title: Novo Amor

text: "Callow", a further single as Novo Amor, was released 17 November 2014. This was followed by "Welcome to the Jungle", a Guns N' Roses cover for an AXE/Lynx advertising campaign on 6 January 2015, its video directed by Nabil. Lacey toured Germany, Switzerland and Austria across April and May 2015, and was nominated for 2 awards at the Music Week Sync Awards for the use of his music commercially. "Anchor", another single as Novo Amor, was released 23 October 2015.


title: Novo Amor

text: On 26 May 2017, "Bathing Beach," the second of Novo Amor's EPs, was released via AllPoints, the in-house label of Believe Recordings.


title: Novo Amor

text: On 10 November 2017, Lacey and Ed Tullett released "Heiress," their full collaborative album on All Points.


title: Novo Amor

text: On 14 June 2018, Lacey announced his debut solo record "Birthplace", to be released on 19 October 2018 via All Points. Promoting the releasing of the album, Lacey collaborated with Sil van der Woerd and Jorik Dozy (Studio Birthplace), the producer by Sean Lin and New Frontier Pictures, cinematograph Nihal Friedel to released the music video for the single as the same name 'Birthplace'. The music videos tells the human abuse of the oceans, around the view of free diver Michael Board. For the purpose of the video, according to Independent, "the 13-meter long model of the whale, which was made from plastic collected by school children, who received books in return for their donations." The music video was nominated on August 8 to the Association Of Independent Music (AIM) Awards winning the category 'Independent Video of the Year'.


title: Novo Amor

text: Lacey toured with Gia Margaret in 2019. They recorded and released two songs together, "Lucky For You" and "No Fun" on 28 February 2019.


title: Novo Amor

text: In August 2019, Lacey started working on his second full-length album at a home-made studio at Wales, UK. The album recording ended around February 2020. On 30 July 2020, he announced the release of his second solo album, "Cannot Be, Whatsoever", through AllPoints on 6 November 2020. The album features an embroidered cover by Dutch artist Tilleke Schwarz, titled 'Birdcage', later becoming one of the songs titles in the album. On 2 December, Lacey released the album documentary titled 'Please Don't Stand Up When Room Is In Motion' directed by Josh Bennett.


title: Novo Amor

text: Novo Amor is Portuguese for New Love. The artist confirmed in a tweet that the name had a "Portuguese/Latin" "[sic]" origin, without providing any further explanation. He stated in an interview that he went through a break-up in 2012 before he started producing and that led to this name as he found his "New Love" in music.


title: Christian population growth

text: Christian population growth is the population growth of the global Christian community. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were more than 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, more than three times as many as the 600 million recorded in 1910. However, this rate of growth is slower than the overall population growth over the same time period. In 2020 It’s estimated to be around 2.4 Billion Christians in the world according to Pew. According to various scholars and sources, high birth rates and conversions in the global South were cited as the reasons for the Christian population growth.


title: Christian population growth

text: The Christian fertility rate is 2.7 children per woman, which is higher than the global average fertility rate of 2.5. Globally, Christians were only slightly older (median age of 30) than the global average median age of 28 in 2010. According to Pew Research religious switching is projected to have a modest impact on changes in the Christian population. According to various scholars and sources, Pentecostalism is the fastest-growing religious movement in the world; this growth is primarily due to religious conversion to Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity.


title: Christian population growth

text: According to the "World Christian Encyclopedia", approximately 2.7 million converting to Christianity from another religion, "World Christian Encyclopedia" also cited that Christianity rank at first place in net gains through religious conversion. While according to "The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion", approximately 15.5  million converting to Christianity from another religion, while approximately 11.7  million leave Christianity, and most of them become irreligious, resulting in a net gain of 3.8 million. Christianity earns about 65.1 million people due to factors such as birth rate, the religious conversion while losing 27.4 million people due to factors such as death rate, religious apostasy. Most of the net growth in the numbers of Christians are in Africa, Latin America and Asia.


title: Christian population growth

text: The Christian fertility rate has varied throughout history, as with other fertility figures. The Christian fertility rate also varies from country to country. In the 20-year period from 1989 to 2009, the average world fertility rate decreased from 3.50 to 2.58, a fall of 0.92 children per woman, or 26%. The weighted average fertility rate for Christian nations decreased in the same period from 3.26 to 2.58, a fall of 0.68 children per woman, or 21%. The weighted average fertility rate for Muslim nations decreased in the same period from 5.17 to 3.23, a fall of 1.94 children per woman, or 38%. While Muslims have an average of 3.1 children per woman—the highest rate of all religious groups—Christians are second, with 2.7 children per woman.


title: Christian population growth

text: The gap in fertility between the Christian- and Muslim-dominated nations fell from 67% in 1990 to 17% in 2010. According to a study published by the Pew Research Center in 2017, births to Muslims between the years of 2010 and 2015 made up an estimated 31% of all babies born around the world. By the Pew Research Center's estimates, the Muslim fertility rate and Christian fertility rate will converge by 2040.


title: Christian population growth

text: The United States government does not collect religious data in its census. The survey below, the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2008, was a random digit-dialed telephone survey of 54,461 American residential households in the contiguous United States. The 1990 sample size was 113,723; 2001 sample size was 50,281.


title: Christian population growth

text: Adult respondents were asked the open-ended question, "What is your religion, if any?" Interviewers did not prompt or offer a suggested list of potential answers. The religion of the spouse or partner was also asked. If the initial answer was "Protestant" or "Christian" further questions were asked to probe which particular denomination. About one-third of the sample was asked more detailed demographic questions.


title: Christian population growth

text: Among the Asian population in the United States, conversion into Christianity is significantly increasing among Korean, Chinese, and Japanese. By 2012 the percentage of Christians in these communities was 71%, 31%, and 38% respectively.


title: Christian population growth

text: Data from the Pew Research Center states that, as of 2013, about 1.6 million adult American Jews identify themselves as Christians, most as Protestants. According to the same data, most of the Jews who identify themselves as some sort of Christian (1.6 million) were raised as Jewish or are Jews by ancestry. According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, 19% of those who say they were raised Jewish in the United States, consider themselves Christian.


title: Christian population growth

text: According to Pew Research, Christianity loses more people than it gains from religious conversion. It found that 23% of Americans raised as Christians no longer identified with Christianity, whereas 6% of current Christians converted. This was in contrast to Islam in America, where the number of people who leave the religion is roughly equal to the number who convert to it. The National Catholic Register claims that in 2015 there were 450,000 American Muslim converts to Christianity and that 20,000 Muslims convert to Christianity annually in the United States. According to scholar Rob Scott of University of Tasmania in 2010 there were "approximately 180,000 Arab Americans and about 130,000 Iranian Americans who converted from Islam to Christianity".


title: Christian population growth

text: Religious Self-Identification of the U.S. Adult Population: 1990, 2001, 2008Figures are not adjusted for refusals to reply; investigators suspect refusals are possibly more representative of "no religion" than any other group.


title: Crystal R. Fox

text: Crystal R. Fox (born January 1, 1964) is an American actress and singer. Fox performed in many stage productions during her career, and is best known for her television roles as Luann Corbin in the NBC/CBS police drama series "In the Heat of the Night" (1989–1995), and as Hanna Young in the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera, "The Haves and the Have Nots" (2013–2021). Fox also has appeared in a number of films, most notably playing the leading role in the 2020 thriller "A Fall from Grace".


title: Crystal R. Fox

text: Fox was born in Tryon, North Carolina. She moved from North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia in 1979 and attended middle school and high school. She began her professional acting career in the late 1970s appearing on stage in Atlanta. She is the niece of the late singer Nina Simone and cousin of Lisa Simone Kelly.


title: Crystal R. Fox

text: Fox made her big-screen debut playing Katie Bell in the Academy Award-winning comedy-drama film "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989) starring Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy. She later joined the cast of NBC police-drama series "In the Heat of the Night" in its third season, playing Luann Corbin. She was a regular cast member through the series finale in 1995, appearing in more than 100 episodes. In the 1990s, Fox had supporting roles in films "Drop Squad" (1994) and "Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored" (1995) opposite Phylicia Rashad and Al Freeman Jr. She co-starred opposite Cicely Tyson in the 1998 miniseries "Mama Flora's Family" based on a novel by Alex Haley. On television, she guest-starred on "Law & Order", "The Sopranos", and "Third Watch". Fox also co-starred opposite Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen in the 2001 PBS production of "The Old Settler".


title: Crystal R. Fox

text: Fox has appeared in many stage productions during her career. She has worked in New York City, Alexandria, Silver Spring, and Atlanta, where she lives. She received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for her performance in the 2002 play "Home". Her other stage credits include "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf", "Antony and Cleopatra", "The Comedy of Errors", "A Raisin in the Sun", "The Colored Museum", "The Amen Corner", "The Boys from Syracuse", "Bessie's Blues", "Little Shop of Horrors" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". She was a member of the Alliance Theatre for many years. She received IRNE Awards and Elliot Norton Awards for Best Actress for playing Rose Maxson in the 2009 production of "Fences" at the Huntington Theatre Company. During 2014–15, she acted as lead in the play "Blues for an Alabama Sky".


title: Crystal R. Fox

text: In 2013, Fox began starring in the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera "The Haves and the Have Nots", produced by Tyler Perry. She played one of the show's leading roles, Hanna Young, a soulful single mother who works as the rich Cryer family's maid and also served as the best friend and confidante of the lady of the house, Katheryn Cryer (played by Reneé Lawless). The series also starred Tika Sumpter, Angela Robinson, and John Schneider. Fox received positive reviews for her performance in the show. The series ended in 2021, after 196 episodes.


