Coopernundrums

Tomorrow is my birthday.  I am not a big believer in things either lucky or unlucky so the fact that it falls on Friday and is the 13^th day of the month really doesn’t bother me.  On the contrary it sort of excites me because I love to see people’s reactions when I try to have birthday celebrations on a Friday the 13^th. This year had no less than THREE Friday the 13^th’s in it. 

     I looked it up and there are several possible explanations why the day is interpreted as being unlucky or having a bad omen on it.  All of them are inherently silly like the belief that there is something wrong with the number 666.  Here are just a few for your brain to ponder.

-          Several theological scholars believe that Christ is thought to have been crucified on a Friday, which was a rather popular execution day among the Romans. (Yet, Christians don’t call it Bad Friday.)

-          Friday was known in Britain as Hangman’s Day on which execution by rope hanging were carried out.

-          In numerology, the number twelve is considered the number of completeness, as reflected in the twelve months of the year, twelve signs of the zodiac, twelve hours of the clock, twelve tribes of Israel, twelve Apostles of Jesus, twelve gods of Olympus, etc., whereas the number thirteen was considered irregular, transgressing this completeness.

-          There is also a superstition, thought by some to derive from the Last Supper or a Norse myth, which having thirteen people seated at a table will result in the death of one of the diners.

-          Friday has been considered an unlucky day at least since the 14th century’s The Canterbury Tales, and many other professions have regarded Friday as an unlucky day to undertake journeys or begin new projects.

-          Black Friday is a term that has been associated with stock market crashes and other disasters since the 1800s.

-          All the Knights Templar in France, a monastic military order founded in Jerusalem in 1118 C.E., whose mission was to protect Christian pilgrims during the Crusades were  secretly arrested Friday, October 13, 1307 – Friday the 13^th

     No matter how you interpret this it is still a pretty silly belief.  Although this one, unlike some others I won’t go into, is pretty benign.  In fact it’s pretty humorous.  Now go walk under some ladders behind black cats and don’t forget to throw some salt over your shoulder while you do.

    The Druids were the “wise men” of the pagan Celtic society.  Little is known of them with certainty; however it is thought that they played the roles of priests in the Celtic religion.

    Most folks know that the holiday we call Halloween is derived from the Celtic festival of Samhain.  This was one of the great Celtic fire festivals and marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. The Celtic people believed that on this night the gates between life and death were open – or at least poorly guarded.  Part of the role of the Druid priests was to protect the people from the spirits who might cross over.   Placating such spirits is thought to have been the origin of the trick or treat tradition.

    Other information suggests a variation of this idea, that the souls of sinners who had died during the year were held in torment.  They could only be released and given peace if the gods were pleased by the Samhain offerings.

   Since the barrier with the spirit world was thin on this day, Halloween was the perfect time for divination.  The Druids have been said to have been called upon to predict everything from next year’s harvest to an individual’s marriage prospects.

    As said at the outset, little is known for certain about the Druids.  There are only a few contemporaneous textual references to the Celtic religion whose myths were mainly handed down through oral tradition.  Most of our modern image of the Druid is really just Romantic myth, like these.

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Ah, sweet October. Like so many folks October is my ALL TIME favorite month. In honor of October I wanted to gather some interesting and fun facts you might not have known about this delightful fall time of year. Here goes.

As you might already have deduced October gets its name from the number eight.

When the calendar was originally created by the Romans, the year began in March (in honor of the God of War, Mars) this meant that instead of October being the 10th month of the year it was originally the 8th month of the year.

In common years January starts on the same day of the week as October, but no other month starts on the same day of the week as October in leap years.

October’s birthstone is the opal. The opal is thought to have the power to predict illness. This is because the opal responds to heat. If you are sick your temperature increases before signs of illness appear. The increased body heat causes the opal to lose its shine, leaving it dull and lacking color. It is also said that the opal will crack if it is worn by someone who was not born in October.

Its birth flower is the calendula.

October 24 is National Bologna Day. Properly spelled Bologna, it is sometimes spelled “Baloney”. It is pronounced like the latter spelling. Bologna is technically a sausage and is commonly used as a luncheon meat. Mom and kids know it well. When it comes to bologna, there definitely is variety. There is what you and I would call regular Bologna, German Bologna, Beef Bologna, Kosher Bologna, and more. Depending upon the kind of Bologna, it could include pork, beef, chicken, and spices.

Oktoberfest is a two week festival, held in Munich, Bavaria, Germany an increasingly all around the world. Each year, the Oktoberfest is opened, as the mayor of Munich taps a keg a of beer. There is even a special brew made, aptly called Oktoberfest beer.

Oktoberfest is not just a celebration of beer. It is a huge festival with lots of food, music, dancing, rides, and carnival booths. Each year millions of people from all over the world come to the fair. Oktoberfest celebrations and festivals are held around the world during this time. These festivals also celebrate the rich heritage of the German people.

The very first Oktoberfest was held on October 12, 1810. It was held to commemorate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig (King Ludwig 1) to Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The wedding took place on October 12th, and a great horse race (in celebration of the marriage) was held a few days later on October 17th. The marriage was celebrated annually, and came to be known as Oktoberfest. Early Oktoberfest celebrations were held in October. The festival was eventually moved to September, as the weather was better earlier in the fall. Oktoberfest has been held annually since 1810. Throughout this time, it has been canceled a few times, due to wars, and once due to a major Cholera outbreak (1854) in the region. Over the years, the festival grew. Carnival booths appeared. Beer became a central theme, and flowed freely. Food was a big part of the festivities. And, later rides were added. Millions of people annually flock to Oktoberfest in Munich.