Green looks good in the winter garden - Mount Airy News
Jan 8, 2019My Northampton County grandma would have done the math on this 12th day to see what the rain situation would be for the 12 months of the new year. The weather legend was that if the 12 days after Christmas had a lot of rain (or perhaps snow), the rest of the year would generally be wet. Into every life some rain must fall, but certainly not for the garden season of 2019!Sunday is the Day of Epiphany – This day is also known as “Old Christmas”, “The Twelfth Day of Christmas” and “Twelfth Night”. It is the official end of the church calendar of Epiphany which began December 26, 2018. The Day of Epiphany is a celebration of the arrival of the wise men from the orient to a house in the town of Bethlehem to visit Jesus, the Christ child. Also known in the 1600s England and in Europe as “Old Christmas” or the last day of the 12 days of Christmas. Many English settlers celebrated the 12 days of Christmas. They did so in Jamestown, Virginia and also in the Outer Banks area of coastal North Carolina. The ancestors of English settlers as well as many residents in the coastal town of Rodanthe, North Carolina celebrate Old Christmas each year on January 6. Their celebration includes bonfires, oyster roast, feast and a visit from the legendary “bull” named Old Buck, who brings surprises and gifts. For New England farmers Epiphany is the last day of a long holiday season and the beginning of a new year of work. One interesting legend in eastern North Carolina says on the night of Epiphany, all animals in the barn kneel down at midnight.The gift of an extra minute of daylight – “Old Buck” may bring gifts to residents of Rodanthe, North Carolina but we have been receiving the gift of an extra minute or so of daylight every day since December 21, 2018 and this will continue until June 21, 2019. You can’t tell very much difference now but by Valentine’s Day, we will see a little more light. This is actually one of the very first hints of spring.Taki...