Merry Christmas! Did you know that the twelve days of Christmas BEGIN on Christmas Day?! The celebration of Christmas lasts twelve days–to the “Twelfth Night”–and ends on January 6, which is Epiphany.
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
~ a partridge in a pear tree!
Until we meet again…may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~An Old Irish Blessing~
Marian McCoy Boveri
——————
Day 1: Copyright: <a href=’http://www.123rf.com/profile_eireann’>eireann / 123RF Stock Photo</a>
St. Brigid
Source: Saint Brigid Church
February 1 is known as St. Brigid’s Day in Ireland. She is an Irish saint that was born in circa 451 AD and her feast day celebrates the arrival of Spring. In the old Irish calendar there were four quarter days that marked the shift in season and upon which celebrations were held. St. Brigid’s Day, also known as Imbolc, was the quarter day that signified the ending of the long, hard winter and the arrival of spring. It falls about half-way between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
It is believed that St. Brigid’s parents were Dubthach, a Leinster chieftain and a pagan, and Brocaa, a slave and a Christian baptized by St. Patrick. When it was discovered that she was pregnant, Dubthach’s wife had Brigid’s mother sold to a Druid landowner. Brigid was known for her charity and gave away anything she could to the the poor. Her Druid owner returned Brigid to her father when she was about 10-years-old. Her father soon tired of her giving away his belongings so he sought to sell her to the King of Leinster. As Dubthach spoke with the King, Brigid gave away her father’s sword to a beggar so he could barter it for food. The King, who was a Christian, spoke with Brigid, saw her heart and declared, “Her merit before God is greater than ours”. The King then convinced Dubthach to grant Brigid her freedom.
It is said that Brigid, who was very beautiful, prayed that God would remove her beauty so that she could live a consecrated life devoted to Christ rather than accept the many hands of marriage that were offered to her. Once her father saw that her beauty had been taken, he agreed to allow her to enter a religious life. Upon taking her vows, Brigid’s beauty was restored.
Brigid founded the first monastery for women religious in Ardagh. Before this, women who consecrated themselves to God lived in private homes. Shortly thereafter, the monastery was moved to Kildare and became known as “The Church of the Oak” as it was built above the shrine to the Celtic goddess of the same name which was under a large oak tree. Brigid also founded a monastery for men as well and went on to set up monasteries all over Ireland. It was during her travels that her Christ-given healing abilities and wisdom became known and she affectionately was called “The Mary of the Gaels”.
Brigid later founded a school of art and metallurgy that produced the Book of Kildare. This work was said to have been “created by angels”.
A tradition in Ireland is to make a new St. Brigid’s cross for the home out of rushes or reeds on St. Brigid’s Day to insure protection of the home, especially from fire, throughout the coming year. Legend has it that St. Brigid picked rushes from the floor and made a cross in an effort to convert a dying pagan chieftain. “He asked her about what she was doing and, in explaining, she told him about christ and the meaning of the Cross. He came to faith and was baptized.”
“Once the cross is woven, it is blessed with holy water and with the words:
May the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost be on this Cross and on the place where it hangs and on everyone who looks at it.” (1)
Click here for instructions on how to make a St. Brigid’s Cross.
St. Brigid’s Cross
Source: Wikipedia
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~ An Old Irish Blessing
Marian McCoy Boveri
Sources:
(1) http://fisheaters.com/customstimeafterepiphany2a.html
http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/st-brigids-day-1st-february-marks-the-start-of-celtic-spring-189211061-237561961.html
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=453
http://www.crosscrucifix.com/articlehome.htm
What a great Valentine’s Day tradition!!! Found this at decorating-by-day.com (http://goo.gl/lia6E5). Great for home, school, or even your office! Spread the love with encouraging words written on hearts and posted on the door. Start February 1st and finish on February 14th, St. Valentine’s Day.
It’s that time of year where everything pumpkin shows up. I found this delicious recipe for pumpkin pie in a glass with this Pumpkin Pie Nog at http://www.recipe.com/pumpkin-pie-nog/. I also think the pumpkin “bowl” is such a creative touch.
Hope this inspires you to celebrate the season by enjoying the harvest.
“The patriot’s blood is the seed of Freedom’s tree.” ~Thomas Campbell
Memorial Day originated shortly after the Civil War as a day to remember fallen soldiers of the Civil War by decorating their graves with flowers and other appropriate objects. Before it’s official proclamation as Decoration Day in 1868, it had become tradition to decorate the graves of fallen Civil War Soldiers towards the end of May around the time that flowers started to bloom.
The Veterans Administration’s history page describes one of the earliest records of this traditions in a beautiful story of forgiveness and compassion shown by women in decorating graves of fallen soldiers:
“Local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well.” (3)
According to history recounted by the Clarion County Historical Society:
“[t]he earliest evidence of observance goes back to various women’s groups in the North and South, when ladies organized events to honor their war dead by decorating graves. The earliest recorded event took place on April 25, 1866 in Columbus, Mississippi when a group of women formed an association to decorate the graves of Civil War soldiers, starting with those who died in the Battle of Shiloh.” (2)
It was officially named Decoration Day and thus proclaimed on May 5 1868 by General John Logan who was the National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. His General Orders No. 11 proclaimed in part:
“The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.”
