January 05, 2005

The Old Farmer's Almanac I was intrigued by the calendar marking special "red letter" days - there are a few of them right off the bat here in 2005 . . . Also i hear it's good for predicting eclipses, should you ever get thrown back in time and captured by angry natives.

January 5 - Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night, the eve of January 5, is in English folk custom the end of Christmas merrymaking and in ancient Celtic tradition the end of the 12-day winter solstice celebration. On Twelfth Night, it was customary for the assembled company to toast one another from the wassail bowl. In Old English, wassail means "Be in good health," but the term also was applied to the drink itself (usually spiced ale). Also today Benedict Arnold burned Richmond, Virginia. Damn that's randomly handy!

posted by petebest 19 years ago
  • The wassail bowl went around for days before 12th night, p'raps it was the last day it was appropriate or summat.
  • The Christian festival of Epiphany or Twelfth Day falls on January 6th, 'commemorating both the revealing of the infant Jesus to the magi and the baptism of Jesus', according to Miriam-Webster's New World Dictionary. When I was a child it was common for people to leave their Christmas decrations up until that date.
  • January 6 - Epiphany. This is the day on which the Magi, the three wise men or kings, arrived in Bethlehem bearing gifts for the infant Jesus. In many countries, Three Kings Day is a traditional time of gift giving. -Farmer's Almanac It's news to me, but yeah that's when I'm told to take down the decorations (*snif*)
  • When I was a child, I always loved receiving the Old Farmer's Almanac for the coming year at Christmas from my grandfather. When I looked at it again recently, I found it quite a bit more difficult to imagine the charm I once found in it. Though the heart of the almanac, the calendars, is still lots of fun and at least pretends to be informative.
  • its a visceral thing no doubt Gnatcho. Yo H-dogg, don't be hatin'!
  • I dream of being flung back in time and amazing the natives, but it would have to be with Beatles songs and rudimentary knowledge of modern military tactics, as I'm useless at remembering dates of eclipses...
  • How the Gallows Child Remembers the Names of the Months Jaguary Cassowary Marten Mandrill Maybird Coon Shoo fly Locust Serpent bear Octopus North Pole bear Remem bear --Christian Morgenstern, trans Max Knight