Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
December 26th carries much significance. It's the second day of Christmas, in which two turtledoves show up (according to the carol). This year it is also the second night of Hanukkah, the festival of the miracle of the lamps. But it is the first night of Kwanzaa. I like this holiday though I don't do… Continue reading The Daily: 26 December 2025
There are many ways to divide up the year. We all use several different calendars — one based on months, one based on seasons, perhaps a school calendar or a business calendar. Some cultures emphasize the moon, with varying degrees of correspondence to the solar year. Some cultures don’t bother with a framework and base… Continue reading The Daily: 24 December 2025
Green Man in the cold morning light Today, Sunday, 21 December (at 10:03am in my part of the world), the sun appears to stand still at its most southern point in its apparent journey along the horizon. We call this period of slow change, where day length changes incrementally and then not at all, the… Continue reading The Daily: 21 December 2025
The Winter Sleep Moon went dark yesterday. Today begins the Midwinter Moon. This lunation always feels like the shortest of the year, even though the nights are long. There is so much packed into this time of year, that a month can slip through your fingers before you even get a good grasp of the… Continue reading The Daily: 20 December 2025
Saturnalia Saturnalia begins today. Time for feasting and merriment. No time for work, it's all play for the next many days. Too much wine. Not enough sleep. All frenetic fun. Much like with Mardi Gras, this holiday is not particularly my thing. But I do relish a breakdown of order... and Saturnalia is time to… Continue reading The Daily: 17 December 2025
Las Posadas begins today. In this Latin American Christmas novena, the community acts out the Holy Family's search for a place to sleep upon coming to Bethlehem for the Roman tax census. Starting nine days before Christmas Eve, a Mary and Joseph, with an entourage of angels and shepherds and others, walk door-to-door begging for… Continue reading The Daily: 16 December 2025
So, when is winter over... I have about two feet of snow around the house. Even under the cedars, it's over a foot deep. I shoveled the walk last night and woke up to another 2-3 inches. I did not shovel today. It got up to 20°F today, and there was a bit of sun… Continue reading The Daily: 15 December 2025
Halcyon Days Now, here is an idea that seems to have forgotten its roots entirely. In our times, “halcyon days” refers to a golden past, a time when everything was wonderful. Sometimes it just means “youth” with overtones of innocence and insouciance. But this name has nothing to do with nostalgia. In fact, it’s an… Continue reading The Daily: 14 December 2025
Lucy Light Shortest day, longest night —traditional English proverb Before Pope Gregory tweaked the Julian calendar and caused a great deal of confusion, 13 December was celebrated as the winter solstice in Scandinavia. The poem by the late 16th century English writer, John Donne, “A Nocturnal upon St Lucy’s Day, Being the Shortest Day” shows… Continue reading The Daily: 13 December 2025
Our Lady of Guadalupe The holy image 12 December is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico and Mexican people wherever they live. Our Lady is Mary, but she is also a pastiche of many native deities, and she came to humans through, not a rich and powerful white man,… Continue reading The Daily: 12 December 2025
By My Solitary Hearth 