General Discussion Thread

[Sunflower]

I know I'm beaing a space cadet most of the time, but today it is excessive. What is the Christian holiday today someone has mentioned in other topic? Google isn't in the mood to tell me anything specific.
Okay, the question's kinda stupid, yes *facepalms in shame*

Hey, don't be so hard on yourself.  No question is "stupid"!  It turns out it's a specifically Catholic holiday:  The Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  (Wikipedia has a great feature on its homepage, citing the holidays/historic events associated with today's date.)

I'm not Catholic, so I had to look it up even though I go to church every Sunday.  (The Anglican Church celebrates a lot of holidays, but not that one.)  In fact, I previously thought everyone was talking about the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is significant here because of all the Mexican influence.  But it turns out that's not till Dec. 12. 

[JoB]

In Germany it's this one, though it is not celebrated around here.

Heh, I never noticed that Mariä Empfängnis (or, as the full title goes, Hochfest der ohne Erbsünde empfangenen Jungfrau und Gottesmutter Maria) is plain missing from the list of national holidays. Guess I won't feel cold in the afterlife.

FWIW, Bavaria and Saxony treat Mariä Empfängnis as another Stiller Tag, which means that there's some obscure list of public activities you're not allowed to conduct that day.

[curiosity]

Thank you all for information! I'm learning something new every day. The Internet doesn't make you stupid, no matter what the elders say 

Hey, don't be so hard on yourself.  No question is "stupid"!  It turns out it's a specifically Catholic holiday:  The Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  (Wikipedia has a great feature on its homepage, citing the holidays/historic events associated with today's date.)

Thank you, Sunflower  Checked Wikipedia's homepage, found it. Though in our language the holiday isn't mentioned, there's just a message about when it was made dogmatic. Well, our society is mostly Orthodox here (many were baptised during the first years of life, yet are not very religious, if not outright atheists at all), we have a different dates for Christian holidays.

[FrogEater]

I confirm the whole thing about December, the 8th. In Lyon and its region, there is a bonus : since the Virgin saved the city from the plague centuries ago (I don't remember when), the inhabitants celebrate the event by putting colored glasses on their windows with candles in the glasses, and light them at night. All these small trembling lights give a definite mood to one of the first really cold  nights of the year.
For the last years, there has been an extra bonus : the mayor created a 'Festival of Lights', without any religious reference, where all the city is lit in varied ways. Better get a peek at some photos of 2013 and some videos...

[kjeks]

I confirm the whole thing about December, the 8th. In Lyon and its region, there is a bonus : since the Virgin saved the city from the plague centuries ago (I don't remember when), the inhabitants celebrate the event by putting colored glasses on their windows with candles in the glasses, and light them at night. All these small trembling lines give a definite mood to one of the first really cold  nights of the year.
For the last years, there has been an extra bonus : the mayor created a 'Festival of Lights', without any religious reference, where all the city is lit in varied ways. Better get a peek at some photos of 2013 and some videos...

*gasps* These are so impressive!

[FrogEater]

Aren't they ? Oh, I forgot to mention : Lyon is an old and lavish city, famous for its restaurants..............

[curiosity]

Aren't they ? Oh, I forgot to mention : Lyon is an old and lavish city, famous for its restaurants..............

So you're making us want to visit it soooo badly 

[FrogEater]

Maybe, maybe there is the shadow of the silhouette of the ghost of that idea...

[kjeks]

So you're making us want to visit it soooo badly 

Is it near the sea? Then we can approach it with Fimbulvargs boat.

[FrogEater]

Whouuu... that would be a real Viking raid !
Starting from Norway, sail your way down south to the Straits of Gibraltar, enter the Mediterranean Sea, then sail eastwards along the shores of Spain, then France, until you reach the mouth of the Rhône River - easy to spot : lots of flamingos over here. Then sail northwards, upstream the Rhône, until you reach the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône. There you are !
*OR* sail upstream the Rhine up to its source. Carry the boat across the mountains for a few miles until you reach the source of the Rhône. Then sail gently downstream, across Switzerland and the Geneva Lake, and keep sailing downstream until you reach your target
*OR* follow the link

[P__]

Whouuu... that would be a real Viking raid !
Starting from Norway, sail your way down south to the Straits of Gibraltar, enter the Mediterranean Sea, then sail eastwards along the shores of Spain, then France, until you reach the mouth of the Rhône River - easy to spot : lots of flamingos over here. Then sail northwards, upstream the Rhône, until you reach the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône. There you are !
*OR* sail upstream the Rhine up to its source. Carry the boat across the mountains for a few miles until you reach the source of the Rhône. Then sail gently downstream, across Switzerland and the Geneva Lake, and keep sailing downstream until you reach your target
*OR* follow the link

don't forget to stop in Portugal too, the weather's generally nice and the food great

[kjeks]

don't forget to stop in Portugal too, the weather's generally nice and the food great

Nobody will be left behind

[Lars_B]

update in 8 hours... according to the Creator

[hushpiper]

[many things which I would like to quote at length, except I talk too much as it is]

Thisssssssssss all of those things. Yes.

And yeah, I think it's preferred to do wisdom teeth when you're a teen. I was a late bloomer in that mine only started coming in beginning of this year, when I was 23, and even though my extraction went really well I wished that I had done it when I was still a kid and didn't have to worry about taking time off work and having people around to watch me etc etc.

Whouuu... that would be a real Viking raid !
Starting from Norway, sail your way down south to the Straits of Gibraltar, enter the Mediterranean Sea, then sail eastwards along the shores of Spain, then France, until you reach the mouth of the Rhône River - easy to spot : lots of flamingos over here. Then sail northwards, upstream the Rhône, until you reach the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône. There you are !
*OR* sail upstream the Rhine up to its source. Carry the boat across the mountains for a few miles until you reach the source of the Rhône. Then sail gently downstream, across Switzerland and the Geneva Lake, and keep sailing downstream until you reach your target
*OR* follow the link

STOPPIT you're making me wanna go on vacation already D:

A cruise for Minna's Minions, what say ye all?

[Nimphy]

Thisssssssssss all of those things. Yes.

And yeah, I think it's preferred to do wisdom teeth when you're a teen. I was a late bloomer in that mine only started coming in beginning of this year, when I was 23, and even though my extraction went really well I wished that I had done it when I was still a kid and didn't have to worry about taking time off work and having people around to watch me etc etc.

STOPPIT you're making me wanna go on vacation already D:

A cruise for Minna's Minions, what say ye all?

I say 'Aye!'