Michaelmas

Otherwise known as the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel. This holiday was once an important festival on the calendar, relating to the harvest and the autumn. The traditional dish for the day was goose, ensuring a fruitful year.

St. Michael is the patron saint of police officers, soldiers, mariners, firefighters, EMTs, and others who put their lives in danger through their work. St. Michael medals are often popular in police departments and military barracks. He is known as one of the four angels who defended the Kingdom of God from Satan and the legions of the fallen. As in the icon to the right, he is usually portrayed as carrying a sword in order to accomplish his mission of defending the good. St. Michael also acts as guide to the souls of the deceased.

Purple asters with their yellow centers are also known as Michaelmas daisies as they grown around the date of Michaelmas.

In some British universities, the autumn term is known as the Michaelmas term.

The Abbot's Circle: The Story of Michaelmas 

National Trust for Scotland: Michaelmas Traditions

The Feast of St. Michael

Catholic Culture: Traditions of Michaelmas Day

Historic UK: Michaelmas 

What Happens When You Love Christmas...but You're Jewish?

The Matzah Ball, Jean Meltzer
For years, Christmas has been Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt's safe place. The daughter of a famous rabbi and a fertility physician, she battles both Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the naysayers who claim it doesn't exist; although a devout Jew she both collects Christmas kitsch and writes famous Christmas romances under the name Margot Cross, both which she keeps secret from her parents. However, this year her pushy publisher wants to branch out and asks her to write a Hanukkah romance. (Frankly, I don't blame Rachel; the publisher just wants to do this so the company can say they're behind diversity, which is annoying.) Rachel feels lost after years of writing Christmas stories, and thinks she can get ahold of the proper spirit if she attends the Matzah Ball, a big specialty blowout dance for wealthy Jewish people. But all the tickets are sold out...unless she can get one from Jacob Greenberg, who's running the event, and also the boy who broke her heart at age 12 at Camp Ahava.

The characters in this are...okay. I sympathized with Rachel, who basically has a condition a lot of doctors don't believe in and who suffers terribly if she exerts herself too much, and how she didn't want her conservative parents to know her secrets. She's also been burdened for years with the idea that as the famous rabbi's daughter she was required to be Miss Perfect. Jacob also has had his problems: his mother was also chronically ill (from a different disease) and he grew up throwing himself into his work in order to escape his fears and his guilt.

Other things didn't gel too well. Except for Jacob's wonderful bubbie Toby, my favorite character in the book, all the people in the novel seem to be rich and I couldn't relate to them. The whole Matzah Ball thing seemed so over-the-top compared to the sort of amusements my Jewish friends partake in. It also struck me as weird that Jacob and Rachel couldn't get over this "thing" that separated them back in summer camp. I mean, they were twelve, and never moved on? And then there's Mickey. Don't get me wrong, Mickey is a great best friend—Rachel's a lucky girl to have such a great friend. But again...wacky gay friend. This is something like the third or fourth book I've read where the straight female protagonist has a wacky gay friend. Plus Mickey meets several other overdone tropes: he's a black gay kid who was adopted by two Jewish lesbians.

It's cute, but depends on your tolerance for two emotionally miserable people involved with what's basically a rich person's gathering.

Cattern Cakes for St. Catherine's Day

St. Catherine of Alexandria was a Christian martyr who was condemned to death on a torture device called "a breaking wheel." "Catherine wheel" fireworks are named after this event, and "cattern cakes" are made in the shape of a swirl or in a spiral shape to commemorate her. The day was once widely observed and the days before and after the holiday were known as Catterntide. In medieval times, Catterntide marked the beginning of Advent.

 

St. Catherine is the patron saint of spinners, weavers, and lacemakers, and the latter used to take their annual holiday on this day.

Here's a British recipe (from "The Simple Things") for Cattern cakes:

275g (9.7oz) self-raising flour

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

25g (.9oz) currants

50g (1.77oz) ground almonds

2 tsp caraway seeds

200g (7oz) caster ("superfine") sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

100g (3.5oz) butter, melted

1 medium egg, beaten

Sift flour and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl, then add currants, almonds, caraway seeds, and sugar.