title: Crystal R. Fox

text: In 2019, Fox was cast for the second season of the HBO drama series "Big Little Lies" as Zoë Kravitz’s character's mother Elizabeth Howard. Along with the cast, she was nominated for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. She co-starred opposite Forest Whitaker in the drama film "Burden". The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. In 2020, Fox had a leading role in the Netflix thriller film "A Fall from Grace". It was Fox's first leading film role in her long career. The film received negative reviews from critics, but her performance was praised by many. "Chicago Sun-Times" critic Richard Roeper wrote in a review: "Best of all is seeing Crystal Fox getting her moment in the spotlight and absolutely shining." Later in 2020, Fox appeared in the Amazon Prime drama series "Utopia" created by Gillian Flynn.


title: Crystal R. Fox

text: In 2021, Fox starred in the three movie adaptations of V. C. Andrews' books for Lifetime. In 2022, she was cast opposite Chris O'Dowd in the Apple TV+ comedy series "The Big Door Prize".


title: New Haven-style pizza

text: New Haven-style pizza is a style of thin-crust, coal-fired Neapolitan pizza common in and around New Haven, Connecticut. Locally known as apizza (, from Neapolitan "’na pizza" , "a pizza"), it originated at the Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and is now served in many other pizza restaurants in the area, most notably Sally's Apizza and Modern Apizza. This geographically limited pizza style has been favorably regarded by national critics.


title: New Haven-style pizza

text: In a New Haven-style pizzeria, a "plain" pizza is a crust, oregano, tomato sauce, and a little bit of grated pecorino romano cheese. A "plain" New Haven-style pizza may also be called a "tomato pie". Mozzarella is considered a topping.


title: New Haven-style pizza

text: Pepe's restaurant is credited with inventing the "white clam pie", a pizza of crust, olive oil, oregano, grated cheese, chopped garlic, and fresh littleneck clams. It served littleneck clams on the half shell at the bar, which Pepe later added to the pizza.


title: New Haven-style pizza

text: What makes New Haven-style pizza distinct is its thin, oblong crust, characteristic charring, chewy texture, and limited use of melting cheeses. It tends to be drier and thinner than, but closely related to, traditional New York-style pizza. Both styles in turn are close descendants of the original Neapolitan pizza.


title: New Haven-style pizza

text: New Haven-style pizza is traditionally baked in a coal-fired oven at extremely hot temperatures above . It is sold whole rather than by the slice.


title: New Haven-style pizza

text: Although most commonly available locally, New Haven-style pizza has begun to spread to other parts of the United States. It has been available in the Italian-American areas of Bridgeport, and other shoreline communities for many years; Frank Pepe's also has a location in Yonkers in the Italian-heavy New York City metro area. New Haven-style has penetrated areas typically not known for large Italian-American populations, including towns in northern and central Connecticut, as well as other cities across the United States.


title: New Haven-style pizza

text: Henry Winkler, Lyle Lovett, Chris Murphy and Michael Bolton discuss the history of New Haven Pizza in Gorman Bechard's documentary "Pizza: A Love Story". In the film the black char imparted from the ovens is described as adding a smoky barbeque flavor not found elsewhere.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Jewish prayer (, ; plural ; , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the "Siddur", the traditional Jewish prayer book.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Prayer, as a "service of the heart", is in principle a Torah-based commandment. It is not time-dependent and is mandatory for both Jewish men and women. However, the rabbinic requirement to recite a specific prayer text does differentiate between men and women: Jewish men are obligated to recite three prayers each day within specific time ranges ("zmanim"), while, according to many approaches, women are only required to pray once or twice a day, and may not be required to recite a specific text.


title: Jewish prayer

text: A distinction is made between individual prayer and communal prayer, which requires a quorum known as a "minyan", with communal prayer being preferable as it permits the inclusion of prayers that otherwise would be omitted.


title: Jewish prayer

text: According to tradition, many of the current standard prayers were composed by the sages of the Great Assembly in the early Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). The language of the prayers, while clearly from this period, often employs biblical idiom. The main structure of the modern prayer service was fixed in the tannaic era (1st-2nd centuries CE), with some additions and the exact text of blessings coming later. Jewish prayerbooks emerged during the early Middle Ages during the period of the Geonim of Babylonia (6th–11th centuries CE).


title: Jewish prayer

text: Over the last 2000 years, traditional variations have emerged among the traditional liturgical customs of different Jewish communities, such as Ashkenazic, Sephardic, Yemenite, Eretz Yisrael and others, or rather recent liturgical inventions such as Hassidic, and Chabad. However the differences are minor compared with the commonalities. Most of the Jewish liturgy is sung or chanted with traditional melodies or trope. Synagogues may designate or employ a professional or lay "hazzan" (cantor) for the purpose of leading the congregation in prayer, especially on Shabbat or holidays.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Based on this passage, Maimonides categorizes daily prayer as one of the 613 commandments. He rules that the commandment is fulfilled by any prayer at any time in the day, not a specific text; and thus is not time-dependent, and is mandatory for both Jewish men and women. In contrast, the requirement to say specific prayers at specific times is based not on biblical law, but rather rabbinic decree.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Additional references in the Hebrew Bible have been interpreted to suggest that King David and the prophet Daniel prayed three times a day. In Psalms, David states:


title: Jewish prayer

text: The earliest parts of Jewish prayer are the "Shema Yisrael" and the Priestly Blessing, which are in the Torah.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Maimonides asserts that until the Babylonian exile, all Jews composed their own prayers. After the exile, however, when the exiles' understanding of Hebrew diminished and they found it difficult to compose prayers in Hebrew, Ezra and his court composed the "Amidah" prayer. Modern scholarship dating from the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement of 19th-century Germany, as well as textual analysis influenced by the 20th-century discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, suggests that dating from the Second Temple period there existed "liturgical formulations of a communal nature designated for particular occasions and conducted in a centre totally independent of Jerusalem and the Temple, making use of terminology and theological concepts that were later to become dominant in Jewish and, in some cases, Christian prayer."


title: Jewish prayer

text: The structure of the modern Jewish prayer service was established during the period of the Tannaim, "from their traditions, later committed to writing, we learn that the generation of rabbis active at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) gave Jewish prayer its structure and, in outline form at least, its contents." This liturgy included the twice-daily recitation of the Shema, the Amidah, and the cycle of public Torah reading.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The "Amidah" (or "Shemoneh Esreh") prayer is traditionally ascribed to the Great Assembly (in the time of Ezra, near the end of the biblical period), though other sources suggest it was established by Simeon HaPakoli in the late 1st century. Even in the 1st century, though, the precise wording of the blessings was not yet fixed, and varied from locale to locale. By the Middle Ages the texts of the blessings was nearly fixed, and in the form in which they are still used today.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Readings from the Torah (five books of Moses) and the Nevi'im ("Prophets") are specified in the Mishnah and Talmud, as are the order of blessings surrounding the "Shema". Other parts of the service, such as Pesukei dezimra, have little mention in early sources, but became established by custom.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The oldest prayer books date from the time of the Geonim of Babylonia; "some were composed by respected rabbinic scholars at the request of far-flung communities seeking an authoritative text of the required prayers for daily use, Shabbat, and holidays." The earliest existing codification of the prayerbook was drawn up by Rav Amram Gaon of Sura, Babylon, about 850 CE. Half a century later Rav Saadia Gaon, also of Sura, composed a siddur, in which the rubrical matter is in Arabic. These were the basis of Simcha ben Samuel's Machzor Vitry (11th-century France), which was based on the ideas of his teacher, Rashi. Another formulation of the prayers was that appended by Maimonides to the laws of prayer in his Mishneh Torah: this forms the basis of the Yemenite liturgy, and has had some influence on other rites. From this point forward, all Jewish prayerbooks had the same basic order and contents.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The siddur was printed by Soncino in Italy as early as 1486, though a siddur was first mass-distributed only in 1865. The siddur began appearing in the vernacular as early as 1538. The first English translation, by Gamaliel ben Pedahzur (a pseudonym), appeared in London in 1738; a different translation was released in the United States in 1837.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Over the last 2000 years, the various branches of Judaism have resulted in small variations in the Rabbinic liturgy customs among different Jewish communities, with each community having a slightly different nusach (customary liturgy). The principal difference is between Ashkenazic and Sephardic customs, although there are other communities (e.g., Yemenite and Italian Jews, and in the past Eretz Yisrael), and rather recent liturgical inventions such as Hassidic, Chabad, Reform and other communities also have distinct customs, variations, and special prayers. However, the differences between all these customs are quite minor compared with the commonalities.


title: Jewish prayer

text: According to halakha, all individual prayers and virtually all communal prayers may be said in any language that the person praying understands. For example, the "Mishnah" mentions that the "Shema" need not be said in Hebrew. A list of prayers that must be said in Hebrew is given in the Mishna, and among these only the Priestly Blessing is in use today, as the others are prayers that are to be said only in a Temple in Jerusalem, by a priest, or by a reigning King.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Despite this, the tradition of most Ashkenazi Orthodox synagogues is to use Hebrew for all except a small number of prayers, including Kaddish and Yekum Purkan in Aramaic, and Gott Fun Avraham, which was written in Yiddish. In other streams of Judaism there is considerable variability: Sephardic communities may use Ladino or Portuguese for many prayers; Conservative synagogues tend to use the local language to a varying degree; and at some Reform synagogues almost the whole service may be in the local language.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The language of the prayers, while clearly being from the Second Temple period, often employs biblical idiom, and according to some authorities it should not contain rabbinic or Mishnaic idiom apart from in the sections of Mishnah that are featured.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Conservative services generally use the same basic format for services as Orthodox Judaism, with some doctrinal leniencies and some prayers in English. In practice, there is wide variation among Conservative congregations. In traditionalist congregations the liturgy can be almost identical to that of Orthodox Judaism, almost entirely in Hebrew (and Aramaic), with a few minor exceptions, including excision of a study session on Temple sacrifices, and modifications of prayers for the restoration of the sacrificial system. In more liberal Conservative synagogues there are greater changes to the service, with up to a third of the service in English; abbreviation or omission of many of the preparatory prayers; and replacement of some traditional prayers with more contemporary forms. There are some changes for doctrinal reasons, including egalitarian language, fewer references to restoring sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem, and an option to eliminate special roles for Kohanim and Levites.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The liturgies of Reform and Reconstructionist are based on traditional elements, but contain language more reflective of liberal belief than the traditional liturgy. Doctrinal revisions generally include revising or omitting references to traditional doctrines such as bodily resurrection, a personal Jewish Messiah, and other elements of traditional Jewish eschatology, Divine revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai, angels, conceptions of reward and punishment, and other personal miraculous and supernatural elements. Services are often from 40% to 90% in the vernacular.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Reform Judaism has made greater alterations to the traditional service in accord with its more liberal theology including dropping references to traditional elements of Jewish eschatology such as a personal Messiah, a bodily resurrection of the dead, and others. The Hebrew portion of the service is substantially abbreviated and modernized and modern prayers substituted for traditional ones. In addition, in keeping with their view that the laws of Shabbat (including a traditional prohibition on playing instruments) are inapplicable to modern circumstances, Reform services often play instrumental or recorded music with prayers on the Jewish Sabbath. All Reform synagogues are Egalitarian with respect to gender roles.


