In the last couple of days I saw the first daffodils and was strongly reminded of this stanza from the lovely poem “Daffodils” (also known as “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”) from William Wordsworth:
Although the origins of St Valentine’s Day are somewhat shrouded in mystery, it’s likely that it was intended by the early Christian church to replace the ancient Roman fertility feast and celebration of Lupercalia with a more religious one.
Lupercalia was evidently a licentious, drunken, three-day blowout from February 13-15 where animals were sacrificed and their skins used to beat young women – apparently to ensure their fertility – followed by young men pulling the names of these young women from a jar as part of a mating ritual: the lottery of love!
Sounds brutal. I think I would have been in hiding somewhere outside the Palatine Hill. Yikes.
Ostensibly, into this mix came a couple of early Christian priests named Valentine, both of whom were executed by Emperor Claudius II on February 14 but in different years. They were honoured by the early church with a celebration in their name: St. Valentine’s Day.
About three centuries later, Pope Gelasius tried to get people to wear clothes and to eliminate the pagan aspects of Lupercalia by reframing it as St. Valentine’s Day, which was supposed to be a day of religious reflection and observance.
In the meantime, though, the busy Normans were celebrating something called Galatin’s Day – galatin meant “lover of women.” It seems that the word galatin became confused with Valentine, the Normans conquered England and passed it on, and the rest is history. The pope’s effort to make the original celebration a religious one was in vain.
Throw in some major romanticism from Chaucer and Shakespeare and we now have a “day of love” that’s cast in stone – or maybe that’s rose petals.
It has warmed up and as a result an enormous amount of snow came down, so very unusually, it’s piled up everywhere in Penticton.
This is a parking lot pile, but the size of it is very unusual.
Because it’s slick, people are not coping well and drivers, in particular, are having issues. That winter driving gene can atrophy badly if it’s not used regularly, unfortunately. These snow piles aren’t what I want to see, though.
This view from a walk of a few days ago is much better. But what will work really well is when I get to see this:
I think autumn is my favourite season – although when summer comes along, I love it, too – because of how comfortably warm, wind-still and beautiful it can be with all the colours. Given how rainy and overcast it has been here, it’s nice to look back as a reminder of what we have coming up.
Skaha Lake sparkles in October. Golden ginkgo biloba leaves. Autumn apple yumminess. Sunny September sunflowers. Late October rose.
The red poinsettia is the most commonly seen, traditional type with its brilliant leaves (the actual flower is in the centre of the red leaf clusters). The Aztecs saw the red ones as symbols of purity.
Last Friday I posted a picture of some pretty pink poinsettias and indicated that I would post a poinsettia picture every Friday for the rest of the month.
The creamy white ones are often seen grouped with the red ones as a counterpoint, but I think they look lovely on their own, too.
It’s a very busy time of year, so safe travels if you’re making a journey to family or friends. And whatever you’re doing (or not doing) this long weekend, I hope you are happy, healthy and safe.
In the Net! - Pictures and Stories of Life 