Add the melted butter and beaten egg to form a soft dough.

Roll out on floured surface to about 2cm (3/4 inch) thick and cut out rounds with a biscuit cutter. Lay the rounds on a baking sheet lined with parchment.

Using a sharp knife, make swirls in each cake, then sprinkle on sugar.

Bake for about 10 minutes in an oven already preheated to 190C (375F) or until they are brown and slightly risen. Cool on a wire rack.

❤ French Culture: What Do the French Do on St. Catherine's Day?

 

❤ The Free Dictionary: St. Catherine's Day 

 

❤ St. Catherine and Milliners 

❤ Fish Eaters: St. Catherine

 

St. Catherine was known to be well-educated and a book lover. You can celebrate her feast by buying a book as well!

The People of Christmas: St. Martin

St. Martin? Has he something to do with Christmas?

 

Well, peripherally!

 

St. Martin of Tours was originally a soldier, and it is ironic that his feast day falls on November 11, the anniversary of the Armistice that ended the first World War. Martin was a cavalryman, well mounted and well clad, but when he came upon a ragged man shivering for lack of clothing in the snow, he sliced his voluminous cloak in half and gave it to the man. That night he dreamed of Jesus wearing the half cloak and saying to a contingent of angels, "Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is now baptized; he has clothed me." Martin converted to Christianity and later became a bishop.

 

His association with Christmas is that the preparatory season of Advent used to be forty days, the same as old Christmastide and the same as Lent, and began on his feast day, Martinmas.

 

In European countries, Martinmas marks the end of the harvest season. Livestock that had multiplied during the summer and which could not be fed during the winter was butchered and preserved by salting or smoking, and farmers would provide cakes and ale for the harvesters. Now that farm work was over, the laborers would attend Martinmas hiring fares to find positions for the winter.

 

Waterfowl are also involved in Martinmas celebrations. As at Michaelmas, a goose is usually eaten as part of the feasting. This alludes to the part of Martin's story where he did almost everything to avoid becoming a bishop, prefering to spread the gospel his own way. Martin hid in a pen of geese as a last resort, but the geese raised such a racket that he was given away. Weather forecasting is associated with the holiday, as it is on Candlemas, or, as it's known in the US, Groundhog Day. According to folklore, if Martinmas is cold and icy, the winter that follows will be milder, all through Candlemas. This is alluded to in a poem:

 

"Ice before Martinmas,

Enough to bear a duck,

The rest of winter,

Is sure to be but muck."

 

In other words, if the water is frozen over so that a duck cannot break through the ice on Martinmas, the remainder of the winter will be mild.

 

Snow on St. Martin's day is greeted with the exclamation: "Here comes St. Martin on his white horse!"

 

St. Martin of Tours 

 

Martinstag and St. Martin 

 

Historic UK: Martinmas

 

Slovenia Incognita: Martinmas 

The Tudor Society: The Feast of Martinmas

The Hollisters at Hallowe'en

The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Golden Witch, Jerry West

Finally! It's book 30 in the Hollisters series and the family is finally home in Shoreham! And it's October to boot. Pete (age 12), Pam, 10, seven-year-old Ricky, and Holly, age 6, plus 4-year-old Sue are off with their parents to the Johnson farm to buy pumpkins for their annual Hallowe'en party. They find Farmer Johnson stuck in the lane that leads to his pumpkin farm, his tractor broken. This means he won't be able to harvest his pumpkins and sell them at his farm stand. The warmhearted kids offer to help him harvest, tend the stand, and loan him their little burro, Domingo, and his cart until the crop's in, as well as offering their collie Zip as a watchdog for the burro. They also, while exploring the farm, discover a private graveyard and a riddle on an old headstone that hints there might be a treasure hidden on the farm! Plus Farmer Johnson has an old Model-T Ford in his barn, and the kids spot a strange young woman prowling near it. But it's when Pete and his friend Dave meet a man who offers them a reward if they find a weathervane in the shape of a witch that the mystery really starts.

