Apokries

«Η ελληνική γλώσσα έχει οικουμενική  ακτινοβολία. Ομιλείται και γράφεται ακατάπαυστα, σχεδόν τέσσερις χιλιετίες, αποτελώντας την παλαιότερη ινδοευρωπαϊκή γλώσσα, με γραπτά τεκμήρια. Στο πέρασμα των αιώνων, η ελληνική αναπόφευκτα εξελίχθηκε, για να καταλήξει στην κοινή νεοελληνική, η οποία τροφοδοτείται, διαρκώς και γόνιμα, από τις παλαιότερες μορφές της. Δεν μιλούμε, ασφαλώς, τη γλώσσα του Ομήρου, ούτε του Σοφοκλή. Όμως, η αττική διάλεκτος, που εξελίχθηκε στην ελληνιστική γλώσσα, τη lingua franca της εποχής της, αποτελεί τη βάση της νεοελληνικής. Ο οικουμενικός δυναμισμός της ελληνικής συνιστά, άλλωστε, απτή ιστορική πραγματικότητα», πρόσθεσε η ίδια.

About World Braille Day

Braille is a code that uses bumps and indentation on a surface to represent letters, which can be recognized by touch. Louis Braille, a French man who was blinded in an accident at a very young age, invented it.

Before Braille invented this form of communication, visually impaired people read and wrote using the Haüy system which embossed Latin letters on thick paper or leather. This was a complicated system that required much training and only allowed people to read, not write. Discouraged by this, Braille at the age of 15 invented the Braille code.

While there are now several different versions of Braille, Louis Braille’s code was arranged in small rectangular blocks called cells with raised dots in a 3 x 2 pattern. Each cell represented a letter, number or punctuation.

Since Braille is a code, all languages and even certain subjects like mathematics, music and computer programming can be read and written in braille.

World Braille Day | United Nations

Synopsis:

Antonio, the merchant in The Merchant of Venice, secures a loan from Shylock for his friend Bassanio, who seeks to court Portia. Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, recalls past insults from Antonio and, instead of asking interest on the loan, asks instead—in what he calls a “merry sport”—that if the loan is not repaid, Antonio will owe a pound of his own flesh.

Bassanio sails to Belmont, where the wealthy heiress Portia is being courted by suitors from around the world. Her father’s will requires that the successful suitor solve a riddle involving chests of gold, silver, and lead. Where others have failed, Bassanio succeeds by selecting the right chest. Portia marries Bassanio; her waiting woman, Nerissa, marries his friend Gratiano.

Shylock’s daughter, Jessica, has eloped with Bassanio’s friend Lorenzo, taking her father’s money with her. Shylock is devastated. When Antonio cannot repay the loan, Shylock demands the pound of flesh. When the news reaches Belmont, Bassanio returns to Venice. Portia and Nerissa also travel to Venice, disguised as a lawyer and his clerk. Portia uses the law to defeat Shylock and rescue Antonio.

Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year and falls between February 3 and March 9. In 2025 Shrove Tuesday will fall on March 4th.

Shrove Tuesday was the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats before embarking on the Lenten fast and pancakes are the perfect way of using up these ingredients.

A pancake is a thin, flat cake, made of batter and fried in a frying pan. A traditional English pancake is very thin and is served immediately. Golden syrup or lemon juice and caster sugar are the usual toppings for pancakes.

Why do we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday?