It's paperwhite narcissus for January this Wintertyde

"'Ziva' Paperwhite Kit in 12" woven basket, $69 Standard Shipping Included Paperwhites are easily grown indoors during the fall and winter season. Our large bulbs will produce clusters of pure white flowers above graceful, blue-green foliage and fill a room with their fragrance 4–6 weeks after arrival. You’ll find many ways to grow Paperwhites on our website, plus a how-to video and simple growing guide. For gift giving, consider this complete kit: 12 bulbs of Paperwhite 'Ziva,' potting soil, stem support, and a lovely 12" woven basket." Available from www.whiteflowerfarm.com

Maine coon cat becomes Official Wintertyde cat mascot

Like the chcikadee,the Maine coon cat was bred to withstand fierce northern winters in New England. The species is large, long-haired, intelligent, and highly personable. If you're considering getting a cat, make it a Maine coon, the Official Wintertyde cat!

http://www.maine-coon-cat-nation.com/index.html

A Maine coon cat ornament for your Wintertyde tree www.zazzle.com

Shop now for your Wintertyde 2015 supplies

To celebrate Wintertyde optimally, it's critical to make the big switchover to Wintertyde from Christmastide and New Year's on time. Perhaps most immediately important is to have your silvery, white Wintertyde wreaths ready for the front door and the interior by January 6th. Some Wintertyders make the switch on Wintertyde Eve, January 6th rather than Wintertyde Day, January 7th. In other words the exterior Christmas decor is gone and packed away 'til next year. In its place on January 7th are your Wintertyde wreaths, snowflakes in the windows, candles in the windows in silver, and whatever clear or white lights you want to use. The trick here is to make the house and home look uniquely "Wintertyde," and that means nothing that says "Christmas." The reason for the quick switchover is to eliminate any possibility of "Winter blues" setting in immediately after Christmas and early January. That being said, shop NOW for your Wintertyde supplies at places like Michaels and Dollar Tree. TGM buys all the silvery items for Wintertyde at the same time as Christmas items are available. Also, after December 25th, many of the Wintertyde supplies will be available at huge discounts. Be a smart shopper, and gather all you require. Also, some Wintertyders give a small gift on Wintertyde Day. These gifts are usually quite simple, inexpensive, and useful.

What to do on the final day of Wintertyde, March 6th

The Green Man's street-side Christmas wreath is now in place, so our holiday season is here. Hence, let's finish up our whirlwind tour of Wintertyde and all of its holidays. The final day of Wintertyde is always March 6th. Some ask, "Why not carry Wintertyde right up until the Spring equinox?" The fact of the matter is that by the time the first week of March rolls around, most Wintertyders are ready for a break from Wintertyde as they are now looking forward to Spring. Nonetheless, by ending on March 6th, it's time then to get up the Saint Patrick's Day decor for your celebration on March 17th. Next, the Spring equinox falls simply a few days later around March 21st, and you have made it through! Wintertyde will have completed its annual mission of helping you to fend off Winter blues and to enjoy a fun, organized, and structured Wintertyde season. To recap, use Wintertyde to move directly and speedily from your last day of Christmas into a new season on January 7th each year. The gap between the end of the holidays and Spring is filled with diversions and activities. Repeat the quick segue process on March 6th by removing all Wintertyde decor by that date. Then, on March 7th, all your Saint Patrick's Day decor goes up. Hence, there is no holiday gap at the conclusion of Wintertyde either.

Celebrating Saint David's Day

Unlike Saint Patrick's Day, the patron saint of Wales' day is not widely known in the USA. Nonetheless, this day, March 1st each year, is worth celebrating for Wintertyders as it falls between Mardi Gras and Saint Patrick's Day. Late February is a critical time as the Winter blues bug bites hard in these final weeks. Hence it's good to have a final Wintertyde holiday to prepare for and to enjoy.

Courtesy blueeyedennis-siempre.blogspot.com The basics of Saint David's Day is to prepare a meal with leeks, the Welsh national symbol. Here's the story: http://britishfood.about.com/od/festivecooking/tp/stdavidsday.htm

www.zazzle.com Decorations for your Wintertyde wreaths and tree might include dragon ornaments, a daffodil ornament, or even and leeks ornament if you can locate one:

www.zazzle.com Find more information about celebrating Saint David's Day here: http://gouk.about.com/od/whatsoninmarch/qt/St_Davids_Day.htm

Wintertyde Eve and Wintertyde Day gift-giving

Wintertyde Eve falls on the evening of January 6th, Epiphany. Wintertyde Day is always January 7th. These dates are the two by which your transition from Christmas to Wintertyde is completed. A thoughtful gesture is to give others a small, modest gift of some type for the Wintertyde season. Wintertyde gifts are usually functional, so items like scarves, hats, gloves are good.

