>The joy of all things at 19:01, 1 June 2021

2021-06-01T19:01:00Z

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{{Other uses}}
{{Short description|A place supposedly favored by God}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2020}}
"'''God's Own Country'''" is a phrase meaning an area, region or place supposedly favoured by God.

==Examples==

=== Australia ===
In [[Australia]], the phrase "God's own country" was often used to describe the country in the early 1900s, but it appears to have gradually fallen out of favour.<ref>{{cite web|date=21 January 1902|title="God's Own Country."|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61385036|access-date=6 August 2020|page=8|via=Trove}}</ref> The phrase "God's Country" is often used to describe [[Queensland]]<ref>{{cite web|date=27 June 1938|title=Truly God's own country|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41003568|pages=5|via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=27 March 2010|title=Great driving holidays – Brisbane to Townsville (Qld)|url=https://www.drivenow.com.au/blog/great-driving-holidays-brisbane-to-townsville-qld/|work=DriveNow Blog}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Birchley|first=Delia|date=23 April 1986|title=God's own country: the Johnstone Shire story|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/22622924|publisher=Boolarong Publications|location=Bowen Hills, Qld.|via=Trove}}</ref> and the [[Sutherland Shire]] in southern [[Sydney]]<ref>{{cite web|title=The Australian Route Register|url=http://www.climb.org.au/index.php?page_id=10&action=subregion&region_id=22|access-date=2 April 2018|website=www.climb.org.au}}</ref>

=== England ===
When used in reference to [[England]], "God's own country" refers to the legend that as a boy [[Jesus]] visited England with his great uncle, [[Joseph of Arimathea]].<ref>{{cite web|date=23 April 2018|title=The strange myth about Jesus coming to England|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35304508|via=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> The event itself inspired the musical prelude to [[William Blake]]'s ''[[Milton: A Poem in Two Books|Milton]]'', the piece "[[And did those feet in ancient time]]", also known as "Jerusalem", which has become an unofficial anthem of England.<ref>{{cite web|date=9 March 2016|title=English national anthem: Is Jerusalem the hymn we've been looking for?|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/english-national-anthem-is-jerusalem-the-hymn-weve-been-looking-for-a6921961.html}}</ref> The poem asks did Jesus visit England in ancient times, and in so doing create the [[New Jerusalem]], or heaven in England.<ref>{{cite web|date=29 December 2015|title=Analysis of Jerusalem by William Blake|url=https://poemanalysis.com/jerusalem-william-blake-poem-analysis/}}</ref>

Another first usage of the term by Edward du Bois was in a poem describing the English county of [[Surrey]] in 1839.<ref>Hone, W. (ed) (1839) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=YzRMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA469&dq=%22god's+own+country%22&hl=en&ei=fC_HTeHtD4_GvQODv5yWAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAw The year book, of daily recreation & information]'', p. 469.</ref> The phrase was also used in its more literal meaning to refer to [[Heaven]], in a poem by Elizabeth Harcourt Rolls Mitchell in 1857.<ref>Mitchell, E. H. R. "[[iarchive:firstfruitspoem00mitcgoog/page/n91| To The memory of J.C.S.]]" in ''First Fruits: Poems'', p. 79.</ref>

==== Yorkshire ====
The phrase is also, and perhaps most famously, used to describe [[Yorkshire]], England's largest county.<ref name="gods">{{cite web|last=Ward|first=David|date=24 October 2007|title=An ark park for God's own country|url=https://www.theguardian.com/religion/Story/0,2763,1443745,00.html|access-date=2010-05-03|website=[[Guardian Unlimited]]|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Duncan|first=Hannah|date=10 August 2012|title=Yorkshire back up to 12th in Olympic medal table after Nicola Adams's gold|newspaper=[[Metro (British newspaper)|Metro]]|url=http://www.metro.co.uk/olympics/908092-yorkshire-up-to-12th-in-olympic-medal-table-after-nicola-adams-victory|access-date=2012-11-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=6 August 2012|title=Yorkshire 10th in Olympic medal table|publisher=[[Yahoo]] [[Eurosport]]|url=http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/londonspy/yorkshire-10th-olympic-medal-table-135654936.html|url-status=dead|access-date=2012-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811145207/http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/londonspy/yorkshire-10th-olympic-medal-table-135654936.html|archive-date=11 August 2012}}</ref> This is used interchangeably with "God's Own County".<ref>{{cite web|date=2 June 2006|title=God's own county|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2006/jun/02/travelnews.shortbreaks.unitedkingdom|access-date=2010-05-03|website=[[Guardian Unlimited]]|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=1 August 2006|title=What's so special about Yorkshire?|work=[[BBC News]]|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5234444.stm}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Rushby|first=Kevin|date=3 September 2013|title=Yorkshire - God's own country is the best place in Europe|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/sep/03/yorkshire|access-date=2 April 2018|website=The Guardian}}</ref>

