One recent weekend was totally packed with events. Or would have been, if we were not still suffering from CoVid lockdown. Chinese, or Lunar, New Year started on Feb. 12th this year. The South China Morning News (Hong Kong) wrote:
“This Chinese new year is the Year of the Ox, an animal that, with its sharp horns and muscular build, symbolises physical labour and determination, honesty, diligence, and trustworthiness….we should cultivate the qualities of the ox, to serve our community with a humble and willing heart….We should draw inspiration from the ox and meet the challenges of the pandemic like the sturdy, energetic farm animal.”
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Then there was Valentine’s Day, the 14th . Of course, the drugstores put out the Valentine’s candy immediately after removing the Christmas candy. The V Candy is on sale in January and again after the date…if you can find it. I finally found the shelf where my local Rite-Aid drugstore was stashing the leftover Valentine candy. Very little remained, except Dove chocolate hearts. These are in pretty pink and silver tin foil, and it turns out that each one has a message inside, printed on the silver foil: “Hug someone today”; “Express what’s in your heart”; “Love without regrets”; “Chocolate is the best way to say ‘I Love you’”. Who knew? Next year, don’t just unwrap your Dove chocolate hearts and crumple up the foil without reading—think of it as a chocolate fortune cookie.
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This was followed by Singles Awareness Day—always the day after Valentine’s Day. An article on CNN says that “recent research shows that some people view singlehood as a happy destination rather than a stop on the journey to marriage.” Well, duh. The tradition of marriage had nothing to do with happiness and everything to do with providing the necessary nurture for human offspring (born more helpless that most animal babies).
But Singles Awareness Day (better not to use the acronym) was not the idea of some Hallmark ad guy, nor of a group of lonely wallflowers. It was actually thought up by a high school boy in 2001. ?!? ,
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This year Feb. 15th was the designated Presidents’ Day. Those of you who are old enough remember when we had two particular days in February honoring two particular presidents: Lincoln (born on the 12th) and Washington (born on the 22nd . Washington’s birthday was commemorated from the time of his death in 1799, until it was made a federal holiday in 1885. Lincoln’s birthday was often honored by individual states, but was never a federal holiday. Then in 1968 Congress decided to establish the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, moving as many holidays as possible to Mondays, with the idea of lessening employee absenteeism and promoting retail sales. Obviously, certain holidays could not be changed: Independence Day has to be on July 4th, New Year’s Day has to be on the first of January, and Thanksgiving has to be the fourth Thursday of November. But Memorial Day and Columbus Day were made into Monday holidays, and the third Monday in February was designated a federal holiday, replacing the former Feb. 22nd. At first it was still called Washington’s Birthday, but gradually the term Presidents’ Day took over. But was it President’s or Presidents’, or Presidents? Some people wanted to have all presidents included, while others (like me) assumed that the day was to include Lincoln as well as Washington (Congress had rejected that suggestion). In fact, the various states actually use fourteen (14!) different names for February 22nd. !
Astrological note: Lincoln was a bona fide Aquarian. Aquarians are noted for their humanitarianism. They are also said to be smart, stubborn, and brutally honest. There have been five Aquarian presidents—and four of them died in office!
Washington was born under Pisces, a sign known for being sociable, generous, open, and intuitive, but also sometimes dreamy and impractical. I’d certainly have to read more about George Washington to decide if this fits him.
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