Startling Saints—Saint Clare of Montefalco

The miracle-working saint with a very special heart (quite literally)

(St Clare of Montefalco, circa 1670, from the Iglesia del Convento de Nuestra Señora del Pópulo de Agustinos Descalzos. Sevilla, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Clare Damiani was born in the Umbrian town of Montefalco in 1268. She was introduced to a cloistered life at an early age. When Clare was six, she was sent to live with her sister, Jane, who was the mother superior at the Saint Illuminata convent. Before she reached adulthood, Clare decided to remain in the convent lifestyle. When she had grown into a young woman, Clare and all of the nuns under superior Jane’s care, were transferred to a newly built convent—Santa Croce, also known as the Holy Cross Convent.

Saint Clare was the type of person that develops a natural aura of importance around them. She quickly garnered a reputation as an honorable, pious and virtuous woman. As such, when Jane died in 1298, the nuns of Santa Croce quickly elected the thirty-year-old Clare as their new mother superior.

Startling Saints—Jolly Saint Nicholas

The Saintly Bishop of Myra Who Evolved Into A Magical Christmas Entity

(Left: Santa Poster by the U.S. Food Administration. Educational Division. Advertising Section. (01_15_1918 - 01_1919), [Public Domain-US] via Creative Commons. Right: Image of St. Nicholas from the Lipnya Church of St. Nicholas in Novgorod, c. 1294, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Most cultures that have been influenced by Christianity have some sort of magical or supernatural persona who gives out gifts to children on Christmas Day. Many of these figures trace back to Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century CE bishop of Myra. His legend fused with other traditions, cultures and myths and eventually came to the United States by way of Dutch immigrants as Sinterklass. From there, he was commercialized into Santa Claus, and spread back across the Atlantic to his original homeland in Europe.

Now, the new Santa Claus figure has assimilated into many countries. He is known as Weihnachtsmann (Christmas Man) in Germany, Pére Noël in France, Father Christmas in Britain and Father Frost in Russia. The Scandinavian mythological (and often demonic) pagan beings of Krampus, and the Yule goat Joulupukki, have also been influenced and transformed by Santa Claus. Let’s not worry the kids, however, with all this talk about Santa Claus being fabricated—Jolly Saint Nicholas was, for the most part, a very real, historical figure. This is his story:

Strange, But Successful—The Inchon Landing

This extremely effective military operation turned the tide of the Korean War.

War After War

At the end of World War II, Japan lost control of the empire it had acquired throughout the Pacific Ocean. One of the regions that gained freedom after WWII was Korea. Like much of the rest of the post-war world, Korea was divided between communism (in the north) and capitalist democracy (in the south). Though Japan had been expelled from Korea, and World War II was over, peace did not last long—in June, 1950, North Korea invaded the south, catching the South Korean military inexcusably by surprise.

(With her brother on the back a war weary Korean girl trudges by a stalled M-26 tank, at Haengju, Korea. c. June 9,1951. Maj R. V. Spencer, USAF, [Public Domain-US] via Creative Commons)

The Last Witch Trial Of Nördlingen, Germany

Maria Holl Survived 62 Sessions Of Torture During the Late 16^th-Century Witch Trials

In the last decade of the 16^th century, a respectable woman who owned a restaurant along with her husband in Nördlingen, Germany, was put under arrest by the authority of the town council on suspicion of witchcraft. At first, Holl was patient with the council and their questioners; she was confident that she would be released without much of a hassel. Unfortunately for Maria Holl, the council, inquisitors and the citizens of Nördlingen all believed that she was truly a witch.

(“Examination of a witch”, c. 1853, from the Collection of the Peabody Essex Museum, originally by Author Thompkins H. Matteson, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

The Successful Failure of Pearl Harbor

Though Pearl Harbor was a victorious surprise attack for Japan, they missed their most vital targets.

Ascent Of An Empire

The Pearl Harbor attack, a day in which thousands of lives were tragically lost, will continue to ‘live in infamy’ within the hearts and minds of many citizens of the United States. The attack’s position of high notoriety has only recently been usurped by the horrendous terrorist attacks of 9/11. Like the al-Qaeda atrocity, the attack on Pearl Harbor first shocked the American population, and when their minds were cleared of the immediate grief, quickly unified the United States for war.

(Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, just as the USS Shaw exploded, owned by the US government, [Public Domain-US] via Creative Commons)