Brumalia (Latin: Brumalia [bruːˈmaːlɪ.a], "winter festivals") was an ancient Roman, winter solstice festival honouring Saturn/Cronus and Ceres/Demeter, and Bacchus in some cases. By the Byzantine era, celebrations commenced on 24 November and lasted for a month, until Saturnalia and the "Waxing of the Light". The festival included night-time feasting, drinking, and merriment.... The short, cold days of winter would halt most forms of work. Brumalia was a festival celebrated during this dark, interludal period. It was chthonic in character and associated with crops.... Farmers would sacrifice pigs to Saturn and Ceres. Vine-growers would sacrifice goats in honor of Bacchus....
My word for this time of year is "Darkmonth," and today marks the first day of Darkmonth. I put the solstice in the center — it's December 21st — and count back 15 days to get to the first day, and that is today, the 6th. We have not yet reached the coldest month-long period of the year — and you never know exactly when that's going to be (and it's very rarely 30 consecutive days). But we have reached the 30 darkest days of the year, and by the first day of winter, we'll be halfway through the darkest month.
I can see that Saturnalia is a more optimistic idea, because you're not saying only 2 more weeks of the darkest month, but it's the waxing of the light. Each day is a bit more light — even as the coldest days are yet to come.
Here's the first post where I talked about Darkmonth — in the first year of this blog, 2004. I like that Meade shows up and makes the first comment — in 2009, the year that we met. By the way, it was Meade who first saw the dot of sunrise light burning up the inside of the capitol and made me see it too.
Song cue:
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18 comments:
"By the way, it was Meade who first saw the dot of sunrise light burning up the inside of the capitol and made me see it too."
And I am sure that he saw in you a flame too - like a moth to a candle. He knew even then. It was a matter of getting you to "see it too".
While I read this, I look out my window and see the reflections of an orange sun shading to pink on the undersides of a buttermilk sunrise cloud set.
Welcome to Darkmonth, Florida style.
I don't have enough words to describe how beautiful it is.
Since I’ve never listened to that much Velvet Underground, I’d never heard the embedded song - it’s not bad. However, when I saw the title on the embedded video, I immediately assumed it was referring to the linked song, which is a swing era classic and one of my favorites.
@Whiskeybum
The masterpiece I will forever associate with Ella Fitzgerald refers to star light, moon light, candlelight, and "the light in your eyes". It's a night time song. The VU song is a sunrise song.
We have an alignment of Jupiter and Saturn on the winter solstice, December 21. It will give us a 'Christmas Star' to view in the sky, just around sunset. From what I've read, they will only be visible for a short time- about 2 hours- and those up north will have a shortened time to see them (less than 2 hours). So look quick.
It's the closest these two planets will appear to us since 1623, the year Gov. Bradford declared a "Day of Thanksgiving". I remember commenting back then on what the polls had to say about it.
The warmest part of the day is well into the mid to late afternoon. The key thing is the rate of heat inflow and the rate of heat radiation. It's coldest (or hottest) when the rates match, not when the rate of heat inflow is least (or most).
The outflow rate matches the inflow rate in January. when the earth cools down enough to reduce it to sun levels. Since the rates match, as the day grows longer from there and the sun more direct, the earth begins to heat up again, marking the time as the coldest.
Mo Tucker lives in extreme southeast Georgia and was an early tea party supporter. God bless Mo Tucker.
We have not yet reached the coldest month-long period of the year — and you never know exactly when that's going to be (and it's very rarely 30 consecutive days).
Generally speaking, the coldest time of the year is a month after the winter solstice, or late January (just like the hottest time of the year is late July, a month after the summer solstice)...
That’s a VU song I’d never heard. Listening to it, I hear where Talking Heads drew from the well. And a few others, too.
Need some warmth and light on this cold, dark winter morning? At your service:
Good morning. Sunday morning.
All the way down to 60-65.
Screw winter
Following up on Netflix recommendations and related to winter darkness, check out “Antarctica: a Year on Ice”. Obviously the months are reversed but this time of the year and especially for this time in history (i.e. COVID and lockdown) its particularly relevant.
The snow yesterday in Center Mass was pretty slushy and very heavy. Fortunately all the leaf raking translated into snow shovel fitness. I love the sense of accomplishment clearing the cars, driveways porches and pathways of snow. Today, my hard work is gleaming bright in the winter sun.
and dont forget
Fauci and Biden have warned us of the impending Dark Winter coming
Operation Dark Winter was the code name for a senior-level bio-terrorist attack simulation
"My word for this time of year is "Darkmonth," and today marks the first day of Darkmonth."
Isn't there some sort of pagan sex orgy that goes along with Darkmonth?
If not, why not?
Blogger Howard said...
The snow yesterday in Center Mass was pretty slushy and very heavy. Fortunately all the leaf raking translated into snow shovel fitness. I love the sense of accomplishment clearing the cars, driveways porches and pathways of snow. Today, my hard work is gleaming bright in the winter sun.
Don’t get lost, Masshole.
I am much more affected by early sunsets than late sunrises, so my darkmonth ends 15 days after the 9th of December, aka Christmas Eve. We gain 7 precious minutes of late-day sun between the 9th and the 31st!
For Roman Catholics today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (when Mary was conceived.) And Christmas Eve, when the Light comes into the world, is the end of the last day of what you might call "Darkweek." On
Jan 6 Epiphany - the 12th day of Christmas- marks the beginning of the first month after Darkmonth.
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