First Quarter Moon. Twelfth Night. Wreaths down! Henry Ford first to offer $5 for eight-hour day, 1914.
Jan. 6, Tuesday - Epiphany. Carl Sandburg born, 1878. Jan.'s birthstone is the garnet; Jan.'s flower, carnation.Jan. 7, Wednesday - St. Distaff's Day. Fannie Farmer cookbook published, 1896.
Jan. 8, Thursday - Elvis Presley born this day, 1935 (died 1977).
Jan. 9, Friday - Richard M. Nixon born, 1913. Joan Baez born, 1941.
Jan. 10, Saturday - Ethan Allen born, 1738. Jan. fog means a wet spring. First U.N. General Assembly opened, 1946.
Jan. 11, Sunday - Moon rides high. Great Lakes Blizzard, 1918.
Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: What was Distaff Day?
- D.M.A., San Diego, Calif.
Answer: "On St. Distaff's Day, neither work nor play," is the proverb, but Distaff's Day, on Jan. 7, was the first day after the holiday ending with Ephiphany (Jan. 6, or the 12th day of Christmas), and the women folk were expected to get back to their spinning. Literally, a distaff is the staff for holding the flax or wool in spinning. It came to symbolize the domestic sphere, in general, and "the distaff side" indicated the women.
Distaff is sometimes used as a synonym for female. Another seasonal proverb said, "Yule is come and Yule is gone, and we have feasted well; so Jack must to his flail again and Jenny to her wheel." Chaucer in his "Canterbury Tales" wrote, "He hadde more tow on his distaf / Than Gerverys knew," meaning he had more work than he knew what to do with. Sometimes Distaff Day was called Rock Day, the rock indicating a weight that was used for holding the spinning fleece taut, as it was being twisted into yarn.
Interestingly enough, Plough Monday, or the first Monday after Epiphany (the Monday after Jan. 6 making Plough Monday a late Jan. 12, this year) was the day the men were supposed to get back to work, giving them an extra four days off in 1998. (Every few years, Distaff Day and Plough Monday might fall on the same day.) Tradition had it, however, that Plough Monday was usually spent dragging the plough through the village, collecting money for the "plough-light" kept burning in the local church.
The men dressed in their finest smocks, and adorned themselves with ribbons for the occasion. The day started with music and dancing for the men and ended with beef and ale for all, which, no doubt, the "distaff side" had been busy preparing.
Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: Is Handsel Monday the same as Plough Monday?
- T.F., Asbury Park, N.J.
Answer: No, although once in a while they might fall on the same day, anytime the first Monday was the 7th of the month. Handsel Monday is always the first Monday of the new year (Jan. 5 this year) while Plough Monday (see above) is always the first Monday after Ephiphany (Jan. 6).
This year, Plough Monday falls on the 12th.
Handsel Monday comes from an old Scottish custom and was considered the time to give small gifts to children and servants. The word signifies something given into the hands of someone else, and the act of passing a small token from one to the other was considered lucky, and far more important than the gift itself. The handsel was popular from about the 14th to the 19th centuries. In its broader applications, the handsel was used to mark any new situation or beginning, much as we might bestow a housewarming gift today to bring good luck and warmth into a new residence.
Sometimes you see the word spelled "hansel" and used as a verb to indicate a beginning. For instance, you might hear of "hanseling the swords" or using them for the first time, or "hanseling a coat," wearing it for the first time. As with the gift-giving (much like the English Boxing Day), the act is a sort of bribe or hedge against bad luck in any new enterprise.
Storekeepers who frame their first dollar might be said to be "hanseling" the dollar, as a good luck token. Spitting on the first coin taken in has a similar connotation.
Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: What does January take from Janus, its namesake?
- H.K., Mankato, Minn.
Answer: The Roman god Janus, from whom January gets its name, was the ruler of beginnings, both physical and temporal. He presided over gates and doors and over the first hour of the day, first day of the month, and first month of the year. Janus was pictured as two-headed, both heads bearded, and situated back to back so that one head looked forward into the new year, while the other head looked back, in a more retrospective mode.
Janus was also the temple of peace, in Rome, where the doors were only opened during times of war. As such, it was a sort of safety zone, a place where new beginnings could be made, just as our new year is considered a time to take up new resolutions. In peace times, the temple doors were kept locked.
While you're pondering Janus and new beginnings, you might want to think back to the identity and circumstances of your "first-footer" this year, the person who first crossed your threshold on Jan. 1. Lore has it that the first-footer brings either good luck or bad, depending on whether they have remembered to enter with a small gift for the household. The gift can be anything from a bit of coal for the fire to a loaf of bread or glass of strong spirits, but the first-footer must never arrive empty-handed, or the year will be a poor one. (Oh, now we tell you!)
Introducing The Old Farmer's Almanac Home Library series from Time-Life Books. Four titles: "Traditional Home Remedies," "Home Wisdom," "Flower Gardening Secrets" and "Blue Ribbon Recipes"; $12.95 each. Available wherever books are sold, or call 800-277-8844.
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Additional Information
This Week with The Old Farmer's Almanac
January 5-11, 1998
St. Distaff's Day, Jan.7.
Epiphany
January 6 is the Feast of Epiphany, of Twelfth Day, the end of the Yule festivities. The word is not specific to Christianity, however as Zeus's alias, "Epiphanes," can attest. It means "manifest one," from the Greek epiphaino, meaning "to shine upon," or "to be manifest." More recently, Epiphany has come to be associated with the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of the appearance of Christ to the Gentiles or, in the Eastern Church, as the baptism of Christ. Traditionally, it is a time to remove the Christmas greens, lest bad luck come in where the drying evergreen needles fall.
He who anticipates good fortune risks it by his presumption.
- Spanish proverb
Tip of the Week
Immerse frozen plants briefly in water, cover with newspapers, and set them in the dark for a few days. Gradual thawing may save them.
Deep-Dish Plum Pie
4 cups diced plums
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
pie pastry (top only)
Place plums in a deep pie dish. Combine sugar, flour, and salt and sprinkle over plums. Dot with butter. Roll out pastry to 1/8 inch thick. Moisten pie-dish rim and lay pastry over plums. Seal edges and prick top. Bake at 400 degrees F for approximately 35 minutes.
- Makes 6 servings.
The Old Farmer's Weather Proverbs
When the Moon runs high (January 11) expect unseasonably cold weather.
At Twelfth Day (Jan. 6) the days are lengthened a cock-stride.
As the day lengthens, the cold strengthens.
January warm, the Lord have mercy.