 

We're taking a break from the travelogue stories of the last few books with a homegrown mystery involving the witch weathervane, why the mysterious "Curie-Us" is looking for it, the young lady who was found wandering near the barn, and even a woman entrepreneur, Aunt Nettie, who runs the local cider mill. Of course there's Joey Brill and Will Wilson to toss in a few mean pranks, and the Shoreham Hallowe'en festivities. An enjoyable entry in the series, with a couple of novel Hallowe'en items (like the RSVP for the party invitations) that I'd never heard of before.

The People of Christmas: St. Francis of Assisi

Today is the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, who is perhaps most commonly known as a lover of animals and nature. It was said that he preached the word of God even to the birds, and was so gentle with them that they came to him when he called, and birds perched on his heads. In the 1970s he was proclaimed the patron saint of ecology. In many churches, a Blessing of the Animals occurs around this date in honor of St. Francis. The current Pope, formerly Jorge Mario Bergoglio, picked his name in honor of the saint of Assisi, Italy.

Francis was originally christened "Giovanni" (John) and was the high-living son of a wealthy silk merchant. Even when he was a rich young man about town, he was known to give alms to the poor. After a sojourn to France, he returned to Italy with a love of all things French, so his family began calling him "Francesco" ("Frenchman").

Francis began to change after enduring an illness so severe it was feared he would die. Slowly, and to the dismay of his wealthy family, he began rejecting money and fine clothes and devoted himself to the poor. He founded the Franciscan order of monks, and also a similar organization of women, the Poor Clares.

Francis' connection to Christmas is simple: he was the first to create what we call "the Christmas crib," "the Nativity scene," or simply "the manger." He feared that people had forgotten that Jesus was born in a stable of humble parents, surrounded by animals, and staged the first living Nativity scene with carved figures representing the Holy Family (because it was thought using real humans might be blasphemous) and living sheep, donkeys, oxen, and other creatures. Later figures of wood, clay, porcelain, and so many other materials re-enacted the classic scene most people see under their Christmas tree, on a special table during the holiday season, in churches and on other properties.

The next time you're arranging your Nativity scene, thank St. Francis for adding this beautiful custom to the Christmas celebration.

Michaelmas

From the Historic UK website:

• Feast of Michael and All Angels.
  
• As it falls near the equinox, the day is associated with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days.
• In England, it is one of the “quarter days”. There are traditionally four “quarter days” in a year (Lady Day (25th March), Midsummer (24th June), Michaelmas (29th September) and Christmas (25th December)). They are spaced three months apart, on religious festivals, usually close to the solstices or equinoxes. They were the four dates on which servants were hired, rents due or leases begun.
• St Michael is one of the principal angelic warriors, protector against the dark of the night and the Archangel who fought against Satan and his evil angels. As Michaelmas is the time that the darker nights and colder days begin – the edge into winter – the celebration of Michaelmas is associated with encouraging protection during these dark months.
• A well fattened goose, fed on the stubble from the fields after the harvest, is eaten to protect against financial need in the family for the next year; and as the saying goes:

  “Eat a goose on Michaelmas Day,
  Want not for money all the year”. 

   

  More Michaelmas Links
  

  The Merry Foods of Michaelmas
  
  Richmond Waldorf School Michaelmas Page
  
  Michaelmas: Prayers, Food, and Flowers

  Project Britain: Michaelmas

  
  

Christmas in July

 

The Atlas of Christmas: The Merriest, Tastiest, Quirkiest Holiday Traditions from Around the World, Alex Palmer

I've been collecting Christmas books for 20-30 years now, so a lot of the customs talked about in this book I already know...but it's still a nifty little volume, because there are so many holiday customs I didn't know about as well. The book is divided into nine parts: Ceremonies and Rituals (Three Kings Day and Santa Lucia, among others), Musical Interludes and Interlopers (bagpipes in Italy rather than Scotland and mumming in Newfoundland), Local Quirks and Curious Practices (the much-vaunted Christmas book flood in Iceland along with Finnish saunas and a "poop log" in Spain), Saints and Gift Bringers (alternate Santa like La Befana, Frau Holle, Tante Arie, and even some male ones), Devils and Troublemakers (here comes Krampus with his long tongue and bag for naughty children and the problem with "Black Peter"), Holiday Trimmings and Trinkets (beautiful lanterns in the Philippines, a Yule goat, and a wheat chandelier), Fierce Competitions and Leisurely Pastimes (Christmas verse with a difference in the Netherlands and Christmas crackers), Savory and Satisfying Holiday Dishes (holiday foods...), and Celebratory Sweets (...and desserts and drinks).

