The first Monday after Epiphany was the day for the menfolk to return to work after the holidays — although no work was actually done on this day. Dressed in clean white smocks decorated with ribbons, the men dragged a plow (plough) through the village and collected money for the “plow light” that was kept burning in the church all year. Often men from several farms joined together to pull the plow through all their villages. They sang and danced their way from village to village to the accompaniment of music. In the evening, each farmer provided a Plough Monday supper for his workers, with plentiful beef and ale for all.
In 2023, the full Moon rises on January 6. Traditionally, this full Moon was called the “Wolf Moon,” appearing when wolves howled outside the villages in hunger. The January Moon has also been called the Old Moon. To some Native American tribes, this was the Snow Moon, but most applied that name to the next full Moon, in February. See our Full Moon for January Guide.
In Sweden, January 13 is the traditional day to discard the Christmas tree and end the season’s festivities.
A children’s party is the favored way to strip the tree of its decorations, after which the children are free to plunder the edible treats and small gifts placed on the tree especially for the occasion.
This Christmas tree plundering is often accompanied by smashing up the gingerbread houses and eating them while discarding of the decorations.
Finally, everyone “dances” the tree out the door. Singing special songs, they pick up the tree and toss it out into the snow.
Died
Maria Sibylla Merian(naturalist/artist)–
Wyatt Earp(legendary marshal)–
James Joyce(author)–
Hubert Humphrey(vice president of the United States)–
Charity Adams Earley(first African American officer in the Women’s Army Corps and commander of the only unit of African American women to serve overseas in WW II)–
Patrick McGoohan(actor)–
Teddy Pendergrass(R&B singer)–
Blackie(thought to be the oldest male Nile hippopotamus recorded in North America at the time; he died at an estimated age 59)–
Alfred K. Newman(U.S. Marine Corps specialist)–
Born
Friedrich Muller(painter)–
Horatio Alger(author)–
Sophie Tucker(singer)–
Kay Francis(actress)–
Robert Stack(actor)–
Gwen Verdon(actress)–
Charles Nelson Reilly(actor)–
Julia Louis-Dreyfus(actress)–
Patrick Dempsey(actor)–
Orlando Bloom(actor)–
Connor McDavid(hockey player)–
Events
American troops ordered into disputed territory between the Nueces and Rio Grande River –
A meeting took place in Washington, D.C., to organize the National Geographic Society
–
Opera was heard live for the first time on the radio –
Mickey Mouse comic strip debuted in newspapers –
The Wham-O Company developed the first frisbee –
Brazil and the U.S. signed their first extradition treaty –
Robert C. Weaver, the first African American ever nominated to the U.S. Cabinet, named Secretary of the new Department of Housing and Urban Development –
U.S. Department of the Interior approved construction of the Alaskan pipeline –
Hank Aaron was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame –
Air Florida plane crashed into a bridge in Washington, D.C., killing 78 people –
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public school officials can censor student newspapers –
Figure skater Tonya Harding’s bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt, was arrested for his alleged role in the attack on skater Nancy Kerrigan –
Existence of monkey clone Tetra announced –
Weather
Nochian Flood of California created a vast sea in the Sacramento Valley –
Sixty-five degrees below zero F at Fort Keogh near Miles City, Montana –
Temperature rose 64 degrees in 14 hours at Radio City, South Dakota –
Citrus crop froze in Florida; 8 degrees F, in Tallahasee –
13.5 inches of snow in San Antonio, Texas –
Hallock, Minnesota, suffered a cold temperature of -38 degrees F –
