COVID-19

The most pressing matter in the news this week is obviously the Coronavirus. Searching the term in Google returns a number of articles, and there are constant updates. As I type this, I see a warning that cash could be spreading the virus; the King County, Washington government, dealing with the worst outbreak in the US, have bought a quarantine motel; and that one official in a news conference promoted common sense measures to check the spread of the disease…

Walking through Wal-Mart earlier this week, I noted all of the King Cakes on display. Originally, these were baked in celebration of Epiphany, the commemoration of the Magi visiting the baby Jesus, observed on January 6th (if you have ever wondered about the origin of the Twelve Days of Christmas, they run until the Eve of Epiphany on January 5th). Over time, they became associated with the entire Pre-Lenten season, known variously as Shrovetide, Carnival, or, most prominently in this…

We just celebrated Valentine’s Day a couple of days ago, and last night was our annual Valentine’s Banquet here. The way the story is usually told, the holiday traces its origins to a Roman priest who was imprisoned during an outbreak of persecution under the Emperor Claudius II in the 3rd century. He ran afoul of the law for performing clandestine weddings for Christians in the army who were forbidden to marry and was consequently sentenced to death. While awaiting…