Solar snowflake tree is perfect for your Wintertyde display

"Dazzling Snowflake tree stakes easily into the ground. Features bendable branches & 30 solar-powered lights. Runs on 1 "AA" rechargeable battery, included. Measures 30"W x 35"H, including stake with a 30"L cord. - See more at: http://www.collectionsetc.com" The Green Man recommends this handy and attractive solar/battery/corded snowflake tree for your exterior entry areas during Wintertyde. It reaches 3' although 6' would be ideal. Perhaps there's a way to attach 2 together for height. Meanwhile the 3-footer is good for holiday displays such as shamrocks, Saint Brigit's cross, hearts, Mardi Gras beads, etc....and a chickadee, of course. Get it here: www.collectionsetc.com

Celebrating Mardi Gras during Wintertyde 2015

Moving right along in our whirlwind tour of Wintertyde holidays, we reach April 17th. In 2015, Mardi Gras, amazingly, falls 2 days after Saint Valentine's Day. This concurrence makes for a busy but festive week of banishing any lurking Winter blues. OK, we start with decor. We get our supplies at Dollar Tree: a pack of Mardi Gras parade beads, a packet of King coins, perhaps a mask. Try to incorporate these items into your exterior and interior Wintertyde wreaths. Suspend the King coins from branches in the Wintertyde tree. Drape or suspend the Mardi Gras beads from the wreaths and the tree. All done. Familiarize yourself with these protocol items:

Courtesy www.mardigrasoutlet.com

Courtesy www.costumecraze.com

Courtesy www.photo-disctionary.com Mardi Gras cuisine is next with Zatarain pepperoni jambalaya, beignets {"bane yays"), coffee, and a king cake We make Zatarain's pepperoni jambalaya although rice and beans is good, too.

Courtesy www.zatarains.com

Courtesy www.cafedumonde.com

Courtesy www.betterrecipes.com For pepperoni Zatarain, stir in 1/2 package of thinly sliced pepperoni. Beignet mix can also be used to make a beignet cake rather than individual doughnuts. Finally, some music to set the festive mood: Some dixieland jazz:

Some brass band music:

some Neville Brothers:

All three albums available from www.amazon.com OK, that takes care of your Mardi Gras 2015 basics.

Snowflake books for reading and the coffee table during Wintertyde

Kenneth Libbrecht is one of the world's experts on snowflakes. Recall that the snowflake is the Wintertyde logo, and learning about this miracle of precipitation helps you to enjoy Wintertyde even more. Here are three selections from the Libbrecht bibliography. One or all three books makes a superb series of coffee table reading to display.

These titles are available from www.amazon.com

Celebrating Saint Valentine's Day during Wintertyde

OK, we have been running through the Wintertyde holidays in chronological order to give newcomers an overview of how Wintertyde works. First, note that Wintertyde puts the "Saint" back into Valentine's Day. This holiday falls on February 14th each year. The protocol is to put up your Saint Valentine's Day decor immediately after February 2nd. This will give you a two week lead in for everyone to enjoy your decorations. Hearts, etc. go onto your exterior and interior wreaths. Add a heart ornament to your Wintertyde tree.

Photo courtesy www.megzcakes.ca Plan something special for the Saint Valentine's Day dinner. A Valentine cake plus chocolate ice cream on the side is always pleases and easy to do. Finally, remember to put some hearts near your bird feeder and to treat your Wintertyde chickadees to a new suet cake.

Vitec birds available for Christmas, St. Stephen's Day (Dec. 26th), and Wintertyde

An English Christmas Robin by VITEC The brilliant Anglo-Russian impressionist painter, Windsor's VITEC has his glorious bird paintings for sale at several websites. These paintings are small enough for table top English Christmas robin displays for the holidays. And, consider a companion English wren painting to celebrate December 26th, Saint Stephen's Day. In England the blue tit is the equivalent of the black-capped chickadee for your Wintertyde displays. Check here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/VitecArt/reviews?ref=l2

A Saint Stephen's Day wren by VITEC

February 2nd is both Candlemas and Groundhog Day

After all the food and excitement of Saint Brigit's Day and Super Bowl 49, on February 2nd, you get more food and excitement! This is what happens when FOUR Wintertyde holidays are clustered together on the Wintertyde calendar.

A suggested arrangement for Candlemas Candlemas and Ground Hog Day are both about the return of light in various ways. To celebrate Candlemas place an arrangement of candles near your Wintertyde tree and let them burn for the evening. Read about Candlemas here: http://projectbritain.com/year/candlemas.html

Happy Groundhog Day! Add yourgroundhog ornament to your Wintertyde tree, then make a Groundhog Day dinner of pancakes and sausage. After all pork sausage is ground hog...