title: Jewish prayer

text: In Jewish philosophy and in Rabbinic literature, it is noted that the Hebrew verb for prayer— ()—is in fact the reflexive form of (), to judge. Thus, "to pray" conveys the notion of "judging oneself": ultimately, the purpose of prayer— ()—is to transform oneself.


title: Jewish prayer

text: This etymology is consistent with the Jewish conception of divine simplicity. It is not God that changes through one's prayer—man does not influence God as a defendant influences a human judge who has emotions and is subject to change—rather it is man himself who is changed. It is further consistent with Maimonides' view on Divine Providence. Here, Tefillah is the medium which God gave to man by means of which he can change himself, and thereby establish a new "relationship" with God—and thus a new destiny for himself in life; see also under Psalms.


title: Jewish prayer

text: In this view, the ultimate goal of prayer is to help train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation. This approach was taken by Maimonides and the other medieval rationalists.


title: Jewish prayer

text: In this view, prayer is not a conversation. Rather, it is meant to inculcate certain attitudes in the one who prays, but not to influence. This has been the approach of Rabbenu Bachya, Yehuda Halevy, Joseph Albo, Samson Raphael Hirsch, and Joseph B. Soloveitchik. This view is expressed by Rabbi Nosson Scherman in the overview to the Artscroll Siddur (p. XIII); note that Scherman goes on to also affirm the Kabbalistic view (see below).


title: Jewish prayer

text: Kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) uses a series of "kavanot", directions of intent, to specify the path the prayer ascends in the dialogue with God, to increase its chances of being answered favorably. Kabbalism ascribes a higher meaning to the purpose of prayer, which is no less than affecting the very fabric of reality itself, restructuring and repairing the universe in a real fashion. In this view, every word of every prayer, and indeed, even every letter of every word, has a precise meaning and a precise effect. Prayers thus literally affect the mystical forces of the universe, and repair the fabric of creation.


title: Jewish prayer

text: This approach has been taken by the Chassidei Ashkenaz (German pietists of the Middle-Ages), the Zohar, the Arizal's Kabbalist tradition, the Ramchal, most of Hassidism, the Vilna Gaon and Jacob Emden.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Hassidism, although incorporating the kabbalistic worldview and its corresponding kavanot, also emphasized straightforward sincerity and depth of emotional engagement in prayer. The Baal Shem Tov's great-grandson, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, particularly emphasized speaking to God in one's own words, which he called Hitbodedut (self-seclusion) and advised setting aside an hour to do this every day (Likutei Moharan 2:25).


title: Jewish prayer

text: "Daven" is the originally exclusively Eastern Yiddish verb meaning "pray"; it is widely used by Ashkenazic Orthodox Jews. In Yinglish, this has become the Anglicised "davening".


title: Jewish prayer

text: The origin of the word is obscure, but is thought by some to have come from Arabic (from "diwan", a collection of poems or prayers), French (from "devoner", 'to devote' or 'dedicate' or possibly from the French 'devant'- 'in front of' with the idea that the person praying is mindful of before whom they stand), Latin (from "divin", 'divine') or even English (from "dawn"). Others believe that it derives from a Slavic word meaning "to give" (). Some claim that it originates from an Aramaic word, "de'avuhon" or "d'avinun", meaning 'of their/our forefathers', as the three prayers are said to have been invented by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Another Aramaic derivation, proposed by Avigdor Chaikin, cites the Talmudic phrase, ""ka davai lamizrach"", 'gazing wistfully to the east' (Shab. 35a). Kevin A. Brook, cites Zeiden's suggestion that the word "daven" comes from the Turkish root "tabun-" meaning 'to pray', and that in Kipchak Turkish, the initial "t" morphs into "d".


title: Jewish prayer

text: In Western Yiddish, the term for "pray" is "oren", a word with clear roots in Romance languages—compare Spanish and Portuguese "orar" and Latin "orare".


title: Jewish prayer

text: Individual prayer is considered acceptable, but prayer with a quorum of ten Jewish adults—a "minyan"—is the most highly recommended form of prayer and is required for some prayers. An adult in this context means over the age of 12 or 13 ("bat" or "bar mitzvah"). Judaism had originally counted only men in the "minyan" for formal prayer, on the basis that one does not count someone who is not obligated to participate. The rabbis had exempted women from almost all time-specific positive mitzvot (commandments), including those parts of the prayer that cannot be recited without a quorum, due to women in the past being bound up in an endless cycle of pregnancy, birthing and nursing from a very early age. Orthodox Judaism still follows this reasoning and excludes women from the minyan.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Since 1973, Conservative congregations have overwhelmingly become egalitarian and count women in the "minyan". A very small number of congregations that identify themselves as Conservative have resisted these changes and continue to exclude women from the minyan. Those Reform and Reconstructionist congregations that consider a "minyan" mandatory for communal prayer, count both men and women for a "minyan". All denominations of Judaism except for Orthodox Judaism ordain female rabbis and cantors.


title: Jewish prayer

text: There is a publicly said prayer, called Birkhat HaGomel, for giving thanks for surviving an illness or danger. which, in addition to needing a "Minyan", also needs a Torah scroll taken out for a scheduled Torah reading.


title: Jewish prayer

text: In the event one of the prayers was missed inadvertently, the Amidah prayer is said twice in the next service—a procedure known as "tefillat tashlumin".


title: Jewish prayer

text: Many Jews sway their body back and forth during prayer. This practice, referred to as "shuckling" in Yiddish, is not mandatory.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Many are accustomed to giving charity before, during (especially during Vayivarech David) or after prayer, in the hopes that this will make their prayer more likely to be heard.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The "Shacharit" (from "shachar", morning light) prayer is recited in the morning. "Halacha" limits parts of its recitation to the first three (Shema) or four (Amidah) hours of the day, where "hours" are 1/12 of daylight time, making these times dependent on the season.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Various prayers are said upon arising; the tallit katan (a garment with tzitzit) is donned at this time. The tallit (large prayer shawl) is donned before or during the actual prayer service, as are the tefillin (phylacteries); both are accompanied by blessings.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The service starts with the "morning blessings" ("birkot ha-shachar"), including blessings for the Torah (considered the most important ones). In Orthodox services this is followed by a series of readings from biblical and rabbinic writings recalling the offerings made in the Temple in Jerusalem. The section concludes with the "Rabbis' Kaddish" ("kaddish de-rabbanan").


title: Jewish prayer

text: The next section of morning prayers is called "Pesukei dezimra" ("verses of praise"), containing several psalms (100 and 145–150), and prayers (such as "yehi chevod") made from a tapestry of biblical verses, followed by Song of the Sea.


title: Jewish prayer

text: "Barechu", the formal public call to prayer, introduces a series of expanded blessings embracing the recitation of the "Shema". This is followed by the core of the prayer service, the "Amidah" or "Shemoneh Esreh", a series of 19 blessings. Most Orthodox synagogues in Israel include the blessings of the Kohanim. The next part of the service, is "Tachanun", supplications, which is omitted on days with a festive character (and by Reform services usually entirely). On Mondays and Thursdays, a longer version of "Tachanun" is recited, and Torah reading is done after "Tachanun". Concluding prayers (see Uva letzion) and Aleinu then follow, with the Kaddish of the mourners generally after Aleinu.


title: Jewish prayer

text: "Mincha" or "Minha" may be recited from half an hour after "halachic" noontime until sunset. Sephardim and Italian Jews start the Mincha prayers with Psalm 84 and "Korbanot", and usually continue with the "Pittum hakketoret". The opening section is concluded with Malachi 3:4.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Ashrei is recited, followed by half-Kaddish, the Amidah (including repetition), "Tachanun", and then the full Kaddish. Sephardim insert a Psalm, followed by the Mourner's Kaddish. After this follows, in most modern rites, the "Aleinu". Most Ashkenazim then conclude with the Mourner's Kaddish. In Ashkenazic, Italian and Yemenite communities, the service leaders often wears a tallit.


title: Jewish prayer

text: In many congregations, the afternoon and evening prayers are recited back-to-back on a working day, to save people having to attend synagogue twice. The Vilna Gaon discouraged this practice, and followers of his set of customs commonly wait until after nightfall to recite "Ma'ariv" (the name derives from the word "nightfall").


