The feast day of St. Michael, the archangel and overcomer of the Devil, is a Christian celebration based on the ancient Celtic calendar. Its main importance in people’s lives was that of a seasonal signpost in the year. In the British Isles, crops were harvested and the surplus sold by late September, so this became the time when farmers would pay their yearly rents to landowners. Everyone ate goose at Michaelmas to bring prosperity, and many farmers included “a goose fit for the lord’s dinner” with their rent payments. Great market fairs occurred just before the feast day, and the large crowds these attracted made it convenient to hold elections at this time. Michaelmas is also a “Quarter Day.” The ancient Celtic people divided the year into four major sections, or quarters, and then divided each of these in half to make an eight-part year that reflected the natural progression of the seasons. Foods traditional for Michaelmas include new wine; goose; cakes of oats, barley, and rye; and carrots. Some groups in the United States, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch, have kept Michaelmas, or “Harvest Home,” traditions alive.
Question of the Day
Which area of the United States has the most thunderstorm activity?
In the continental United States, that would be Florida, with an average of 80 to 90 thunderstorm-days per year. The region with the fewest thunderstorm-days is the Pacific Coast, averaging fewer than 10 a year.
Advice of the Day
Polish pewter with a cabbage leaf.
Home Hint of the Day
To clean a dishwasher, place a bowl containing 2 cups of vinegar on the bottom rack, leaving all the racks in place (but emptied of dishes!). Run the dishwasher through the wash and rinse cycles only. The vinegar will splash about inside, cleaning the whole thing.
Word of the Day
Sun Fast/Slow
When a sundial reading is behind (slow) or ahead of (fast) clock time.
Puzzle of the Day
There is a thing that nothing is, and yet it has a name; ‘Tis sometimes tall and sometimes short; It joins our walks, it joins our sport; And plays at every game. (What is being described?)
Shadow
Born
Francois Boucher(painter)–
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell(author)–
Henry Hobson Richardson(architect)–
Herbert Agar(journalist)–
Gene Autry(actor)–
Michelangelo Antonioni(director)–
Stanley Kramer(producer)–
Jerry Lee Lewis(musician)–
Madeline Kahn(actress)–
Lech Walesa(Polish labor leader)–
Bryant Gumbel(broadcast journalist)–
Died
William Topaz McGonagall(poet)–
W. H. Auden(poet)–
Roy Lichtenstein(artist)–
Tony Curtis(actor)–
Events
Canadian satellite, Alouette 1, was launched–
OSO 7 solar satellite launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida–
Space shuttle Discovery launched–
$389,500 paid for Lou Gehrig’s last baseball glove–
2-pound 13-ounce southern kingfish caught near Sandbridge, Virginia–
Adventurer David Hempleman-Adams became the first person to cross the Atlantic solo in an open wicker basket balloon, landing in England after surviving hail, snow and a Concorde’s sonic boom. He lifted off from Sussex in New Brunswick, Canada–
John G. Roberts Jr. was sworn in as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court–
31 ears of corn husked by 4 people in 1 minute, Markham, Ontario–
Weather
Hurricane hit SE Louisiana. Wind gusts up to 140 mph recorded–
Tornado hit Charleston, South Carolina–
Snow began to fall in Caribou, Maine, and ended on the 30th, with 2.5 inches accumulating–