=== India ===

==== Kerala ====
{{main article|Tourism in Kerala}}
According to the 17th century [[Malayalam]] work [[Keralolpathi]], the lands of [[Kerala]] were recovered from the sea by the ax-wielding warrior sage [[Parasurama]], the sixth [[avatar]] of [[God Vishnu]] (hence, Kerala is also called Parasurama Kshetram; 'The Land of Parasurama').

According to the legend, Parasurama threw his ax across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached. This new area of land extended from [[Gokarna, India|Gokarna]] to [[Kanyakumari]]. The land which rose from sea was filled with salt and was unsuitable for habitation; so [[Parasurama]] invoked the [[Nagaraja|Snake King]] [[Vasuki]], who spat the holy poison and converted the soil into fertile lush green land. Out of respect, [[Vasuki]] and all snakes were appointed as protectors and guardians of the land.

Another much earlier Puranic character associated with Kerala is [[Mahabali]], an [[Asura]] and a prototypical just king, who ruled the earth from [[Kerala]]. He won the war against the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]], driving them into exile. The Devas pleaded before [[Lord Vishnu]], who took his fifth [[Avatar|incarnation]] as [[Vamana]] and pushed [[Mahabali]] down to the [[Underworld|netherworld]] to placate the Devas. [[Lord Vishnu]], seeing the devotion of Mahabali, blessed him to be the [[Indra]] of the next [[Manvantara]]. There is a belief that, once a year during the [[Onam]] festival, [[Mahabali]] returns to [[Kerala]].<ref name="Rinehart2004">{{cite book |first=Robin |last=Rinehart |title=Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hMPYnfS_R90C&pg=PA146 |access-date=28 July 2012 |year=2004 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-905-8 |page=146}}</ref> It is said that the [[god Vishnu]] is guarding Mahabali's Kingdom as a mark of respect for his virtues.<ref>Vishnu Purana</ref>

