nauru has 12 teams and a match can attract up to 3,000 spectators, or 30 per cent of the island’s population, making it the only country outside Australia where the game is a major spectator sport.

Australian servicemen played the game in a number of countries during World War II (1939-1945), including Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt and Algiers. Servicemen played in Vietnam in the 1960s against local residents. The popularity of the game in Papua New Guinea has grown rapidly since the 1960s, with various international games and tours in the 1970s. They have 2,000 senior players in 46 clubs in seven competitions, and 8,000 juniors. The biggest crowd to see a game in Papua New Guinea was 5,000 at their 1999 grand final at Port Moresby. Matches from Australia are shown live on television. Their national team, the Mosquitoes, beat New Zealand in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup.

Overseas exhibition matches started in 1963, attracting large crowds and doing much to boost the sport’s popularity. The first match in Honolulu on 20 October drew a crowd of 1,500 to see Melbourne play Geelong. A game in San Francisco six days later attracted 3,500 people. The largest crowd to attend an Australian football match overseas was 32,789 at B.C. Place, Toronto where Melbourne played Sydney on 9 October 1987. Other good crowds to exhibition games include 25,000 in 1986 at Yokohama, 24,639 in 1989 at Toronto, and 18,884 in 2005 at London. Other countries to host these games have been India, Singapore, Greece, New Zealand, South Africa, and United Arab Emirates. The matches resulted in leagues being formed in many of these countries.

Australian rules football in neighboring New Zealand was revived in 1974. A national team, the Falcons, was formed in 1995 and has performed well in international competitions. About 600 senior players compete in four leagues, while junior participation has exploded to 16,000. Four exhibition matches between 1991 and 2001 attracted an average of about 9,000 spectators. Live coverage in New Zealand of Australian Football League (AFL) matches started in 2006.

Competitions started in Japan, England, Denmark and Canada in the 1980s. Australian football in Japan goes back to 1910 when it was played in four high schools. Interest was revived in the late 1980s after two exhibition matches. Japan has four leagues, 15 clubs and 600 adult players, with over 80 per cent being Japanese nationals. In England, the game had been played by Australian expatriates, servicemen and visiting teams since about 1870. It now has 600 senior players in 20 clubs, and 3,000 juniors. Local grand finals attract up to 1,500 people. English fans see three live matches from Australia a week. Canada had more than 500 seniors and 300 juniors in 21 clubs in 2007, with participation up 70 cent on 2006 and 95 per cent on 2005. Live matches from Australia are seen on television.

In the 1990s, Australian football leagues commenced in Sweden, Germany, the United States, Argentina, Spain, Samoa, South Africa, and some south-east Asian countries. The United States has 2,000 registered adult players in 28 clubs in several leagues, with participation more than doubling in two years. Most players are American. The largest crowd to see an Australian football match in the Unites States was 14,787 at Portland in 1990. Americans see regular matches from Australia on television. South Africa has 2,000 adult players and 4,000 juniors in 100 clubs. An exhibition match at Cape Town in 1998 attracted more than 10,000 spectators.

Since 2000, league competition has begun in Ireland, Tonga, Scotland, France, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Catalonia, Croatia, Norway, Bermuda and East Timor. Most players in Indonesia, China and Pakistan are nationals. In China, while only 70 adults play, 9,000 juniors attended clinics and 18 schools added Australian football as a sport. Popularity of the game is Ireland has been boosted by the annual series of hybrid rules games between the Australian national team and the Irish Gaelic football national team since 1967, often bringing in crowds of over 20,000 in both Ireland and Australia.

Other international competitions include the Arafura Games which are an international sporting event held in Darwin and have included Australian football matches since 1995. The Australian Football International Cup has been held in Victoria every three years since 2002 between overseas countries. In 2008, 16 nations competed.

Junior development and competitions in Australian football are conducted in a number of countries, including Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, South Africa, England, Denmark, United States, Canada, Nauru, Tonga and Samoa. The Barassi International Australian Football Youth Tournament began in 1998 and is held in Canberra with countries such as New Zealand, South Africa, United States, Denmark, Nauru and Samoa competing.