title: Jewish prayer

text: Some communities begin this service with Psalm 134 and a half kaddish. In other communities, it begins "ve-hu rachum" followed by "barechu", the formal public call to prayer, and "Shema Yisrael" embraced by two benedictions before and two after. Ashkenazim outside of Israel (except some chasisim (including Chabad-Lubavitch) and followers of the Vilna Gaon) then add a fifth blessing, Baruch Adonai le-Olam. The prayer is recited by most Ashkenazim outside of Israel. It is recited by many Chasidim (although not by Chabad-Lubavitch). It is not recited by followers of the Vilna Gaon. In Israel, it is largely unheard of in Ashkenazic circles (both Nusach Ashkenaz and Nusach Sefard[1]), although it is recited by some of the minyanim associated with Machon Moreshes Ashkenaz. It appears in old printings of Sephardic siddurim (including Venice and Livorno), although it has been largely dropped by Sephardic communities. However, some Moroccan communities (both in Israel and elsewhere) recite the last part of the prayer (starting from Yir'u eineinu) at Maariv at the conclusion of the Sabbath. In the Yemenite rite and the Italian rite, it is recited in and out of Israel. This is followed by the half-Kaddish, and the "Amidah", followed by the full Kaddish. Sephardim (and, in Israel, most who follow Nusach Sefard) then say Psalm 121 (or another topical Psalm), say the Mourner's Kaddish and repeat "Barechu", before concluding with the Aleinu. Ashkenazim, in the diaspora, neither say Psalm 121 nor repeat Barechu, but conclude with "Aleinu" followed by the Mourner's Kaddish (in Israel, most Ashkenazim do repeat Barechu after mourner's Kaddish). From the beginning of Elul through Hoshanah Rabbah (and outside of Israel, on Shemini Atzeret as well), most Nusach Ashkenaz communities recite Psalm 27, which contains many allusions to the Days of Awe and Sukkot. This is again followed by the mourner's Kaddish. In a house of mourning, many communities conclude the service with Psalm 16 or Psalm 49. In the Western Ashkenazic rite (as well as some German and Hungarian communities following the Eastern Ashkenazic rite), Psalms 24, 8 and 28 are recited when maariv is recited after nightfall; these can be followed by a Mourners Kaddish if needed (since these communities usually only allow one mourner to recite each Kaddish).


title: Jewish prayer

text: On Shabbat (the Sabbath), prayers are similar in structure to those on weekdays, although almost every part is lengthened. One exception is the "Amidah", the main prayer, which is abridged. The first three and last three blessings are recited as usual, but the middle thirteen are replaced with a single blessing known as ""sanctity of the day,"" describing the Sabbath. Atypically, this middle blessing is different for each of the prayers.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Shabbat services begin on Friday evening with the weekday Mincha, followed in some communities by the Song of Songs, and then in most communities by the "Kabbalat Shabbat", the mystical prelude to Shabbat services composed by 16th-century Kabbalists. This Hebrew term literally means "Receiving the Sabbath". In many communities, the piyut "Yedid Nefesh" introduces the Kabbalat Shabbat prayers.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Kabbalat Shabbat is, except among many Italian and many Sephardic Jews (including Spanish and Portuguese Jews, but also many Middle Eastern Sephardic communities), composed of six Psalms, representing the six weekdays. Next comes the poem "Lekha Dodi", based on the words of the Talmudic sage Hanina: "Come, let us go out to meet the Queen Sabbath" Kabbalat Shabbat is concluded by Psalm 92 (the recital of which constitutes acceptance of the current Shabbat with all its obligations) and Psalm 93. Many add a study section here, including "Bameh Madlikin" and "Amar rabbi El'azar" and the concluding "Kaddish deRabbanan" (in the Western Ashkenazic rite, a mourners kaddish is instead recited after "Bameh Madlikin") and is then followed by the Maariv service; other communities delay the study session until after Maariv. Others add here a passage from the Zohar, entitled "Kegavna". In modern times the Kabbalat Shabbat has been set to music by many composers including: Robert Strassburg and Samuel Adler


title: Jewish prayer

text: The Shema section of the Friday night service varies in some details from the weekday services—mainly in the different ending of the "Hashkivenu" prayer and the omission of "Baruch Adonai le-Olam" prayer in those traditions where this section is otherwise recited. In the Italian rite, there are also different versions of the "Ma'ariv aravim" prayer (beginning "asher killah") and the "Emet Ve-Emunah" prayer.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Most commemorate the Shabbat at this point with "VeShameru". The custom to recite these verses appears in many early sources such as Siddur Rav Saadya Gaon (who recited the blessing Yiru Eineinu after these verses) and is found in the vast majority of old prayer books of a variety of rites. However, it is absent from the Yemenite "Baladi" tradition (although has been added in most Baladi communities in the last few hundred years), and it is not recited according to the traditions of the Vilna Gaon or Chabad who are opposed to adding additional readings to the siddur which are not mentioned in the Talmud.


title: Jewish prayer

text: On Friday night, the middle blessing of the "Amidah" discusses the conclusion of creation, quoting the relevant verses from Genesis. The Amidah is then followed by the Seven-Faceted Blessing, the hazzan's mini-repetition of the Amidah. In some Ashkenazi Orthodox synagogues the second chapter of Mishnah tractate Shabbat, "Bameh Madlikin", is read at this point, instead of earlier. Kiddush is recited in the synagogue in Ashkenazi and a few Sephardi communities. The service then follows with Aleinu. Most Sephardi and many Ashkenazi synagogues end with the singing of "Yigdal", a poetic adaptation of Maimonides' 13 principles of Jewish faith. Other Ashkenazi synagogues end with "Adon Olam" instead.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Shabbat morning prayers differ from weekday morning prayers in several ways: an expanded version of Pesukei dezimra, a longer version of the Yotzer ohr blessing, the seven-blessing Shabbat version of the Amidah, no Tachanun, a longer Torah reading, and some additional prayers after the Torah reading. In many communities, the rabbi (or a learned member of the congregation) delivers a sermon at the very end of Shacharit and before Mussaf, usually on the topic of the Torah reading.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The "Musaf" service starts with the silent recitation of the "Amidah". The middle blessing includes the "Tikanta Shabbat" reading on the holiness of Shabbat (in Yemenita communities, as well as some Sephardic communities "Le-Mosheh Tsivita" is recited instead of "Tikanta Shabbat"), and then by a reading from the biblical Book of Numbers about the sacrifices that used to be performed in the Temple in Jerusalem. Next comes "Yismechu", "They shall rejoice in Your sovereignty", and "Eloheynu", "Our God and God of our Ancestors, may you be pleased with our rest" (which is recited during all "Amidah"s of the Sabbath). After the silent prayer, the leader repeats the prayer, adding an expanded version of Kedushah. In some Sephardic and Yemenite communities, rather than the silent prayer and repetition, the leader recited his own prayer aloud and the congregation prays along with him.


title: Jewish prayer

text: After the "Amidah" comes the full Kaddish, followed by "Ein keloheinu". In Orthodox Judaism this is followed by a reading from the Talmud on the incense offering called "Pittum Haketoreth" and daily psalms that used to be recited in the Temple in Jerusalem. These readings are usually omitted by Conservative Jews, and are always omitted by Reform Jews.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The "Musaf" service culminates with the Rabbi's Kaddish (in the Western Ashkenazic rite, the Mourners Kaddish is recited instead), the "Aleinu", followed in many communities by the Mourner's Kaddish. Some synagogues conclude with the reading of Shir Hayichud, Anim Zemirot (sometimes followed by a Mourner's Kaddish), the Psalm of the Day (sometimes followed by a Mourner's Kaddish) - in some communities, these are recited before the Torah reading or at the beginning of services instead. Many communities conclude with either Adon Olam or Yigdal.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Mincha commences with Ashrei and the prayer Uva letzion, after which the first section of the next weekly portion is read from the Torah scroll. The "Amidah" follows the same pattern as the other Shabbat "Amidah" prayers, with the middle blessing starting "Attah Echad". The short prayer Tzidkatcha is recited after the "Amidah", followed by Kaddish and Aleinu.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The week-day Ma'ariv is recited on the evening immediately following Shabbat, concluding with "Vihi No'am", "Ve-Yitten lekha", and "Havdalah".


title: Jewish prayer

text: The services for the Days of Awe, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, take on a solemn tone as befits these days. Traditional solemn tunes are used in the prayers.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The musaf service on Rosh Hashana has nine blessings; the three middle blessings include biblical verses attesting to sovereignty, remembrance and the "shofar", which is sounded during the service.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Yom Kippur is the only day in the year when there are five prayer services. The evening service, containing the Ma'ariv prayer, is widely known as "Kol Nidrei", the opening declaration made preceding the prayer. During the daytime, shacharit, musaf (which is recited on Shabbat and all festivals) and mincha are followed, as the sun begins to set, by Ne'ila, which is recited just this once a year.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The services for the three festivals of Pesach ("Passover"), Shavuot ("Feast of Weeks" or "Pentecost"), and Sukkot ("Feast of Tabernacles") are alike, except for interpolated piyyutim and readings for each individual festival. The preliminaries and conclusions of the prayers are the same as on Shabbat. The Amidah on these festivals only contains seven benedictions, with "Attah Bechartanu" as the main one. Hallel (communal recitation of Psalms 113–118) follows.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The Musaf service includes Umi-Penei Hata'enu, with reference to the special festival and Temple sacrifices on the occasion.


title: Jewish prayer

text: A blessing on the pulpit ("dukhen") is pronounced by the "kohanim" (Jewish priests) during the repetition of the Amidah. While this occurs daily in Israel and most Sephardic congregations, it occurs only on Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur in Ashkenazic (and some Sephardic communities) congregations of the Jewish diaspora. Even when it is omitted, or when there are no kohanim present, a special prayer is instead recited by the "hazzan" after the "Modim" ("Thanksgiving") prayer) in commemoration of the priestly blessing. (American Reform Jews omit the Musaf service.)


title: Jewish prayer

text: According to halakha, Jewish men are obligated to perform public prayer three times a day, within specific time ranges (zmanim), plus additional services on Jewish holidays.


