History of Amazing Grace, part 1

AMAZING GRACE, part 1

Today marks the 200th anniversary of the British parliament passing a bill banning the nation's slave trade. In these two articles we'll explore the lives of two men and one song that played a large role in that effort.

John Newton's devoted Christian mother dreamed that her only son would grow up to become a preacher. But he lost his mother when he was six years old, and at the age of eleven followed his sea-captain father to sea. He did not take to the discipline of the Royal Navy and deserted ship, was flogged, and eventually discharged.

In looking for greater liberty, he ended up on the western coast of Africa in Sierra Leone, where he worked for a slave trader who mistreated him and made him a virtual slave of his black mistress. At this time he was described as "a wretched looking man toiling in a plantation of lemon trees in the Island of Plaintains... clothes had become rags, no shelter and begging for unhealthy roots to allay his hunger." After more than a year of such treatment he escaped the island through an appeal to his father in 1747.

The next year at sea, his ship was battered by a severe storm. Newton had been reading "The Imitation of Christ," and in great fear while he rowed and bailed for hours (for he could not swim!), he cried out to God to save him, a wretched sinner. Years later he looked back and penned these autobiographical words.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind but now I see.

Epilogue: Ironically, following his conversion to Christianity, Newton spent the next six years as captain of a slave ship. While he had religious services on board, he eventually came to abhor slavery and later to crusade against it. He influenced British Member of Parliament William Wilberforce to become active in working to abolish it. (We'll discuss Wilberforce's story in a subsequent article.) Newton later studied for the ministry and attracted large audiences when he preached where he was known as "the old converted sea captain." He collaborated with the poet William Cowper in producing the Olney Hymns, which became the standard hymnal of evangelical Anglican churches.

In his old age, when it was suggested that he retire due to his bad health and failing recollection, he said,

"My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior!"

His song, Amazing Grace, has become the American anthem and influenced many generations. You can learn more at www.amazinggracemovie.com

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

History of Ash Wednesday

ASH WEDNESDAY

In the western church the first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday from the ceremonial use of ashes, as a symbol of penitence, in the service prescribed for the day. The custom is still retained in the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Anglican, Episcopal and Lutheran Churches. The ashes, obtained by burning the remains of the palm branches blessed on the previous Palm Sunday, are placed in a vessel on the altar and consecrated before High Mass. The priest then invites those present to approach and, dipping his thumb in the ashes, marks them as they kneel with the sign of the cross on the forehead, with the words:

Remember, man, thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return.

This ceremony is derived from the custom of public penance in the early church. When the custom was extended to the entire congregation is not known, although it seems to have been in common use by the late 10th century.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

History of Mardi Gras

MARDI GRAS

In French, Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" and is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday as a last "fling" prior to the 40 days of Lent which precede Easter. Lent is a word that comes from the Middle English word "lente" which means "springtime" - so named for the season of the year in which it usually occurs. While the practice of Lent is not mentioned in the Bible, it has been a tradition in the Christian world since the mid 4th century. It seems to parallel the 40 days of fasting in the wilderness that Jesus experienced following his baptism.

Historically, Lenten fasting became mandatory, especially abstinence from eating meat. While recommended by St. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria in 330 AD, by the Middle Ages Lent was enforced throughout Europe, especially the forbidding of meat during the final weeks before Easter.

The word "carnival" comes from an old Italian word that means to "go without meat" or "removal of meat." Festivals like Mardi Gras sprang up throughout parts of Europe as a means to prepare for the coming times of self-denial. The three days before Ash Wednesday is also known as "Shrovetide," where shrove is an Old English word meaning "to repent." In England, the Tuesday just before Ash Wednesday is called Shrove Tuesday and is celebrated by eating of rich food, that won't be used during Lent.

As the Protestant Reformation spread throughout Europe, Lent became regarded more as a Roman Catholic institution, and was increasingly ignored by Protestants as a traditional observance. This tendency did not reverse, especially in the US, until the 1980s. Today, more Protestant churches participate in Lent with devotions and Scripture readings, as well as special Ash Wednesday services.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
http://www.billpetro.com/

History of St. Valentine's Day

ST. VALENTINE'S DAY

Valentine or Valentinus, is the name of at least three martyred saints. The most celebrated are the two martyrs whose festivals fall on February 14, the one, a Roman priest, the other, bishop of Terni. It would appear from the legends that both lived during the reign of the emperor Claudius (Gothicus); that both died on the same day; and that both were buried on the Via Flaminia, but at different distances from Rome. A third was a martyr in the Roman province of North Africa about whom little is known. It seems that the first celebration of the feast of St. Valentine was declared to be on February 14 by Pope Gelasius I in 496. Many authorities believe that the lovers' festival associated with St. Valentine's day comes from the belief that this is the day in spring when birds begin their mating. There is another view held, however.

In the days of early Rome a great festival was held every February called Lupercalia, held in honor of a god named Lupercus. During the founding days of Rome the city was surrounded by an immense wilderness in which were great hordes of wolves. The Romans thought they must have a god to watch over and protect the shepherds with their flocks, so they called this god Lupercus, from the Latin word, lupus, a wolf. One of the amusements on this festival day was the placing of young women's names in a box to be drawn out by the young men. Each young man accepted the girl whose name he drew, as his lady love. Whether the customs of Lupercalia are perpetuated in Valentine's Day remain unknown.

