Though quite distinct in their significance and religious meaning, the holidays of Christmas and Hanukkah have, at least in the American consumer economy, become closely associated with each other. At one level the comparison is actually apt. Both indeed are festivals of light. Not coincidentally, the custom to mark the winter solstice – the darkest […]

If you spend any time investigating antiquities and ancient art, you will eventually come across a griffin or grypon. Not to be confused with Harry Potter’s house at Hogwarts – Gryffindor – whose symbol is a lion, the gryphon is a mythical creature with a lion’s body and an eagle’s head. This composite of the […]