Showing posts with label Great Wheel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great Wheel. Show all posts

February 02, 2021

#08-044: The Groundhog and the Witch

drawing of a fierce-looking older woman at a great height, with a hammer in her hand; a bird flies below
The Cailleach
(Wikipedia)

Note: Many of our "fun" or "silly" traditions actually have their roots in something ancient and serious. So it is with Groundhog Day, celebrated in the U.S. on February 2.


Get Ready: Do you know what happens on Groundhog Day? Did you see the movie by that name?


May 29, 2017

#05-048: Halloween

yard decorations include a witch festooned with skulls, a mummy, an owl, more witches (on brooms), and a large zombie-looking thing
Halloween decorations
(Wikipedia)

Note: Halloween has its roots in one of the dates on the Great Wheel of the Year, between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice--the beginning of the Season of the Dead.


Get Ready: Do you celebrate Halloween? If so, what do you do?


May 22, 2017

#05-045: Lazy August

white-robed man with arms raised--apparently Jesus Christ--rises in the air with two other figures flanking him; waking people in old-fashioned clothes are directly under them, and a crowd of many more look agitated
The Transfiguration of Jesus
(Wikipedia)

Note: There's not much happening in August--maybe due to the heat! Still, a major pagan holiday and a major Christian one will do.


Get Ready: Are you badly affected by hot weather, or can you tolerate it easily?


April 25, 2017

#05-035: Midsummer's Day

color etching of people in clothes like those of the pilgrims, dancing around a bonfire
A Midsummer bonfire in 1893
(Wikipedia)

Note: A pale counterpart to the better-known December solstice, the magic of this date was admirably captured by no less than William Shakespeare.


Get Ready: Most of us have holidays around the December solstice; do you recognize the June solstice in any particular way?


April 10, 2017

#05-028: MAYDAY!

children holding ribbons run around a pole planted in the ground, in front of a church
Maypole dancing in the U.K.
(Wikipedia)

Note: There seems to be some connection between May Day--the ancient beginning of the northern hemisphere's summer--and honoring the labor of workers.


Get Ready: When do you celebrate Labor Day? What do you do to recognize the importance of workers?


March 21, 2017

#05-020: A Potpourri of March Holidays

old wall with four arched openings occupied by mission-style bells; to right is statue of a Franciscan priest and a native boy
Capistrano Mission will ring these Bells when the first swallows appear.
(Wikipedia)

Note: Johnny Appleseed, π, Saint Joseph, and the announcement of Jesus's birth--March has a lot going on!


Get Ready: When do you celebrate Father's Day? Why that day, and not some other?


March 14, 2017

#05-017: The Spring Equinox

the left side of a globe is illuminated directly in yellow, with three arrows marked "sun rays" striking at, just above, and just below the center (the Equator and the two Tropics); the "earth axis" is perfectly vertical; and on the right are marked (top to bottom) Arctic Circle, Tropic of Cancer, Equator, Tropic of Capricorn, and Antarctic Circle
Earth at the equinoxes
(Wikipedia)

Note: The March equinox, called by some the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere, is the cue for several other observances as well.


Get Ready: Do you participate in Earth Hour or any other events around the March equinox?


February 20, 2017

#05-007: Groundhog Day

eight men in top hats and long black coats; one near the center holds a large rodent, while another reads what looks like a proclamation
The Groundhog Day ceremony in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
(Wikipedia)

Note: A surprising number of universal celebrations cluster around February 1st, seen in ancient days as the start of spring.


Get Ready: Do you observe any celebrations around the start of February? When do you celebrate the start of spring?


March 15, 2012

#03-020: Celebrations of Spring

the left side of a globe is illuminated directly in yellow, with three arrows marked "sun rays" striking at, just above, and just below the center (the Equator and the two Tropics); the "earth axis" is perfectly vertical; and on the right are marked (top to bottom) Arctic Circle, Tropic of Cancer, Equator, Tropic of Capricorn, and Antarctic Circle
Earth at the equinoxes
(Wikipedia)

Note: Each of the four great turning points--solstices and equinoxes--is widely celebrated across cultures. Let's look at some springtime celebrations.


Get Ready: Does your culture or region have a special celebration for Spring Equinox? If so, what do you do?


January 09, 2012

#03-003: Zones, Solstices, and Equinoxes

a world map is marked with horizontal red lines marked Equator, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and Arctic and Antarctic Circles. The Frigid, Temperate, and Tropical Zones are also marked.
The earth's geographical zones
(Wikipedia)

Note: Lily and Antonio continue the conversation about geography that they started in Lesson #03-002, and will finish in #03-004.


Get Ready: Which "geographic zone" do you live in? What is it like?