Potential barriers to the spread of Australian football in other countries are several. The game is played on a large oval field that also usually serves as a cricket ground in summer. These grounds are up to twice as long as a soccer, rugby or gridiron field and suitable venues can be hard to find in many countries. A team has 18 players on the field at any one time, more than other football codes. A successful compromise to these problems has been nine-a-side games on soccer and rugby grounds. Another issue is that other football codes are firmly entrenched in most countries and people can be reluctant to support a code they know little or nothing about.

Despite these hurdles, the number of Australian football players in other countries increased from 16,000 in 2006 to about 35,000 in 2007, although none play professionally. While participation has increased rapidly in recent years, the game remains a major sport in Australia only, with 600,000 registered players. This may change in the years ahead, with international competitions, junior programs, and media coverage expanding all the time.

Easter customs around the world

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Australia, baptisms, Belgium, bilby, bonfires, cards, Catholic Church, Christian, church, church bells, Council of Nicaea, customs, decorated chairs, doves, Easter, Easter basket, Easter bunny, Easter egg, Easter egg hunt, Easter egg roll, Easter Vigil, Eastre, egg knocking, eggs, Eostre, Europe, flowers, France, Germany, Holy Communion, hot cross buns, Italy, Jesus, lifting and heaving, Louisiana, Madonna, Morris dancing, murder mysteries, Netherlands, Norway, Old Testament, Olney, pagan, pancake race, parades, Paschal candle, Piazza Garibaldi, pussy willow branch, red rose, resurrection, Royal Easter Show, Saxons, Scandinavia, Shrove Tuesday, St John, St Peter, Sunday roast, sweets, Sydney, trumpets, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican, whipping, White House, witches

(originally published to Helium writing site, now gone)

Easter has its origins as a pagan festival where ancient Saxons worshipped Eostre, or Eastre, their goddess of spring. Christian missionaries in the second century converted the pagans and took over the festival, combining it with celebrations of Jesus’ resurrection, which also occurred in spring. Easter used to fall on various days, but the Council of Nicaea determined in 325 CE that it should be held on the Sunday following the full moon after the March 22 equinox. It has been celebrated on this day ever since.

The Easter Vigil on Saturday night is the traditional start to the observance of Easter in Catholic and sometimes other churches. After the service begins in darkness, the Paschal candle is lit representing Jesus’ resurrection. This is followed by various Old Testament stories and of Jesus’ rising, before the lights are turned on. A sermon might be followed by baptisms and Holy Communion. There are variations between churches and some hold the vigil on Sunday at sunrise. Normal services are traditionally held on the Sunday, perhaps with additional festive emphasis such as trumpets and Easter flowers.

Bunnies and eggs 

Many of the customs of Easter go back to ancient times, such as the Easter bunny and Easter egg. The earthly image of the Saxon goddess Eostre was a rabbit. References to the Easter bunny appear in German literature from the 1600s. German migrants in the 18th century took the Easter bunny concept to the United States and it is now a common part of Easter celebrations. In fact, the bunny now plays a role in Easter celebrations in a number of countries.

The Easter egg also goes back to pagan times. An egg signifies new life, and it was a pagan tradition to exchange eggs in spring. Sometimes the eggs were colored by putting them in boiling water and adding leaves or flowers. The custom of giving eggs at Easter has carried on to the present day. Real eggs have been replaced with those of plastic, candy or chocolate. Eggs are often put in an Easter basket and hidden by parents who tell their children it has been brought by the Easter bunny and they have to try and find it. Many community, government, tourist and railway organizations, as well as churches and schools, hold an Easter egg hunt where Easter eggs are hidden in a designated area and children have to retrieve them. Egg decorating or painting is undertaken in many countries.

Apart from Easter eggs, various other foods are traditionally associated with this time of year. A Sunday roast is popular in many nations. Another favorite is hot cross buns, with the cross relating to the crucifixion, or the moon’s four quarters. Their origin goes back to Saxon times. The cards people exchange at Easter time often portray an Easter story or include birds and eggs or rabbits or lambs.

Customs in English speaking countries 

Around the world, Easter is a time of special church services and family days. Many US cities hold parades where people often wear new clothing. A traditional game is the Easter egg roll where eggs are rolled down a hill. The winner is the person whose egg rolls farthest. The White House hosts a game on its lawn, with children rolling colored eggs with all their might. Egg roll originated in northern United Kingdom and is still played there too. The game probably represents the rock being rolled off of Jesus’ tomb. Egg knocking has been a serious Easter custom in Louisiana since 1956, with people going out of their way to produce eggs with very hard shells and less chance of breaking easily.

