#anskar

[cruger2984]

THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT ANSGAR The Bishop and Apostle of Scandinavia Feast Day: February 3

"If I were worthy of such a favour from my God, I would ask that He grant me this one miracle – that by His grace, He would make of me a good man."

On September 8, 801, Ansgar was born in Corbie, France, and was the son of a noble Frankish family. According to the Vita Ansgarii (Life of Ansgar), when the little boy learned in a vision that his mother was in the company of Mary, mother of Jesus, his careless attitude toward spiritual matters changed to seriousness. He was educated at the Bendictine monastery in Picardy, and later became abbot of New Corbie in Westphalia, Germany, where he became a teacher and preacher.

With the approval of Pope Gregory IV, he appointed as bishop of Hamburg in 831, he was given the mission of evangelizing Denmark, Norway and Sweden. His exceptional talent for preaching was accompanied by good luck.

The superstitious King of Sweden decided to cast lots as to whether the Christian missionaries should be admitted into his kingdom. Ansgar recommended the issue to the care of God, and the lot was favorable. He wore a rough hair shirt, lived on bread and water, and showed great charity to the poor.

When Ansgar died on February 3, 865 at the age of 63 in Bremen, the whole Northern Europe bewailed him. Being the first missionary in Sweden and the organizer of hierarchy in the Nordic countries, he was declared 'Apostle of the North'.

History records what people do, rather than what they are. Yet the courage and perseverance of men and women like Ansgar can only come from a solid base of union with the original courageous and persevering Missionary. Ansgar's life is another reminder that God writes straight with crooked lines. Christ takes care of the effects of the apostolate in his own way; he is first concerned about the purity of the apostles themselves.

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Today in Christian History

Today is Friday, February 3rd, the 34th day of 2023. There are 331 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

865: (traditional date) Death in Germany of Anskar, an early English or Irish missionary who had tried repeatedly to evangelize Scandinavia.

1238: Mongols surround the city of Vladimir, whose citizens, including Orthodox Christians, vow to resist to the last man to defend God’s churches. The city will fall on the fourteenth of that same month.

1399: Death in London of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, whose political struggles with powerful prelates led him to support the religious reformer John Wycliffe.

1469: Death in Mainz, Germany, of Johannes Gutenberg, a developer of movable type, which will become a powerful factor in the spread of the Protestant Reformation.

1738: John Wesley arrives in London, having fled the colony of Georgia, where his ministry had been a serious failure.

1767: The British House of Lords rules against the Corporation of London which, to raise money, had established heavy fines for anyone refusing to stand for office if nominated, and then nominated many dissenters, knowing that they could not take the oath required under the Test Act.

1788: Richard Johnson, first Christian cleric appointed to Australia, preaches his first sermon in that country.

1832: Death in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, of George Crabbe, a Church of England vicar and notable poet.

1943: The Allied troopship S.S. Dorchester is torpedoed by a German sub near Greenland and goes down with a loss of 600 lives. The event is notable for the selflessness of four chaplains, Rev. Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed), Rev. George Lansing Fox (Methodist), Father John Washington (a Catholic priest) and Alexander David Goode (a Jewish rabbi), who gave up their lifejackets to save other men.

1985: Desmond Tutu of South Africa becomes Johannesburg’s first black Anglican bishop.

1998: Execution in Texas of Karla Faye Tucker, a murderess, who converted to Christianity on death row and died praising Jesus. Movies and documentaries will be made about her life.

2005: The Islamic city council of Demre, Turkey (formerly the Christian city, Myra), votes to replace the town’s traditional bronze statue of St. Nicholas of Myra with an effigy of a fat man with a red fur suit.

