The Origin of the Tradition of Bringing Christmas Trees Indoors

During the Ancient Roman Saturnalia festival near the winter solstice, coniferous branches, boughs, and trees were brought indoors and kept. Although the exact rationale is debated, the concept may have developed as a means to symbolize everlasting life and/or as a method to ensure the god Saturn, the patron deity of time, wealth, and agriculture among other things within Ancient Rome, would prolong summer and shorten winter. In the 4th century A.D. this festival was replaced by the Christian holiday of Christmas which adopted the practice of bringing trees indoors as well. It should be noted, bringing coniferous trees indoors during the winter solstice was a pagan tradition throughout the northern hemisphere, with multiple cultures and empires outside of the Ancient Romans adopting the practice

Tudor Period Mining and Metal Smelting

During the Tudor period, lead was utilized to build roofs and windows because it was easily mailable and resistive to corrosion. Farmers would mine for lead during the summer months when their crops did not need tending to in order to generate additional income. Mining during the summer months could earn an extra £5.00 which equates to £25,000 as of 2012 when accounting for inflation. Entire families often worked within the mines because 50 barrels worth of ore and soil would be extracted per day to meet the quota of what was required to be profitable. Smelting involved the use of white coal which is effectively dried wood from a kiln and was always setup upon windy hilltops or mountains because the wind would cause the fire blaze with more intensity therefore reaching higher overall temperatures. The best wood to make white coal is oak. Kilns must be airtight, so gaps were filled with clay. Knowing a kiln to be airtight was easily verifiable by searching for smoke as if smoke only came out of only the front entrance, the kiln was considered airtight. Ore was smashed into small pieces to help it smelt more rapidly which yielded approximately an 80% return upon investment. Metals were then refined using a secondary kiln, and smelted to remove any ash or impurities. The first burn removes ore from the rock, and the second burn removes impurities with the main impurity being sulphur. Molds were constructed using sand and wood to create divots which allowed the ore to be molded into blocks much the same as a modern day bar of gold. The sand gives the mold an indentation which archeologists use to identify Medieval bars of smelted ore

Snow in Iran During the Summer

Iran experiences snow during the winter every couple of years and even during the summer on occasion due to the topography and geography of Iran which includes high altitude mountains. Iran is a mountainous state referred to as a “plateau”. Mount Damavand, the highest peak in Iran, is a primary example of Iran’s ability to produce snow. With an elevation of 18,403′ in height, Mount Damavand always has snow to some degree, even if relatively minute, with snow occurring even during the peak summer months of June, July, and August

The Reason Hurricanes and Thunderstorms Form

Hurricanes are caused by clusters of thunderstorms consolidating together, developing over warm, tropical seawater, typically in late summer. These storms merge together into a spiral shape to form a hurricane. Because intense pressure draws in warm, moist winds towards the center of the storm, this wind spiral upwards and spin faster and faster. The rapidly rising air then cools, forming towering storm clouds and torrential rains. Thunderstorms form in large cumulonimbus clouds which carry water vapor high into the atmosphere where it condensed into hail and ice. The movement of hail and ice in thunderclouds causes an electric charge to build up which zaps down as lightning

Jesus Christ’s Birthday Being an Ancient Roman Holiday

Jesus Christ’s birthday was actually in the summer but moved to the winter in order to coincide with the pagan solstice festival “Saturnalia”, in which lit trees and slaughtered goats were celebrated as hallmarks of the tradition. This pagan holiday was an annual massive gathering to feast and socialize. The traditional form of Christmas was phased out during the 19th century in favor of being changed to a more Christian centered holiday. Originally, during Saturnalia, trees were brought indoors to keep them alive in the hopes that summer would be prolonged and winter would be shortened