Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
Today is the last Monday before Easter. Many spring traditions have migrated to this holiday, including the name of the holiday, which has nothing to do with the Christian story. (Though what is does mean is a subject of debate.) Today it is traditional to bake simnel cake for Easter morning. Simnel cake is a… Continue reading The Daily: 14 April 2025
March is still lion-ing, no sign of that lamb at all, though we have entered Aries... Most of the snow melted in a day of cold rain which filled the rivers to just shy of flood stage. The next day it froze and covered the ground in white, which melted by the end of the… Continue reading The Daily: 24 March 2025
It is Ash Wednesday. In the Christian calendar, this day inaugurates the fasts of Lent. This is holy time, a period of 46 days of cleansing and purging the body and soul before the celebration of Easter. The time echoes the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert before he went to his death. Originally,… Continue reading The Daily: 5 March 2025
Today is Mardi Gras. I don't much celebrate Fat Tuesday. I like the pancakes, but that's about it. I don't drink much, certainly not when I have to be at work in the morning. I've no use for purple plastic beads. There aren't any parades round these parts — because who wants to be standing… Continue reading The Daily: 4 March 2025
Mardi Gras Means Pancakes... Ok, not really... Mardi Gras actually means Fat Tuesday, or more precisely, Fat Mars-day. The Romans dedicated the second day of the week to the planet named for their war god, Mars. The closest Norse equivalent to Mars was Tyr, or Tiw. Hence it became Tuesday in English and Mardi Gras… Continue reading The Daily: 3 March 2025
Mothering Sunday Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday in Lent, which was yesterday. In much of the Medieval world, but particularly in the British Isles, the rules of fasting were loosened for a day of refreshment leading into the last weeks of Lent. There were also gatherings to honor mother churches, the place where the… Continue reading The Daily: 18 March 2024
It may seem strange, but I follow the tradition of fasting in Lent, not for self-mortification, but perhaps for self-abnegation. It is a good practice to deny the selfish maw of want every now and then, and spring – which is what “lent” means – is a good time to practice. This is the time… Continue reading The Daily: 20 February 2024
Mardi Gras Means Pancakes... Ok, not really... Mardi Gras actually means Fat Tuesday, or more precisely, Fat Mars-day. The Romans dedicated the second day of the week to the planet named for their war god, Mars. The closest Norse equivalent to Mars was Tyr, or Tiw. Hence it became Tuesday in English and Mardi Gras… Continue reading The Daily: 13 February 2024
Today, Ash Wednesday, is the beginning of the spring fast, Lent. The name lent derives from an Old English word meaning “spring season”. Other languages name this 40-day period before Easter with words that derive from “fasting”. We can see from these names that Lent is not merely a season of preparation for the Christian… Continue reading Lenten Fast for the Planet
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the spring fast, Lent. The name lent derives from an Old English word meaning “spring season”. Other languages name this 40-day period before Easter with words that derive from “fasting”. We can see from these names that Lent is not merely a season of preparation for the Christian Easter.… Continue reading Lessons in Living in Season
By My Solitary Hearth 