[lewerta]

To Infinity

Photo by Anskar Lenzen

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Ansgar (Anskar)

801 - 865

Feast Day: February 3

Patronage: Scandinavia, Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg and Bremen, Germany

Saint Ansgar, the “Apostle of the North" was born in France. He entered the Benedictine Order and went to Denmark to evangelize pagan Scandinavia.  He was made Archbishop of Hamburg in 831 and Archbishop of Bremen in 854 and began missionary work in Germany, Sweden and Denmark. He built the first Catholic church in Sweden. In the 13 years that he struggled to convert these countries, he had some success. He was an extraordinary preacher, a humble ascetic and was devoted to the poor and sick.  He died peacefully in Bremen in 865.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[heronstill]

“Endurance” by | Anskar Lenzen

[ausetkmt]

In a recent post, I quoted historian Rodney Stark extensively about how religions are not all the same. The different theologies of god in the world religions produce very different kinds of moral systems—some religions have no moral features at all. Consequently, monotheism, and Christianity in particular, was uniquely capable of theologies of God and humanity that made slavery incompatible with faithfulness. It was only when the Bible was corrupted by unchristian motivations that it was perverted to excuse an evil and sinful institution.

From the beginning of the church, Christianity developed theology that condemned slavery. The church in the American South and other Christians throughout history who used the Bible to justify their bigotry and enslavement of human beings were the tragic exceptions to the rule. Their abuse of the Bible stood against the broad and historical understanding of what Christians believed the Bible taught about the equality and intrinsic value of every human being, not matter their race.

Some excerpts from Rodney Stark’s book For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch-Hunts, and the End of Slavery:

Antislavery doctrines began to appear in Christian theology soon after the decline of Rome and were accompanied by the eventual disappearance of slavery in all but the fringes of Christian Europe. When Europeans subsequently instituted slavery in the New World, they did so over strenuous papal opposition, a fact that was conveniently “lost” from history until recently... Except for several early Jewish sects, Christian theology was unique in eventually developing an abolitionist perspective... As early as the seventh century, Saint Bathilde (wife of King Clovis II) became famous for her campaign to stop slave-trading and free all slaves; in 851 Saint Anskar began his efforts to halt the Viking slave trade. That the Church willingly baptized slaves was claimed as proof that they had souls, and soon both kings and bishops—including William the Conqueror (1027-1087) and Saints Wulfstan (1009-1095) and Anselm (1033-1109)—forbade the enslavement of Christians. Since, except for small settlements of Jews, and the Vikings in the north, everyone was at least nominally a Christian, that effectively abolished slavery in medieval Europe... The first shipload of black slaves [arrived in Portugal in the 15th century], and as black slaves began to appear farther north in Europe, a debate erupted as to the morality and legality of slavery. A consensus quickly developed that slavery was both sinful and illegal.... The principle of “free soil” spread: that slaves who entered a free country were automatically free. That principle was firmly in place in France, Holland, and Belgium by the end of the seventeenth century. Nearly a century later, in 1761, the Portuguese enacted a similar law, and an English judge applied the principle to Britain in 1772. Although exceptions involving a single slave servant or two, especially when accompanying a foreign traveler, were sometimes overlooked, “beyond a scattering of servants in Spain and Portugal, there were very few true slaves left in Western Europe by the end of the sixteenth century”...

The problem wasn’t that the Church failed to condemn slavery; it was that few heard and most of them did not listen... In 1787 the Quaker-inspired Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery was headed by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush, two of the most respected and influential living Americans. Not to be outdone, many Christian groups and luminaries took up the cause of abolition, and soon abolitionist societies sprang up that were not associated with a specific denomination. But, through it all, the movement (as distinct from those it made sympathetic to the cause) was staffed by devout Christian activists, the majority of them clergy. Indeed, the most prominent clergy of the nineteenth century took leading roles in the abolition movement...

Moreover, as abolition sentiments spread, it was primarily the churches (often local congregations), not secular clubs and organizations, that issued formal statements on behalf of ending slavery. The outspoken abolitionism expressed by Northern congregations and denominational gatherings caused major schisms within leading Protestant denominations, eventuating in their separation into independent Northern and Southern organizations... [A] virtual Who’s Who of “Enlightenment” figures fully accepted slavery.... It was not philosophers or secular intellectuals who assembled the moral indictment of slavery, but the very people they held in such contempt: men and women having intense Christian faith, who opposed slavery because it was a sin.

