Europe Trivia - Europe is such a loving place

Now when I say that I’m sure you immediately think of the French people kissing everyone on both cheeks, and the open arms of the Italians or Greeks. I agree with all that. But this goes much further. The friendliness and love goes deep into our traditions and languages too.

One of my favourite sights is these houses on the Faeroe Islands that seem to be hugged by the very landscape that surrounds them. Of course, having grass on your roof means you have a quiet house, a warm house and the weight of the grass helps to keep your roof on in the incredible storms they get so far North. But I can’t help being a romantic.

The Danish also have this lovely tradition of having a small room in the house (away from where they receive guests) which is just for the family to gather in of an evening. It is usually furnished with big soft cushions and soft lighting. They call it a hygge-krog or a hugging nook. To be invited into another family’s hygge-krog is a great honour and is like being made part of the family.

There is a lovely German word too which is gemütlich. There is no real single English word for this but it is a way of using furnishings, lighting even scents to create a cosy and homely feeling. So that even a stranger entering the house will immediately feel at home.

And not to be left out; the Welsh have a lovely word too. This is Cwtch. It’s an odd word as it has many definitions. (one definition is a coal shed!) If a Welsh person says to “cwtch-up” it means to snuggle down among the blankets for a good night’s sleep. A cwtch can also be a hug or a cuddle but my favourite definition is for the shawl that is wrapped tightly around baby and then around Mam’s back to give her a hand free when carrying baby. Also baby can be close to her Mam and have a hug while Mam either keeps working or sits in a chair for a rest herself. This is such a lovely idea because even if mam falls asleep; the baby cannot fall and is held safely in place by the shawl. Who doesn’t want to be hugged to sleep?

Picture of Faeroe house by kind permission of Chris Webster

Picture of Mam carrying baby "welsh style" by the Museum of Wales

Europe trivia - Romania

We don't have a Romanian member in our guild (yet?), but it would be boring to repeat trivia from the same countries again and again. When I was looking for inspiration, two of my colleagues who come from Romania gave it to me - so here you go.

Did you know?

- The name Romania actually comes from the word "Romans". The largest ethnic group in the country are the Romanians, but there are also lots of minorities like for example the Hungarians, the Roma, Germans, Ucrainians and others.

- In Romania animals that you can hardly find in other European regions anymore still exist in the wild, like brown bear, wolf, lynx and the bearded vulture.


- Marie of Edinburgh became a Romanian patriot after being declared queen in 1914 (due to WW I the coronation was delayed) and it is said that she ruled the country much more than her husband, Ferdinand I., did. "Romania needs a face, and I will be that face." Obviously she did a not so bad job at that, either.


- Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score a 10,0 at the Olympics 1976 in Montréal, being only 14 at that time. The board showed only a 1,0 because it hadn't been set for two digits, the judges had thought it impossible someone would score that high.


- Admit it, you have already waited for this one. I guess most people connect Romania with him in the first place (I am not saying they should, but I can't leave him out, either). Meet Vlad the Impaler, called like that for his favorite torturing and executing method which was obviously not so uncommon in the 15th century. Many people saw him not so much as cruel emperor, but as saviour of the country. He is even more famous for inspiring Bram Stoker in his creating of Dracula. I still think I would not have liked to meet him in person!



- Romania also has a long crafting and art history. Best known are woodcarving, embroidering (on clothes, tablecloths and other fabrics) and creating Easter eggs that are as colorful, rich and artistic as the local costumes. Constantin Brancusi, an international renowned sculptor, created a monument in memory of Romanian civilians who in 1916 fought off German invasion. The ensemble consists of "Table of Silence", "Gate of the Kiss", and "Endless Column".



This post doesn't even scratch the surface of what there is to know about Romania, but maybe it has inspired you to have a closer look at some of its traditions and fascinating history. I know I got curious now!

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Europe Trivia - Folklore

The "Ladies of the Guild" suggested that it would be good to look at the myths, legends and fairytale creatures of Europe. Our countries abound with tales of magic and little folk, faeries and bogles. Their influence can be found in our Artfire studios too.