title: Jewish prayer

text: According to the Talmud, women are generally exempted from obligations that have to be performed at a certain time. (This has interpreted as being due to the need to constantly care for small children, or due to women's alleged higher spiritual level which makes it unnecessary for them to connect to God at specific times, since they are always connected to God.) In accordance with the general exemption from time-bound obligations, women are not required to recite the morning and evening Shema (though "Mishnah Berurah" suggests that they say it anyway), and most Orthodox authorities have exempted women from reciting Maariv.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Authorities have disagreed on whether this exemption applies to additional prayers. According to (Ashkenazi) Magen Avraham and more recently (Sephardi) Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, women are only required to pray once a day, in any form they choose, so long as the prayer contains praise of (brakhot), requests to (bakashot), and thanks of (hodot) God. However, most Orthodox authorities agree that women are not completely exempt from time-bound prayer. The "Mishnah Berurah", an important code of Ashkenazic Jewish law, holds that the Men of the Great Assembly obligated women to recite "Shacharit" and "Minchah" each day, "just like men". Nonetheless, even the most liberal Orthodox authorities hold that women cannot count in a minyan for purposes of public prayer.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Conservative Judaism regards the "halakhic" system of multiple daily services as mandatory. Since 2002, Jewish women from Conservative congregations have been regarded as having undertaken a communal obligation to pray the same prayers at the same times as men, with traditional communities and individual women permitted to opt out. Reform and Reconstructionist congregations do not regard "halakha" as binding and hence regard appropriate prayer times as matters of personal spiritual decision rather than a matter of religious requirement.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Throughout Orthodox Judaism, including its most liberal forms, men and women are required to sit in separate sections with a mechitza (partition) separating them. Historically, a learned woman in the "weibershul" (women's section or annex) of a synagogue took on the informal role of precentress or firzogerin for the women praying in parallel to the main service led in the men's section. Conservative/Masorti Judaism permits mixed seating (almost universally in the United States, but not in all countries). All Reform and Reconstructionist congregations have mixed seating.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Haredi and the vast majority of Modern Orthodox Judaism has a blanket prohibition on women leading public congregational prayers. Conservative Judaism has developed a blanket justification for women leading all or virtually all such prayers, holding that although only obligated individuals can lead prayers and women were not traditionally obligated, Conservative Jewish women in modern times have as a collective whole voluntarily undertaken such an obligation. Reform and Reconstructionist congregations permit women to perform all prayer roles because they do not regard halakha as binding.


title: Jewish prayer

text: A small liberal wing within Modern Orthodox Judaism, particularly rabbis friendly to the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA), has begun re-examining the role of women in prayers based on an individual, case-by-case look at the historical role of specific prayers and services, doing so within classical "halakhic" interpretation. Accepting that where obligation exists only the obligated can lead, this small group has typically made three general arguments for expanded women's roles:


title: Jewish prayer

text: A very small number of Modern Orthodox congregations accept some such arguments, but very few Orthodox congregations or authorities accept all or even most of them. Many of those who do not accept this reasoning point to "kol isha", the tradition that prohibits a man from hearing a woman other than his wife or close blood relative sing. JOFA refers to congregations generally accepting such arguments as Partnership Minyanim. On Shabbat in a Partnership Minyan, women can typically lead "Kabbalat Shabbat", the "P'seukei D'Zimrah", the services for removing the Torah from and replacing it to the Ark, and Torah reading, as well as give a "D'Var Torah" or sermon.


title: Jewish prayer

text: The first Orthodox Jewish women's prayer group was created on the holiday of Simhat Torah at Lincoln Square Synagogue in Manhattan in the late 1960s.


title: Jewish prayer

text: Ephraim Mirvis, an Orthodox rabbi who serves as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, supports Shabbat prayer groups for Orthodox women, saying, "Some of our congregations have women prayer groups for Friday night, some Saturday mornings. This is without women reading from the Torah. But for women to come together as a group to pray, this is a good thing."


title: Jewish prayer

text: However, many Modern Orthodox rabbis, including Rabbi Hershel Schachter, Rabbi Mordechai Willig, Rabbi Nisson Alpert and others have ruled that this practice is not permitted. These practices are also unheard of in the Hareidi world


title: Jewish prayer

text: In most divisions of Judaism boys prior to bar mitzvah cannot act as a Chazzen for prayer services that contain "devarim sheb'kidusha", i.e. Kaddish, Barechu, the amida, etc., or receive an "aliya" or chant the Torah for the congregation. Since "Kabbalat Shabbat" and "Pesukei D'zimra" do not technically require a chazzan at all, it is possible for a boy prior to bar mitzvah to lead these services. The conclusion of the service on Shabbat and "chagim" may also be led by children. Under the Moroccan, Yemenite, and Mizrachi customs, a boy prior to bar mitzvah may lead certain prayers, read the Torah, and have an aliyah. It is customary among many Ashkenazim to have children sing "Adon 'Olam" after Mussaf and "Yigdal" after Shabbat and Holiday Maariv. Among Sefardim, Mizrachim, Yemenites, and some Askenazim, a child leads the congregation in Kiryat Shema.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Busch Gardens Williamsburg (formerly known as Busch Gardens Europe and Busch Gardens: The Old Country) is a amusement park located in James City County near Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Located approximately northwest of Virginia Beach, the park was developed by Anheuser-Busch (A-B) and is owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. It opened on May 16, 1975, adjacent to Anheuser-Busch's brewery and near its other developments including the Kingsmill Resort complex.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: The park is themed to a variety of European country themes and was originally named Busch Gardens: The Old Country. In 1993, the park was renamed Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and it was briefly named Busch Gardens Europe from 2006–2008. In 2015, an estimated 2.78 million guests attended the park, ranking it twentieth in overall attendance among amusement parks in North America. In addition to its landscaping and European themes, Busch Gardens is widely known for its roller coasters, including Griffon, Verbolten, Pantheon, Alpengeist, and Apollo's Chariot, the latter of which was ranked as the fourth best steel coaster in the annual Golden Ticket Awards publication from "Amusement Today" in 2012.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Beginning in the early 1970s, the Busch Gardens theme park was developed by Anheuser-Busch (A-B) as a portion of the company's development investment in the Williamsburg area, which grew to include a brewery, the Kingsmill Resort, as well as residential and office properties. It opened in 1975 as Busch Gardens: The Old Country.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: The St. Louis-based brewer invested in the area following negotiations held between August Busch, II and Winthrop Rockefeller, who was the governor of Arkansas and the chairman of Colonial Williamsburg in the 1960s and 1970s. (Water Country USA, a local water park, was acquired by A-B in the 1990s, and added to the company's theme park activities, which include a number of SeaWorld properties in other states as well).


