The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy books, written by British author C. S. Lewis. They have been published since 1954 and have sold over 100 million copies in 41 languages. The books were written by Lewis between 1949 and 1954, they were also illustrated by Pauline Baynes. In 2005, 2008 and 2010, the first three books were made into movies.
Completed by the end of March 1949 and published by Geoffrey Bles in London on 16 October 1950, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" tells the story of four ordinary children: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie, who have been evacuated to the English countryside from London in 1940 following the outbreak of World War II. They discover a wardrobe in Professor Digory Kirke's house that leads to the magical land of Narnia. The Pevensie children help Aslan, a talking lion, save Narnia from the evil White Witch, who has reigned over the land of Narnia for a century of perpetual winter. The children become kings and queens of this new-found land and establish the Golden Age of Narnia, leaving a legacy to be rediscovered in later books.
This book is set 1300 years after "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Narnia is ruled by the Telmarines, a very mean people. The Pevensie children are called to Narnia by Susan's horn, which is blown by Prince Caspian. There is a big war between the Telmarines and Narnians. At the end of the book, Peter and Susan are told that they will not be able to come back to Narnia. The book was published in 1951.
In the third book, Lucy and Edmund return to Narnia with their cousin, Eustace. They travel on a ship with Caspian, now King of Narnia. They are looking for seven lords who were sent away from Narnia by Caspian's uncle, Miraz. This book was published in 1952.
Eustace returns to Narnia with Jill, a friend from school. He finds Caspian very old. Aslan tells Jill to find Rillian, Caspian's son, who has been missing for many years. A Marsh-Wiggle named Puddleglum travels with them. This book was published in 1953.
This book is set during the rule of the Pevensies. Shasta, is a young boy living in the country of Calormen. He decides to run away when he finds out he is not the son of Arsheesh. He heads north to Narnia with a talking horse, Bree, a Calormene noblewoman, Aravis, and her talking horse, Hwin. It was published in 1954.
This book is set before any of the others. It tells about a boy, Digory, and his friend, Polly. They travel to Narnia through the experiments of Digory's uncle, Andrew. It describes the creation (beginning) of Narnia and the first King and Queen. It also shows the beginning of Jadis, who is called the White Witch in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". The book was published in 1954.
Completed in the spring of 1953 and published in 1956," The Last Battle" tells about the end of the world of Narnia. Jill and Eustace return to save Narnia from Shift, an ape, who tricks Puzzle, a donkey, into pretending to be the lion, Aslan. The Pevensie children (without Susan, who has decided that Narnia was just part of a game they played as children), along with their parents and friends, die in a train crash and lived in Narnia forever with Aslan.
"The Chronicles of Narnia" have been made into several movies, TV films, video games, and stage plays.
The first was "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", which was released in 2005, made a world-wide total of $744,783,957. "Prince Caspian," released on May 16 2008, is the second of seven movies to be released by Disney Pictures. Disney also had plans to create the third book in the series: "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," which was released in 2010.
Asatru
Asatru (Icelandic: Ásatrú) is a religion which involves the worship of ancient Germanic spirits and Gods. It got its official legal establishment in the 1970s in Iceland by the efforts of and other Icelanders who had rejected Christianity and had been performing "Launblót" (secret offering) to the old pre-Christian Nordic Gods and Goddesses, a practice that has been known in Iceland since "Kristnitaka" (Christianization of Iceland). The name comes from two words in a language called Old Norse. It means "faith in the Æsir." The Æsir are the Germanic gods.
A person who practices Asatru is called an "Asatrui (pl. Asatruar)", and is sometimes referred to as a heathen. Sometimes Asatru is also called Wodanism, Wotanism or Germanic paganism.
Common books that describe the knowledge in depth include the Sagas and the Eddas.
Asatru is a polytheistic religion in which various goddesses and gods are worshipped. The most prominent are Thor, Odin, Freyja, Frigg, Freyr, Tyr, Loki, and Heimdall.
Major holidays revolve around the changing seasons with Yule being the most important. It is celebrated in late December and continues for twelve days.
Otherkin
Otherkin are people who believe that part of them is not human inside. They say that, inside themselves, they feel more like another animal than a human. That other animal can be e.g. a wolf, a dragon or an alien. Some otherkin say that they are vampires and are usually acting like them, e.g. by drinking blood.
Otherkin may also identify as feeling a special connection to other natural elements, i.e. minerals, the likes of fire, water, and wind, plants, etc..
Otherkin is a neologism—a new word—and it is usually used only by people who say they "are" otherkin. The definition can change depending on who uses the word. Some otherkin say that their souls or minds are not human, that they were another species in a past life, or that being not-human is part of their religion. (Otherkin practice many different religions, however.) A few of them say that their physical bodies are not human, either, but there is no proof either for or against that.
Pedro Romeiras
Pedro Romeiras was a Portuguese principal ballet dancer born 3 July 1961, in Lisbon. He was the gold medal winner of the II Prix Français de la Danse 1982.
Bonfire
A bonfire or balefire is a large controlled outdoor fire made from bales of straw or wood. The word is believed to come from "bone fire". In the time of the Celts, there were midsummer festivals where animal bones were burnt to ward off evil spirits.
In Great Britain, bonfires are particularly associated with "Guy Fawkes Night". This night is also known as "fireworks night" or "bonfire night". On this night, people celebrate that the Gunpowder Plot was discovered. This discovery took place on 5 November 1605. They do this celebration each year. (It is called an "annual celebration".)
In Northern Ireland, "bonfires" are associated with celebrations on the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.
In Japan, large fires called bon-bi are set to welcome the return of the spirits of the ancestors. Though the two terms are not etymologically or historically related, they serve similar purposes and indicate the universal importance of large fires.
Bonfires were also used for rituals. The idea was that the fire would purify. It was used to consecrate things, or people, that is to make them sacred, in some way. In ancient times, cattle were important symbols of wealth and status. Such cattle were led through the smoke of a bonfire. Couples who were to be wed on May Day would leap through the flames of the bonfire to seal their vows. Coals from a bonfire would be taken home to light the fires in family hearths. This practice was thought to bring good fortune. People also believed that the residents of the Faery realm were incapable of producing fire themselves; embers of bonfires would be carried to the underworld and tended there.
Along with the Maypole, the bonfire is an important component of the Wiccan and Neopagan celebration of Beltaine, also known as May Day.