Staying busy with Wintertyde projects through January

It's hard to believe that the date is nearly January 10th of the new year! Many have recovered from the exhuberance of the Christmas holidays. This development mean that the dreaded "post-holiday blues" may become a problem for many. One reliable way to deal with "Winter blues" is to stay busy with Wintertyde projects. For starters your Wintertyde wreaths, lights, and tabletop tree ought to be in place and sparkling. Next, the bathroom linens all need to be changed out for something new, usually with a chcickadee motif and yellow, the color of the sun. Your outdoor chickadee feeder ought to be in place and working. Plan the rest of January with things to do to prepare for the marathon weekend of February 1st and 2nd which features 4 holidays. Food and drink arrangements have to be made. Ornaments for Wintertyde have to be purchased on line: Saint Brigit's Day, February 1st, use something like these:

and

For the Super Bowl, use a football from Kurt Adler:

For February 2nd you need decorations for Candlemas and for Groundhog Day:

Use an arrangement similar to this, and place it near your Wintertyde tree. For Groundhog Day:

from www.christmas-treasures.com

Happy Wintertyde Day January 7, 2015

Cold and windy weather rolled into Charlottesville just in time for the kick-off of Wintertyde 2015. We put up our Wintertyde wreaths just yesterday on Wintertyde Eve. And...we decided to eat our Hoppin' John directly afterward for good luck. OK, Christmastide 2014 is past so start looking forward to getting your chickadee feeder set up by a nearby window. No time or allowance for "post-holiday blues." Also, decor for Saint Brigit's Day, February 1st, should go up on the 18th for your lead-in time. Be aware that the Super Bowl, Candlemas, and Groundhog Day follow immediately within 48 hours so get your beer, Irish stew, candles, and Buffalo wings organized. Have fun,and get your Wintertyde tree up if you have not done so already.

Today is Wintertyde Eve. Have you prepared for the season?

January 6th is always Epiphany on the Christian calendar. Traditionally it marks the day the 3 Magi (Wise Men) reached Bethlehem and experienced a massive infusion of divine light. Not coincidentally the days are growing longer as more light hits the planet during the Sun's progression to the Spring equinox and the renewal of life. In any event, Wintertyders will be prepared for Winter Day, which always falls on January 7th. This means your door wreath ready to be swapped out for your Christmas wreath as yesterday was, technically, the final day of Christmastide. The transition should be somewhat ceremonious as we bid farewell to the Yuletide holiday and look forward to a new season, Wintertyde. Other protocol items are to have an indoor wreath prepared if so desired. Recall that the Wintertyde color scheme is silver, white, and natural tones. Use your intuition to avoid a "Christmassy" look in creating your wreaths. Wintertyde is a completely separate and unique season.

A Saint Brigit's Day cross Remember to prep your tabletop tree, which gets decorated with snowflakes and ornaments related to the holidays that fall within the Wintertyde season. The first will be a small Saint Brigit's Day cross. Her day falls on February 1st. She is an much-revered patron Saint of Ireland as is Saint Patrick. However, as a woman she has been marginalized over the centuries. Ironically, Brigit is truly Irish while Saint Patrick was born in England. Her cross goes on your wreath on January 18th this year.

Last item is that we have moved the Hoppin' John feast to Wintertyde Day. Eating Hoppin' John on New years Day is a longtime Southern tradition. Usually, aspirin and water is the focus of New Year's Day for many after celebrating the night before; hence, we have moved the date for a full meal to January 7th from the 1st. Finally, Wintertyde creates diversions from the long Winter. Concentrate on January 18th on your Wintertyde calendar as all items related to the first two days of February should be displayed: cross, football, candle, and groundhog. 4 holidays just happen to fall on February 1st and 2nd in 2015. Have fun!

January 5th is Wintertyde Eve

This afternoon The Green Man saw a Verizon commercial that showed Christmas trees being loaded into a garbage truck. Perhaps a metaphor for those who are not lucky Wintertyders with an exciting new season of events about to begin! For tomorrow make sure you have your Hoppin' John ready to prepare for Wintertyde Day January 7th:

Toss in a quarter, and whoever gets it in a mouthful will have good luck in 2015! Next, your Wintertyde wreaths should be ready to be mounted at your entry and somewhere inside, if you wish. Also, your tabletop Wintertyde tree should be in place and ready to adorn with snowflake and holiday ornaments:

Start planning acivities for January, such as installing a bird feeder for your Wintertyde chickadees. Recall that your crosses go onto your wreaths and on the tree for Saint Brigit's Day on January 18th, so check on line for a nice one. The 18th gives you decorative lead-in time for February 1st.