Coming from the "chilly North" (well, Scotland), I looked at the tales of Selkies that are found in Scottish, Irish, Icelandic and Faroese mythology. Selkies are creatures that can transform themselves from seals to humans. They do so by shedding their skins to assume human form and become seals again when they put them back on. Many of the tales are romantic tragedies - in some tales the man or woman does not know their lover is a selkie and wakes to find them gone; sometimes the human will hide the selkie's skin, stopping them from returning to the sea.

It is said that a selkie can only make contact with one particular human for a short time before they must return to the sea. They cannot make contact with that person again for seven years, unless of course, their skin is hidden -

Male selkies in human form are extremely handsome and have great powers of seduction over human women (I may have met one once, but that's another story...) Female selkies make good human wives, but always yearn for the sea, and will return if they can.

Selkies are not always faithless lovers - despite the Shetland Islands tales of them luring hapless islanders into the sea at midsummer, never to be seen on dry land again - for there is a tale of one fisherman who married a selkie and, against her wishes, set sail late in the season. He became trapped in a terrible storm and could not get back to shore. His selkie wife assumed her seal form and saved him, for she loved him deeply - even though this meant that she could never thereafter return to her human form.

Europe Trivia : France

Where to start? France is a fascinating country and, as a Scot, I am not, perhaps, qualified to write this post, except that the Scots and the French historically had an "Auld Alliance" (mostly against the English, but I think we're over that now!), so I have picked out some interesting snippets for you.

I was told that the name "France" comes from "Frank", a Germanic tribe that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 6th Century and founded the first independent kingdom covering most of today's France.

Modern France is about the same size as the American State of Texas, and has seven mountain ranges - the Alps, Pyrenees, Jura, Vosges, Auvergne, Morvan and Corsican. It has nearly 3,000 miles of coastline, and is bounded by three major bodies of water, the Atlantic (in the Bay of Biscay), the Mediterranean, and the English Channel, or, as the French call it, "La Manche". France borders eight other European countries - Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Andorra and Monaco. Wow!

The French are world famous for their art, fashion, fragrances and style. From the cave paintings of prehistory in the Dordogne to today, the French have loved and produced great art, as the names on this list of artists shows - Poussin, Watteau, Fragonard, Delacroix, Gericault, Monet, Gaugin, Rodin, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Braque...I could go on (and on) ...

The French are also famous for their romantic ways, but on a friendly level they traditionally greet each other with a kisses on the cheek. The number of kisses varies according to which region you are in, from one at the tip of Brittany (too close to the stiff upper lips of England, perhaps?), to four in Paris and most of the North, and even up to five in Corsica (in the passionate Mediterranean!)

Like the Belgians, the French love good food. Do you know that there are two cookbooks published every day in France? They have at least 365 different varieties of cheese (one for every day of the year) and better still, about 450 AOC wines!



Despite that, they are healthy folk, having some of the best life expectancy rates and lowest rates of obesity in Europe, and they are clever too...France has won the most Nobel Prizes for Literature of any Country in the world (including other nationals who have made France their home) - from the very first , Sully Pudhomme, in 1901 to the most recent, J-M. G. Le Clezio, last year - and the second highest (to the USA) number of recipients of the Fields Medal for Mathematics.

What a wonderful place! She is "La belle France" indeed.

(And please forgive me if I have got anything wrong - I certainly do not mean to offend!)

Europe Trivia : Sweden

Quick Facts : Sweden



Area: 174,000 sq mi (450,000 km²), the third largest country in Western Europe Longest north-south distance: 978 mi (1,574 km)

Longest east-west distance: 310 mi (499 km)

Capital: Stockholm
Population: 9.3 million inhabitants
Languages: Swedish; recognized minority languages: Sami (Lapp), Finnish, Meänkieli (Tornedalen Finnish), Yiddish, Romani Chib
Form of government: Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy
Parliament: The Riksdag, with 349 members in one chamber
Religion: In practice, Sweden is very secularized. The Church of Sweden is Evangelical Lutheran; co-exists with many other beliefs
Life expectancy: men 79 years, women 83 years
(facts from www.sweden.se)

A few Swedes known to the world:

Astrid Lindgren (14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002)
author and screenwriter, whose many works were translated into 85 languages and published in more than 100 countries. She has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide. Today, she is best remembered for writing the Pippi Longstocking and Karlsson-on-the-Roof book series.