[viridian-pickle]

Check it out

Photo by Anskar Lenzen

[onancientpaths]

“I ask that [God] would grant me this one miracle - that by His grace, he would make of me a good man.” - Anskar (801-865), Bishop & Missionary to Denmark & Sweden, celebrated Feb. 3

[brookston]

Holidays 2.3

Holidays

American Painters Day

Artist Appreciation Day

Battle of San Lorenzo Day (Argentina)

Benelux Treaty Day (EU)

Booty Pic Day

Bowling Green Massacre Day (Kellyanne Conway Fictional Event)

Commemoration of the Batepá Massacre (São Tomé and Príncipe)

Communist Party Foundation Day (Vietnam)

Cow Day (French Republic)

Day of Finnish Architecture and Design (Finland)

Day of the Virgin of Suyapa (Honduras)

Desmond Tutu Day

Doggy Date Night

The Day the Music Died (according to Don McLean)

Elmo’s Day

Endangered Species Act Day

Feed the Birds Day

Four Chaplains Day

Halfway Point of Winter

Heroes' Day (Mozambique)

International Golden Retriever Day

International Lawyers Day

International Straw Free Day

John Lewis Day (Alabama)

Liberation of the Battle of Manila Day

Martyrs' Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)

Meaka Bochea Day (Cambodia)

National Cordova Ice Worm Day

National Doggy Date Night

National Honey Badger Day

National Missing Persons Day

National Patient Recognition Day

National Trevor Day

National Wedding Ring Day

National Women Physicians Day

National Women’s Heart Day

Nuestra Señora de Suyapa (Festival of the Virgin of Suyapa; Honduras)

Number Day

Take a Cruise Day

Veteran’s Day (Thailand)

Veterinary Pharmacists Day

Wedding Ring Day

World Free Love Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Carrot Cake Day

National Carrot Day

1st Saturday in February

Barber Day [1st Saturday]

Burning the Hom Strom (Graubünden, Switzerland) [1st Saturday]

Global Chaplains Day [1st Saturday]

Ice Cream For Breakfast Day [1st Saturday]

International Pisco Sour Day [1st Saturday]

Lace Day [1st Saturday]

National Play Outside Day [1st Saturday of Every Month]

Pork Rind Appreciation Day [1st Saturday]

Satyr's Day (Silenus, Greek God of Beer Buddies and Drinking Companions) [1st Saturday of Each Month]

South African National Beer Day (South Africa) [1st Saturday]

Take Your Child to the Library Day [1st Saturday]

Independence & Related Days

Danielland (Declared; 2015) [unrecognized]

Illinois Territory Day (Illinois; 1818)

Keep Watch (Declared; 2009) [unrecognized]

Liberation Movement Day (Angola)

Festivals Beginning February 3, 2024

Arizona Renaissance Festival (Apache Junction, Arizona) [thru 3.31]

Carnival Brasiliero (Austin, Texas)

Carnival of Viereggio (Viereggio, Italy) [thru 2.24]

Carolina Chocolate Festival (Moorehead City, North Carolina) [thru 2.4]

Downtown Gadsen Chili Cook-Off (Gadsen, Alabama)

Florida Renaissance Fair (Deerfield Beach, Florida) [thru 3.24]

Hudson Valley Wingfest (Poughkeepsie, New York)

Kurentovanje Carnival (Ptuj, Slovenia) [thru 2.13]

Melodifestivalen (Malmö, Sweden)

Northwest Briefest (Chicago, Illinois)

South Florida Garlic Festival (Wellington, Florida) [thru 2.4]

Temecula Valley Barrel Tasting (Temecula, California) [thru 2.4]

Yukon Quest (Whitehorse, Yukon)

Feast Days

Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)

