I Guess Mardi Gras is Next (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday, Keith, Catsynth, and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     

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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    

This month, Wisewebwoman  is providing the prompts and they will appear on River's blog.

This week's words/prompts are:

1.larch  

2.trifle  

3.multiple  

4.poteen (Irish Moonshine I think)

and/or:

1.surprise  

2.quiche  

3.flag  

4.crossword

Charlotte's colour of the month is Thrash Pink, if you choose to use it.

I'd been sitting by the window doing my CROSSWORD puzzle in the day's paper, but it had fallen to my lap and I was deep in a reverie, gazing at the beauty of the snow covered LARCH tree just outside my window.

The quiet was disrupted by the arrival of my brother Richard and his family.  He came rioting up the long drive from the road and stopped short, uncomfortably close to the barn but when had he not liked to do such things?

His sweet wife's family always had them for Christmas, so I got them for New Year's Eve, up here "almost out of the world" as my brother always said about our family farm where we grew up.  We would exchange gifts, share a meal, enjoy the evening and they would spend the night.

As they traipsed in, the children ran to the various bedrooms, they knew just where they would be, to put up their suitcases.  Then they ran back down to announce vociferously they were "starving" and "how long until we eat?"

"Rein up there a minute, flutterbudgets, we have to finish emptying the car, and you know we do the gifts first," Richard laughed, herding them back out toward the family van.

Their arrival always left me somewhat breathless.  Richard and Gayle had triplet boys, then twin girls three years later, and she'd wisely put a moratorium on more babies.  "Knowing my luck, we'd have more MULTIPLE births and I would wear out before I could raise them," she'd said.  Still, when you're single by choice and a family with two 7-year-olds and three 10-year-olds shows up, you know you've been invaded.

All the gifts were ceremoniously carried in to put beneath the tree in the living room,  joining the gifts waiting for their arrival.

"Aunt Marilyn, we got you a mmmmm" said one of the girls, the last words of her sentence muffled by one of the boys grabbing her and putting his hand over her mouth.

"Don't tell, you'll ruin the SURPRISE," he said.

"Well, I'm looking forward to the mmmmm, whatever it turns out to be," I said, trying very hard not to laugh.

As tradition dictated, we gathered around the tree after making sure all the children had used the restroom.  Nobody wanted to have to stop the proceedings while one used the facilities.

Gifts were passed around, and the opening commenced to many murmurs of appreciation from the adults and squeals of delight from the children.  Gayle had wisely sent me a list, and I'd stuck to it.

Their gift to me was quite thoughtful.  I keep a flagpole at the entrance to the farm and use it to fly seasonal FLAGs and I have several, but a few had worn out and I'd not replaced them.  They got me some very nice ones, including one for spring with Thrash Pink flowers all over it.

Since they'd had a traditional Christmas dinner the week before, our supper was always spaghetti Bolognese, "fancy spaghetti" the children called it, with lots of garlic bread and plenty of Italian salad, followed by a specialty of mine, a triple chocolate TRIFLE.

Once dishes were in the dishwasher, we would traipse outdoors for the fun of fireworks.  We'd call a halt to it just before 9pm to go in and watch the ball drop in whatever time zone was hitting midnight at that time, then the kids went off to bed.

That's when I would pull out the only thing I ever drink, some lightly alcoholic apple cider, and Gayle would have some, too.  Richard provided his own stronger refreshment, and I'd tease him and call it "POTEEN."

We'd talk the evening away, and head to bed right after midnight, knowing the children would not let us sleep late.

Morning did come rather early for them, and I'd get up as soon as I heard the unfamiliar "patter of little feet" so I could greet them with orange juice and toast and butter, while I put the breakfast casserole in the oven.  Richard would joke about how I made him eat QUICHE for breakfast every New Year's Day, which meant he didn't have to eat it again until the calendar turned.  Still, I always noted he ate plenty of it, as I've never known him to turn down anything with eggs, cheese and bacon in it yet, and the casserole has plenty of all of them.

After breakfast, the kids would head to the barn and play with the animals a bit, run and explore, and just have a good time.  We adults would relax and visit more, then I'd give them an early lunch of sandwiches after they'd packed the car.  I'd promise to come visit them for Easter, as I always do, and they'd drive off into the New Year leaving me glad for family who visit.

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It's New Year's Eve!  Here is a selection of related observances:

     Allendale Tar Barrel Burning/Baal Fire Festival -- Allendale, England (locals burn out the old year by carrying burning tar barrels on their heads, then use them to light one huge bonfire)

     Feast of Father Time -- because he ultimately overcomes us all

     Festival of Yemaya -- Yoruba/Santeria (celebration of the mother of the sun and moon)

     Fire and Ice New Year's Eve Celebration -- Anchorage, AK (fire jugglers, ice carvers, fireworks, and more)

     First Night -- a non-alcoholic alternative to New Year's Eve

     Fravartigan -- Parsi Zoroastrian (celebration to honor the dead through the night)

     Gamlarskvold -- Icelandic traditions; cows gain human speech, seals take on human form, the dead rise, and Elves move house

                obtain gold from the Elves by sitting at a crossroads and waiting for them to pass

                Housewives greet the Elves by reciting the rhyme of protection

                        Let those who want to, arrive

                        Let those who want to, leave

                        Let those who want to, Stay

                        Without harm to me or mine

                Light a bonfire, and "blow out the year" with fireworks 

     Harvest Day Celebrations -- Benin (celebration of the end of harvest season at the turn of the year)

     Hogmanay Day -- Scotland (Auld Year's Night)