 

This book includes a lot of new traditions from Africa and the Middle East that I'd never heard of, even a Chinese custom of giving apples during the holiday season, despite the government's efforts to suppress Western holidays. If you don't have any other books about Christmas customs in other lands, this would be a great starter volume for reading about world holiday customs. It's illustrated with quaint little cutout paper type illustrations, although photos of some of the food would have been cool. The only problem is that someone appeared to quit proofreading the book about halfway through and there are references to other articles that say "see page TK," but this doesn't spoil the narrative. Also, they seemed to skip the German custom of the peppermint pig.

(Incidentally, the story you hear about the custom of the pickle ornament on German Christmas trees is not here, as Germans say it's not a German custom.)

A Christmas Legacy, Anne Perry

This is this year's Christmas book from Perry, who is most famous for her two Victorian mystery series: the later set Charlotte and Thomas Pitt stories starting with The Cater Street Hangman and the earlier set William Monk/Hester Latterley novels starting with Face of A Stranger. In each of the books she has a usually minor character from one of the two series facing some sort of problem during the Yuletide season.

A Christmas Legacy stars one of Perry's most beloved supporting characters, Gracie Phipps Tellman, once the teenage servant of the Pitts. Now married to Thomas Pitt's old partner on the Metropolitan Police, Samuel Tellman, with three children (Charlotte "Charlie," Thomas, and Victor), Gracie takes pity on Millie Foster, whose mother she and Tellman had helped when Millie was a child. Millie works as a maid for a wealthy family and things like food are disappearing from the kitchen. She's afraid something odd is going on and the servants will be blamed for it, and she's desperate for someone to help. If one of the servants gets dismissed without a character reference, they will likely spend the rest of their lives on the street. So Gracie concocts a story that Millie is ill, produces a character reference from Charlotte Pitt, and with her husband's blessing, takes Millie's place at the Harcourt home. She promises Tellman and little Charlie she will be home for Christmas, but is immediately swept up in the problems Millie has spoken about, and can't figure out for the life of her what's going on...but it has to do with the food, and something upstairs.

I think readers will guess pretty quickly what's going on after Gracie finds out the secret of the food and especially after a conversation between the Harcourts, but it's the humanity of Gracie's reaction once she discovers the problem and the actions of the servants that carry this book. The actual mystery is a bit cliche, but it's all heartwarming, and Charlie is a darling character. I really wish Perry would write some books about Tellman's cases and how Gracie has helped him, as they intimate she has in at least one case with Millie's mother, as I find Gracie and Tellman both more interesting than her newest character, Elena Standish.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Hanukkah!

Hanukkah begins tonight at sundown.

You can read this classic book about the origins and meaning of Hanukkah customs at Archive.org. Registering is free, and you can borrow books just like at a library.

Hanukkah: The Feast of Lights: Compiled and Edited by Emily Solis-Cohen

This is a children's book with lively illustrations in the same vein:

Light Another Candle: The Story and Meaning of Hanukkah by Miriam Chaikin

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

In some countries Christmas gifts don't come on Christmas. The holiday is reserved for religious observation and family gatherings. Gifts are given on St. Nicholas Eve.

☙ St. Nicholas and Your Shoes

☙ The Traditions of St. Nicholas Day Around the World

☙ Celebrating St. Nicholas in Spain 

☙ Why St. Nicholas Puts Candy in Boots 

☙ The German St. Nicholas Tradition 

The original St. Nicholas was born in Turkey, and reputedly attended the Council of Nicea, growing so angry at a representative who claimed Jesus was not divine that he hit the man and was jailed. He is known for several miracles, including bringing three divinity students back from the dead after they had been pickled and brined by a greedy landlord. He became associated with gift giving due to a kind act: he secretly gave three bags of gold to a poor man with three daughters who needed dowries to be married, else they would have to become prostitutes.

