Carnival

In my old home in the Pines Barrens of New Jersey the provincial bar troubadours were the members of the Bear Country Band. They almost signed a record contract -twice. I hope they have all done well. The Bear Country Band had nice mix of jam tunes, Grateful Dead covers and few original songs. On song was Everyday 's a Holiday, just one of those silly songs that makes you smile.   

Out on the edge of Pennsylvanian Dutch Country they take Ground Hog's Day seriously. It's funny and it's quaint -and best of all it's another holiday. Everyday should be celebrated as though it's special and if you can't find a reason why the day special then it's perfectly fine to make up a good story. Plausibility is optional. 

Being a lapsed Catholic doesn't stop me from enjoy the feast days of the saints. Why not? A few historians have pointed out that it's easier to change a person's faith than change their holidays. The Christian faith was well aware of this as they converted Pagan Europe. It was a 1,000 year effort from when Emperor Constantine made Christianity an official religion  of the Roman Empire (306 AD) and the last of the Baltic Kingdoms renounced Paganism (1448).

Many of the Catholic feast days are thinly veiled Pagan celebrations and even as the Protestant reformation tried to purge all the Pagan influences out of the faith, plenty still remain.  Thank goodness there is no religious test to see who can or can not celebrate holidays like Fat Tuesday.

The relationship we have to our holidays is our childhood memories, our current traditions, milestones of important events and a desire to create some kind of performance art legacy to pass on. People need to mark the year and show the progression of time though the appropriate (and inappropriate) rites of passage. 

We hold on to our holidays dear, even as we change. I still get Christmas cards from Atheist friends. Some friends who are agnostic Jews will travel hundreds of mile every year to take their parents to the Temple on the High Holy Days. And one group of acquaintances that go all out for Diwali though their only connection to Hinduism or India is a heartfelt love of Bollywood films.

In our household we celebrate Saint David's Day, March 1 st., as the beginning of spring. It has more to do with my dislike of winter (and have it over with) than any homage to the patron Saint of Wales.  Thought it would be okay with me to have a case of beer from the Felinfoel Brewery.  Later on in March is Saint Patrick's Day -that's become an international day of Celtic awareness, shameless marketing and a great excuse for a party.

Back to Ground Hog's Day, if the groundhog should see his shadow it means it's a cold clear day and it can be inferred that winter weather will last another six weeks -almost until April Fools Day -one more holiday with checkered past. The local German speaking population has another day connect with Ground Hog's Day, that's the feast day of Saint Matthias.

Saint Matthias was invited to become an Apostle after Judas of Iscariot betrayed Jesus. That's at least how the story goes but there is a group of heretical Christians that hold Judas in high regard and have very interesting version of relationship between Jesus, Judas and Thomas.

Originally Saint Matthias's feast day was February 24th but the Catholic Church moved it to May so it would not compete with Lent. The Lutherans kept Saint Matthias's day right where it was., I guess with the Lutherans nothing really competes with Lent. 

If it's warm on Saint Matthias Day, the month of March will be unseasonably cold and if it's frosty cold then March will be mild. As the old time farmers would say the ice will form or break on Saint Matthias Day. Even Ground Hog's Day sounds exciting and glamorous compared to that but I think with just the right spin there's a party worth throwing.  I know I will have to work ice into it. 

I'm open to any party suggestions for February 24th. Otherwise I'm going to enjoy Fat Tuesday and celebrate the flesh -the meaning behind the word carnival.