askhistorians

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Before his untimely demise, John, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein, was set to marry the Tsarevna of Russia, Xenia Borisovna Godunova, and even arrived in Russia for the occasion. He was Lutheran, and Xenia was Orthodox, so what religious arrangements were expected?	4
While participation trophies are commonly talked about as if they were first given to Millennials, I've also read that they actually arose in the 1970s, before the oldest Millennials were even born, let alone playing little league sports. What's the true history of participation trophies?	4
Why did it take so long for European monarchs to start attending universities?	4
During the Cold War, did the US government actively work to prevent any possible rise of communism in Mexico?	4
If I'm not mistaken, Napoleon is still relatively revered in France today. Is that true? If so, why? I don't see any shared values between the expansionistic, imperialistic Napoleon and the pro-republican, relatively non-militaristic French people of today.	4
In the 1990s, both the UK Labour Party and the US Democratic Party shifted toward the political center. Were there any global causes underlying this parallel shift for these two traditionally (center-)left parties, or was it purely coincidental? (2nd attempt)	4
What's the history of the matador's traje de luces? It looks vaguely from the late 18th/early 19th century due to the knee breeches and high jacket cut. Also, what did Spanish bullfighters wear before it?	4
Per the earliest accounts, Mexican independence hero Miguel Hidalgo shouted "Long live Ferdinand VII!" when he took up arms against the gov't of New Spain, so why does no one seem to be willing to call him a small-r royalist?	3
What's the origin of the new year's tradition of depicting the new year as an infant and the old year as a hoary, bearded old man? Does it pre-exist newspaper cartoons?	3
For Native North Americans not on the Atlantic coast, was there word of European colonists before their arrival? And how long was the wait for inland peoples being hearing about these colonists and actually seeing one of them?	3

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