In Holland, St. Nicholas arrives by ship from Spain and has a helper called Black Peter, a Moorish servant. There he is usually portrayed as riding a white horse. In other countries, as in this illustration, he travels with a donkey.

Give Thanks for Your Blessings...Be Kind...Be Well!

The History of Hallowe'en

Happy Michaelmas Day!

Michaelmas celebrates St. Michael the Archangel on one of the four "quarter days" in Great Britain, holy days which were associated with the paying of rent and renegotiating agreements. The angel Gabriel (who delivered the joyful news to Mary of the conception of Jesus) and the angel Raphael (also the angel Uriel in some versions) are also celebrated on this date. Michael is said to have personally defeated Lucifer in his war against heaven.

A legend associated with the holiday is that when St. Michael defeated Lucifer, described in Revelations 12, Lucifer landed on a blackberry bush. In rage, he spat on and cursed the bush. So you should pick and eat blackberries by Michaelmas, before the devil gets a chance to spit on them!

The traditional main course on Michaelmas Day is roast goose. So traditional, in fact, that old Irish name for the holiday was Fómhar no nGéanna, "goose harvest." Eating goose on this day is considered good luck.

In the northern hemisphere, because Michaelmas falls several days after the autumnal equinox, the holiday is associated with fall and marks the end of the harvest season, and the beginning of preparations for winter.

Pronounced, incidentally, "micklemas."   

Customs and Traditions Associated With Michaelmas Day

Michaelmas Foods and Traditions

British Michaelmas Traditions

Catholic Traditions of Michaelmas Day

St. Michael the Archangel

Lady Day

"Lady Day" is the traditional name in some English-speaking countries for the Feast of the Annunciation. In Christian tradition, this is the day that the angle Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would be the mother of Jesus, the Son of God.

Luke 1:26-38:
And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.

And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.

And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?

And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: Because no word shall be impossible with God.

And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her

 In England, Lady Day was one of the four "quarter days,"  "the four dates in each year on which servants were hired, school terms started, and rents were due."

• Lady Day (March 25)
• Midsummer Day (June 24)
• Michaelmas [Feast of Michael the Archangel] (September 29)
• Christmas Day (December 25)

Before tradition designated January 1 as New Year's Day, Lady Day was considered to be the first day of the New Year, appropriate as by March 25 spring would be in full bloom and the growing year would lie ahead.

The Importance of Lady Day in Regency England

Lady Day on Astrology.com

Catholic Encyclopedia: Annunciation

Lady Day Feasting at Catholic Cuisine

Orthodox Church: Annunciation

Pagan Library: Lady Day

And One Final Book Review for the Holiday Season...

Hanukkah in America, Dianne Ashton
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I bought this book, but I thought it was going to be more about how Jewish people have come up against the juggernaut that is Christmas each year and how they counter with a celebration from their own culture that was a minor holiday, but which has expanded in response to being in proximity to the Yuletide frenzy that happens in December.

It does indeed address that issue, but is a lot more in depth than that, and delves more deeply into Jewish tradition and pre-Jewish-American-culture customs. In hindsight, I wish I had known a little bit more about the latter to truly appreciate how Hanukkah affected Jews.

Again, Hanukkah was a minor holiday on the celebratory calendar, one that did not require you to not work during the holiday period. However, when Jews migrated in great numbers to the United States, not only did they face Christmas advertising and celebration in every store window and in their children's schools, but they also came into contact with American culture itself, some of which ran counter to Jewish custom from "the old country": longer working hours and working on High Holidays, a narrative of the past that included "action heroes" like the Western pioneers and scouts, greater freedom for women, etc. For instance, Judah Maccabee would be compared to men like Kit Carson and Buffalo Bill Cody, and for Jews he would be considered a patriotic hero who fought against tyranny, like George Washington, the Union soldiers of the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War combatants. It would only be later that the miracle of the oil lasting eight nights and celebrating each night with your family in lighting the menorah would be emphasized more as Hanukkah did go head-to-head with Christmas, to show that both holidays had similarities: celebration of Light, miracles, family gatherings, special food, specific games, and gifts.