Each Shrove Tuesday for more than 500 years, English town Olney has held a pancake race. Participants toss pancakes in frying pans as they race each other along the main street to the church. Another traditional activity is called lifting and heaving. Here, decorated chairs are carried by young men who get a girl to sit on one before they lift it high three times to bring her luck. People also pat one another with a pussy willow branch for good fortune. Morris dancing is another popular custom at Easter time in England.

In Australia, Easter is in autumn. The Royal Easter Show attracts thousands in Sydney to see farm produce and animals, as well as parades, sideshows, rides, fireworks and, this year [2014], Prince William and Kate. The native bilby has replaced the rabbit as the traditional symbol of Easter, as rabbits were introduced into the country and have caused much damage to local flora and fauna. Egg knocking or tapping is also a popular Easter game in Australia.

Customs in Europe 

A tradition in Belgium, Netherlands and France is for no church bells to ring for several days over Easter. This represents a message of mourning for Jesus. On the Sunday, when the bells return from the Vatican, children look into the sky for them as parents hide Easter eggs in the garden. Across northern Germany, bonfires are lit on Saturday to symbolize the end of winter. In Scandinavia, children don witches garb and door-knock for sweets. A fascinating tradition in Norway is to read or watch murder mysteries ever since the book “Raid on the Bergen Express” was released at Easter in 1923.

An intriguing Easter custom in central Europe is the practice of men “whipping” or tapping women with a whip made of willow pieces and colored ribbon. This is supposed to keep women healthy and attractive. Women who miss out on this ritual are regarded as lacking in appeal. A woman who has been “whipped” gives a decorated egg or money to the man as thanks. Sometimes the woman throws cold water on the man.

In Italy, the story of Madonna and Jesus after the resurrection is told at the Piazza Garibaldi in Suloma. Thousands of people come to watch each year. The resurrection is announced by St Peter and St John by knocking on the church door. Madonna comes out in a black shawl, sees Jesus, discards the garment and runs to him in a green dress symbolizing hope. She lets go of 12 white doves and her handkerchief is replaced by a red rose as she feels no more anguish.

There are many more Easter traditions around the world. Most of them have some sort of connection to the resurrection, even if that link is not always immediately obvious to someone unfamiliar with a particular custom.

Palm Sunday observances by Western and Eastern Christianity

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Today, 20 March 2016, is Palm Sunday. A few years ago, I posted the following article to Helium writing site, now gone …

There are some important differences in the way Palm Sunday is observed in Western and Eastern Christian churches.

In Western Christian churches, the clergy and their attendants gather outside the church where the minister consecrates palm leaves using an aspergillum, a device for sprinkling holy water. Some other plant, such as willow, boxwood or yew, is used in cooler climates. The congregation then forms a procession and enters the church singing a hymn, as it re-enacts Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem just before his death. Sometimes the procession includes the choir and parish children.

All Catholic churches and most Anglican churches follow this procedure. Many Protestant churches have a procession on Palm Sunday, but they don’t use an aspergillum. Lutheran churches often have the children march around inside the church with their palm branches. In Eastern Christian churches, palm leaves are often given out at the altar steps. In some places, such as India, marigolds are laid in the sanctuary. In India, the men traditionally take their palm leaves from the left of this area and the women from the right. At the Church of Pakistan, an Anglican church, members enter the church singing Psalm 24.

Churches will often keep the old palm fronds until the following Ash Wednesday nearly a year later. These sacramentals are then burned and used as ashes on this day. Clergy of the Catholic Church wear blood-red garments on this day, signifying Jesus’ sacrifice.

Eastern Christian churches have a similar ceremony to the Western churches for Palm Sunday. The Eastern churches finish Lent two days before Palm Sunday. In between is Lazarus Saturday, which celebrates the rise of Saint Lazarus who had been dead for four days before Jesus breathed life back into him. Church members make crosses out of palm leaves on this day, ready for Sunday’s procession. Churches are often decorated in a special color, often green, for Palm Sunday.