The [[Matsya Purana]], one of the oldest of the 18 [[Puranas]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Goldberg |first=Ellen |title=The Lord who is Half Woman: Ardhanārīśvara in Indian and Feminist Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xUhlxBozntoC&pg=PA20 |year=2002 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-7914-5325-4 |page=20 |access-date=30 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kemmerer |first=Lisa |title=Animals and World Religions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iFEL2yjkbAAC&pg=PA78 |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-991255-1 |page=78 |access-date=30 May 2015}}</ref> uses the [[Malaya Mountains|Malaya]] Mountains of [[Kerala]] (and [[Tamil Nadu]]) as the setting for the story of [[Matsya]], the first [[Dashavatara|incarnation]] of [[Vishnu]], and [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]], the [[Manu (Hinduism)|first man]] and the [[king]] of the region.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dalal |first=Roshen |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&pg=PA250 |year=2011 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-341421-6 |page=250 |access-date=30 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ragozin |first=Zenaide A. |title=Vedic India As Embodied Principally in the Rig-veda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T16d-eRG5VkC&pg=PA341 |year=2005 |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |isbn=978-1-4179-4463-7 |page=341 |access-date=3 December 2019}}</ref> These [[Puranic]] accounts portray [[Kerala]] as "God’s own country", or the land favoured by [[God]].<ref><nowiki>{{S.C. Bhatt, Gopal K. Bhargava (2006) "Land and People of Indian States and Union Territories: Volume 14.", p.18</nowiki></ref> The description of [[Kerala]] as "God's own country" can additionally be traced to the event known as Thrippadidanam, in which in 1749-50, the then ruler [[Marthanda Varma]], [[Maharaja]] of [[Travancore]], decided to "donate" his realm to Sri Padmanabha ([[Lord Vishnu|Vishnu]]) and thereafter rule as the deity's "[[vicegerent]]" (Sri Padmanabha Dasa).<ref name="Chaitanya1983">{{cite book|first1=Krishna|last1=Chaitanya|title=A History of Indian Painting : Pahari Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aDo6x0OAdqAC|year=1983|publisher=Abhinav Publications|id=GGKEY:Y12G5FWSUHB|page=88}}</ref><ref name="Aswathy Thirunal 1998 168–170, 179–180, 595–602">{{cite book|last=Aswathy Thirunal|first=Gauri Lakshmi Bai|title=Sree Padmanabhaswamy Kshetram|year=1998|publisher=The State Institute of Languages, Kerala|location=Thiruvananthapuram|isbn=978-81-7638-028-7|pages=168–170, 179–180, 595–602}}</ref> The slogan also alludes to the variety of faiths in the state: [[Hindus]], [[Muslims]], [[Christians]], [[Buddhists]], [[Jains]], [[Jews]], and [[Parsis]] ([[Zoroastrians]]) have coexisted harmoniously for centuries as the mishmash of [[temples]], [[towers]], [[spires]] and [[synagogues]] attest.

=== New Zealand ===
The earliest recorded use of the phrase as applied to [[New Zealand]] was as the title of a poem about New Zealand written by [[Thomas Bracken]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Dictionary of Australian Biography Br-By|url=http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks15/1500721h/0-dict-biogBr-By.html|access-date=2 April 2018|website=gutenberg.net.au}}</ref> It was published in a book of his poems in 1890, and again in 1893 in a book entitled ''Lays and Lyrics: God's Own Country and Other Poems.''<ref>{{cite web|title=Dictionary of New Zealand Biography|url=http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=2B35|access-date=2 April 2018|website=dnzb.govt.nz}}</ref> God's Own Country as a phrase was often used and popularised by New Zealand's longest serving prime minister, [[Richard John Seddon]]. He last quoted it on 10 June 1906 when he sent a telegram to the [[Victoria (Australia)|Victorian]] premier, [[Thomas Bent]], the day before leaving [[Sydney]] to return home to New Zealand. "Just leaving for God's own country," he wrote. He never made it, dying the next day on the ship ''Oswestry Grange''.<ref>{{cite web|date=16 January 2007|title=New Zealand Armed Forces Memorial Project|url=http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/taylorma/SkeletonWatchFeb04.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116121416/http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/taylorma/SkeletonWatchFeb04.pdf|archive-date=16 January 2007|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> Bracken's ''God's Own Country'' is less well known internationally than ''[[God Defend New Zealand]]'', which he published in 1876. The latter poem, set to music by [[John Joseph Woods]], was declared the country's national hymn in 1940, and made the second national anthem of New Zealand along with ''[[God Save the Queen]]'' in 1977.

In recent times the form '''Godzone''' on its own has been used informally of New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thornber |first1=Laura |title=Godzone: Is New Zealand really heaven on Earth? |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/nz/107175922/godzone-is-new-zealand-really-heaven-on-earth |website=stuff.co.nz |access-date=June 1, 2021 |date=2018-09-18}}</ref>