Alfred Nobel (21 October 1833 –10 December 1896)
chemist, engineer, innovator, armaments manufacturer and the inventor of dynamite. He owned Bofors, a major armaments manufacturer, which he had redirected from its previous role as an iron and steel mill. In his last will, he used his enormous fortune to institute the Nobel Prizes. The synthetic element nobelium was named after him.

Carl Linneaus (May 23 1707 – January 10, 1778)
Botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature (=the formal system of naming species). He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology.

Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007)
director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. He depicted bleakness and despair as well as comedy and hope in his explorations of the human condition. He is recognized as one of the most brilliant and influential filmmakers of modern cinema.
He directed 62 films, most of which he also wrote, and directed over 170 plays. Some of his internationally known favorite actors were Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson and Max von Sydow. Most of his films were set in the landscape of his native Sweden, and major themes were often bleak, dealing with death, illness, betrayal and insanity.

A few Swedish inventors:

• Anders Celsius, (1701–44) was an astronomer and mathematician most famous for inventing the 100-point thermometer scale, widely used across the world.
• Gustaf Erik Pasch (1788–1862) invented the safety match.
• Gustaf de Laval (1845-1913) was a Swedish engineer and inventor who made important contributions to the design of steam turbines and dairy machinery.
• Lars Magnus Ericsson (1846-1926) started the company bearing his name, Ericsson, still one of the largest telecom companies in the world.
• Gustaf Dalén (1869-1937) founded AGA, and received the Nobel Prize for his sun valve.
• One of John Ericsson's (1803–89) most important inventions was ship propellers. Ericsson became widely famous when he built the Monitor, an armoured battleship that in 1862 triumphed over the Confederate States’ Merrimack in an American Civil War sea battle.
• Nils Bohlin (1920-2002) was a Swedish inventor who invented the three-point safety belt while working at Volvo.
• Tetra Pak (1951) is an invention for storing, packaging and distributing liquid foodstuffs, for example, milk and juice. Erik Wallenberg (1915–99) was the main inventor, while businessman Ruben Rausing (1895–1983) developed and produced it.

You have probably heard Swedish bands and artists like : ABBA, Roxette, Ace of Base, Europe and those. So I thought I'd make a little playlist with some newer ones - that you've probably heard.. but still, enjoy!

Europe Trivia : Belgium

Did you know...

I like Belgium - it boasts hundreds of different beers (all delicious), is renowned for its bakeries, chips (frites) and, best of all, chocolate! I am seriously considering moving there...

I have heard that the world's largest selling point for chocolate is Brussels National Airport, and that Belgium produces bewtween 172,000 to 220,000 tonnes of chocolate a year. Heaven!

I found some statistics on the internet that show that Belgians have one of the lowest proportions per inhabitant of McDonald's restaurants in the developed world - seven less times less than the USA, four times less than Japan, three times less than the U.K. and twice less than France or Germany - Make of that what you will!

But the Belgians don't just do food - they are also enlightened thinkers, being the world's first country to ban cluster bombs, with the highest proportion of female ministers and one of the earliest to have a female parliamentarian. They take education and government seriously too - having compulsory education to the age of 18 and compulsory (and enforced!) voting in their elections.

But they are not all serious by any means; Belgium has more comic-makers per square kilometer than any country in the world, even Japan. It also boasts more castles per square mile than anywhere else.

And the Belgians are stylish too - Victor Horta's wonderful Art Nouveau designs still stand the test of time and look as beautiful today as they did when built.

Finally, did you know that a Belgian, Adolphe Sax, invented the Saxophone, in 1841 (going on to patent it in 1846) , or that Audrey Hepburn was born, Edda van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston, in Brussels, or that Spa is a city in Belgium from which all "spas" take their name ?

So, now you know more about Belgium - it's well worth a visit, isn't it?

Europe Trivia : Germany

Maybe you think you know a few things about my home country. Well, you may know that Germany has a population of roughly 82 million people, that there are 16 federal states, that Goethe and Einstein and many other celebrities were Germans, that Angela Merkel is our first female chancellor and that at the moment „we are pope“ like a German tabloid put on its front page in giant letters and even that we Germans do NOT run around in dirndls and lederhosen all the time, but did you also know these following facts (not in order of importance)?

