The Daily: 15 April 2026

In light of Trump's Good Friday lunch speech in which he declared that the federal government "can't do child care" and all these "individual things" like Medicare and health care, in which he explicitly said that the only thing the feds should be funding is the military, I decided to take him up on that...… Continue reading The Daily: 15 April 2026

The Daily: 5 April 2026

Today is National Dandelion Day. It's also Easter. I don't celebrate Easter in the Christian sense. I think there is quite enough suffering in the world without invoking the sacrifice of grain gods into the beginning of spring. However, I am starting to think that the secular holiday, the bits with rabbits and eggs and… Continue reading The Daily: 5 April 2026

The Daily: 29 March 2026

Today is Palm Sunday and this coming weekend is Easter. There are palm parades and processions all over, and today is a traditional day for Pace Egg plays, a sort of mumming that features St George and the Dragon. Bake a Pax cake (which are shortbreads with springy decorations in jam or frosting) or figgy… Continue reading The Daily: 29 March 2026

The Daily: 25 March 2026

Lady Day March 25th is Lady Day. This is another Marian holiday which incorporated older pagan traditions — in this case, the New Year celebrations which fell on 25 March before Julius Caesar shifted the Roman observance to the beginning of January. Lady Day is nine months before December 25th, so you can probably figure… Continue reading The Daily: 25 March 2026

The Daily: 20 March 2026

The Season of Renewal This year, the Vernal Equinox happens on March 20th at 10:46am. This is, I think, the most nebulous of the solar festivals. Yes, it does mark an actual solar event, but it’s not the one we typically hear about. It’s not much of an event at all. This festival is less… Continue reading The Daily: 20 March 2026

The Daily: 19 March 2026

St Joseph, Patron of Fatherhood To me Christianity seems to be rather quiet on Joseph, the husband of Mary and the step-father of their deity. That may be because I've never lived in an Italian neighborhood where Joe is the patron saint of roughly half the male population (though I did get a faint whiff… Continue reading The Daily: 19 March 2026

The Daily: 18 March 2026

Central Vermont has entered the light half of the year. Yesterday was the true equinox in my part of the world. That is, it was the first day of more than twelve hours of daylight. Friday brings the vernal equinox, the Opening season, at 10:46am. The Hunger Moon goes dark today at 9:23pm, meaning tomorrow… Continue reading The Daily: 18 March 2026