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: In the last part of the 20th and early into the 21st century, as a brewer, A-B found itself competing in an increasingly global market. In 2008, after initially resisting an unsolicited stock bid, A-B announced it had reached an agreement to be acquired by the even larger Belgium-based InBev. The newer owners announced plans to sell off the portions of A-B activities that were not part of the core beverage business as it worked to reduce the debt incurred to fund the acquisition.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: The Blackstone Group was selected in late 2009 to acquire and operate the 10 former A-B theme parks, including two in the Williamsburg area. In July 2010, the adjacent Kingsmill Resort was scheduled to be acquired by Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a company owned by Denver-based Phillip Anschutz.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: By mid-March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the opening of the park for the 2020 season. The park remained closed until August 6, 2020, when they reopened, offering an all-new special event - Coasters and Craft Brews. The all-new special event featured limited capacity, required advanced reservations and temperature screening of guests upon arrival, and select villages of the park. As the pandemic progressed, the park has continued to host limited-capacity special events, including Taste of Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Halloween Harvest (in place of Howl-O-Scream), Christmas Celebration (in place of Christmas Town), Winter Weekends, and Mardi Gras.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Beginning in January 2021, the park began its year-round operation. The previous operating season of Busch Gardens Williamsburg was late March through early January. The Winter Weekends and Mardi Gras limited-capacity events are the first time that the park has ever been open during the winter months.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: The park features a combination of roller coasters and Broadway-style shows. The park is broken into "countries", each having its unique style of food and music. The rides in the sections of the park are also themed to the country that they are located in.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Jack Hanna's Wild Reserve houses a variety of wild species including gray wolves and bald eagles. Busch Gardens is partnered with SeaWorld (also owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment) in the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, which offers guests the opportunity to contribute to wildlife conservation. The Rhine River Cruise's boats are battery-powered to cut back on power generation and prevent water pollution. In addition, Busch Gardens and Water Country USA both use insects rather than pesticides in the parks' commitment to organic gardening. All brochures, maps, show guides and all paper products in the restrooms are made from recycled material.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Howl-O-Scream, the park's signature Halloween event, began in 1999 and offers more than a dozen attractions featuring vampires, zombies, clowns, witches, and skeletons.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Christmas Town is the park's Christmas event that began during the 2009 season. Several Christmas and winter holiday-themed attractions and shows are showcased, including a Christmas tree called "O Tannenbaum" that lights up in sync to Christmas music in the Oktoberfest hamlet of the park. Each of the show venues from the summer season has a holiday-themed show during Christmas Town, ranging from reinterpretations of classic Christmas stories (Scrooge No More), to ice skating (Twas That Night On Ice), to a cappella performances (Gift of Harmony). Many of the flat rides are in operation as well as the park's train, skyride, and (weather permitting) a few roller coasters, which have traditionally been Verbolten, InvadR and Pantheon since their 2012, 2017, and 2022 opening seasons, respectively, and recently Apollo’s Chariot, though previous Christmas town seasons saw Tempesto, Griffon, and Alpengeist also operate. During the celebration, the park is decorated with millions of lights and dozens of real Christmas trees across the entire park. Shopping and dining are also a prominent part of Christmas Town, with many of the park's restaurants offering food and drinks catered to the season and colder weather. The event usually starts the weekend before Thanksgiving and continues every weekend until the week before Christmas, where it stays open for the rest of December until a few days after New Year's Day.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: The park is separated into 10 different hamlets, themed to European villages from England, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland and Ireland.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Two attractions provide transportation around the park. The Aeronaut Skyride gondola lift transports guests between the Sesame Street Forest of Fun, Aquitaine and Rhinefeld hamlets; while the Busch Gardens Railway's replica steam trains transport guests between the Heatherdowns, Festa Italia and New France hamlets. The train serves as a convenient way for families with small children to travel around the park together as well as providing an "Old Country" themed method of transportation fitting the park's overall theme.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Banbury Cross is fashioned after England, with phone booths and classic English architecture. Guest Services windows are located next to the turnstiles of the Main gate. A simulacrum of the famous Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) is the central element of this area. Banbury Cross also includes The Squire's Grill, serving breakfast and lunch, as well as a funnel cake shop, ice cream shop and candy store. The Globe Theatre, a double-sized replica of William Shakespeare's performance home, is the most prominent attraction in the area. In 2014, the theatre was renovated for the purpose of once again holding live performances. For many years preceding 2014, the Globe Theatre's entertainment lineup consisted of 4-D films, including "Haunts of the Old Country", "Pirates 4-D" and "R.L. Stine's Haunted Lighthouse". Prior to the 4-D films, the theater hosted a variety of live shows including Mark Wilson's World's Greatest Illusions, America on Ice, Hot Ice, Celebrate America and the People's Choice. It currently features a Sesame Street live show, with performers in costume as popular characters.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Heatherdowns is a Scottish hamlet situated at the top of the hill on the path leading from Banbury Cross (the park's English hamlet). Tweedside Train Station offers a 20-minute ride through the park with additional stops in Festa Italia and at Caribou Station, in New France. Tweedside Gifts is located adjacent to the train station. Heatherdowns is also home to the Highland Stables featuring Scottish Blackface sheep, Border Collies and Clydesdales. Guests can interact with the animals and see them in action as they demonstrate their skills during daily demonstrations. Guests can also have pictures with the Clydesdales. Prior to 2010, the stables were home to several of the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales until the theme park unit of Anheuser-Busch was sold in 2009. Other points of interest include seasonal kiosks for the park's Food and Wine Festival (in late spring) and the Summer Nights festival.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Opened on April 3, 2009, Sesame Street Forest of Fun features four new children and family rides and attractions themed to Sesame Street, including a Zierer junior roller coaster named Grover's Alpine Express, Bert and Ernie's Loch Adventure flume ride, Oscar's Whirly Worms rock-n-tug-type ride, Prince Elmo's Spire shot-n-drop ride a small drop tower and wet and dry play areas. The area also features a stage for the main show "Sunny Days Celebration" and a gift shop. The hamlet also contains the Skyride station nearest to the Main Gate. The Aeronaut (first leg) of the Skyride departs to Aquitaine, France, while the Zeppelin (third leg) Skyride arrives from Rhinefeld, Germany.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Formerly known as Hastings, England, this section of the park was re-themed in 2001 as Ireland, the newest country in over 20 years. This area features "Celtic Fyre," at the Abbey Stone Theatre, a celebration of Irish dance. Previously, the theatre housing Celtic Fyre was named the Magic Lantern Theatre and housed some of the best theme park musical revue in the United States. Shows such as Kaleidoscope, Hats Off to Hollywood, Journey into Music, Stage Struck, Totally Television and Rockin the Boat are some of the names of these productions. Grogan's Grill offers Irish cuisine in this area.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Outside the gateway next to Castle O'Sullivan, the walkway makes a sharp left turn and begins a long, moderately steep climb toward Aquitaine, France. Several animal sanctuaries and two animal performance theaters are situated along this path. Originally named Jack Hanna's Wild Reserve when it opened in 2000, the animal sanctuary was considered its own section of the park, but in 2017 the Wild Reserve was merged with Killarney and renamed the Jack Hanna Trail.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: When Italy/San Marco was opened, it completed the outer circle walkway around Busch Gardens. Part of the park's expansion included a high pedestrian bridge across the Rhine River into Oktoberfest, Germany. San Marco is based upon Renaissance era Italy. A prominent feature within San Marco is Da Vinci's Garden of Inventions. This garden features Italian statues and flowers set amid rides based on sketches by Leonardo da Vinci. Also in the area is Ristorante Della Piazza, featuring Italian cuisine and allowing guests to watch "Mix It Up." During the summer until 2008, sounds of the Starlight Orchestra could be heard while dining.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Festa Italia is themed around a fair celebrating Marco Polo's return to Italy from his famous visit to China. It contains many of the park's midway games, all with a festival theme. Its attractions are themed around Roman mythology.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: This section is based on the country of Germany. It is largely themed to a runaway ski resort in the German Alps. The third leg of Busch Gardens' Skyride arrives and departs from this section. Also in Rhinefeld is Land of the Dragons, a large children's play area featuring a playground, five rides, and seasonal shows.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: When it opened in 1994 (replacing the former Grimms Hollow children's area), Land of the Dragons was the main kiddie area at Busch Gardens. It is home to Dumpherey the Dragon, the area's mascot. Other major notes taken to Land of the Dragons include its dragon-themed 3-story tree house, a wet play area with waterfalls, squirting geysers, a serpent inhabiting the area and a dragon egg Ferris wheel. There are also smaller play zones, slides, smaller wet play areas and (formerly) a gift shop called Dragon Digs.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: As of the 2012 season, the Lost Children building has been relocated from its former building, dubbed Wild Moose Lodge, in New France, to what was formerly the Dragon Digs gift shop.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Like Rhinefeld, this section is based on Germany during the annual celebration of Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest features many of the park's flat rides. It is also home to a large assortment of carnival-style games. Das Festhaus is a large, air conditioned eating facility where guests can purchase German food or American classics. While eating in Das Festhaus, guests can experience "Entwined", a show incorporating the Grimm Brothers' most famous fairy tales. A new show has been added recently titled "Roll out the Barrel." This section of the park formerly hosted The Big Bad Wolf, a suspended roller coaster. The Big Bad Wolf was closed on September 7, 2009.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: On September 18, 2010, it was announced that in 2011, Oktoberfest would be renovated with new shops and sights including a new beer garden and pretzel shop known as Beste Brezeln und Bier with a Bavarian maypole occupying the flower garden in front of Das Festhaus, along with a drop tower called Mäch Tower. Also announced was a new "multi-launch" roller coaster that opened in the spring of 2012 on the former site of the Big Bad Wolf roller coaster. On September 17, 2011 it was announced that the new coaster would be called Verbolten. On May 18, 2012, Verbolten officially opened to the general public.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: The area also hosts a large part of the annual BierFest festival, featuring a large number of beers from around the world, with at least 22 different beers on tap throughout the whole area. German-themed food and non-alcoholic beverages are also sold during the festival.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: The area also contained the trackless dark ride "Curse of DarKastle". The attraction opened on May 1, 2005, and closed on September 4, 2017, to make way for a temporary Howl-O-Scream maze, "Frostbite". On January 23, 2018, it was announced that Curse of DarKastle would not reopen for the 2018 season and would be officially closing for being a burden with maintenance costs. The building that harbored the dark ride was used as event space such as Santa's workshop for Christmas Town and a walkthrough maze for the 2021 Halloween event Howl-O-Scream. On September 6, 2022, it was announced that a new indoor launch coaster named DarKoaster: Escape The Storm would open in the space during Spring 2023.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Centering on the village of Aquitaine, this section is based on Belle Époque France. It is home to many boutiques and one of the park's Skyride stations, where the first leg of the Skyride arrives from England and the second leg departs for Rhinefeld, Germany. The Royal Palace Theatre in France hosts numerous shows throughout the season.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: New France is based on French colonial Canada and consists of a hub of Canadian-themed shops with a colonial tone throughout the area. Rides in New France include the Busch Gardens Railway departing from Caribou Station and Le Scoot Log Flume, featuring a plunge through a saw mill. A predominant feature in this area is the Trappers Smokehouse which has an outdoor grill centrally located. Trappers Smokehouse offers grilled and smoked items such as chicken, turkey legs, ribs, and beef brisket.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Jack Hanna's Wild Reserve includes bald eagles and wolves. "Eagle Ridge" is a 3,000+ foot area set aside for housing and rehabilitating bald eagles and providing education to visitors. "Wolf Haven" is a viewing area where guests may observe one of Busch Garden's pairs of wolves. One pair is on exhibition at a time. Busch Gardens also provides "Wolf Valley" for those wolves not on display. Over of natural habitat is intended to ensure the animals' health and well-being. It also contains an aviary named "Lorikeet Glen", which displays Rainbow lorikeets, and other birds. The wild reserve is located in the Ireland section of the park. In recent years, animal attractions at the park have been extensively removed, though the staple attractions remain.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Busch Gardens' Highland Stables features Scottish Blackface sheep, Border Collies, black Clydesdales and Highland cattle. Guests can interact with the animals during daily demonstrations. It is located between the England and Scotland sections.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: At the park, special parking areas are provided for persons with disabilities, recreational vehicles and groups arriving by buses and motorcoaches. Trams provide shuttle service to and from entrance gates from outlying parking areas.


title: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

text: Within the park itself, three steam locomotive powered trains operate on the narrow gauge Busch Gardens Railway, a loop of track, providing transportation between the Heatherdowns, Festa Italia and New France themed areas. Additionally, a skyride provides transportation between the Banbury Cross, Aquitaine and Rhinefeld themed areas.


title: Charismatic authority

text: Charismatic authority is a concept of leadership developed by the German sociologist Max Weber. It involves a type of organization or a type of leadership in which authority derives from the charisma of the leader. This stands in contrast to two other types of authority: legal authority and traditional authority. Each of the three types forms part of Max Weber's tripartite classification of authority.


title: Charismatic authority

text: "Charisma" is an ancient Greek term that initially gained prominence through Saint Paul's letters to the emerging Christian communities in the first century. In this context, it generally referred to a divinely-originating "gift" that demonstrated the authority of God within the early leaders of the Church. Max Weber took this theological notion and generalized it, viewing it as something that followers attribute, thereby opening it up for use by sociologists who applied it to political, military, celebrity, and non-Christian religious contexts. Other terms used are "charismatic domination" and "charismatic leadership".


