April 14, 2006

Of Things
Everett

First off, Lilly, welcome back. The number of folks posting seems to have dwindled since the release of RotK, so the regulars allow the conversation to meander where it will (I'm sort of a semi-regular at this point.). I tried to get the conversation back around to Tolkien, but nothing came of it in terms of a sustained debate. Maybe I'll be able to make a more successful attempt when I get around to re-reading LotR.

Opalys, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. My own Grandma, who had lived with my folks for the past 13 years, passed away just before the beginning of Lent this year after a long struggle with cancer. With the exception of my mother and possibly one of my aunts, she was the kindest, most loving woman I've known, and I know quite a few who are exemplars of those qualities. May the Good Lord, in His great mercy and love, bring your Grandmother into the joy of his Heavenly Kingdom, and may the Holy Spirit grant you comfort and peace in this time of loss.

Farlas, you've given a good account of the events of Genesis 1. To answer my question, you now have to take the events of Genesis 2 and reconcile them with the events of Genesis 1. I submit that there is no way in which this can be done if both chaters are read literally. Also, March 25 is already an international holiday, at least if you're Catholic (your third Catholic Day, maybe?): It's the Feast of the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she would become the Mother of God. What's more, unless it falls during Holy Week, it is not regarded as a day of Lent. This also applies, I believe, to the feast of St. Joseph on March 19. It does not apply to St. Patrick's Day, at least not universally, but individual bishops can issue dispensations from Lenten obligations within their own dioceses if they so choose.

Annatar, nice guess on the nature of paczkis. They're Polish jelly donuts, and they are amazingly good, not to mention packed with loads and loads of essential calories from both carbs and fat. They are traditionally eaten on Fat Tuesday, ostensibly to prepare for the Ash Wednesday fast. I would say that it's good to be (half) Polish (not that it isn't otherwise), but here in the States we have this tendency to adopt the festive customs of immigrant cultures when their festivals line up with ours. So, everybody eats paczkis on Fat Tuesday, even if he has intention of observing the Ash Wednesday fast. We also invent some rather odd traditions to celebrate holidays when we don't quite want to adopt a custom entirely, such as drinking green beer on St. Patrick's Day.