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JUST BEFORE EASTER, THESE WITCHES COME CALLING

Friday, March 29, 2024

In today’s newsletter, we discover the scary tradition behind springtime trick or treating, search for the real Mary Magdalene, test your knowledge on royal garb ... and question if humans can really have superpowers? Plus, the complicated roots of the word ‘yankee’.

Children dressed up as witches in the first

PHOTOGRAPH BY MAJA DANIELS

“Witches” come visit homes on the night before Easter in Sweden and Finland in a tradition that harkens back to demons and Black Sabbaths. (Pictured above, children dressed up as witches.)

Today’s gentler, Halloween-lite version of Easter witches don’t include the traditional dressed-up adults demanding booze—or come wrapped in the threat of witch trials or a fiery death at the stake. At least we don’t think so.

THE WITCHES OF EASTER

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

The Lamentation of Christ, detail of Mary Magdalene and the Feet of Christ, c. 1490, (oil on panel) by Botticelli, Sandro

BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

Possessed by demons? Sex worker? Wife of Jesus? What do we know about Mary Magdalene (depicted above)?

Colon cancer is rising among young adults. Here are signs to watch for.

Archaeologists are telling us about the real Jesus

Kate Middleton is undergoing this treatment for cancer. What is ‘preventative chemo’?

Can art tell us what animals were on Noah’s ark?

They witnessed Lincoln’s assassination, but the horror only began there.

Are you drinking water all wrong? How much do you really need?

The island of Santorini is holding an explosive secret

NASA’s latest planetary defense experiment (Free article)

Think that Yankees are from the Bronx? The word ‘yankee’ actually has a complicated past. (Free article)

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

A coronation robe is spawned out, seeing the full length

PHOTOGRAPH BY STEFAN WERMUTH/ REUTERS/ REDUX

The highest of high fashions: This white, spotted border on royal garb throughout the centuries has been depicted in endless paintings. But what creature is it from—and what has been the elite’s fascination with it?

A. Fox
B. Lynx
C. Mink
D. Weasel

CLICK FOR THE ANSWER

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Japanese man in authentic samurai suit of armor from the Edo Period

PHOTOGRAPH BY IRA BLOCK

Can humans really have superpowers? They’re not just for X-Men. Like swordsman Isao Machii (above, in samurai armor from the Edo period), a combination of genetics and training may lend itself to “superhuman” abilities. While we may not be able to grow claws, our bodies and brains hold the potential for impressive feats.

Today’s soundtrack: If You Know That I’m Lonely, FUR

Stay safe this weekend! This newsletter has been curated and edited by Nancy San Martín, Nishita Naga, and David Beard. Know someone who might want our newsletter? Here’s the signup.

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