title: Charismatic authority

text: This definition, however, does not get to the crux of what charisma is, making the concept as defined by Weber unscientific and impossible to measure or to manipulate. In the modern era, psychologists have defined charisma in terms of its outcomes (i.e., charismatic leaders are highly effective). Whether from a Weberian or psychological conceptualization, it is problematic to not define a construct scientifically. This issue of conceptualization is important to consider else the concept and how it relates to outcomes is circular in reasoning. The conclusions derived from the theory cannot be refuted given that the proponents claim something akin to "if effective, therefore charismatic". Charisma, however, can be studied scientifically if seen as a costly signal, using values, symbols, and emotions. Its economic value in consequential settings has also been scientifically examined. Thus Weber's insights were valuable in identifying the construct of charisma. Modern social science therefore still supports the original thinking regarding the utility of the construct.


title: Charismatic authority

text: Weber interchanges authority and dominance[H]as been considered in sociological terms as indicating the legitimate or socially approved use of power. It is the legitimate power which one person or a group holds and exercises over another. The element of legitimacy is vital to the notion of authority and is the main means by which authority is distinguished from the more general concept of power. Power can be exerted by the use of force or violence. Authority, by contrast, depends on the acceptance by subordinates of the right of those above them to give them orders or directives.


title: Charismatic authority

text: Charismatic authority is often the most lasting of regimes because the leader is seen as infallible and any action against him will be seen as a crime against the state. Charismatic leaders eventually develop a cult of personality often not by their own doing.


title: Charismatic authority

text: Leadership is the power to diffuse a positive energy and a sense of greatness. As such, it rests almost entirely on the leader. The absence of that leader for any reason can lead to the authority's power dissolving. However, due to its idiosyncratic nature and lack of formal organization, charismatic authority depends much more strongly on the perceived legitimacy of the authority than Weber's other forms of authority. For instance, a charismatic leader in a religious context might require an unchallenged belief that the leader has been touched by God, in the sense of a prophet. Should the strength of this belief fade, the power of the charismatic leader can fade quickly, which is one of the ways in which this form of authority shows itself to be unstable.


title: Charismatic authority

text: In contrast to the current popular use of the term "charismatic leader", Weber saw charismatic authority not so much as character traits of the charismatic leader but as a relationship between the leader and his followers. The validity of charisma is founded on its "recognition" by the leader's followers (or "adepts" – "Anhänger").


title: Charismatic authority

text: His charisma risks disappearing if he is "abandoned by God" or if "his government doesn't provide any prosperity to those whom he dominates".


title: Charismatic authority

text: Charismatic authority almost always endangers the boundaries set by traditional (coercive) or rational (legal) authority. It tends to challenge this authority, and is thus often seen as revolutionary. Usually this charismatic authority is incorporated into society. Hereby the challenge that it presents to society will subside. The way in which this happens is called "routinization".


title: Charismatic authority

text: A religion which evolves its own priesthood and establishes a set of laws and rules is likely to lose its charismatic character and move towards another type of authority. For example, Muhammad, who had charismatic authority as "The Prophet" among his followers, was succeeded by the traditional authority and structure of Islam, a clear example of routinization.


title: Charismatic authority

text: In politics, charismatic rule is often found in various authoritarian states, autocracies, dictatorships and theocracies. To help to maintain their charismatic authority, such regimes will often establish a vast personality cult. When the leader of such a state dies or leaves office, and a new charismatic leader does not appear, such a regime is likely to fall shortly thereafter, unless it has become fully routinized.


title: Charismatic authority

text: Because the authority is concentrated in one leader, the death of the charismatic leader would constitute the destruction of the government unless prior arrangements were made. A society that faces the end of their charismatic leader can choose to move to another format of leadership or to have a transference of charismatic authority to another leader by means of succession.


title: Charismatic authority

text: According to Max Weber, the methods of succession are: search, revelation, designation by original leader, designation by qualified staff, hereditary charisma, and office charisma. These are the various ways in which an individual and a society can contrive to maintain the unique energy and nature of charisma in their leadership.


title: Charismatic authority

text: "The search for a new charismatic leader (takes place) on the basis of the qualities which will fit him for the position of authority." An example of this search method is the search for a new Dalai Lama. "It consists in a search for a child with characteristics which are interpreted to mean that he is a reincarnation of the Buddha." This search is an example of the way in which an original charismatic leader can be forced to "live on" through a replacement.


title: Charismatic authority

text: "In this case the legitimacy of the new leader is dependent on the legitimacy of the technique of selection." The technique of selection is the "modus operandi" of the selection process. In ancient times, oracles were believed to have special access to "divine judgment" and thus their technique in selection was perceived to be legitimate. Their choice was imbued with the charismatic authority that came with the oracle's endorsement.


title: Charismatic authority

text: In this form, the original holder of charismatic authority is perceived to have passed their authority to another. An example is Joseph Stalin's claim that Vladimir Lenin had designated him to be his successor as leader of the USSR. Insofar as people believed in this claim, Stalin gained Lenin's charismatic authority.


title: Charismatic authority

text: "A successor (may be designated) by the charismatically qualified administrative staff... (T)his process should not be interpreted as 'election' or 'nomination'... It is not determined by merely a majority vote...Unanimity (is) often required." A case example of this form of succession is the papal conclave of cardinals to choose a new pope. The cardinals taking part in the papal conclave are viewed to be charismatically qualified by their Roman Catholic congregations and thus their choice is imbued with charismatic authority.


title: Charismatic authority

text: Charisma can be perceived as "a quality transmitted by heredity". This method of succession is present in Kim Il-sung's charisma being passed on to his son, Kim Jong Il. This type of succession is a difficult undertaking and often results in a movement toward traditionalization and legalization in authority.


title: Charismatic authority

text: "The concept of charisma may be transmitted by ritual means from one bearer to another...It involves a dissociation of charisma from a particular individual, making it an objective, transferable entity." Priestly consecration is believed to be a modus through which priestly charisma to teach and perform other priestly duties is transferred to a person. In this way, priests inherit priestly charisma and are subsequently perceived by their congregations as having the charismatic authority that comes with the priesthood.


title: Charismatic authority

text: Weber's model of charismatic leadership giving way to institutionalization is endorsed by several academic sociologists.


title: Charismatic authority

text: Eileen Barker discusses the tendency for new religious movements to have founders or leaders who wield considerable charismatic authority and are believed to have special powers or knowledge. Charismatic leaders are unpredictable, Barker says, for they are not bound by tradition or rules and they may be accorded by their followers the right to pronounce on all aspects of their lives. Barker warns that in these cases the leader may lack any accountability, require unquestioning obedience, and encourage a dependency upon the movement for material, spiritual and social resources.


title: Charismatic authority

text: George D. Chryssides asserts that not all new religious movements have charismatic leaders, and that there are differences in the hegemonic styles among those movements that do.


title: Charismatic authority

text: Len Oakes, an Australian psychologist who wrote a dissertation about charisma, had eleven charismatic leaders fill in a psychometric test, which he called the "adjective checklist", and found them as a group quite ordinary. Following the psychoanalyst Heinz Kohut, Oakes argues that charismatic leaders exhibit traits of narcissism and also argues that they display an extraordinary amount of energy, accompanied by an inner clarity unhindered by the anxieties and guilt that afflict more ordinary people. He did however not fully follow Weber's framework of charismatic authority.


title: Don Harvey (actor, born 1960)

text: Harvey was born and raised in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, the sixth of eight children. He started acting while attending Lake Shore High School, having performed in several shows before graduating in 1978. He then moved on to the University of Michigan, where he studied English and economics along with two years of classical ballet. Upon his 1982 graduation from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts degree, he attended the Yale School of Drama and received a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting in 1985. After graduation, he moved to New York City to pursue film, television and theatre work.


title: Don Harvey (actor, born 1960)

text: Harvey began appearing in films in the late 1980s and has appeared in over 70 feature films. One of his first roles was as a dirty cop in Brian de Palma's film "The Untouchables". The following year, Harvey had one of his more prominent screen roles as "Black Sox" conspirator Swede Risberg in John Sayles' "Eight Men Out" (1988). Subsequently, Harvey had secondary roles in such high-profile productions as "Casualties of War" (1989) (his second Brian de Palma film), "Die Hard 2" (1990), and "The Thin Red Line" (1998), in addition to the made-for-cable feature "Better Off Dead" (1993). His television work includes performances on "Miami Vice", "NYPD Blue", "The Pretender, The Deuce, Medium", "Numbers", and "We Own This City".


title: REAPER

text: REAPER (an acronym for "Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Engineering, and Recording") is a digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer software created by Cockos. The current version is available for Microsoft Windows (XP and newer) and macOS (10.5 and newer), as well as for Linux. REAPER acts as a host to most industry-standard plug-in formats (such as VST and AU) and can import all commonly used media formats, including video. REAPER and its included plug-ins are available in 32-bit and 64-bit format.


title: REAPER

text: REAPER provides a free, fully functional 60-day evaluation period. For further use two licenses are available – a commercial and a discounted one. They are identical in features and differ only in price and target audience, with the discount license being offered for private use, schools and small businesses. Any paid license includes the current version with all of its future updates and a free upgrade to the next major version and all of its subsequent updates, when they are released. Any license is valid for all configurations (x64 and x86) and allows for multiple installations, as long as it is being run on one computer at a time.


title: REAPER

text: Extensive customization opportunities are provided through the use of ReaScript (edit, run and debug scripts within REAPER) and user-created themes and functionality extensions.


title: REAPER

text: ReaScript can be used to create anything from advanced macros to full-featured REAPER extensions. ReaScripts can be written in EEL2 (JSFX script), Lua and Python. SWS / S&M is a popular, open-source extension to REAPER, providing workflow enhancements and advanced tempo/groove manipulation functionality.


title: REAPER

text: ReaClassical provides a full open source environment for doing classical music editing, including source-destination editing, multitrack track-group editing and a two-lane crossfade editor.


title: REAPER

text: REAPER's interface can be customized with user-built themes. Each previous version's default theme is included with REAPER and theming allows for complete overhauls of the GUI. REAPER has been translated into multiple languages and downloadable language packs are available. Users as well as developers can create language packs for REAPER.


