Flower of the Month

Carnation

 

 

 

 1 The New Year starts with the birthday of
LESLIE WASHBURN		  

 

 

 1    New Year's Day
On New Year's Day, people in certain countries gather on beaches and run into the water to celebrate the new year. Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, United States and Australia are the most popular countries for this. These events are sometimes known as polar bear plunges, and are sometimes organized by groups to raise money for charity. Polar Bear Clubs in many northern hemisphere cities near bodies of water have a tradition of holding organized plunges on New Year's Day.

 

 

 2 Happy Birthday to
MARTHA CLIFT		  

 

 

 3   THREE Birthdays Today: LINDA CHOW and
MOREAU PARSONS and
SANDY PILCHER

 

 

 6  Epiphany

 
The Three Magi: Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar, from a late 6th century mosaic at the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in
Ravenna, Italy
Epiphany is celebrated by both the Eastern and Western Churches, but a major difference between them is precisely which events the feast commemorates. For Western Christians, the feast primarily commemorates the coming of the Magi; Eastern churches celebrate the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. In both traditions, the essence of the feast is the same: the manifestation of Christ to the world (whether as an infant or in the Jordan), and the Mystery of the Incarnation.

 

 

 8 Today Belongs To
SUSAN FULLAS		  

 

 

 9 Wine Tasters at
Barbara Rosner's		  

 

 

 9   Today has
JERRY MILLER'S
Name on it

 

 10  Save the Eagles Day  

 

 

 11 The Happy Bookers at
Elaine Sullivan's		  

 
Nancy Horan

 

 

 11   Amelia Earhart Day 
When 10-year-old Amelia Earhart saw her first plane, she was not impressed. "It was a thing of rusty wire and wood and looked not at all interesting," she recalled. It wasn't until she attended a stunt-flying exhibition, almost a decade later, that she became interested in aviation.

 

 

 

13 
SECOND
Wednesday

Annual Meeting

Program:
The Taste of Enchantment
A Thousand Years of Food History
of the Rio Grande Valley
Rocky Durham, Santa Fe School
of Cooking

Swearing-in of Officers
Audit Report
2010 Yearbook Distributed

 

 

 

 17   Today Belongs To
SUSAN KIBEL

 

 

 18 Numero Unos at
Joan Jander's		  

 
Julia Glass

 

 

 18

 

Martin Luther King Day

observed on the third
Monday of January
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

 

 20 Libro sin Nombres at
Sandy Pilcher's		    
James Swanson

 

 

 22   Happy Birthday to
DIANE SHEPARD

 

 

 25 TWO Birthdays Today:
VAL FORBES and
PAT TURNER		  

 

 

 27 A Special Day for
PAT DAWKINS		  

 

 

 29   Happy Birthday To
WENDY INGRAM

 

 30 Today Belongs To
BETTY MILSTEAD		  

 

The Carnation, Dianthus caryophyllus, is a plant that originated in the Near East at least 2000 years ago. It was originally only found in light pink but now it has been cultivated into many other colors including red, purple, green and yellow. Some scholars believe the name came from the Latin word "carnis" which means flesh and refers to the original color of the flower. Religious scholars believe it comes from the word "incarnation" referring to the incarnation of God made flesh. Still others believe that carnation was derived from the word "coronation" and that it was used in early Greek ceremonial crowns. Carnation is the flower given most often in a boutonniere or in a corsage for a school prom or homecoming. They are also given for Mothers Day and at weddings, where they are used in bouquets and as table decorations. The Carnation symbolizes different things in different countries. In Rome it was known as "Jove's Flower" after a beloved Roman God. In Korea, young girls put carnations in their hair, believing the order of the death of the carnations determines the difficulty level and order that they will face in their life. In Portugal it is a symbol of the Portuguese Carnation Revolution that occurred in April of 1974. Each color of a Carnation has a different meaning: light red symbolizes admiration, while dark red symbolizes a deep love. White symbolizes both pure love and luck. Striped Carnations symbolize regret. Purple Carnations are said to indicate capriciousness. Green Carnations are used predominantly on St. Patrick's Day. Pink Carnations are said to be a symbol of a mother's undying love, going back to biblical times when Carnations sprang up out of the ground where the Virgin Mary's tears fell as Jesus was carrying the cross. The scarlet Carnation is the state flower of Ohio, chosen to honor assassinated president William McKinley, who was normally seen wearing it. At Oxford University, it is customary to wear a Carnation to an exam; white Carnations are worn to the first exam, red to the last, and pink Carnations to every exam in between. In Spain the carnation is the main flower in many religious celebrations and national festivals.

 

 

 

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