It's Cross Quarter Day

For most of us in North America, we usually know today as Groundhog Day. Since I did a post last year about Groundhog day, I figured I wanted to add something new and different about the day.

Did you know today is the Cross Quarter which falls half way between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. It means we are half way to beginning Spring which for me is one of my favorite seasons. I operate better with more light and the closer we get to the summer equinox, the more light Vancouver gets. Even when I was able to ski more, I still loved it when the time changed for spring occurred.

I'm also willing to guess Fasnacht and Carnival are in full swing in places like Switzerland, Southern Germany and the Alsace region of France, as this officially marks the pagan holidays in Northern Europe and the British Isles. Basel's Fasnacht is said to start on the Monday after Ash Wednesday which is on Feb 26th this year. Yes it still might be cold out, but there's something to celebrate everywhere.

Does anyone else know of a holiday celebration during this time of year? It's said in Ireland they celebrate an Imbolc

In case you were wondering, Punxsutawney actually did not see his shadow today, so there should be an early spring! It's also 1 year ago today that P and I finally moved into our new place.

**Special thanks to CS for correcting me on the Basel date!