SVETOVID - God of the visible world and festivities in his honor

Slovenian god of the visible world

The worship of Svetovid or Svantevid has been established among the Baltic Slavs, Rugians and Pomeranians, and the Carantanians in the Alpine region. We encounter him in Middle Europe, and nowhere else.
He was worshipped as Svantevid by the Baltic Slavs - the Rugians and Pomeranians, from the region that was christianized only in the 12th century. He was their highest god, the lord of the visible world. In Slovenian the word means all-seeing one, the root word vid meaning sight.

 His temples among the Rugians were preserved long enough to be recorded by the chroniclers, who report on deities of Pomeranians, or Pomaranian Rugians. The chronicler Hemold (c. *1120 - + 1170) mentions Svetovid in his Chronica Slavorum (I, 52) as Zuantevith, and says about him: "Among many deities of ancient Slavs, Svetovit stands out. He is god of the land of Rugians, effective in fulfilling requests, while other deities are seen as no more than demigods."

The chronicler Saxo Grammaticus, also describes him as the highest god of Rugians. He was god of good harvest, especially the grain harvest. With a good harvest he ensured prosperity for the people. This was represented by the horn of  plenty held in his left hand. His sword indicates, that he was also the god of justice, indicating punishment and protection. The bow held in his right hand indicates that he is also the god of love. The bow does signify war, but is a sign of the god of love when placed in hand of deities, just like the arrow in the hands of Apollo, Artemis and several other deities.

He was a four faced deity, the defender from the forces of evil. One view has it, that four faces represent four seasons. This claim is however contradictory since the god is connected with the summer harvest.
There is less evidence of his worship by Carantanians, the Slavs of the Alpine region. and what there is, is indirect, since the Christianization process began much earlier in this region,  but the pointers are compelling.
There are general indications that among Carantanians pagan gods were adapted and absorbed into the christian system of beliefs, and so remained close to the way the local people experienced life and nature that gave them sustenance.
There are signs that worship of Svetovid, the all-seeing god and god of harvest, was preserved among Carantanians in the figure of  St. Vid or Št. Vid / St. Vitus, an exceptionally popular saint in Slovenian lands. There is first of all the evidence of the name. It would be reasonable to assume that the old pagan Svetovid merged with the saint Vid. This is supported by the popularity of the saint in Slovenian territories. Many churches are dedicated to him, and many place names as well. In addition,  the prevailing opinion among Slovenian ethnologists is that churches tended to be built in places where pagan temples had stood.
Further evidence is provided by the festivities around the time of the saint’s name day, particularly festivities connected to celebration of harvest. There are also links to Svetovid worship in many surviving customs and traditions.The folk tradition of healing, particularly of sight, was connected to the saint and points to the strength of this worship. 

It is a characteristic of Slovenes and Croatians that they pray to Sveti Vid  in cases of eye disease. The explanation might lie in the meaning of the word – “vid”, which means sight in Slovenian. Thus the word vid and the name of the saint - Vid are identical. Further, the word vid is also part of the name Svetovid. So it is reasonable to suppose that prayers for good sight were also directed to the pagan predecessor of St. Vid. In some places, particularly Bela Krajina in south-eastern Slovenia, the custom was to gather dew before sunrise. It was collected with a piece of cloth, the moisture was then squeezed out and used as eye medicine. 

Niko Kuret, eminent Slovenian ethnologist believes that christian missionaries had successfully replaced the old Svetovid with the Christian Saint Vid. According to the old Julian calendar they celebrated his name day on the day of summer solstice, the 24th June, when the bonfires are lit. From 1582 onwards, in accordance to the new Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated a few days earlier, on the 15th June. Just how remarkable must have been the so-called Vidovo or St. Vid Day festival testify, says the ethnologist, the remnants of old customs, still maintaining their hold on the great feast days.

Some tips about phones battery

Batteries are one of tech’s worst subjects ...

 

While most of us live in fear of a fading phone battery when we’re out , we don’t worry too much about battery’s lifespan.

But here are some ways to keep your battery in top shape for a long and powerful life. (between 3-5  years).  

Your phone uses a lithium ion battery, and differs from the nickel cadmium batteries that you’re fond of, you know, the ones in R/C cars and kitchen appliances? Why? Because they’re small, lightweight and powerful. In nickel cadmium batteries, charging and discharging batteries is a chemical reaction, but with lithium ion batteries, it’s different. Scientists claim that the energy is actually an ion movement between anode and cathode, but this not so perfect movement can become obstructed and the effects of aging/corrosion are why the battery life gets worse and worse as time goes on. Let’s face it, batteries don’t last very long (or you’re on Twitter/Facebook too much), and we need to charge our phones several times a day. Yeah there’s ton of options out there – external battery packs, cell phone cases with batteries in them and even portable chargers. Batteries are one of tech’s most boring subjects … until your phone, tablet or laptop dies, that is. While most of us live in fear of a fading phone battery when we’re out and about, we don’t worry too much about that battery’s eventual lifespan, but there are ways to keep your battery in tip-top shape for a long and fruitful life. (probably between three and five years). Most smartphone manufacturers says their devices rate their batteries at 300-500 cycles. 

