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The Maya did: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_religion , in most cases this seemed to be more extaordinary and in a way of trying to get the attention of the gods in extreme circumstances, such as famine, flood or alternately kings ascending the throne. As did the Aztec: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec#Human_sacrifice , although I have never seem much ...

In GENERAL, captured nobles were ransomed. That's because this maximized their value to their captors. One notable exception was the battle of Agincourt, in 1415, during the 100 years' war. At one point, the French lines approached the English prison camp, and King Henry V feared that the prisoners would not only be released, but re-armed, and take the ...

While Christmas has roots far in the past, many of our traditions in the English world were introduced by the Victorians. This was the period that moulded Christmas into important celebration is it today, deciding on the themes we recognise (charity, goodwill, gift giving etc), the traditions (many drawn from Germanic ones) and even the commercialism (cards, ...

Carthage practised mass infant sacrifice to their gods in particular Baʿal. The practices increased as Rome was defeating Carthage culminating just before the destruction of the city. Source: NY Times and The Punic Wars by A. Goldsworthy.

One example of human sacrifice was a practice called Sati in India. It was a Hindu tradition, mostly restricted to some northern regions of India. Under Sati, a widowed woman would sit on her husband's pyre and burn along with him. What differentiates Sati from other examples above, was that this practice was voluntary and the decision rested with the widow ...

Followers of Kali in India. It was never a mass thing, but supposedly at some point a certain Kali temple sacrificed a human every day. It still happens today, but a lot less frequently. One non-scolarly source: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,322673,00.html Also, Wiki ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_sacrifice#History_by_region ) has ...

Most recently? From the 1840s, at least in England. Christmas has many fathers, as traditions like gift-giving and feasting have periodically risen and then been suppressed over the centuries, and then revived with newly Christian significance retroactively applied to what might have originated in a secular or pagan custom. The most recent father of our ...

Christmas was originally a pagan tradition in northern Europe where they were celebrating that the sun had started to rise again. Winters were difficult to survive in those days with no lights, bad clothing, worse housing and heating and sometimes not even enough food etc. So winter and its end was a much bigger deal back then than it is today. Then when ...

I have been doing some (online) research on the issue. What is clear and factual is that when Napoleon conquered most of Europe he set a lot of standards in the Conquered region. From driving on the right side, common measurements/weights to require people to have a last name. So this should be your answer already. All other countries driving direction can ...

One form of human sacrifice that I hadn't considered was the act of retainer sacrifice that was exercised in ancient Egypt as well as Mesopotamia. Whenever a king or ruler died, his entire household could be executed to serve him in the after-life. There even seems to be indications that this happened in ancient China as well. This form of sacrifice I ...

I'm not saying this is The Truth®, but here's the argument typically given for the Ancient Romans you mentioned. Nobody is really sure exactly when Jesus was born (even the year, much less the exact day). The biblical authors do not seem to have felt it was particularly important information. The earliest two Gospels don't even mention Jesus' birth at all. ...

The answer appears to be the Venetian Republic was the first nation to hold masquerade balls. Wikipedia has an article on the history of masquerade Victorian Masquerade Ball confirms many of the assertions in wikipedia Samantha Peach has an article that is less well sourced

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the term originates from the Tudor period of Henry the VIII whose emblem of the House of Tudor was the red rose. This excerpt from the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) does indeed point to it: under the rose: privately, in secret, in strict confidence; = sub rosa adv. Also in extended and allusive use. [The origin ...

Adding up an example, if you read the old testament, you see numerous examples, most famously when Abraham was willing to sacrifise Isaac, of course we know it didn't happen. And since Abraham didn't doubt this is God's will, I think this was in a way accepted, even if it wasn't the daily practice amongst Jewish people that time. consider the followings: 1 ...