In any event, customs have changed throughout the years, during Christian times the priests put the names of saints and martyrs into the boxes to be drawn out. The name that was drawn out was called one's "valentine" and the holy life of that person was to be imitated throughout the year. It was at one time the custom in England for people to call out "Good morning, 'tis St. Valentine's Day", and the one who succeeded in saying this first expected a present from the one to whom it was said, making things pretty lively on St. Valentine's Day.

Paper valentines date back to the 1500's but it took the enterprise of America to make a buck at it. Esther A. Holland, who produced one of the first American commercial Valentines in the 1840's sold $5,000 worth - when $5,000 was a LOT of money - in the first year.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

History of Groundhog Day

HISTORY OF GROUNDHOG DAY

Groundhog Day comes from Candlemas Day, observed for centuries in parts of Europe on February 2 where the custom was to have the clergy bless candles and distribute them to the people. This seems to have derived from the pagan celebration of Imbolc -- the Feast of the goddess Bridget, or in Christian Ireland "St. Bridget's Day" and alternatively "The Purification of the Virgin" commemorating the time when St. Mary presented Jesus at the Temple at Jerusalem. It comes at the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. The Roman Legions, it is said, originally brought the tradition to the Germans.

In more modern times, says the old Scottish couplet:

If Candlemas Day is bright and clear

There'll be two winters in the year

By the 1840s the following idea caught on in the U.S., particularly in Pennsylvania whose earliest settlers were German immigrants. If the groundhog sees its shadow on a "bright and clear" day, six more weeks of winter are ahead.

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is the headquarters of the celebration where the groundhog "Punxsutawney Phil" regards his shadow at Gobbler's Knob, a wooded knoll just outside the town.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com

Part 3 - History of The War: my conversation with Ken Burns

THE WAR: part 3

So what did Ken Burns show in his 1.25 hour preview of his 14.5 hour, 7 part documentary on World War II called The War? The audience included hundreds of Air Force cadets, virtually the same age as the soldier's were who fought in the story.

Using still photos and film from the National Archives, most of it taken by the U.S. military, much of it never seen before by the general public, through the words of newspaper clippings, letters, and 40 first-person accounts we were told about:


Tarawa: A strategically located Pacific atoll, America lost almost 3,000 Marines in November 1943 in a bloody attack against 4,700 Japanese soldiers defending an air strip. Only 17 Japanese survived.


On March 9, 1945, 354 B-29 bombers dropped jellied gasoline, napalm, on 16 square miles of Tokyo. 100,000 died, over a million were left homeless. And that was just the first raid.


B-29 bombers: In the Pacific theater, the B-29 "Superfortress" bomber was fitted with Norden bombsighting technology. Bombardiers liked to boast that with the "Norden bombsight they could drop a bomb into a pickle barrel from 20,000 feet."


In Europe, the Allies would do their bombing runs over Germany at night, to avoid detection in the pre-radar era. Their accuracy, however, showed that only 1 in 5 strikes were within five miles of the target. When the American's joined the war, they'd fly during the days -- more accurate, but much more dangerous.


B-17 belly gunners: One airman told the story of how he had joined at 19 to experience the excitement of flying. Of the 9 guns on a B-17 "Flying Fortress," he was a belly gunner. They'd fly over Germany with an Allied fighter escort, but the smaller planes would run out of fuel be reaching the drop zone. As the bombers approached their targets, now unescorted, German fighters would climb into the skies. They were fast, and he had a hard time tracking them with his 50 caliber guns. But the German fighters used rockets, and could attach from a much greater distance. "Our guns couldn't reach them." On one sortie (shown with an incredible accompanying audio track), he was hit and began to bleed in the belly turret. Using his training as a Boy Scout, he saved his own life by properly applying a tourniquet. It was "minus 30 outside and the blood began to collect and freeze. I had to gather it up, or it would be a mess to clean up when we landed... It was about 4 hours to fly back to base."


Operation Cobra. Following the Normandy Invasion, the Americans wanted to break out of the area. Hedgerow warfare in August of 1944 closed the "Falaise Gap," and ultimately drove the Germans out of that area of France.


B-29s would fly bombing raids from Saipan to Tokyo, but there was an airfield on a small island along their route that would send up fighters to harass them. This island was Iwo Jima. Six thousand tons of bombs were dropped on the island. Then another day of naval bombardments. Three waves of Marines went in, and it looked like it would be easier to take than expected... but twenty thousand Japanese were waiting. By February 17, 2050 Americans were dead, and the battle would rage for a month, until 6821 died. Twenty-seven Medals of Honor were awarded, 13 posthumously. They were called the X-ray Company, so many of them were lost.


Flame thrower. One humorous story was told of a soldier using a flame thrower during the attack of Iwo Jima. After several hours of battle, he went to the beach, stripped of his equipment and clothes, and took a swim. He got out, suited up, and continued fighting.


Ken Burns says that we often look back on these years and believe they lived in "simpler times." But, he pointed out:

The 30s were the time of the greatest economic dislocation in the world, and the 40s saw the world greatest conflagration. In many ways, it is we who live in simpler times.

Much of the narration of documentary was done by the actor Keith David. Ken Burns concluded his preview with a song called American Anthem, written by Gene Scheer, but not for this documentary. However, Nora Jones did a special recording, and he played it with scenes interspersed from the film. It was quite stunning, indeed.

Don't miss the September 2007 debut of The War.

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
www.billpetro.com