So here’s some tips to extend your battery’s lifespan

The big questions about how to recharge a battery is whether you should let it run to zero before re-charging to 100%.

One reason why people are unsure is something they’ve heard of called the battery “memory effect”.

What is battery memory effect? Battery memory effect is about batteries remembering remaining charge if you didn’t let them go all the way to zero too often. So a battery frequently charged from 20% to 80% might ‘forget’ about the 40% that’s left uncharged (0-20% and 80-100%). Sounds crazy but that’s sort of true – but only for older nickel-based (NiMH and NiCd) batteries, not the lithium-ion batteries in your phone.

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries don’t suffer the memory effect so you almost need to do the opposite – charge them often but not all the way throughout the day, and don’t let them drop to zero. Don’t often charge battery from zero to 100%

The rule with Li-ion batteries is to keep them 50% or more most of the time. When it drops below 50% top it up if you can. But don’t charge it all the way to 100%. It won’t be fatal to your battery if you do a full recharge – most of us are forced to do this every now and again in emergencies. But constantly doing a full recharge will shorten the battery’s lifespan.

So a good range to aim for when charging a Li-ion battery is from about 40% to 80% in one go. Try not to let the battery drop below 20%.

When I should do a full battery charge

Experts recommend that you do a full zero to 100% battery recharge (a "charge cycle") maybe once a month only. This recalibrates the battery – a bit like restarting your computer, or, for humans, going on holiday! The same goes for laptops, by the way.

Should I charge my phone overnight?

Most modern smartphones are clever enough to stop charging when full, so there isn'y a great risk in leaving your phone charging overnight. But some experts recommend you remove the phone from a case if charging for a long time, as a case could lead to over heating – which Lithium-ion batteries do not like .

Should I use fast battery charging?

Many Android phones have a feature that allows for fast charging. In most cases fast charging  can and  will heat up Li-ion battery and cause it increased wear and tear.

For the same reason, don’t leave your phone in a hot car, on the beach or next to the oven. A hot battery will suffer long-term effects on its lifespan. And so will a super-cold one, so don’t leave your device in the freezer or out in the snow!

So, if you can, switch off fast charging on your Android phone.

 

Can I use any charger?

Where possible use the charger that came with your phone, as it is sure to have the correct rating. Or make sure that a third-party charger is approved by your phone's manufacturer. Cheap alternatives from Amazon or eBay may harm your phone and even burn it!

Storing battery tips

Don’t leave a Li-ion battery lying around too long at 0%. Try to leave it at around 40-50%. These batteries drain at about 5-10% a month when not in use. If you let the battery discharge completely and leave it uncharged for a long period of time it may eventually become incapable of holding a charge at all (that’s properly dead). Try to keep them at least half charged.

How to charge your phone faster

It's possible that your current charger isn't charging your phone or tablet as fast as it could be. Here are some useful tips how to charge your phone or tablet faster.

Here are some technical infos about charging:
You've probably noticed that your phone will charge much slower when it's connected to a PC or laptop's USB port than when it is to a mains power adaptor. And you may have noticed your phone will charge faster when connected to the charger that came with your tablet. That's because different chargers have different power outputs.

While a PC's USB port is specified at 2.5W for USB 1.0 and 2.0 and 4.5W for USB 3.0 (so always use a USB 3.0 port in preference to USB 1.0 or 2.0 when available), a phone charger might be rated at 5W and a tablet charger 10W, for example.

We calculate the wattage by multiplying the current (the number of amps) and the voltage. So, if your charger is specified at 5V, 1A, it can supply 5W. If it is specified at 5V, 2A it can supply 10W.
                          How to charge your smartphone faster:

 

You can use any USB charger with any phone, with the only caveat that if there isn't sufficient power available you may find your device won't charge - this is often the case with iPads, which will not charge from a PC's standard USB port.   

Note that your device will draw only the power it requires. If you plug a 10W charger into a phone that accepts only 5W, it will still draw just 5W and won't charge any faster than it would with a lower-specified charger. 

However, many phones will accept a higher input. Check the specifications of your phone and your charger now to see whether you could be benefitting from faster charging.

                                What else can you do?

Several tips are often there that claim how to allow for faster charging. One of those is to remove phones back . I'm not convinced by the success of this tip, although by avoiding excessive heat build-up you will prolong the life of your device's battery, allowing it to operate at maximum performance for longer maybe.

Most useful tip is to put your phone into Flight mode or switch it Off during charging. This may charge your device quicker because it isn't busy doing any other tasks that would otherwise place a drain on the battery.

Or you can simply buy some power bank external battery and use it in the time of need. :-)