Not having background in traditional Jewish (read: Orthodox) customs did not keep me from appreciating this book, and how Jewish culture adapted and changed (like my own Italian culture) in order for the immigrants to assimilate as Americans yet keep their Jewish heritage. Enjoyable and approachable if you are looking for a more scholarly study.

A Thanksgiving Feast With a Side of Owl

As for many years now, Thanksgiving Day began with the Macy's parade. I still remember fondly waking up upon Thanksgiving morning and rushing to get breakfast so I could park myself before the television and watch the parades on CBS. They had the "Thanksgiving Parade Jubilee," showing parts of the J.L. Hudson parade in Detroit (Hudson's is long gone, but one of their offspring survives: Target; the parade survives as "America's Parade," I discovered this year), Gimbel's parade in Philadelphia (Gimbel's is gone, but Philly still has a parade), the pre-recorded Eaton's Santa Claus Parade (which, as I read in a book about the parade, long confused Canadian broadcasters on why the Americans wanted a Christmas parade on Thanksgiving; Eaton's is also gone, but Toronto still holds the parade), and finally the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade usually coming in last to present Santa Claus. In the real "old days" it was hosted by Captain Kangaroo from the Treasure House, later William Conrad took over the host duties from a richly-appointed men's den, drinking a toast at the very end. Later they ditched the Hudson's parade and started showing a parade from Hawaii with Jack Lord as the host (who the dickens wanted to watch flowers on Thanksgiving? I wondered), and Gimbel's got tossed in favor of a Walt Disney parade. Now CBS also has Macy's coverage and I heard the CW has the parade from Philadelphia. Probably had I known the latter I might have changed channels. Macy's has turned into, amazingly, not a big ad for Macy's, but a big ad for a bunch of young singing stars. Most of them were good, but who really cares? The announcers spend too much time yapping and promoting upcoming NBC shows.

This year, it was the commercials that were amazing. First came a four-minute epic from Xfinity, about a distant traveler who comes home for the holidays. Next came a magical visit to "The Time Shop" (I want to visit there!) with echoes of Narnia. And finally a little girl gets to ask all those pressing things a kid wants to know from the oddest of sources.

In the meantime James was in the kitchen cooking up goodies for our Friendsgiving feast, corn casserole and brown-sugar-glazed carrots, plus we had some Belgian chocolate seashells to bring along. We set the National Dog Show to recording and skipped out about one o'clock to find the feast about to begin at the Lucyshyn house. We had turkey, duck, pot roast, spiral-sliced ham, a whole passel of vegetables, Ron's mashed potatoes, a relish tray, bread, and, after all that, two kinds of pies, blondies, the chocolates, and brown bread with raisins (Oreta had to give out the recipe for the latter because it was so popular). We spent the time chatting, enjoying, and digesting.

The apex of the day was just after the sun had set. A line of orange and yellow was still on the western horizon, brightening the gap between two houses behind the Lucyshyn back yard, but above it, it was beginning to get dark and a quarter moon with Venus dangling beneath it was hung in the deep blue western sky just above the orange streak. I only had my phone with me, but I thought I might try to take a picture of it. So I went outside and snapped several photos.

Clair had followed me outside and both of us heard an owl hoot several times. Clair suddenly said "There it is!" and  pointed out the tallest tree in the neighborhood, silhouetted black against the southwestern sky. There at the top of the tree was the owl—we could see it stretch out every time it hooted, showing its head and tail! And then a few minutes later a second owl flew up to the same tree, different branch, and they hooted back and forth at each other for a few minutes, sketched against the sky like an Arthur Rackham illustration. Magical!

We drove home after admiring yet again the neighborhood overachievers nearby (the house at the very entrance of the development across from Alex and Pat's development) who had the front of their house covered with lighted Christmas trees, a manger scene, Snoopy on his doghouse, light spheres hanging from the trees, and so much more. (As a friend of mine might say, it looked like something had barfed up Christmas all over the place.) When I got home I went to the Cornell Ornithology website to identify the hoots, and it seemed we had two Great Horned Owls up in that tree! Clair confirmed that it was probably mating season for them, and what we saw might have been an attempt at courtship.

Turkey for dinner, owls in the night sky, and budgie song when we got home: that's what I call a Thanksgiving Day!