Ansgar, Archbishop (a.k.a. Anskar; Christian; Saint) [Denmark]

Auscharius (Christian; Saint)

Berlindis of Meerbeke (Christian; Saint)

Blaise (Christian; Saint) [Blessing of Throats]

Blessing of Throats Day (St. Blaise’s Day); Everyday Wicca)

Build a Relationship with Brigid Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Celsa and Nona (Christian; Saints)

Claudine Thévenet (Christian; Saint)

Day of Remembrance for Oleg the Prophet (Asatru/Slavic Pagan)

Dom Justo Takayama (Christian; Saint) [Japan, Philippines]

Ewok Day (Pastafarian)

Festival of Sulis Minerva (Pagan)

Fiesta de San Blas (Protector of the Harvest; Puerto Rico)

Fukuju no mai (Jimai; Dance of the Seven Gods of Fortune; Japan)

Gaelic Lullaby Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Gertrude Stein (Writerism)

Gillian Ayres (Artology)

Hadelin (Christian; Saint)

Henning Mankell (Writerism)

Hickety Pickety (Muppetism)

ia (Christian; Virgin)

James Michener (Writerism)

Laurence of Canterbury, Srchbishop (Christian; Saint)

Laurence of Spoleto, Bishop (Christian; Saint)

Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries, Day 3 of 3 (Ancient Greece festival honoring Ceres, Demeter, Persephone, and Proserpine)

Magnolia and Fish Jubilee (Shamanism)

Margaret of England (Christian; Saint, Virgin)

Norman Rockwell (Artology)

Our Lady of Suyapa (Honduras)

Pagerwesi (Festival to Sang Hyang Pramesti Guru, god of teachers and creator of the universe; Bali)

Paul Aster (Writerism)

Pokémon Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint) 

Richard Yates (Writerism)

Setsubun (Bean-Throwing Festival; Shinto/Japan)

Theocritus (Positivist; Saint)

Werburga (a.k.a. Werburgh; Christian; Saint)

Woodrow Wilson Day

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fatal Day (Pagan) [3 of 24]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [8 of 57]

Premieres

Air Force (Film; 1943)

Amapola, by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra (Song; 1941)

Birds of a Feather (Disney Silly Symphonies Cartoon; 1931)

Boys on the Side (Film; 1995)

Canned Feud (WB LT Cartoon; 1951)

Chilly Con Carmen (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1930)

Chronicle (Film; 2012)

Dead Man’s Curve (TV movie; 1978)

Death Be Not Proud, by John Gunther (Memoir; 1949)

Earthling, by David Bowie (Album; 1997)

Earwig and the Witch (Animated Film; 2021)

Fun, Fun, Fun, by The Beach Boys (Song; 1964)

Hanna (TV Series; 2019)

The IT Crowd (UK TV Series; 2006)

Jane Eyre (Film; 1944)

La Dolce Vita (Film; 1960)

Norman Normal (WB Cartoon; 1968)

Rock You Like a Hurricane, by the Scorpions (Song; 1984)

Roman Carnival, by Hector Berlioz (Overture; 1844)

Santa Clarita Diet (TV Series; 2017)

Semiramide, Gioachino Rossini (Opera; 1823)

Shanghai Knights (Film; 2003)

Society Dog (Disney Cartoon; 1939)

The Space Between Us (Film; 2017)

Transformations, by Anne Sexton (Poetry; 1971)

What the Bleep!?: Down the Rabbit Hole (Documentary Film; 2006)

Yield, by Pearl Jam (Album; 1998)

Today’s Name Days

Ansgar, Blasius, Oskar (Austria)

Simeon (Bulgaria)

Blaž, Tripun, Vlaho (Croatia)

Blažej (Czech Republic)

Blasius (Denmark)

Hubert, Hugo, Huko (Estonia)

Hugo, Valo (Finland)

Blaise, Nelson, Oscar (France)

Ansgar, Blasius, Michael, Oskar (Germany)