“‘We are organized, comrades, as our regulations tell us, for the purpose among other things, of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailors, and marines who united to suppress the late rebellion.’ What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.” (3)
he term “Memorial Day” was not used officially until 1967, its use first emerged circa 1880s.
It wasn’t until after World War I that the day was expanded to honor those who had served and died in all American wars and not just those of the Civil War. The term Memorial Day was first used in 1882 but did not gain regular use until after World War II. The day was not officially called Memorial Day until 1967. On June 28, 1968, Congress moved four holidays, including Memorial Day, from their traditional dates to Monday in order to create three-day weekends through the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law federally took affect in 1971; however, it would be a few years before all 50 states adopted Congress’ order. Memorial Day was also then declared a national holiday.
Memorial Day has also become to be known as the official start of summer.
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~An Old Irish Blessing
Marian McCoy Boveri
(3) http://www.usmemorialday.org/?p=90
(2) https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10152253979979830&id=109532589829&substory_index=0
(1) http://www.va.gov/opa/speceven/memday/history.asp and
https://www.morningagclips.com/decoration-day/
It has become a tradition to sign my blogposts with a portion of this Old Irish Blessing. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~ An Old Irish Blessing
Marian McCoy Boveri
Sow in love
St. Charles Scarecrow Festival 2014
St. Valentine’s Day is a tradition dating back centuries. It originates in ancient Rome where on February 13-15 a lottery was held to pick a mate in which to spend the next year with. Two of the three saints named St. Valentine were martyred in this day in 3 A.D.–one for marrying Christians which was against Roman law at the time. It was declared a church holiday as early as 496 A.D. It became a common practice to pass notes on this day which evolved into picking a sweetheart for the day. This is also the day it was believed that birds choose their mates thereby heralding the first day of spring.
The practice of sending actual St. Valentine’s Day cards originates in England circa 1400. What is referred to as the first actual Valentine is a letter written in 1416 by Frenchman Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife during his imprisonment in the Tower of London. This first Valentine itself is bittersweet as she died before it could reach her as the Duke was imprisoned in various English castles for nearly 25 years. The original letter still exists and is held at the British Library in London. Incidentally the oldest surviving Valentine written in English is also held there. This was written by Margery Brews of Norfolk to her fiance John Paxston in 1477.
Vintage Valentine
The practice of sending hand-written Valentine’s Day cards does indeed first appear circa 1400 in England. Another long-standing belief is that King Henry VIII established February 14 as St. Valentines’ Day in a royal decree in 1537. By 1601 St. Valentine’s Day has become part of England’s “popular consciousness to the extent that…William Shakespeare mentions it in Ophelia’s lament in Hamlet:
“Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s [D]ay
All in the morning betime
And I a maid at your window
To be your Valentine.” [2]
By the 17th century it became commonplace for friends and lovers from all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection like hand-made cards, chocolates, and small gifts on St. Valentine’s Day. Some of these traditions found themselves brought to America with the colonists. In fact their popularity grew with imported “writers” from England that were actually booklets that had various “be my Valentine” messages that one could copy onto decorative paper and send. One popular “writer” even had responses.
Late 18th century and early 19th century Valentines were often religious in nature. It wasn’t until 1847 that the first American mass-produced Valentine made from–what else but–English imported embossed paper and lace was produced. They were created and sold by Esther Howland of Winchester, MA, who is commonly referred to as “The Mother of the Valentine”.
“The popularity of sending and receiving [Valentine’s] cards [in England] grew alongside the improvement in postal services and methods of printing to the point in the 1830s where postmen needed refreshments to help with the unprecedented number of cards they had to deliver.” [3] In America the Valentine didn’t truly become a tradition until during the Civil War (1861-1865) “when [V]alentine cards often depicted sweethearts parting, or a tent with flaps that opened to reveal a soldier.” [4]
Vintage Valentine
“By 1900 printed cards began to replace hand-written letters due to improvements in printing technology. [Indeed] [r]eady-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings were discouraged.” [5] It was in the Victorian era with advancements in printing and then the introduction of the “penny post” that sending Valentines became even more popular. The penny postcard Valentines were most popular during 1890-1917. [4] Sometime in the late 1800s sending Valentine’s cards fell out of fashion only to be revived sometime in the 1920s. Contrary to what some believe–Hallmark did not create this holiday. Hallmark’s first Valentine card was not produced until 1913.
Valentine’s Day now accounts for 25% of the cards sent each year according to the Greeting Card Association. [1] Today 180 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged in a holiday that in 2014 reached $17 billion in spending. [6]
“Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”
~ An Old Irish Blessing
Marian (McCoy) Boveri
[2] History of Valentine’s Day
[3] Valentine’s Day in Britain–History and Folklore
[5] The Legend of St. Valentine
[6] Valentine’s Day Statistics
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