Wikipedia news from December 24th, 2014

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From today's featured article


Nativity (Christus)
The Nativity is a large oil-on-wood panel painting by the Early Netherlandish artist Petrus Christus, completed between the early 1440s and early 1460s. It shows a nativity scene bordered with grisaille (monochrome) archways and faux sculpted reliefs. Christus was influenced by the first generation of Netherlandish artists, especially Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden, and in its sense of grace, simplicity and naturalism, the devotional panel is characteristic of art of that period. The unusually large panel – perhaps painted as a central altarpiece panel for a triptych – is nuanced and visually complex. It reflects the 14th-century Devotio Moderna movement and contains complex Christian iconography, juxtaposing Old and New Testament saints and figures with great subtlety. The sculpted archway reliefs depict Old Testament ideas of sin and punishment, signaling the advent of Christ's sacrifice. The composition employs geometric forms and a bold use of color. In the 1930s, Andrew Mellon bequeathed it to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, as one of several hundreds of works donated from his personal collection. It was restored in the early 1990s. (Full article...)
Recently featured: American paddlefish – 1995 Pacific hurricane season – Colin Hannah
Archive – By email – More featured articles...

Did you know...


From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

Detail of the painting
... that the Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi contains an over-large peacock (detail illustrated) that is a Medici emblem?
... that Aubrey Plaza rewrote the majority of her lines when voicing Grumpy Cat in Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever?
... that Tom Odell covered the last song recorded by The Beatles for the John Lewis Christmas advert in 2014?
... that Lapis Lacedaemonius, a volcanic rock known today only from a single source, has been used as decoration in places as far apart as London, Venice, and Palermo?
... that "See, Amid the Winter's Snow" calls for the listener to "Sing through all Jerusalem, Christ is born in Bethlehem"?
... that Libby Lane is the first woman to be appointed a bishop by the Church of England?
... that the Gloria by Karl Jenkins was premiered in 2010 by The Really Big Chorus?
Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

 
In the news


Béji Caïd Essebsi
Beji Caid Essebsi (pictured) wins the Tunisian presidential election.
India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III successfully completes its first flight, carrying the crew vehicle demonstrator CARE.
U.S. aid worker Alan Gross and three members of the Cuban Five are released by Cuba and the United States, respectively, as both nations move to resume diplomatic relations.
In an effort to curtail the rapid decline of the ruble, the Central Bank of Russia raises interest rates to 17%.
At least 141 people are killed as Taliban gunmen storm a school in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: K. Balachander – Joe Cocker

On this day...


December 25: Christmas Day (Gregorian calendar); Quaid-e-Azam Day (Pakistan)

Nicolae Ceaușescu
1066 – Norman Conquest: William the Conqueror was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, although he still faced rebellions over the following years and was not secure on his throne until after 1072.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: At night, George Washington and his army crossed the Delaware River to launch a surprise attack against the Hessian forces at the Battle of Trenton the next morning.
1926 – Emperor Taishō died of a heart attack, and was succeeded by his son, Hirohito, who ruled until his death in 1989, becoming the longest-reigning Emperor of Japan.
1989 – Romanian Revolution: Dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu (pictured) and his wife Elena were condemned to death under a wide range of charges and executed.
2007 – A tiger at the San Francisco Zoo escaped from its enclosure and attacked three patrons before it was shot and killed.
More anniversaries: December 24 – December 25 – December 26
Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries
It is now December 25, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page




Today's featured picture


Christmas truce
The Christmas truce was a series of unofficial truces between British and German forces which occurred along the Western Front of World War I around Christmas 1914. In the week leading up to Christmas, soldiers exchanged seasonal greetings and songs between their trenches. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, many soldiers from both sides independently ventured into "no man's land" between the lines. There they mingled, exchanged food and souvenirs, and on several occasions held joint burial ceremonies and carol-singing. Troops from both sides were also friendly enough to play games of football with one another.
Although fighting continued to take place in some places, the truce is often considered a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amidst one of the most violent events of human history. However, the high commanders on both sides saw it as insubordination, and it was not repeated after 1914.
Illustration: A. C. Michael, The Illustrated London News
Recently featured: Yule log – Hotel Astoria (Saint Petersburg) – Leaf morphology

Archive – More featured pictures...




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Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
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Jump to: navigation, search



Welcome to Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
4,677,018 articles in English

 Arts
Biography
Geography
 History
Mathematics
Science
 Society
Technology
All portals



From today's featured article


Nativity (Christus)
The Nativity is a large oil-on-wood panel painting by the Early Netherlandish artist Petrus Christus, completed between the early 1440s and early 1460s. It shows a nativity scene bordered with grisaille (monochrome) archways and faux sculpted reliefs. Christus was influenced by the first generation of Netherlandish artists, especially Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden, and in its sense of grace, simplicity and naturalism, the devotional panel is characteristic of art of that period. The unusually large panel – perhaps painted as a central altarpiece panel for a triptych – is nuanced and visually complex. It reflects the 14th-century Devotio Moderna movement and contains complex Christian iconography, juxtaposing Old and New Testament saints and figures with great subtlety. The sculpted archway reliefs depict Old Testament ideas of sin and punishment, signaling the advent of Christ's sacrifice. The composition employs geometric forms and a bold use of color. In the 1930s, Andrew Mellon bequeathed it to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, as one of several hundreds of works donated from his personal collection. It was restored in the early 1990s. (Full article...)
Recently featured: American paddlefish – 1995 Pacific hurricane season – Colin Hannah
Archive – By email – More featured articles...

