Happy Twelfth Night
How January Got Its Name
Ruler of new beginnings, gates and doors, the first hour of the day, the first day of the month, and the first month of the year, the Roman god Janus gave January its name. He was pictured as two-headed (both heads bearded) and situated so that one head looked forward into the new year while the other took a retrospective view. Janus also presided over the temple of peace, where the doors were opened only during wartime. It was a place of safety, where new beginnings and new resolutions could be forged, just as the New Year is a time for new objectives and renewed commitments to long-term goals.
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night, the eve of January 5, is in English folk custom the end of Christmas merrymaking and in ancient Celtic tradition the end of the 12-day winter solstice celebration. On Twelfth Night, it was customary for the assembled company to toast one another from the wassail bowl. In Old English, wassail means "Be in good health," but the term also was applied to the drink itself (usually spiced ale).
St. Knut's Day
Is your Christmas tree still standing? This year, start a new tradition in your family by taking it out in style, just as people in Sweden do on January 13.
In Sweden, January 13, St. Knut's Day, is the traditional day to discard the Christmas tree and end the season's festivities. A children's party is the favored way to strip the tree of its decorations, after which the children are free to "plunder" the edible treats and small gifts placed on the tree especially for the occasion. Finally, everyone "dances" the tree out the door. Singing special songs, they pick up the tree and toss it out into the snow. Swedish children look forward to this dancing-out party almost as much as Christmas itself -- and what better way to combat the post-Christmas blues?
sumac,
That sounds like fun. "Dances With Trees" - sounds like a good movie...... I bet the kids liked this best because of the gingerbread tree hangers... Mmmmm, good - I've had them in Vienna. Thanks for all the interesting stuff, I really thrive on historical trivia.....
While serving in the Army in Alaska - I went on a night flight in my airplane to satisfy my monthly night flight pilot time. It was 0300 hrs (3 AM) and I took off from Ft Wainwright which is just outside Fairbanks, AK. From takeoff I headed West to Tanana and then followed the Yukon River to Galena - where a US AirForce Base is located. I continued west to Nome then turned right and flew to Kotzebue. At that point I turned back east and started my next to last leg of the flight toward Galena. During that part of the flight I first began to notice the Aurora Borealis lights starting faintly to glow and dance in the sky. I was flying at 20,000 feet and as the lights increased in strength it seemed as if I could touch it. Almost as if I was actually flying through the Aurora lights which by then were brightly dancing across the sky - pulsing in it's white to green to blue to red colors. I was sitting there in the middle of the Aurora as if I was part of it. It was stunningly beautiful and an absolutely wonderful experience.
aktbird57 - You and your 285 friends have supported 2,175,245.4 square feet!
Marine Wetlands habitat supported: 91,794.5 square feet.
You have supported: (0.0)
Your 285 friends have supported: (91,794.5)
American Prairie habitat supported: 45,809.5 square feet.
You have supported: (11,283.6)
Your 285 friends have supported: (34,526.0)
Rainforest habitat supported: 2,037,641.3 square feet.
You have supported: (167,817.5)
Your 285 friends have supported: (1,869,823.8)
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1 aktbird57 1146 49.935 acres
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49.935 acres !!![/color][/size]
Yo ehBeth!!! Great stats....... It still looks like the big FIVE OH tomorrow night!!! Or, at least over the weekend....
5 years
50 acres
it's all rather wonderful!
oh, and a clothesline
:wink:
Hi All,
All clicked for today. I'm not used to doing it everyday yet, but I'm in for today!
Anon
Morning sumac,
Morning all,
All clicked for MAAaMe...... grin (That's Ma, Aa and Me!!! Sounds like Mammy.)
We are this morning at 49.957 acres. It will depend on the number of clicks later on today whether we hit 50 acres this evening or tomorrow.
Regardless, we will go over the big 50 ACRES this weekend.
Way to Click AKTeam!!!!!! You are a bunch of WILDCLICKERS!!!
CLIMATE SCIENCE: Fertilizing Forests with CO2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------H.
Jesse Smith
One of the biggest obstacles to predicting how much climate will be
affected by increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2 is not knowing
how
much additional carbon uptake from the terrestrial biosphere,
stimulated by
higher CO2 concentrations, might occur. This sequestration could slow
the
rate of warming by a significant amount, at least in the short term, so
it
is important to understand how forests in particular will react to the
CO2
"fertilizer" added by fossil fuel burning.
Norby et al. report results from an experiment in which forest stands
were
exposed to an artificially enhanced level of CO2 and their net primary
productivity (NPP)--the net fixation of C by green plants into organic
matter--was determined. NPP increased by an average of 23% over a broad
range of productivity when CO2 was enriched to a level of 550 parts per
million (ppm), approximately 170 ppm above today's value and around
what it
is expected to be by the end of the 21st century. This study thereby
provides a foundation on which questions about more specific and subtle
responses of ecosystems to CO2 fertilization, such as how this
additional C
is allocated and retained in plants and how the availability of other
growth-limiting resources might affect NPP, can be addressed. -- HJS
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102, 18052 (2005).
wow! away from home, but I got here anyway and don't want to miss out on the big FIVE OH.
All clicked in.
Finally got online today & just clicked at 7:30pm (that's 1930 hrs. for you, Dan - is that sir?!) Love all the info of the last couple of pages. You all are a wealth of it!
Went out for a lovely meal at a new Cuban restaurant down the street.
I should be asleep, but I gotta gotta click.
Howdy AktBirds!
sumac, thanks for all the good info!
Good to see ya back again, Dev and Anon!
Wow - 50 ACRES!!!!!!!!!! Wildclickers Rock!
You and your 285 friends have supported 2,177,610.1 square feet!
Marine Wetlands habitat supported: 91,981.8 square feet.
You have supported: (0.0)
Your 285 friends have supported: (91,981.8)
American Prairie habitat supported: 45,879.8 square feet.
You have supported: (11,283.6)
Your 285 friends have supported: (34,596.2)
Rainforest habitat supported: 2,039,748.5 square feet.
You have supported: (167,840.9)
Your 285 friends have supported: (1,871,907.6)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 aktbird57 1147 49.989 acres
Morning all, going to click.
Good to see you alive and kicking, Stradee. Retaining walls holding up?
I await, Anon.
Hip, hip, hooray. The article posted next is going to get lost in the celebratory noise, but don't miss it.