Germany won the 1^st prize in the Eurovision Song Contest only once in 1982 with „Ein bißchen Frieden“, sung by Nicole.

In 2008 Germany was in a shameful 3^rd place behind the Czech Republic and Austria concerning the beer consuming per head with 108 litres.
There are about 1,200 breweries in Germany that produce over 5,000 brands of beer.

German inventions include the coffee filter (1908 by smart homemaker Melitta Bentz), Aspirin (1897 by chemist Felix Hoffmann), curry wurst (1949 by Herta Heuwer), tissues (actually I found out a prototype was invented in my home town of Goeppingen!) and of course the car (1886 by Carl Benz and not an American as Barack Obama claimed in a speech a while ago!).

The Stuttgart zoological and botanical garden „Wilhelma“ holds the world record for the biggest bloom of a titan arum at a height of 2.94 m or 9 ft. 6 in. in 2005.

Germany was the first European country to establish a system for health insurance for its workers, based on a law from 1883 constituted by the Bismarck government.

The world famous Oktoberfest in Munich exists since 1810 and has only been cancelled 24 times, mostly due to war or cholera. In the last years the Catholic priest Rainer Maria Schießler has worked as a beer tent waiter in his yearly vacation, the earnings go to different projects like an orphanage.

I admit it, I knew only some facts myself, but it was fun to collect them all and I hope you will have as much fun reading them.

Not trivial at all is that Germany and of course all of Europe has some very talented artists that are just waiting on ArtFire to show you their creations. So why not have a look?

Inside Europe : it's Blue

Europe Trivia : Scotland

(Or Everything you ever wanted to know about Scotland but were afraid to ask.)

We, here at the European Artfire Guild, are almost as proud of the fact that we are European as we are of being crafty. We know a lot about our own countries, but thought we'd dig up some interesting facts about our homes that, perhaps, are not so well known. Today is the turn of my home, Scotland.

We all know, of course, that the Scots invented whisky, kilts and bagpipes...except we didn't! Sad to say, it looks like the Irish, our Celtic cousins, got there before us and invented whiskey and the kilt, and bagpipes are thought to originate from Central Asia.

Did you know, however, that Scotland has about 5 million inhabitants, about 8.5% of the U.K. population, and has about the same land mass as the Czech Republic, the U.S. State of Maine, or the Japanese island of Hokkaido? Scotland also has around 790 islands, only 130 of which are inhabited.

Scots are famous explorers, soldiers and inventors. Did you know that around 5 million folks in the United States claim Scottish ancestry...and that Scots invented penicillin, tarmac, waterproof raincoats (go figure with our weather), pneumatic tyres and, yes, the world's first cloned sheep, Dolly, to name but a few?

Edinburgh, the county's capital, was the first city in the world with its own Fire Brigade.

Scotland has produced many great artists, writers and performers, and still does today - Robert Burns, Charles Rennie Macintosh, Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron (mad, bad and dangerous to know), Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes), Billy Connelly, Sean Connery, Lulu, David Tennant (the best Dr. Who ever), Gerard Butler, James McAvoy, Ewan McGregor !

Whew! (O.K. these pictures weren't strictly speaking necessary, but I enjoyed the research!)

Why don't you come on over and explore for yourselves?

Did You Know...?

Did you know these interesting facts about Europe?
>Geographically speaking, Europe extends to about 10,180,000 square kilometers on the Earth’s surface.
>The Vatican City is considered to be the smallest independent state in Europe. This city holds great cultural significance with some of the most famous artworks by artists such as Botticelli and Michelangelo.
















>Europe is associated with the origins of many sports that have been popular all over the world. Cricket originated in the southern area of England and golf which is yet another popular sport originated in Scotland.














>The European anthem comes from the ninth symphony composed by Beethoven for the final movement, added to the music "ode to joy" by Von Schiller.

>The European motto was chosen by a group of European citizens. The motto is "United In Diversity".




