It's almost Wintertyde...get busy!

Today is January 3rd, 2015 right on the heels of the end of Christmas and New Year's. It's also the perfect time for "holiday blues" and "post-Christmas let-down" to find new victims...just like the flu. Inoculate youself, family, and household with Wintertyde! There's a ton of work to do before the first day of Wintertyde on January 7th. Here's a shortlist that demands your attention now.

1. Put away the last of the Christmastide decor for a nice rest. 2. Get your Wintertyde calendar up in the kitchen. Use a 50% off 2015 calendar with Wintertyde blocked out...January 7th through March 6th. 3. Prep your hoppin' John feast for Wintertyde Day on Wednesday, January 7th.

4. Make sure your Wintertyde wreaths are ready for displaying on Wintertyde Eve, January 6th or on the 7th. Ditto for your Wintertyde tabletop snowflake tree. 5. Select new linens for the bathrooms...new towels and shower curtain. Use a chickadee motif.

www.etsy.com 6. Speaking of chickadees, is your birdfeeder in place outside a window that is used a lot? Is it easily-accessible for filling with food? Recall that chickadee's will eat from your hands, so is there a good pace to stand to attract them? Order a book on chickadees for your reading and coffee table.

7. Did you select a string of CLEAR or WHITE lights for your exterior and interior Wintertyde displays? 8. Have you purchased your gifts to give on Wintertyde day, such as silver snowflakes or porcelain chickadees? 9. Recall that your Saint Brigit's Day displays get added on January 18th to lead into her day on February 1st. Get crosses you like for indoors and outdoors: Try for starters this 3 x 3 from: http://www.churchsupplywarehouse.com/catalog_product.asp_Q_categoryId_E_93_A_subcategoryId_E_719_A_categoryItemId_E_28041

Also, plan for indoor and outdoor use. Place them on your wreaths and in your tree for January 18th through February 1st.

Finally, be advised that Saint Brigit's Day fall on Super Bowl Sunday in 2015.

Then, January 2nd is Candlemas and Groundhog Day. This means a 48-hour Wintertyde marathon. Prep your Irish stew and beer feast for Super Bowl Sunday plus buffalo wings, chips, more beer, etc. Have your candle display up and ready for Candlemas on January 2nd. Prep your flapjacks and sausage dinner for Groundhog Day (Pork sausage is, after all, "ground hog.")

Whew! Who has time to get depressed and mopey?! Postscript: Remember to order your Wintertyde tree ornaments ASAP as time is running out!

www.crafthub.com

Newest research on the Wintertyde logo: the snowflake

TGM found this fascinating article on snowflake classification for aficionados of Wintertyde's official precipitation, snowflakes. Check it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/03/snowflakes-35-different-shapes-infographic_n_6401274.html

Wintertyde wreath protocol change! Evergreen is now OK to use

Special announcement! Until now Winteryde protocol has called for the use of a grapevine wreath in order to distinguish the wreath from a Christmas wreath. In other words, evergreen was not to be used because of its association with Christmas. Well, we have rethought this aspect and decided that the use of an evergreen base for your Wintertyde wreaths is OK. Here's the caveat: Be extremely careful that your evergreen Wintertyde wreath does not look like a Christmas wreath. The secret is to work with silver, white and natural tones. Gold, red, and bright green are forbidden. Use your intuition with your decorating materials, and you should be OK. Also, traditionally a Wintertyde wreath takes no bow. If you absolutely have to have one, go for it, but avoid anything that says "Christmas," the holiday just past. Wintertyde is a completely different holiday season.

Courtesy www.housetohome.co.uk The wreath above says "Wintertyde" because it's uniformly silver, it's simple, and it does not say "Christmas." Also, less is usually more. Google "silver wreaths," and click on Images for ideas. Remember to add the Wintertyde chickadee!