Asimakis, Asimina, Malamati, Simeon, Stamatia, Stamatis (Greece)

Balázs (Hungary)

Biagio (Italy)

Aīda, Ansgars, Ida, Laida (Latvia)

Blažiejus, Oskaras, Radvilas, Radvilė (Lithuania)

Ansgar, Asgeir (Norway)

Błażej, Hipolit, Hipolita, Laurencjusz, Maksym, Oskar, Stefan, Telimena, Uniemysł, Wawrzyniec (Poland)

Ana, Simeon (Romania)

Blažej (Slovakia)

Blas, Olivia, Óscar (Spain)

Disa, Hjördis (Sweden)

Simon (Ukraine)

Ansgar, Barclay, Baxter, Blaise,, Blase, Blasia, Blaze, Norma, Norman, Norris (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 34 of 2024; 332 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 5 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 14 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Yi-Chou), Day 24 ()

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 24 Shevat 5784

Islamic: 23 Rajab 1445

J Cal: 4 Grey; Foursday [4 of 30]

Julian: 21 January 2024

Moon: 42%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 6 Homer (2nd Month) [Theocritus)

Runic Half Month: Elhaz (Elk) [Day 10 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 45 of 89)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 13 of 28)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 2.3

Holidays

American Painters Day

Artist Appreciation Day

Battle of San Lorenzo Day (Argentina)

Benelux Treaty Day (EU)

Booty Pic Day

Bowling Green Massacre Day (Kellyanne Conway Fictional Event)

Commemoration of the Batepá Massacre (São Tomé and Príncipe)

Communist Party Foundation Day (Vietnam)

Cow Day (French Republic)

Day of Finnish Architecture and Design (Finland)

Day of the Virgin of Suyapa (Honduras)

Desmond Tutu Day

Doggy Date Night

The Day the Music Died (according to Don McLean)

Elmo’s Day

Endangered Species Act Day

Feed the Birds Day

Four Chaplains Day

Halfway Point of Winter

Heroes' Day (Mozambique)

International Golden Retriever Day

International Lawyers Day

International Straw Free Day

John Lewis Day (Alabama)

Liberation of the Battle of Manila Day

Martyrs' Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)

Meaka Bochea Day (Cambodia)

National Cordova Ice Worm Day

National Doggy Date Night

National Honey Badger Day

National Missing Persons Day

National Patient Recognition Day

National Trevor Day

National Wedding Ring Day

National Women Physicians Day

National Women’s Heart Day

Nuestra Señora de Suyapa (Festival of the Virgin of Suyapa; Honduras)

Number Day

Take a Cruise Day

Veteran’s Day (Thailand)

Veterinary Pharmacists Day

Wedding Ring Day

World Free Love Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Carrot Cake Day

National Carrot Day

1st Saturday in February

Barber Day [1st Saturday]

Burning the Hom Strom (Graubünden, Switzerland) [1st Saturday]

Global Chaplains Day [1st Saturday]

Ice Cream For Breakfast Day [1st Saturday]

International Pisco Sour Day [1st Saturday]

Lace Day [1st Saturday]

National Play Outside Day [1st Saturday of Every Month]

Pork Rind Appreciation Day [1st Saturday]

Satyr's Day (Silenus, Greek God of Beer Buddies and Drinking Companions) [1st Saturday of Each Month]

South African National Beer Day (South Africa) [1st Saturday]

Take Your Child to the Library Day [1st Saturday]

Independence & Related Days

Danielland (Declared; 2015) [unrecognized]

Illinois Territory Day (Illinois; 1818)

Keep Watch (Declared; 2009) [unrecognized]

Liberation Movement Day (Angola)

Festivals Beginning February 3, 2024

Arizona Renaissance Festival (Apache Junction, Arizona) [thru 3.31]

Carnival Brasiliero (Austin, Texas)

Carnival of Viereggio (Viereggio, Italy) [thru 2.24]

