Back to Work
We’ve all been feasting and celebrating in one way or another since late November when Thanksgiving kicked off the holiday season. Depending on your flavor of faith we’ve gone through Advent and Hannukah, lit the Yule or eaten a chocolate effigy, left cookies out for Santa, and partied our way through the 12 days of Christmas, including New Year. We’ve traveled near and far to spend time with the ones we love and shopped until we’ve dropped. Our bells have been jingled and the eggs nogged.
But like an official start, the season officially ends on the 7th of January. A hard stop also steeped in tradition. Epiphany lands on the 12th day after Christmas. Originating in the Eastern Church in the second century, there are a variety of traditions throughout the world. In Spain and Latin America Dia de los Reyes Magos is when children are given gifts and a crown-shaped cake known as a King’s Wreath is served. This sounds suspiciously like the King Cake we’ll be eating when Mardi Gras rolls around. In Italy, it’s not fat man driving a sleigh who brings gifts, but an old woman on a broomstick. I think they had too much wine and got their holidays mixed up. And during this time my Greek friends like to perform water blessings. Hey, they live on an island. What did I expect?
One last blowout before Dry January kicks in along with diets and promises of regularly working out until the bitter cold of winter settles in and all we want to do is nest at home with a hot cup of tea.
Several years ago when I took up spinning the wool from the farm’s sheep (blame Annie from Kiparoo!) my fellow spinning ladies made much to do about Distaff Day which occurred along with all the religious feasts and festivals. If you think growing your own food is difficult, you should try spinning thread for fabric. You’ll never take textiles for granted again.
It's only been a few hundred years since automation took away the constant task of spinning wool, flax, cotton, hemp, and nettle into threads and yarns. It was ongoing work which fell mainly to women. The Christmas season was the only time they took a break from the constant chores of spinning. Probably because they were too busy cooking and cleaning for all the feasting going on. Who came up with yet another party to celebrate going back to work?
For your farmers now is the season for taking a rest from keeping everyone fed over the holidays. Gone are the turkeys, prime ribs, and big roasts. More butter has been consumed between cookies and lobsters than the rest of the year. Mother Nature is slowing down, snoozing for a few months until the first green shoots and baby critters start the whole cycle once again. By then it will time for, what else, more holidays and feasting.