Palm leaves are not available in many of the Eastern countries that practise Christianity. One of the various species of pussy willow is often used instead. Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches in Eastern Europe and Russia, as well as Western Christian churches in Northern Europe, use goat willow or grey willow. In the northern United States and Canada, American pussy willow is used. Olive branches are commonly used in Eastern Europe. The branches of any species will be blessed just the same, as they do not have to be palm fronds.

In the East, worshippers receive a branch and a candle on the Saturday or just before the start of Sunday’s service. The procession is known as the ‘Great Entrance’, representing Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on that day. Unlike the Western churches, the whole congregation often forms the procession. Devotees might take the branches home. Many churchgoers have an ‘icon corner’ in a room of their homes where they have an icon of Jesus. Here they pray and keep crosses, candles, holy water, and palm or willow or olive branches.

In Russia in the 16th and 17th centuries, there was a donkey walk as part of Palm Sunday, as Jesus was sometimes depicted riding a donkey. The Tsar would often lead the parade. There have been recent moves to revive the event.

Palm Sunday customs around the world

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Tomorrow, 20 March 2016, is Palm Sunday. A few years ago, I posted the following article to Helium writing site, now gone …

Palm Sunday is an important celebration in the Christian calendar. It is a movable feast that is always held on the Sunday prior to Easter. The event marks Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem shortly before his trial and crucifixion. The day is usually associated with worshippers carrying blessed palm leaves or a substitute. A palm frond denotes victory. There are many different and interesting Palm Sunday customs around the world.

It is a real family day in Jordan with church services being well attended. People make crosses out of palm leaves and children take palm fronds and olive branches to church. The service starts with a procession. Later the priest uses a branch to sprinkle parishioners with holy water.

Marigolds are placed in the altar of Eastern Orthodox churches in India when ‘Hosanna’ is called out in recognition of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem in the lead-up to his trial and hanging. According to legend, St. Thomas the Apostle brought Christianity to India in 52 CE.

The Philippines re-enact Jesus entering Jerusalem in the form of a priest on a horse. Worshippers with palm leaves parade alongside him. Pieces of material are often placed along the path by the women. Afterwards, people attach the fronds on their doors and windows to receive Jesus and repel evil spirits.

Countries in colder climates that don’t support palm trees use branches from other species. In Latvia, one of the pussy willow species, such as the goat willow or grey willow, is used instead. Here the special day is often known as ‘Pussy Willow Sunday’. Traditionally, parents awaken children by striking a willow branch against the door, wall or furniture. In another ritual, people chase and gently slap each other with these branches. Children in Finland put on witches’ garb and ask for sweets and coins at houses in their street. In Fiji, children in white re-enact Jesus’ entrance and sing verses at service.

People in the United States celebrate Palm Sunday by playing sacred music in churches and halls. Plays are popular too. Many people make crosses out of palms and put them in their houses, shops and other businesses. Branches other than palms are commonly used in the US as palm is often unavailable in many parts.

In France and Italy, people are known to burn palm branches during prayer if a storm is approaching. At other times, palms are made into crosses, or fashioned into quite intricate designs, something that is done in Mexico too.

An interesting Palm Sunday custom in Bulgaria is for people whose names are associated with flowers to have their ‘name day’ at this time. Palm Sunday is often known as Flower Sunday. Flowers also play an important role in Palm Sunday in the United Kingdom, Germany and countries in central and eastern Europe. The flowers are blessed and interwoven into the palm leaves.

In England, France and Germany, people still place palms on graves on Palm Sunday. Country people in England leave rags at wells in the hope that the well’s spirit would maintain a nice, clean water supply for the town. The British have used all sorts of alternatives to palm branches, such as willow, boxwood, yew and daffodils. Palm from Spain is now commonly used.

In Malta, olive branches are placed on statues of a suffering Jesus during the Passion, or the time leading up to his death. A branch is often taken home as it is supposed to ward off illness.

People in parts of the Netherlands adorn crosses with bread and sweets. In other parts, residents pay tribute to their ‘Mother of Sorrows’.

Palm Sunday is a grand occasion in Spain. Processions last all week. Floats of up to five tons supported by dozens or even hundreds of people carry images of a suffering Jesus. Women wearing black clothes and holding candles follow priests in purple gowns and hoods. Spain has one of the world’s largest palm groves, with over 11,000 trees. As Palm Sunday approaches, fronds are covered from the sun to reduce their color and fashioned into various forms. People are supposed to don a new garment on Palm Sunday.

