A cross and crescent story
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| The Polish King John III Sobieski sending message of victory to the Pope after the Battle of Vienna, painting of Jan Matejko, 1880 |
It was the year 1683, and the ottoman forces had surrounded Vienna, with plans of invading the city in a surprise attack. They thought digging tunnels and taking advantage of the night would provide them the surprise factor, ruining the Austrian army before they knew what hit them. (Long gone were the days when Scanderbeg, Hunyadi and Vlad the Impaler told Turks "You shall not pass!") However, they did not account for the factor of Viennese bakers being awake due to the nature of their job. Their businesses having basement storerooms, the bakers heard the ottoman noises and alerted the Austrian army. Needless to say, the Turks did not pass!
The bakers then baked crescent-shaped pastries, as per the Turkish flag and the symbol of Islam, and all the city ate them to celebrate the victory. It then became a beloved pastry, to be brought to France by the Austrian-born Marie Antoinette, the badly misjudged queen. So, in a way, she did tell the French they should indeed eat a new type of cake! One that reminded the West of how evil was right beneath their land, how we need watchers over evil, how we can overcome evil if we know it's real and act accordingly.
The pastry is forbidden by various Islamist fundamentalists.
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| Priests' chasuble sewn with sewn with Ottoman tents captured by the Polish Army |
If this is what it takes for you personally to reclaim the memory of what used to be and can still be the great western civilisation, regardless of the ever-present crescent threat, make it a point to eat a croissant every morning! You can have them sweet or salty, regular or gluten-free, simple or filled with all kinds of creams and jams... the possibilities are nearly endless. That is how diverse the west can be without forced diversity and multiculturalism from incompatible cultures. And, while you're at it, do offer one to a crescent-believer, in peace, calling them to join the spirit at least namely behind the bakers.
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