Which is it?  American or British?

So which is it?  Is it a banque cheque?  Or a bank check?  Is it the centre colour, or the center color?  Do you need to defend your neighbour’s honour, or... well, you get the idea.  Yeah, I know “cheque” is the British spelling and this is America, but the beauty of American English is that we can do that sort of thing if we want, whereas in Britain they can’t.   And what makes us more American than doing something simply because we can?  In fact, here at HGP, we believe there is no better way to show how American you are than by becoming British.  Ain’t it great to live in America?  

&

The first recorded instance of the ampersand goes all the way back to ancient Pompey, where, in the First Century of the Common Era, an anonymous graffiti artist scratched it into a wall, which, if nothing else, tells us that tagging has not improved in over 2000 years.  (Hudson)

More...

Mother’s Day

Contrary to what many might believe,  Mother’s Day – celebrated on the second Sunday of May – was not invented by Hallmark as an excuse to sell cards.  Mothers have undoubtedly been honored for as long as there have been mothers.  The earliest organized celebrations go to back to the ancient Greeks who honored Rhea, the mother of several of their deities, in an annual spring festival.  Likewise, the Romans honored Cybele, “their Great Mother of Gods,” and the Christians in due time honored Mary, the mother of Christ, on the fourth Sunday in Lent.  More...

Cinco de Mayo (or the 5^th of May for you gringos)

It’s a pretty good bet that Cinco de Mayo is celebrated more in the United States than in Mexico, where it's celebrated primarily in the Puebla district, which is just south of Mexico City.  What they’re celebrating is the Mexican militia whoopin’ the tar out of the French Army, a bit like how Davey whooped Goliath, in The Battle of Puebla in 1862.  Of course, the Mexican militia was later defeated, but that doesn’t mean they still can’t celebrate.  More...