Are you wearing green today?
While I don’t know much about St. Patrick and couldn’t find much about him online either, I did read that today is believed to be the day of his death. He is also the patron saint of Ireland and it appears that he was active as a missionary in Ireland during the second half of the fifth century.
By the way, St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland is not celebrated in the same manner as we American’s celebrate. My Irish friend told me that once.
Happy Valentine’s Day, ladies! 
In honor of today, here are some points of interest I didn’t know regarding V-Day, gleaned from the Wikipedia’s article on Valentine’s Day.
According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all holiday cards sent are Valentines, making it the second largest card-sending occasion after Christmas. Women buy more than 85% of Valentines purchased.
The “St. Valentines” who were originally honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome, who was a priest in Rome and was martyred in AD 269, and Valentine of Terni, who was bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) and was killed sometime in the early 200s.
These guys had no connection with romantic love, which is what we nowadays celebrate on Valentine’s Day. The first recorded association of romantic love and Valentine’s Day was in a poem written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1300s.
My husband and I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day. Our engagement anniversary is February 16, so we choose to celebrate that instead. Actually, we don’t have “romantic” plans for that day, either. Hmm. Anyway, the real reason we don’t make a big deal on Valentine’s Day is because we think it’s a little forced. We’d like to think we show love to each other throughout the year, so no need to put pressure on one day, you know? How about you? Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? What are some ways in which you’ve enjoyed celebrating it over the years?
Do you make resolutions for the new year?
When are the ‘12 Days of Christmas’?
A) The 12 days after Christmas: December 26 to January 6
B) The 12 days around Christmas: Christmas Eve to January 4
C) The 12 days before Christmas: December 14 to December 25
If you answered A then you are correct.
I found this information from THIS WEBSITE:
The Twelve Days of Christmas is probably the most misunderstood part of the church year among Christians who are not part of liturgical church traditions. Contrary to much popular belief, these are not the twelve days before Christmas, but in most of the Western Church are the twelve days from Christmas until the beginning of Epiphany (January 6th; the 12 days count from December 25th until January 5th). In some traditions, the first day of Christmas begins on the evening of December 25th with the following day considered the First Day of Christmas (December 26th). In these traditions, the twelve days begin December 26 and include Epiphany on January 6.
The origin and counting of the Twelve Days is complicated, and is related to differences in calendars, church traditions, and ways to observe this holy day in various cultures. In the Western church, Epiphany is usually celebrated as the time the Wise Men or Magi arrived to present gifts to the young Jesus (Matt. 2:1-12). Traditionally there were three Magi, probably from the fact of three gifts, even though the biblical narrative never says how many Magi came. In some cultures, especially Hispanic and Latin American culture, January 6th is observed as Three Kings Day, or simply the Day of the Kings (Span: la Fiesta de Reyes, el Dia de los Tres Reyes, or el Dia de los Reyes Magos; Dutch: Driekoningendag). Even though December 25th is celebrated as Christmas in these cultures, January 6th is often the day for giving gifts. In some places it is traditional to give Christmas gifts for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Since Eastern Orthodox traditions use a different religious calendar, they celebrate Christmas on January 7th and observe Epiphany or Theophany on January 19th.
Being Puerto Rican, the Christmas season ends on January 6th for me. Our Christmas decorations stay up until January 6th. On Three Kings Days, or Epiphany, I’ll write about how it is and was celebrated in my culture.
Categories
