Q: WHERE does confetti originate and why do we throw it at newly-weds? - A Hagger, Newton Hall, Durham.

A: THE word confetti is the Italian plural of confetto and it is traditionally thrown during carnivals in Italy and America. The English words confectionery and comfit are related, but confetti now refers to the little pieces of paper thrown at the bride and groom. Many of our readers will remember throwing rice, although by the 1940s it was noted that the throwing of confetti at newly-wedded couples had become a more common practice.

Rice seems to have replaced sweetmeats, nuts, sugared almonds and, in earlier times, grain. The throwing of grain seems to have its roots in ancient pagan rites, and it is often claimed that it was a pagan fertility rite. However, it seems that the ancient belief was that the throwing of grain could expel evil and instill bliss by magically transforming itself into the couple onto whom it was thrown.

Q: While passing through Chesterfield on the train, I noticed the famous crooked steeple. What is the history of this please? - W Sewell, Bishop Auckland.

A: THE parish church of St Mary and All Saints, in Chesterfield, is the largest church building in Derbyshire and has a 228ft high spire. The church is first mentioned in the 11th Century, although most of the present building, including the steeple, dates from the 13th or 14th Century. The steeple is visible from miles around and has been described as a "ponderous steeple, pillared in the sky with a twist in pyramidal form that threatens danger to the timid eye". The steeple is one of the few in the country that is covered with lead and one suggestion is that sunlight striking the lead heated unseasoned timber used in its structure and caused it to warp. This poor choice of materials has been attributed to inexperienced craftsmen who had to build the church because of a shortage of skilled craftsmen after the Black Death.

Q: HOW did a bird so numerous as the Passenger Pigeon become extinct in such a short time? - Bill Hutchinson, Chester-le-Street.

A: THE Passenger Pigeon was once the most numerous bird in the world. The birds appeared in such huge flocks that they looked like clouds and the sun was often completely blocked out as they passed overhead. They were found in the eastern half of North America from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. As the human population of North America grew, the bird was hunted so fiercely that it seemed that extinction would occur by the 1870s but the last living Passenger Pigeon ever recorded died in September 1914.

Passenger Pigeons were wiped out partly because of the felling of woodland but mainly because they were deliberately hunted. The birds were shot, trapped or even clubbed and then delivered to markets across America via the ever-expanding railroad. Hundreds were often captured in one go in nets or other kinds of traps. Baby pigeons were particularly sought after because they were fed on pigeon milk by their mothers and were thus much fatter and are said to have tasted particularly good.

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Published: Monday, June 4, 2001