Carolina Chocolate Festival (Moorehead City, North Carolina) [thru 2.4]

Downtown Gadsen Chili Cook-Off (Gadsen, Alabama)

Florida Renaissance Fair (Deerfield Beach, Florida) [thru 3.24]

Hudson Valley Wingfest (Poughkeepsie, New York)

Kurentovanje Carnival (Ptuj, Slovenia) [thru 2.13]

Melodifestivalen (Malmö, Sweden)

Northwest Briefest (Chicago, Illinois)

South Florida Garlic Festival (Wellington, Florida) [thru 2.4]

Temecula Valley Barrel Tasting (Temecula, California) [thru 2.4]

Yukon Quest (Whitehorse, Yukon)

Feast Days

Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)

Ansgar, Archbishop (a.k.a. Anskar; Christian; Saint) [Denmark]

Auscharius (Christian; Saint)

Berlindis of Meerbeke (Christian; Saint)

Blaise (Christian; Saint) [Blessing of Throats]

Blessing of Throats Day (St. Blaise’s Day); Everyday Wicca)

Build a Relationship with Brigid Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Celsa and Nona (Christian; Saints)

Claudine Thévenet (Christian; Saint)

Day of Remembrance for Oleg the Prophet (Asatru/Slavic Pagan)

Dom Justo Takayama (Christian; Saint) [Japan, Philippines]

Ewok Day (Pastafarian)

Festival of Sulis Minerva (Pagan)

Fiesta de San Blas (Protector of the Harvest; Puerto Rico)

Fukuju no mai (Jimai; Dance of the Seven Gods of Fortune; Japan)

Gaelic Lullaby Day (Celtic Book of Days)

Gertrude Stein (Writerism)

Gillian Ayres (Artology)

Hadelin (Christian; Saint)

Henning Mankell (Writerism)

Hickety Pickety (Muppetism)

ia (Christian; Virgin)

James Michener (Writerism)

Laurence of Canterbury, Srchbishop (Christian; Saint)

Laurence of Spoleto, Bishop (Christian; Saint)

Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries, Day 3 of 3 (Ancient Greece festival honoring Ceres, Demeter, Persephone, and Proserpine)

Magnolia and Fish Jubilee (Shamanism)

Margaret of England (Christian; Saint, Virgin)

Norman Rockwell (Artology)

Our Lady of Suyapa (Honduras)

Pagerwesi (Festival to Sang Hyang Pramesti Guru, god of teachers and creator of the universe; Bali)

Paul Aster (Writerism)

Pokémon Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint) 

Richard Yates (Writerism)

Setsubun (Bean-Throwing Festival; Shinto/Japan)

Theocritus (Positivist; Saint)

Werburga (a.k.a. Werburgh; Christian; Saint)

Woodrow Wilson Day

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fatal Day (Pagan) [3 of 24]

Taian (大安 Japan) [Lucky all day.]

Unfortunate Day (Pagan) [8 of 57]

Premieres

Air Force (Film; 1943)

Amapola, by Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra (Song; 1941)

Birds of a Feather (Disney Silly Symphonies Cartoon; 1931)

Boys on the Side (Film; 1995)

Canned Feud (WB LT Cartoon; 1951)

Chilly Con Carmen (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Cartoon; 1930)

Chronicle (Film; 2012)

Dead Man’s Curve (TV movie; 1978)

Death Be Not Proud, by John Gunther (Memoir; 1949)

Earthling, by David Bowie (Album; 1997)

Earwig and the Witch (Animated Film; 2021)

Fun, Fun, Fun, by The Beach Boys (Song; 1964)

Hanna (TV Series; 2019)

The IT Crowd (UK TV Series; 2006)

Jane Eyre (Film; 1944)

La Dolce Vita (Film; 1960)

Norman Normal (WB Cartoon; 1968)

Rock You Like a Hurricane, by the Scorpions (Song; 1984)

Roman Carnival, by Hector Berlioz (Overture; 1844)