title: REAPER

text: REAPER comes with a variety of commonly used audio production effects. They include tools such as ReaEQ, ReaVerb, ReaGate, ReaDelay, ReaPitch and ReaComp. The included Rea-plug-ins are also available as a separate download for users of other DAWs, as the ReaPlugs VST FX Suite.


title: REAPER

text: Also included are hundreds of JSFX plug-ins ranging from standard effects to specific applications for MIDI and audio. JSFX scripts are text files, which when loaded into REAPER (exactly like a VST or other plug-in) become full-featured plug-ins ranging from simple audio effects (e.g delay, distortion, compression) to instruments (synths, samplers) and other special purpose tools (drum triggering, surround panning). All JSFX plug-ins are editable in any text editor and thus are fully user customizable.


title: REAPER

text: REAPER includes no third-party software, but is fully compatible with all versions of the VST standard (currently VST2 and VST3). It can also run AU plug-ins (on macOS), CLAP plug-ins, DX plug-ins (on Windows) and LV2 plug-ins, and thus works with the vast majority of both free and commercial plug-ins available. REAPER x64 can also run 32-bit plug-ins alongside 64-bit processes. As of version 5.97, REAPER supports ARA 2 plugins.


title: REAPER

text: While not a dedicated video editor, REAPER can be used to cut and trim video files and to edit or replace the audio within. Common video effects such as fades, wipes and cross-fades are available. REAPER aligns video files in a project, as it would an audio track, and the video part of a file can be viewed in separate video window while working on the project.


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: The 2021 IIHF World Championship () took place from 21 May to 6 June 2021. It was originally to be co-hosted by Minsk, Belarus and Riga, Latvia, as the IIHF announced on 19 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany. Their joint bid won by a very tight margin against the Finnish bid with the cities of Tampere and Helsinki. On 18 January 2021 the IIHF decided to remove Belarus as a co-host due to the rising political unrest and COVID-19 pandemic there. On 2 February the IIHF voted to confirm Latvia as the sole host for the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: This tournament was notable for the number of upsets that occurred in the preliminary round, including Denmark and Belarus' victories over Sweden, Kazakhstan's victory over Finland, Slovakia's victory over Russia, and Latvia's victory over Canada. Sweden did not qualify for the quarterfinals for the first time since the current format has been introduced. On the other hand, Kazakhstan recorded their best World Championship result to date, finishing tenth.


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: Canada won their 27th title, after defeating Finland in the final in overtime. Canada was the first team in history to win gold despite losing four times during the tournament. The United States won the bronze medal game, defeating Germany 6–1.


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: Due to COVID-19 pandemic protocols, the tournament was initially held behind closed doors with no spectators. Prior to the beginning of the tournament, and against objections by Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš and Minister of Health Daniels Pavļuts, the Latvian parliament voted in favour of a notion ordering the government to develop a plan for allowing spectators who are either fully vaccinated or otherwise immune due to recent infection.


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: Spectators were admitted beginning June 1, and were to present electronic verification that they have either been fully vaccinated no fewer than 14 days prior with the Janssen, Moderna, or Pfizer vaccine, been fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, have received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine between 22 and 90 days prior, or have recently recovered from COVID-19. Arēna Rīga was capped at 2,660 spectators, and the Olympic Sports Centre at 1,058. Face masks were mandatory.


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: Despite similar political opposition in 2014 when Belarus was the sole host of the IIHF World Championship, Belarus was to be the co-host for the 2021 Championship. However, in the wake of the ongoing 2020–2021 Belarusian protests, several political groups, politicians and international entities, including the European Parliament and Krišjānis Kariņš, the Prime Minister of Latvia, which was set to co-host the championship, protested tournament matches being held in Belarus, and called for the country to be stripped of co-hosting duties. Several sponsors of the tournament reportedly threatened to withdraw from sponsoring the event if it took place in Belarus.


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: On January 18 2021, the IIHF, citing "safety and security issues," decided that the World Championship would not be played in Belarus. Latvia would remain as a co-host for the time being, but the IIHF was considering whether to go with another site, due to COVID-19 constraints and the desirability for single-site travel. Both Denmark and Slovakia (the tournament hosts in 2018 and 2019 respectively) reportedly offered to step in as hosts.


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: On May 24 2021, following the Ryanair Flight 4978 incident, Latvian officials replaced the Belarusian state flag in Riga with the former flag faced with the former coat of arms used by opposition groups, including at the 2021 IIHF World Championship display of flags, which was replaced by Mayor of Riga Mārtiņš Staķis and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs. As a result, Belarus expelled the entire Latvian embassy from their country. The IIHF issued a statement protesting the replacement of the flag, and IIHF president René Fasel asked Riga's mayor to remove the IIHF name, its flag and its symbols from such sites, or to restore the flag, insisting that the IIHF is an "apolitical sports organization". In response, Staķis said he would remove the IIHF flags. On May 28 2021, Belarus opened a criminal case against Staķis and Rinkēvičs, accusing them of fuelling "national enmity".


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: The seedings in the preliminary round are based on the 2020 IIHF World Ranking, as of the end of the 2019 IIHF World Championship, using the serpentine system with a swap between Canada and ROC to "accommodate special organizational needs".


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: Each team's roster consists of at least 15 skaters (forwards, and defencemen) and 2 goaltenders, and at most 25 skaters and 3 goaltenders. All 16 participating nations, through the confirmation of their respective national associations, had to submit a "Long List" no later than two weeks before the tournament, and a final roster by the Passport Control meeting prior to the start of the tournament.


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: The official mascot of the tournament was revealed in February 2020 by the IIHF. His name is Spiky the Hedgehog and he was voted by the fans in Belarus and Latvia. The hedgehog is a very popular animal in the hosting countries and it represents the fighting spirit and determination of the Belarus and Latvian national hockey teams.


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: Quarter-finalists were paired according to their positions in the groups: the first-place team in each preliminary-round group played the fourth-place team of the other group, while the second-place team played the third-place team of the other group.


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: Semi-finalists are paired according to their seeding after the preliminary round, which is determined by the following criteria: 1)position in the group; 2)number of points; 3)goal difference; 4)number of goals scored for; 5)seeding number entering the tournament. The best-ranked semi-finalist plays against the lowest-ranked semi-finalist, while the second-best ranked semi-finalist plays the third-best ranked semi-finalist.


title: 2021 IIHF World Championship

text: Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, are included in this list.


title: Cataracts of the Nile

text: The Cataracts of the Nile are shallow lengths (or whitewater rapids) of the Nile river, between Khartoum and Aswan, where the surface of the water is broken by many small boulders and stones jutting out of the river bed, as well as many rocky islets. In some places, these stretches are punctuated by whitewater, while at others the water flow is smoother but still shallow.


title: Cataracts of the Nile

text: Geologists indicate that the region of northern Sudan is tectonically active and this activity has caused the river to take on "youthful" characteristics. The Nubian Swell has diverted the river's course to the west, while keeping its depth shallow and causing the formation of the cataracts. Even as the river bed is worn down by erosion, the landmass is lifted, keeping parts of the river bed exposed. These distinctive features of the river between Aswan and Khartoum have led to the stretch being often referred to as the Cataract Nile, while the downstream portion is occasionally referred to as the "Egyptian" Nile. The geological distinction between these two portions of the river is considerable. North of Aswan, the river bed is not rocky, but is instead composed of sediment, and far from being a shallow river. It is believed that the bedrock was previously eroded to be several thousand feet deep. This created a vast canyon that is now filled with sediment.


title: Cataracts of the Nile

text: Despite these characteristics, some of the cataracts which are normally impassable by boat because of the shallow water have become navigable during the flood season.


title: Cataracts of the Nile

text: The word "cataract" comes from the Greek word "καταρρέω" ("to flow down"), although the original Greek term was the plural-only "Κατάδουποι". However, contrary to this, none of the Nile's six primary cataracts could be accurately described as waterfalls, and given a broader definition, this is the same with many of the minor cataracts.


title: Cataracts of the Nile

text: In ancient times, Upper Egypt extended from south of the Nile Delta to the first cataract, while further upstream, the land was controlled by the ancient Kingdom of Kush that would later take over Egypt from 760 to 656 BC. Besides the Kushite invasion, for most of Egyptian history, the Nile's cataracts, particularly the First Cataract, primarily served as a natural border to prevent most crossings from the south, as those in said region would rely on river travel to venture north and south. This allowed Egypt's southern border to be relatively protected from invasions, and besides brief Kushite rule, it remained a natural border for most of Egyptian history.


title: Cataracts of the Nile

text: The six cataracts of the Nile are depicted extensively by European visitors, notably by Winston Churchill in "The River War" (1899), where he recounts the exploits of the British trying to return to the Sudan between 1896 and 1898, after they were forced to leave in 1885.


title: Cataracts of the Nile

text: Today, Lake Nasser has filled most of the area between the first and second cataracts (known as Lower Nubia), and its monuments moved as part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia.


title: Gunasekhar

text: Gunasekar (born 2 June 1964) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his works in Telugu cinema. He has directed films in action, romance, mythological, and historical drama genres. He has won a National Film Award, multiple Nandi Awards, and a Filmfare Award South.


title: Gunasekhar

text: Gunasekhar directed the mythological film "Ramayanam" (1997), which won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film and was screened at the International Children's Film Festival of India. His 2003 action film, Okkadu was huge commercial success becoming the highest grossing Telugu film of that year and was remade into various Indian languages. His other notable films include "Sogasu Chooda Tharamaa" (1995), "Choodalani Vundi" (1998), "Manoharam" (2000)"," and "Rudhramadevi" (2015).


title: Gunasekhar

text: Before venturing into mainstream film direction, Gunasekar worked as an associate director to D. V. Narsaraju, Kranthi Kumar, and Ram Gopal Varma. Gunasekhar made his directorial debut with the socio-political "Lathi" (1992), for which he received the state Nandi Award for Best First Film of a Director.