     Japanese Observances (a few, at least)

          Joya no Kane -- Japan (ringing out the old year with temple bells; Buddhists believe humans are born with 108 worldly desires which are removed when the bells are rung 108 times)

          Namahge -- Oga Peninsula, Japan (devil appearing holiday; young men dress as demons and run through the town warning children to behave during the coming year)

          Okera Matsuri -- Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto, Japan (Sacred Fire Rite)

          Omisoka Day -- Japan (the second most important day on the Japanese Calendar; tomorrow is the most important)

     Noche de Pedimento -- Oaxaca, Mexico (Night of the Petition)

     Ritual for Iemanja -- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (seaside rituals for the goddess of the sea and carnal pleasure, followed by a swinging party in the city and on the beaches overnight)

     Samoan Fire Dance -- Samoa

     Swinging the Fireballs -- Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, Scotland

     Universal Hour of Peace -- begins at 11:30pm your local time, welcome the New Year with peace

     Watch Night -- Christian

     World Peace Meditation Day (International observance of one hour beginning 12:00 PM GMT, focusing thought and energy on peace.)

Thanks to Barb Kowalik and The Cat Blogosphere for the event badge.        

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Today is:

Check Your Smoke Alarms Day

Feast of Sharaf (Honor) -- Baha'i

International Solidarity Day -- Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis worldwide

Kwanzaa, Day 6, Kuumba (Creativity)

Make Up Your Mind Day/Procrastinator's Day -- you have to make up your mind

National Champagne Day

No Resolution Day / Ditch the Resolutions Day -- if you don't want to, you don't have to!

Restoration Day -- Geneva, Switzerland

Seventh Day of Christmas

St. Sylvester's Day (Patron of Feroleto Antico, Italy; Poggio Catino, Italy) related observances

     Saint Sylvester's Day Celebrations-- Belgium, Germany, France and Switzerland

     Silvesterklause -- Urnäsch, Switzerland

St. Zoticus of Constantinople's Day (Patron of the poor; often titled Feeder of Orphans)

You're All Done Day -- sponsored by something i haven't been able to pin down online called The Long Haul Committee (and it's more like "all done in" if you are like me!)

Anniversaries Today:

Gregory Peck marries Veronique Passani, 1955

Rocky Marciano marries Barbara Cousins, 1950

Bette Davis marries Arthur Farnsworth, 1940

Birthdays Today:

Joe McIntyre, 1972

Nicholas Sparks, 1965

Val Kilmer, 1959

Bebe Neuwirth, 1958

James Remar, 1953

Donna Summer, 1948

Tim Matheson, 1947

Barbara Carrera, 1945

Diane Halfin von Furstenberg, 1945

John Denver, 1943

Ben Kingsley, 1943

Andy Summers, 1942

Sarah Miles, 1941

Anthony Hopkins, 1937

Odetta, 1930

Simon Wiesenthal, 1908

George C. Marshall, 1880

Henri Matisse, 1869

Debuting/Premiering Today:

The London Eye(World's Largest Ferris Wheel), 1999

"Lost in Yonkers"(Play), 1990

"Pirates of Penzance"(Comic Opera), 1879

Today in History:

80,000 Vandals, Alans and Suebians attack the Rhine at Mainz, crossing into and beginning the invasion of Gallia, 406

Byzantine General Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Ostrogothic garrison of Syracuse, and ending his consulship for the year, 535

Ch'an monk Ho-tse Shen-hui interred in a stupa built in China, 765

James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma, Spain) thus consummating the Christian conquest of the island of Majorca, 1229

100,000 Jews expelled from Sicily, 1492

The British East India Company chartered, 1600

The first Huguenots depart France to Cape of Good Hope, 1687

A window tax is imposed in England, causing many shopkeepers to brick up their windows to avoid the tax, 1695

Rhode Island establishes wage & price controls to curb inflation: Limit is 70 cents a day for carpenters, 42 cents for tailors, 1776

Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada, 1857

The cornerstone is laid for Honolulu, Hawai'i's Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the US, 1879

Edison gives 1st public demonstration of his incandescent lamp, 1879

Ellis Island (NYC) opens as a US immigration depot, 1890

Brooklyn's last day as a city, it incorporates into NYC (1/1/1898), 1897

Boers & British army sign peace treaty, 1902

The first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square, then known as Longacre Square, in New York, New York, 1904

For the first time a ball drops at Times Square to signal the new year, 1907

The last San Francisco firehorses are retired, 1921

The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast on radio for the first time by the BBC, 1923

Dr R N Harger's "drunkometer," the first breath test, is introduced in Indiana, 1938

The farthing coin ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom, 1960

The Central African Federation officially collapses and splits into Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia, 1963

The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government, 1983

All official Soviet Union institutions have ceased operations by this date and the Soviet Union is officially dissolved, 1991

Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved in what is dubbed by media as the Velvet Divorce, resulting in the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, 1992

This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones, 1994

The European Exchange Rate Mechanism freezes the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone, and establishes the value of the euro currency, 1998

The United States Government hands control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama, 1999

The official opening of Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper at that time in the world, 2004

Italy's ban of plastic bags goes into effect, 2010

A ship abandoned by human traffickers who deliberately set it on a collision course with the Italian coast is brought to shore safely by the Italian Coast Guard with 900 Syrian refugees on board, 2014

A ban on the ivory trade in China comes into effect, 2017

WHO grants the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine emergency authorization, paving the way for worldwide distribution, 2020

Queen Margarethe II of Denmark announces her plan to abdicate the throne on her 52nd anniversary of ascension, 2023