Santa Clarita Diet (TV Series; 2017)

Semiramide, Gioachino Rossini (Opera; 1823)

Shanghai Knights (Film; 2003)

Society Dog (Disney Cartoon; 1939)

The Space Between Us (Film; 2017)

Transformations, by Anne Sexton (Poetry; 1971)

What the Bleep!?: Down the Rabbit Hole (Documentary Film; 2006)

Yield, by Pearl Jam (Album; 1998)

Today’s Name Days

Ansgar, Blasius, Oskar (Austria)

Simeon (Bulgaria)

Blaž, Tripun, Vlaho (Croatia)

Blažej (Czech Republic)

Blasius (Denmark)

Hubert, Hugo, Huko (Estonia)

Hugo, Valo (Finland)

Blaise, Nelson, Oscar (France)

Ansgar, Blasius, Michael, Oskar (Germany)

Asimakis, Asimina, Malamati, Simeon, Stamatia, Stamatis (Greece)

Balázs (Hungary)

Biagio (Italy)

Aīda, Ansgars, Ida, Laida (Latvia)

Blažiejus, Oskaras, Radvilas, Radvilė (Lithuania)

Ansgar, Asgeir (Norway)

Błażej, Hipolit, Hipolita, Laurencjusz, Maksym, Oskar, Stefan, Telimena, Uniemysł, Wawrzyniec (Poland)

Ana, Simeon (Romania)

Blažej (Slovakia)

Blas, Olivia, Óscar (Spain)

Disa, Hjördis (Sweden)

Simon (Ukraine)

Ansgar, Barclay, Baxter, Blaise,, Blase, Blasia, Blaze, Norma, Norman, Norris (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 34 of 2024; 332 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 5 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Luis (Rowan) [Day 14 of 28]

Chinese: Month 12 (Yi-Chou), Day 24 ()

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 24 Shevat 5784

Islamic: 23 Rajab 1445

J Cal: 4 Grey; Foursday [4 of 30]

Julian: 21 January 2024

Moon: 42%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 6 Homer (2nd Month) [Theocritus)

Runic Half Month: Elhaz (Elk) [Day 10 of 15]

Season: Winter (Day 45 of 89)

Zodiac: Capricorn (Day 13 of 28)

[sanctespiritus]

Patron Saint of Scandinavia - Saint Ansgar

Also known as lso known as Anskar, Saint Ansgar, Saint Anschar or Oscar The “apostle of the north” (Scandinavia) endured sufficient suffering to become a saint, which he accomplished. After receiving an education in Corbie, France, he became a Benedectine monk. Three years later, when the king of Denmark converted, Ansgar moved to that kingdom for three years of unsuccessful missionary labour.…

[marvelman901]

Avengers #358

The Avengers fought and then helped Arkon and Thundra.

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Ansgar (Anskar) 801 - 865 Feast Day: February 3 Patronage: Scandinavia, Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg and Bremen, Germany

Saint Ansgar, the “Apostle of the North" was born in France. He entered the Benedictine Order and went to Denmark to evangelize pagan Scandinavia.  He was made Archbishop of Hamburg in 831 and Archbishop of Bremen in 854 and began missionary work in Germany, Sweden and Denmark. He built the first Catholic church in Sweden. In the 13 years that he struggled to convert these countries, he had some success. He was an extraordinary preacher, a humble ascetic and was devoted to the poor and sick.  He died peacefully in Bremen in 865. {website}

[sitting-on-me-bum]

The Kiss

@anskar (Germany)

Location: Namibia

"Two Brown fur seals "kissing" in a crowd of even more seals. There are up to hundreds of thousand seals in this area which of course comes with a certain smell and noise!"

Agora #Love2020

[travelbinge]

By Anskar.Lenzen

Deadvlei, Namibia

[andwiththyspirit]

Morning Prayer for the Wednesday after the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Commemorations of:

Blaise, Bishop and martyr, 316, and

Anskar, Bishop and Missionary, 865