Rabbit Rabbit
December 2021

Rabbit, rabbit!

Since at least 1909, a superstition has lived in North American and the United Kingdom that if a person says or repeats the word “rabbit” upon waking up on the first day of the month, good luck will follow for the remainder of that month.

Elements of the tradition exist in the United Kingdom, New England, and even in various First Nation cultures.

While I’m not necessarily endorsing the superstition, it provides a way to look in depth at each month of the year, from history and observances to miscellaneous trivia. The topic this month is December.

History

December is the twelfth and final month of the year, but it used to be the tenth in the old calendar of Romulus. That’s why it has the Latin decem (meaning “ten”) in its name.

Roman observances for December included one of the four Agonalia, particularly in honor of Sol Indiges, on December 11th. This was the same day as Septimontium. Dies natalis (“birthday”) was held at the temple of Tellus on December 13th, Consualia was held on December 15th, Saturnalia was held from December 17th to 23rd, Opiconsivia was held on December 19th, Divalia was held on December 21st, Larentalia was held on December 23rd, and the dies natalis of Sol Invictus was held on December 25th. As usual, these dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar.

Anglo-Saxons also referred to December and January as Ġēolamonaþ or Ȝēolamōnaþ, translated to “Yule month”. The Anglo-Saxon scholar Bede explained in his treatise De temporum ratione (The Reckoning of Time) that the entire winter solstice period was known as Ġēola. December later became known as Ǣrra-ġēolamōnaþ and January became known as Æfterra-ġēolamōnaþ, translated as The Preceding Yule and The Following, respectively.

Yule was the festival historically celebrated by the Germanic people, which was connected to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and the pagan Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht. These pagan celebrations were later assimilated by the Christians, transforming the period into Christmastide. Some present-day Christmas customs and traditions such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others are connected to the pagan traditions. Yule is still celebrated in various forms in Nordic countries, Estonia, and Finland, as well as through modern neopagan movements.

Observances

December is the Month of the Advent of Christ in the Catholic Church. It also includes National Egg Nog Month, National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, National Fruit Cake Month, and National Pear Month. The international stage adds No Gender December, a campaign to educate the public about gender neutrality.

On the astronomical front, December meteor showers include the Andromedids (September 25 to December 6, with a peak around November 9th), the Canis-Minorids (spanning December 4 to December 15, with a peak around December 10th or 11th), the Coma Berenicids (between December 12 and December 23, with a peak around December 16th), the Delta Cancrids (December 14 to February 14, with a main shower from January 1-24 and a peak on January 17th), the Geminids (December 13-14), the Monocerotids (typically December 7-20, with a peak on December 9th), the Phoenicids (spanning November 29 to December 9, and peaking around December 5th), the Quadrantids (which is usually a January shower, but can start in December), the Sigma Hydrids (December 4-15), and the Ursids (December 17-26, with a peaking around December 22nd).

December also contains the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the fewest daylight hours, and the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, the day with the most daylight hours. Both of these, of course, exclude the polar regions.

Trivia

• December’s birthstones are turquoise (wisdom, tranquility, protection, good fortune, and hope), zircon (wisdom, success, honor and wealth), and tanzanite (wisdom, truth, and dignity).
• The western zodiac signs of December are Sagittarius (until December 21st) and Capricorn (December 22nd onwards).
• The month’s birth flower is the narcissus.

Rabbit Rabbit is a project designed to look at each month of the year with respect to history, observances, and more.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.

Rabbit Rabbit
November 2021

Rabbit, rabbit!

Since at least 1909, a superstition has lived in North American and the United Kingdom that if a person says or repeats the word “rabbit” upon waking up on the first day of the month, good luck will follow for the remainder of that month.

Elements of the tradition exist in the United Kingdom, New England, and even in various First Nation cultures.

While I’m not necessarily endorsing the superstition, it provides a way to look in depth at each month of the year, from history and observances to miscellaneous trivia. The topic this month is November.

History

November is the eleventh month of the year, but it used to be the ninth in the old calendar of Romulus. That’s where November got its name, stemming from the Latin novem for “nine”.

Roman observances for November included Ludi Plebeii (November 4–17), Epulum Jovis (November 13), and Brumalia (starting on November 24). These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar.

Anglo-Saxons also referred to November as Blōtmōnaþ. This stemmed from the Anglo-Saxon scholar Bede in his treatise De temporum ratione (The Reckoning of Time), in which he stated that “Blod-monath is month of immolations, for it was in this month that the cattle which were to be slaughtered were dedicated to the gods.” An entry in the Menologium seu Calendarium Poeticum, an Anglo-Saxon poem about the months, explains that “this month is called Novembris in Latin, and in our language the month of sacrifice, because our forefathers, when they were heathens, always sacrificed in this month, that is, that they took and devoted to their idols the cattle which they wished to offer.”

In the French Republican Calendar, November fell in the months of Brumaire and Frimaire. Brumaire was the second month of the autumnal quarter (mois d’automne) in that calendar, named after the French word for fog, brume, since it is prevalent during that time. Brumaire spanned October 22-24 to November 20-22. Frimaire was the third month, named for the frimas, the French word for frost. It spanned November 21-23 to December 20-22.

Observances

November is the Month of Holy Souls in Purgatory in the Catholic Church. It also includes Academic Writing Month, Annual Family Reunion Planning Month, Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Movember (the annual growing of mustaches to support men’s health issues), Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month (in the United Kingdom), Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month, and Stomach Cancer Awareness Month.

The United States, specifically, also observes COPD Awareness Month, Epilepsy Awareness Month, Military Family Month, National Adoption Month, National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, National Blog Posting Month, National Critical Infrastructure Protection Month, National Entrepreneurship Month, National Family Caregivers Month, National Bone Marrow Donor Awareness Month, National Diabetes Month, National Homeless Youth Month, National Hospice Month, National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, National Pomegranate Month, and Prematurity Awareness Month.

Of particular import to my family is Native American Heritage Month. This observance aims to provide a platform for Native people in the United States to share their culture, traditions, music, crafts, dance, and ways and concepts of life. It also provides an opportunity to express to their community, city, county, and state officials their concerns and solutions for building bridges of understanding and friendship in their local area. It was declared by President George H. W. Bush on August 3, 1990.

National Novel Writing Month also occurs throughout November. Commonly known as NaNoWriMo, this month offers writers of all experience levels a challenge to write 50,000 words on a single project. A word count of 40,000 officially makes a novel, but 50,000 is the typical minimum. Most novels span 60,000 to 100,000 words, but the 50,000 target provides a good milestone and challenge, especially for those who are not used to writing so many words consistently.

On the astronomical front, November meteor showers include the Andromedids (September 25 to December 6, with a peak around November 9-14), the Leonids (November 15-20, the Alpha Monocerotids (November 15-25, peaking on November 21-22), the Northern Taurids (October 20 to December 10), the Southern Taurids (September 10 to November 20), the Phoenicids (November 29 to December 9, peaking on December 5-6), and the Orionids (spanning late October into November).

Trivia

• November’s birthstones are topaz (particularly yellow, which symoblizes friendship) and citrine (a variety of quartz that symbolizes prosperity).
• The western zodiac signs of November are Scorpio (until November 21) and Sagittarius (November 22 onwards).
• The month’s birth flower is the chrysanthemum.

Rabbit Rabbit is a project designed to look at each month of the year with respect to history, observances, and more.

For more creativity with a critical eye, visit Creative Criticality.