Royal Maundy is a religious service in the Church of England held on
Maundy Thursday. At the service, the British monarch or a royal official
distributes small silver coins known as "Maundy money". The name
"Maundy" and the ceremony derive from the instruction of Jesus at the
Last Supper that his followers should love one another. English monarchs
washed the feet of beggars in imitation of Jesus, and gave to the poor;
the latter custom survives through the Maundy gifts. Recipients were
once chosen for their poverty, but are now chosen for service to their
churches or communities. At the 2024 service at Worcester Cathedral, the
distribution is being made by Queen Camilla in place of her husband,
Charles III, following his diagnosis of cancer. The coins' obverse
design features the reigning monarch, while the reverse design features
a crowned numeral enclosed by a wreath. In most years there are fewer
than 2,000 complete sets of Maundy money; they are highly sought after
by collectors.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Maundy>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1942:
Second World War: The port of Saint-Nazaire in German-occupied
France was disabled by British naval forces (ship pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Nazaire_Raid>
1946:
The US Department of State released the Acheson–Lilienthal
Report, a proposal for the international control of nuclear weapons.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acheson%E2%80%93Lilienthal_Report>
1979:
British prime minister James Callaghan was defeated by one vote
in a vote of no confidence after his government struggled to cope with
widespread strikes during the Winter of Discontent.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_vote_of_no_confidence_in_the_Callaghan_ministry>
1999:
Kosovo War: Serbian police and special forces killed around 93
Kosovo Albanians in the village of Izbica.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izbica_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lumpish:
1. Having an ill-defined or rough form or shape like a lump; lumplike.
2. (figurative)
3. Awkward and ungainly in appearance or movement; clumsy, inelegant.
4. Dull and slow in acting, thinking, etc.; without energy; cloddish,
lethargic, slow-witted, sluggish.
5. Of sound: dull, heavy.
6. (obsolete)
7. Full of lumps; lumpy.
8. Of a thing: having a shape and/or weight which makes it inconvenient
to move; cumbersome, unwieldy.
9. (figurative) Miserable, sad.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lumpish>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I will not hesitate to tell my friends when I think they're wrong
and to tell my opponents when I think they're right.
--Joe Lieberman
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Lieberman>