Did you know...


From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

Detail of the painting
... that the Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico and Filippo Lippi contains an over-large peacock (detail illustrated) that is a Medici emblem?
... that Aubrey Plaza rewrote the majority of her lines when voicing Grumpy Cat in Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever?
... that Tom Odell covered the last song recorded by The Beatles for the John Lewis Christmas advert in 2014?
... that Lapis Lacedaemonius, a volcanic rock known today only from a single source, has been used as decoration in places as far apart as London, Venice, and Palermo?
... that "See, Amid the Winter's Snow" calls for the listener to "Sing through all Jerusalem, Christ is born in Bethlehem"?
... that Libby Lane is the first woman to be appointed a bishop by the Church of England?
... that the Gloria by Karl Jenkins was premiered in 2010 by The Really Big Chorus?
Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

 
In the news


Béji Caïd Essebsi
Beji Caid Essebsi (pictured) wins the Tunisian presidential election.
India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III successfully completes its first flight, carrying the crew vehicle demonstrator CARE.
U.S. aid worker Alan Gross and three members of the Cuban Five are released by Cuba and the United States, respectively, as both nations move to resume diplomatic relations.
In an effort to curtail the rapid decline of the ruble, the Central Bank of Russia raises interest rates to 17%.
At least 141 people are killed as Taliban gunmen storm a school in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: K. Balachander – Joe Cocker

On this day...


December 25: Christmas Day (Gregorian calendar); Quaid-e-Azam Day (Pakistan)

Nicolae Ceaușescu
1066 – Norman Conquest: William the Conqueror was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, although he still faced rebellions over the following years and was not secure on his throne until after 1072.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: At night, George Washington and his army crossed the Delaware River to launch a surprise attack against the Hessian forces at the Battle of Trenton the next morning.
1926 – Emperor Taishō died of a heart attack, and was succeeded by his son, Hirohito, who ruled until his death in 1989, becoming the longest-reigning Emperor of Japan.
1989 – Romanian Revolution: Dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu (pictured) and his wife Elena were condemned to death under a wide range of charges and executed.
2007 – A tiger at the San Francisco Zoo escaped from its enclosure and attacked three patrons before it was shot and killed.
More anniversaries: December 24 – December 25 – December 26
Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries
It is now December 25, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page




Today's featured picture


Christmas truce
The Christmas truce was a series of unofficial truces between British and German forces which occurred along the Western Front of World War I around Christmas 1914. In the week leading up to Christmas, soldiers exchanged seasonal greetings and songs between their trenches. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, many soldiers from both sides independently ventured into "no man's land" between the lines. There they mingled, exchanged food and souvenirs, and on several occasions held joint burial ceremonies and carol-singing. Troops from both sides were also friendly enough to play games of football with one another.
Although fighting continued to take place in some places, the truce is often considered a symbolic moment of peace and humanity amidst one of the most violent events of human history. However, the high commanders on both sides saw it as insubordination, and it was not repeated after 1914.
Illustration: A. C. Michael, The Illustrated London News
Recently featured: Yule log – Hotel Astoria (Saint Petersburg) – Leaf morphology

Archive – More featured pictures...




Other areas of Wikipedia
Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.

Wikipedia's sister projects
Wikipedia is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other projects:
Commons Commons
 Free media repository MediaWiki MediaWiki
 Wiki software development Meta-Wiki Meta-Wiki
 Wikimedia project coordination
Wikibooks Wikibooks
 Free textbooks and manuals Wikidata Wikidata
 Free knowledge base Wikinews Wikinews
 Free-content news
Wikiquote Wikiquote
 Collection of quotations Wikisource Wikisource
 Free-content library Wikispecies Wikispecies
 Directory of species
Wikiversity Wikiversity
 Free learning materials and activities Wikivoyage Wikivoyage
 Free travel guide Wiktionary Wiktionary
 Dictionary and thesaurus

Wikipedia languages

This Wikipedia is written in English. Started in 2001, it currently contains 4,677,018 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.
More than 1,000,000 articles: Deutsch ·
 español ·
 français ·
 italiano ·
 Nederlands ·
 polski ·
 русский ·
 svenska
  
More than 400,000 articles: català ·
 فارسی ·
 日本語 ·
 norsk bokmål ·
 português ·
 Tiếng Việt ·
 українська ·
 中文
  
More than 200,000 articles: العربية ·
 Bahasa Indonesia ·
 Bahasa Melayu ·
 čeština ·
 Esperanto ·
 euskara ·
 한국어 ·
 magyar ·
 română ·
 српски / srpski ·
 suomi ·
 Türkçe
  
More than 50,000 articles: български ·
 dansk ·
 eesti ·
 Ελληνικά ·
 English (simple) ·
 galego ·
 עברית ·
 hrvatski ·
 latviešu ·
 lietuvių ·
 norsk nynorsk ·
 slovenčina ·
 slovenščina ·
 srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски ·
 ไทย
  
Complete list of Wikipedias
  




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Create account
Log in



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Read

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Complete list


Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
 











 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page