Summer solstice 2015 means 6 months until Wintertyde 2016

Time flies when having a good time. Looking at the calendar the autumn holidays will be here soon. Start making your Wintertyde preparations now to beat the holiday crunch. Most important items are your Wintertyde wreaths, your tree, and exterior clear lights. Remember the chickadees have to be fed and their feeder spruced up. Read other posts on the blog to learn how best to celebrate Wintertyde 2016. Photo courtesy: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/150619-summer-solstice-nation-culture-science/

Happy Saint Patrick's Day 2015 around the globe

Although Wintertyde 2015 ended officially on March 6th, Saint Patrick's Day, March 17th, provides a connector between the two holidays. We end Wintertyde on March 6th as that date brings Wintertyde at about a neat 60 day cycle. Also, by March 6th, Wintertyders are sick of Winter and are now looking ahead to Spring, which starts in 2015 on March 20th. So, you can see, that Saint Paddy's provides a perfect bridge. Decor-wise, your Wintertyde items, especially the front door wreath ought to be packed away for the year. However, it's a good idea to switch immediately into Saint Patrick's Day mode to forestall any the advent of any Winter blues still hanging around.

Courtesy coloringpage.eu. To sum up we recommend the switch from Wintertyde to Saint Patrick's Day occur on March 7th or evening of the 6th. Then on March 18th, pack away the Saint Paddy's stuff, and switch into Springtime/Easter mode. These calendrical celebrations throughout the year provide a good, structured manner in which to pass through the seasons with a minimum of emotional torpor. http://time.com/3746018/st-patricks-day-global/

...and Wintertyde 2015 closes on a bright, snowy Winter day, March 6th

Wintertyde 2015 sped by, and Spring will be here shortly. Yes, check your Wintertyde calendar: March 6th is always the final day of Wintertyde each year. About that empty door...We simply go straight to Saint Patrick's Day on March 17th. When the Wintertyde wreath comes down, the Saint Paat's wreath goes up. This precludes any opening for "Winter blues."

Glad everyone made it through! Wintertyde will continue with posts occasionally during the "off-season."

Wintertyde 2015 wraps up on Friday February 6th. Are you prepared?

Yes, the final day of Wintertyde is February 6th. On this day remove your Wintertyde wreaths, and put them away for storage. Also, your Wintertyde tabletop tree comes down and gets packed up for the year. Wintertyde 2015 flew by...but then that's the idea: to make Winter speed by before it can entrap you in "Winter blues."

OK, trust you made a wonderful baked onion soup for Saint David's Day. Once Wintertyde is adopted by more people, there will be more to do with Saint David's Day, such as sending cards, etc. Accuweather says March first was the end of "meteorological Winter." I think this means temperature-wise. There's still a gap until the first day of Spring on March 20th. Fill this gap by switching into Saint Patrick's Day mode. Create wreaths wrapped in Kelly green with a bit of Ulster orange. Make sure one is ready to go up bright-tailed a bushy-eyed on March 7th, the day after the end of Wintertyde. Get yourself through Saint Pat's and Spring is a few more days afterward. You have survived Winter.

Saint David's Eve is tomorrow Saturday, February 28th. Prep those leeks and onions.

We are almost through the roughest part of Wintertyde: the final days of February, so we have a double reason to celebrate Saint David's Day as it falls on March 1st. Yippee! Then Wintertyde 2015 wraps up on March 6th. Spring is March 21st, so how do we fill the space in between? Celebrate the heck out of Saint Patrick's Day, March 17th. The popularity of SPD increases each year. OK, first let's deal with Saint David. Your Saint David's Day dragon ornament ought to be festooning your Wintertyde tree:

One ought to go on your Wintertyde wreaths, also. Celebrate both Eve and Day with Celtic music, beer, and onion dishes: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/st-davids-day

No falling into a pit of Winter blues on March 2nd as you shift immediately into Saint Patrick's Day mode even though it's not a Wintertyde holiday. Celebrate with green beer, more Celtic music, Saint Paddy's Day cuisine, etc: http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Holidays-and-Events/St-Patricks-Day/ Your Saint Patrick's day wreath ought to go up on your front door on March 2nd. We stop Wintertyde on March 6th because the focus is now on the Spring month of March.

That difficult last week of February and how to get through it

By the time the scraggly end of February crawls in from the snow, many wonder when the weather will become more gentle as Spring approaches. Look at the short term picture for now. Saint David's Day arrives on March 1st, and although it's sedate compared to Chinese New Year (February 19th), remarkably both holidays feature back-to-back dragons by coincidence. Really. OK, keep Winter blues at bay this coming week by concentrating on the emotionally-significant date of March 1st. March's arrival gives hope that Winter will end. This weekend your Saint David's Day ornaments go onto your Wintertyde wreaths and onto your tree. We use the dragon:

Make your own or search on the Internet with "Saint David's Day ornaments." Here's one from www.zazzle.com

Meanwhile, consider making some kind of onion soup for that day as leeks are a Welsh symbol. Learn more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_David%27s_Day Wintertyde 2015

Happy Chinese New Year 2015!

Wintertyde has decided to add Chinese New Year to the list of celebrated Wintertyde holidays. As February exits, all the diversion and celebration one can get is helpful. Today, you take your family out for Chinese food, and what a perfect day for it!

Read more here: http://www.ibtimes.com/when-chinese-new-year-2015-top-facts-sayings-lunar-new-year-1820644 and here: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/celebrating-the-chinese-lion-dance/?ref=nyregion

Wintertyde 2015