This is January. (Yiyue,
Januar, Januari, Gennaio, Ianuarius, Ocak) January is, in the Northern Hemisphere,
considered the second month of WINTER and the COLDEST month of the year.
Temperatures in my part of Texas generally range from 20° to 40°F.
Since January marks the end of the old year and the
beginning of the new one, ancient Romans saw it as the bridge or doorway
between the past and the future. Therefore,
they called this month after the ancient god Janus, the double-headed god of
doors, beginnings, endings, and transitions.
The Anglo-Saxons of ancient Britian called this first month,
Wulfmonath, or the month of wolves, to mark the time of the year when cold and starving
wolves would scavenge towns and villages for food.
Charles the Great, better known as Charlemagne, designated
January as Wintarmanoth, meaning winter or cold month.
January is National Soup Month (you eat soup when it’s
cold, right?), National Staying Healthy Month (cold – illness – staying healthy),
and National Hobby Month (too cold to go outside).
Today is Wednesday, January 15.
Today is National Bagel Day.
What could be better than a nice hot bagel with your morning coffee.
Bagels have a long and highly
documented history that travels from the Jewish families of Poland in the 1600s
to ready-to-pop-into-your-toaster today. And, unlike many things created nearly
five-hundred years ago, bagels are remarkably unchanged. Toppings may have evolved over time but a
bagel is a constant.
Today, January 15,
at my house,
the air conditioning
came on.
Now, while I’m not a fan of 20-degree temperatures, I worry
that summer will start on February 1.
Sigh.
15 Jan 2020
This year continues to be a conundrum.
ReplyDeleteHey, if you want cooler temps where air conditioning is not required, come visit me up here in Canada! Today our high was -35C and our low was -40C. Yesterday I went to a new deli in my city and had a delicious bowl of matzo ball chicken soup accompanied by a toasted cheddar bagel and cream cheese. YUM! So I've got all my celebratory bases covered.
ReplyDeleteMy God, I remember one January that the temps were down in the teens for a whole week. I think it was 2009 or 2010. Not too sure but I blogged about the cold that day. I miss that cold. We will need a good cold snap to kill the bugs or summer will be unbearable.
ReplyDeleteWe had unseasonably warm temps this week - and I was all doom & gloom while rooting around in my closet for the 3/4 length sleeve tops that I thought I wouldn't need again until April or May. Sigh.
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