If Spain has the largest palm grove, Poland has the biggest palm trees. Contests are held on Palm Sunday for the largest palm. Some are over 100 feet or 30 meters in height, although it should be pointed out that these trees are artificial.

The Beatles in Australia

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Adelaide, All My Loving, Australia, band, Beatle wigs, Beatlemania, Beatles, Beatles tour, Day Tripper, Eleanor Rigby, George Harrison, hairstyles, hit parade, I Want to Hold Your Hand, John Lennon, Johnny and the Moondogs, Liverpool, Long John and the Beatles, Love Me Do, Melbourne, number ones, Paul McCartney, Please Please Me, pop music, popular music, Recording Industry Association of America, Ringo Starr, Silver Beatles, Silver Beats, Silver Beetles, songs, top 40, United Kingdom, United States, Yesterday

I wrote and posted this article to Bubblews writing site, now gone, a couple of years ago …

It’s 50 years [now 52] since the Beatles toured Australia. They had taken the UK by storm and then the US. In June 1964, it was Australia’s turn. We’d never seen anything like it. Crowds were huge. I was 11 and rode my bike 10 miles to downturn Melbourne but couldn’t get within three blocks of their hotel where they stood on the balcony. In Adelaide, 300,000 people lined the streets between the airport and downtown, half the city’s population.

At school, we walked around the schoolyard singing Beatles’ songs. We combed our hair in the Beatles’ style, straight down over the forehead, with a wave at the end. We avoided the ghastly black plastic Beatle wigs though, on sale at local department stores for two shillings and sixpence or 25 cents. Everyone had their favourite Beatle. Ringo probably led the way, followed by Paul, John and George. They had wide appeal. Even my grandmother liked them.

If a new Beatles song was due to be released, radio stations would announce that it would be first heard at eight o’clock Thursday night, or whenever. You made sure you were turned in to hear it, because you knew it would have a different sound and rhythm to anything you’d heard before. Every song had a fresh, new sound: I Want to Hold Your Hand, Yesterday, All My Loving, Day Tripper, Eleanor Rigby, to name just a few.

The world had never seen anything like it – four mop-top lads from previously unheralded Liverpool took the world by storm with a string of hits. In the US, they filled the top five positions on the hit parade, all at once! I recall a Melbourne radio station’s top 40 had the Beatles filling the first six spots.

The Beatles were a 1960s music and cultural phenomenon that shook the establishment to its core. Old-fashioned teachers, businessmen and politicians, who still supported putting babies born out of wedlock into orphanages, warned us of the dangers. “Beatles” gets 46 million Google hits [now 98 million] and the band hasn’t been around for well over four decades. It’s a legacy that speaks for itself.

The band can be traced back to 1957 when schoolboy John Lennon formed a skiffle band called the Quarrymen. Paul McCartney joined it later that year and George Harrison in 1958. Ringo Starr didn’t come on board until 1962. The band had various names before they became the Beatles: Johnny and the Moondogs, Long John and the Beatles, the Silver Beetles, the Beatles, Silver Beats, Silver Beatles, and finally simplicity won the day and they were called the Beatles again.

Simplicity was the hallmark of their songs too. There never seemed to be a superfluous note or word in any of them. It was good tight pop music. Their first recording contract was worth a penny per single sold, or a farthing for each band member. Two hit singles came in late 1962: Love Me Do and Please Please Me. The hits kept coming in 1963 and by 1964 they had conquered America, and Australia. By the late 1960s, they weren’t running out of good songs.

Early on, the term Beatlemania was coined and the level of hysteria at airports, hotels and concerts was something that had never been seen before. Incessant screaming at concerts by thousands of teenage girls could completely drown out the music. Their concerts only lasted half an hour (plus a support act) but that was the norm back then.

The Beatles were the most successful, acclaimed, innovative and influential band in popular music. Their music is timeless and is still popular after 50 years, including among the younger generations. Most polls of the best music act of all time put the Beatles at the top of the pile. They had more than 40 number one records in the United Kingdom and, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, the Beatles have sold more music units in the United States than anyone else with 177 million.