=== United States ===
The phrase later found sporadic use to describe several [[United States|American]] regions. Most known is the [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan]]. It is currently used to describe South Boston. It was also used by the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate army]] to describe parts of [[Tennessee]] in the 1860s.<ref>Loring, F. W., and Atkinson, C. F. (1869). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=eQ0OTeCVBWMC&pg=PA71&dq=%22god's+own+country%22&hl=en&ei=fC_HTeHtD4_GvQODv5yWAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22god's%20own%20country%22&f=false Cotton culture and the South considered with reference to emigration]'', p. 71.</ref> The phrase was also used to describe [[California]] in the 1860s,<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=BAkTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA468&dq=%22god's+own+country%22&hl=en&ei=fC_HTeHtD4_GvQODv5yWAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22god's%20own%20country%22&f=false Annual report of the State Board of Agriculture, Volume 4]'', Missouri State Board of Agriculture 1869, p. 468.</ref> and by [[Clement Laird Vallandigham]] to describe the land of the [[Mississippi]] plains.<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=_Ys-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA211&dq=%22god's+own+country%22&hl=en&ei=fC_HTeHtD4_GvQODv5yWAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBQ Speeches, arguments, addresses, and letters of Clement L. Vallandigham]'' 1864, p. 211.</ref> None of these remain widely used to describe a region, though it is still occasionally used to describe the United States overall.<ref>For example, in the title of Stephen Bates' book ''God's Own Country: Power and Religion in the USA: Religion and Politics in the USA''.</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Christopher |last=Hitchens|author-link=Christopher Hitchens|title=Rushdie: Free at last|url=http://www.salon.com/1998/09/29/news_119/|access-date=14 January 2014|newspaper=salon.com|date=30 September 1998}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], [[Germans|German]] [[Nazi]] propaganda minister [[Joseph Goebbels]] sarcastically mocked the US as "''Aus Gottes eigenem Land''" (From God's Own Country) in an essay that appeared in the German newspaper [[Das Reich (newspaper)|''Das Reich'']] on 9 August 1942.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb5.htm|title=Goebbels on the USA (1942)|first=Randall|last=Bytwerk|website=research.calvin.edu|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> Goebbels ridiculed the United States as a young land that lacked culture, education and history in contrast with Germany. In 1943, the Nazis published an [[anti-American]], [[anti-semitic]] propaganda book written by ''Erwin Berghaus'' called "''USA – nackt!: Bilddokumente aus Gottes eigenem Land''" ("USA naked! Photo documents from God's own country") which also mockingly characterized the US with the phrase.<ref>{{cite book|title=USA – nackt! Bilddokumente aus Gottes eigenem Land|first=Erwin|last=Berghaus|date=2 April 2018|publisher=Bischoff|oclc = 255345439}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.od43.com/USA_Nackt!_1943.html|title=very rare 1943 anti-Semitic / anti-American Third Reich photo book|website=www.od43.com|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> Several modern German newspapers such as ''[[Die Welt]]'', ''[[Der Tagesspiegel]]'' and ''[[Die Zeit]]'', have also used the phrase "''Gottes eigenes Land''" ("God's own country") to criticize American culture and society.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.welt.de/debatte/kommentare/article118059390/Die-Rassismus-Frage-in-Obamas-Amerika.html|title=Martin-Prozess: Die Rassismus-Frage in Obamas Amerika|first=Hannes|last=Stein|date=15 July 2013|access-date=2 April 2018|via=www.welt.de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/us-wahlkampf-gottes-eigenes-land/1316532.html|title=Gottes eigenes Land|date=3 September 2008|access-date=2 April 2018|via=Tagesspiegel}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zeit.de/2003/21/M__Manson|title=Musik: Wie gut, dass es das Böse gibt|first=Th|last=Groß|date=15 May 2003|access-date=2 April 2018|via=Die Zeit}}</ref>

===Zimbabwe===
The phrase "God's own country" was heard during the 1970s in [[Zimbabwe]] (formerly [[Rhodesia]], [[Southern Rhodesia]]), where most people perceived the land as beautiful despite the ongoing [[Rhodesian Bush War|Bush War]] of the time. Evidence of the phrase being used earlier in reference to Rhodesia is found in ''Chartered Millions: Rhodesia and the Challenge to the British Commonwealth'' by John Hobbis Harris, published 1920 by Swarthmore Press (refer to page 27). The phrase "Godzone" is distinctly different and was not used in Rhodesia.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Exceptionalism}}

[[Category:Alternative place names]]
[[Category:Tourism in Kerala]]
[[Category:Tourism campaigns]]

God's Own Country - Revision history

>The joy of all things at 19:01, 1 June 2021