Today, September 12, is the feast of the Holy Name of Mary. This feast was instituted in thanksgiving for the defeat of the Moslem Turks in Vienna by King Jan Sobieski of Poland in 1683. Sadly ironic that happens to be the day after the massacre in New York and Washington. I agree with the opinions of Eugene Chavez posted elsewhere. I don't want to be labelled a hate-monger, but what we Catholics should desire above all other things is the establishment of the One True Church of Jesus Christ here on earth, and that all those living should belong to that Church. That's not anti Jewish or Anti Moslem or anti anything else. It's love of truth and the desire for all our fellow man to know that truth! Thank God that Sobieski saved Vienna and the rest of Europe from these people and their false religion!

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), September 12, 2001

Answers

-- (_@_._), September 12, 2001.

Here is other milder information about Jan Sobiesky:

Origin of the Bagel The birth of the bagel is a subject much chewed over by food historians. Some insist they were first created in Vienna in 1683 when a local Jewish baker, wished to thank his king, Jan Sobiesky for repelling the Turkish invaders. Knowing he had a passion for horse- riding, he baked some dough in the shape of a stirrup. (The old Austrian word ''beugel' means stirrup).

Others claim the first bagel showed up in 1610 in the Community Regulations of Krakow, Poland, which called for bagels to be presented to women at childbirth.

Because of their round shape, they were also considered good luck symbols, both there and in Russia.Mothers sometimes gave them to their infants as teething rings, and they were traditionally served with hard-boiled eggs after a funeral to symbolise the endless 'round' processes of life.

Bagels soon became a great delicacy, especially amongst the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe.When these people migrated from Poland and Russia, their recipes travelled with them, first across Europe and then to America, where began the tradition of serving bagels lathered with sweet cream-cheese, topped with a layer of 'lox' (smoked salmon).

World's First Deli! In Germany, they opened the world's first delicatessens, to cater for the hordes of young single men who could not cook for themselves, plying them with ready-to-eats which came to include hot salt beef, cured meats like pastrami, pickled cucumbers, herrings from barrels, fresh and ripened cheeses, sweetmeats, spices, speciality cakes and breadstuffs.

Following a 300-year old tradition. THE BAGELMAN is proud to serve the freshest, most delicious bagels you'll taste, filled with premium quality delicatessen, plus a mouthwatering selection of home-made side salads, pickled cucumbers, cakes, fresh coffees and drinks.

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), September 13, 2001.