>Europe enjoys a very diverse climate depending upon each region. The climate may be really freezing in areas of Scandinavia where as certain countries enjoy very mild weathers.

>The number of languages spoken in Europe is 94.

>The European cuisine is very much appreciated. You can find a wide range of delicious dishes all over these countries. (You can find a lot of recipes HERE ).

>The European flag: there are 12 stars because the number twelve is traditionally the symbol of perfection, completeness and unity.

>Some of the most beautiful museums of the world are located in Europe. You can find more info about them HERE.


























I hope you enjoyed this article.
______________________________

Sources:
Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 6.

Inside Europe :Wedding season is coming up...here are some lovely gifts !

Europe Trivia: Dublin

The Phoenix Park is the largest enclosed urban public park in Europe. Measuring 712 hectares, it has a walled circumference of 16km and has been home to a herd of wild Fallow deer since the seventeenth century.

The world's longest row of Georgian houses, running from the corner of Merrion Square down to Lesson Street Bridge, was sliced in two by the decision of in the early 1960s to demolish part of the row and replace it with a modern office block.

Dublin boasts the first purpose built Parliament building on College Green now the Bank of Ireland.

Founded in 1830, it is the fourth oldest scientific zoo in the world. “Slats” the first lion used for the newly-formed MGM studio was born at Dublin Zoo, Ireland on March 20th, 1919.

Phoenix Cricket Club, founded in 1830, is the oldest club in Ireland and the second oldest in the world after Mitcham Cricket Club, in Surrey England.

The All Ireland Polo Club, Phoenix Park, Dublin was founded in 1873 by Horace Rochfort of Clogrenane, which makes it the oldest polo club in Europe.

O'Connell Street is Dublin's main thoroughfare. One of Europe's widest streets, it measures 49m (160ft) in width at its southern end, 46m (150ft) at the north, and is 500m (1650ft) in length.

In 1759 Arthur Guinness signed a 9000 year lease on a disused brewery at St. James’s Gate. Now 10 million glasses of Guinness are enjoyed every day in over 150 countries worldwide.

Saint Valentine is most likely a composite figure similar to Saint Patrick. However, his remains are in a cask in White Friar Street Church, Dublin.

George Bernard Shaw bequeathed the royalties of his play "Pygmalion" (upon which "My Fair Lady" is based) to the National Gallery of Ireland. He is also the only person in the world to have a Nobel Prize (for Literature) and an Oscar.

Inside Europe

This weeks glance at a few items produced by members of our guild! Enjoy!

Welkom Nederlandstalige shoppers !

Beste Belgen , Nederlanders and alle andere die onze taal machtig zijn !

Deze blog is tot stand gekomen met de samenwerking van een aantal Europese creativelingen.

Wij zijn allemaal lid van een site www.artfire.com waar je leuke dingen kan vinden die allemaal met de hand gemaakt zijn. Je kan het zo gek niet bedenken of je kan het ergens op de site wel vinden.

Waarom doen we het samen? wel omdat we één groot Europa zijn en binnen de Europese grenzen het mogelijk is om vrij te verkopen zonder al de moeilijkheden van taxatie en douane.

Onze kunstenaars gaan samen op pad om Europa te veroveren ... wij zullen samen acties doen ..elkaar promoten en ook U af en toe mee laten genieten van een Europese promotie of wedstrijd.

Aan de zijkant van deze blog zie je een lijst van al de studio's die hier aan deelnemen. Ga eens een kijkje nemen en ontdek heel wat leuke geschenkjes, uniek en aan betaalbare prijzen.

Er zijn ook winkels die benodigdheden verkopen voor uw eigen hobby's , zo ontdek je misschien eens iets nieuws dat in je eigen hobbywinkel niet voorradig is.

In de toekomst gaan er ook geschenkbons beschikbaar zijn en kan je op die manier een geschenkje geven aan gelijk wie in Europa .

Heb je vragen en begrijp je de engelse taal niet zo goed dan mag je mij steeds contacteren.

Welkom in het Europa van de "Artfire Artisans"

geschreven door Linda ( of Moonstone )

Prettige dag nog verder !!

We hopen dat we U bij Artfire mogen begroeten !

Je bent er in alle geval héél welkom !