You may not have noticed, but we have an extra day this month. Leap Day, February 29, is this Saturday. For most of us, it’s just another day, but it’s existence is what keeps our solar calendar in sync with the earth’s orbit around the sun. So let’s do some
It seems that every event has its boosters which is why there are so many commemorative days like Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day which happened on Feb. 1 (not an entirely bad idea) or National Chopsticks Day that inspired a previous blog. But today shines light on a practice
GOOD NIGHT, GOOD NIGHT. PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW, THAT I SHALL SAY GOOD NIGHT TILL IT BE TOMORROW. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, written in 1594, encapsulates romantic love at its most appealing. Juliet speaks these words as Romeo departs from her balcony, her longing and complete surrender a match
Did you know February 6 is National Chopstick Day? It’s an obscure commemoration for unique eating utensils used by about one-third of the world’s population. Chopstick use requires a surprising amount of dexterity, and involves 30 joints and 50 muscles in the right-hand fingers, wrist, arm, and shoulder. In other
Sunday is Groundhog Day, the day when a large rodent leaves his burrow, looks around, and decides whether or not winter will continue another six weeks. Some folks say the groundhog is correct about 37 percent of the time, though that could be pure luck. Groundhogs are actually squirrels, commonly
The official date for Chinese New Year is this Saturday, January 25, though preparations began last Thursday. Each year corresponds to an animal in the Chinese zodiac created by the celestial Jade Emperor who invited twelve animals to serve as his guards. The earlier an animal passed through the heavenly
Last week I suggested everyone should ignore the annual guilt-ridden exercise of making resolutions. But it’s a hard custom to shake, which makes worth spending a little time analyzing the process. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Puritans spent their birthdays and January 1 in an exercise of intense introspection.
Welcome to the first week of 2020. Will you be setting goals? Or have you decided the annual ritual of introspection is an exercise in futility? This first year of a new decade, why not try something new, like catching a brass ring or being fully present in a state
A series on Christmas greenery isn’t complete without mistletoe, an Anglo-Saxon word that translates as “dung on a stick.” In many ways, mistletoe is a curious symbol of Christmas. On the one hand, mistletoe is a rootless parasite drawing nutrients from its host tree. On the other, its bright green
Holly, with its dramatic red berries, and ivy are two more evergreen symbols of Christmas that predate the Christian celebration. Romans decorated their homes with holly and ivy during Saturnalia, a year end festival honoring Saturn. Celts used the plants during the winter solstice. Both plants stand out during bleak
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