On This Day
1492 – All remaining Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect.
The Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion; Spanish: Decreto de la Alhambra, Edicto de Granada) was an edict issued on 31 March 1492, by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain (Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon) ordering the expulsion of practicing Jews from the Crowns of Castile and Aragon and its territories and possessions by 31 July of that year.[1] The primary purpose was to eliminate the influence of practicing Jews on Spain’s large formerly-Jewish converso New Christian population, to ensure the latter and their descendants did not revert to Judaism. Over half of Spain’s Jews had converted as a result of the religious persecution and pogroms which occurred in 1391.[2] Due to continuing attacks, around 50,000 more had converted by 1415.[3] A further number of those remaining chose to convert to avoid expulsion. As a result of the Alhambra decree and persecution in the years leading up to the expulsion, of Spain’s estimated 300,000 Jewish origin population, a total of over 200,000 had converted to Catholicism to remain in Spain, and between 40,000 and 100,000 remained Jewish and suffered expulsion. An unknown number of the expelled eventually succumbed to the pressures of life in exile away from formerly-Jewish relatives and networks back in Spain, and so converted to Catholicism to be allowed to return in the years following expulsion.[4]:17
The edict was formally and symbolically revoked on 16 December 1968,[5] following the Second Vatican Council. This was a full century after Jews had been openly practicing their religion in Spain and synagogues were once more legal places of worship under Spain’s Laws of Religious Freedom.
In 1924, the regime of Primo de Rivera granted Spanish citizenship to the entire Sephardic Jewish diaspora. In 2014, the government of Spain passed a law allowing dual citizenship to Jewish descendants who apply, to “compensate for shameful events in the country’s past.”[6] Thus, Sephardi Jews who can prove they are the descendants of those Jews expelled from Spain because of the Alhambra Decree can “become Spaniards without leaving home or giving up their present nationality.”[7][8]
Born On This Day
1877 – Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (d. 1970)[7]
Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus née Kensit (31 July 1877, Burgersdorp – 5 April 1970, Cape Town) was a South African botanist and taxonomist, and the longtime curator of the Bolus Herbarium, from 1903. Bolus also has the legacy of authoring more land plant species than any other female scientist, in total naming 1,494 species.[1]
FYI
Ronald Martin Popeil (/poʊˈpiːl/;[1] May 3, 1935 – July 28, 2021), was an American inventor and marketing personality, and founder of the direct response marketing company Ronco. He made appearances in infomercials for the Showtime Rotisserie and coined the phrase “Set it, and forget it!” as well as popularizing the phrase, “But wait, there’s more!” on television as early as the mid-1950s.[2]
Craig Medred: Fishery disaster
By Ayun Halliday, Open Culture: 757 Episodes of the Classic TV Game Show What’s My Line?: Watch Eleanor Roosevelt, Louis Armstrong, Salvador Dali & More
The Passive Voice, From Writers Helping Writers: Adult Child and Elderly Parent
Gastro Obscura: Meet the woman restoring native American peaches to the Southwest; Naegelin’s in New Braunfels is Texas’s oldest bakery standing and more ->
“Peace is more precious than triumph.”
World Taekwondo (WT) President Choue Chung-won
The detriment to not having community.
If you need help, there is a place for you.
Ideas
Our Crafty Mom: Super Cute Mermaid Resin Straw Topper
Recipes
Our Crafty Mom: 41 Yummy Iced Coffee Recipes
By Samantha Leffler, The Food Network: How to Make Smoked Cream Cheese, According to a Recipe Developer
The Kitchn: Our 10 Most Popular Recipes This Month
My Recipe Treasures: Easy Vegetable Lo Mein
Ann Marie Eberhart, Gig Harbor, Washington, Taste of Home: Crunchy Burger Quesadillas
By Betty Crocker Kitchens: The Best, Easiest Mexican Night Meals
By Betty Crocker Kitchens: Chocolate-Peanut Butter Dream Bars
RecipeTinEats
- 2024 Ultimate Christmas menu planning guide December 12, 2024Here’s a handy list of my Christmas recipes, organised by make-ahead and reheating suitability, and those best made fresh. Perfect for menu planning, especially alongside the new Christmas recipe index! I thrive on holiday menu planning. It’s like the Olympics of cooking – except less athleticism and more butter! The goal, as always, is a... […]Nagi
- Easy Christmas Cheesecake Slab – no bake! December 6, 2024This no bake Christmas cheesecake is designed for sizzling Aussie summers – no sweating over a hot oven! Designed to serve a crowd, it’s the easiest cheesecake recipe I know yet it still captures all the hallmarks of a beautiful classic baked cheesecake. Decorate with whipped cream, berries and rosemary sprigs for an effortless, pretty... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for December 28 December 28, 2024Picture of the day Satellite picture of the Etna volcano erupting in eastern Sicily (Italy) in December 2018.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for December 27 December 27, 2024Picture of the day The Seehornsee in the Berchtesgaden Alps. On the right the normal route to the Seehorn.
E-book Deals:
The Book Junction: Where Readers Go To Discover Great New Fiction!
Mystery & Thriller Most Wanted
Book Blogs & Websites:
Welcome to the Stump the Bookseller blog!
Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
Thanks to everyone involved to keep this forum going: our blogging team, the well-read Stumper Magicians, the many referrals, and of course to everyone who fondly remembers the wonder of books from their childhood and wants to share or revisit that wonder. Isn’t it amazing, the magic of a book?