Monday Musings

Dear Readers, I regret I must suspend my Blogger blog posts because Google will not permit me to access my personal computer photos to import to my blog. This appears to be related to an Apple Update and the fact that I use Duck Duck Go as my browser rather than Google.   I do so because I DO NOT trust Google Security. Please join me on my personal website at jlhuffman.com and sign up to receive my blog directly from my site. All the best, Author JL Huffman

  Attention gardeners and farmers: this post is for you. It’s time to return to work after the Twelve Days of Christmas holiday festivities at the beginning of the new agricultural year. Today is Plough Monday, a United Kingdom holiday, celebrated on the first Monday following Epiphany (January 6). This tradition honors farmers’ hard work, the importance of rural life, and community spirit. Teams of men clean, decorate, and take ploughs through their village to church to receive blessings for farm tools, human labor, and the land on Plough Sunday. The following day, Plough Monday, costumed participants solicit donations. Traditionally, the funds were used to provide a loaner plow to poor farmers. Non-contributors are jokingly threatened that a Plough Boy will plough up their garden or front yard. There are parades, lively performances, and dancing. The occasion began in the late 15th Century but declined due to mechanization in the 19th Century. There was a folk revival of the cust...

Tomorrow, January 6th, we celebrate Epiphany, a Christian feast day that commemorates the visit of the Magi to Jesus. Our church, Rumple Presbyterian, celebrated the event yesterday. We dressed as wise men (Magi) for a live nativity in December. We were asked to reprise the characters. The pastor read the biblical account in Matthew 2:1–12, then related a fictional tale,  The Other Wise Man  by Henry Van Dyke.  ( Summary : “The Other Wise Man” by Henry Van Dyke narrates the story of Artaban, a wise man from Persia. Instead of joining the three wise men going to pay homage to baby Jesus, he uses his wealth to help the needy, healing the sick, and saving a young woman from slavery. Dying without physically finding Jesus, he learns that his acts of kindness were in service to the King he sought.)  It was a touching tale. Our place of worship also follows another tradition on Epiphany: the gift of “star words.” Offering plates are passed, but instead of placing a contrib...