The Christmas Spider, an Eastern European Legend
Many cultures have their own unique Christmas ornaments… When I was little, my folks had a straw goat ornament from Finland, a “Joulupukki”, or “Jule Goat”, a representation of the harvest season’s spirit – something that made an appearance when folks celebrated the return of the light.
Keep readingThe Yule Cat
As December begins, and thoughts turn to cat-proofing (if such a thing is possible) the Christmas decorations, I am reminded of a bit of Icelandic folklore. The Yule Cat, Jólakötturinn, is a giant cat very invested in whether or not folks are wearing new clothes for Christmas. While it’s not clear whether the individuals without new clothes get eaten, or just their food, it’s clear that the cat’s invested in the outcome. There is, of course, music about it:
Keep readingFestive Parasites
Mistletoe is a classic Christmas decoration, which has always struck me as rather odd, considering that all varieties of mistletoe are parasitic plants. Depending on how bad the infestation is, mistletoe is quite capable of killing its host plants. There are many types of mistletoe (117 species globally, 5 species of dwarf mistletoe are common in Montana). While mistletoe have many different host plants, around here our mistletoe varieties tend to be specialists on conifers – I’ve spotted some local Western Dwarf Mistletoe, generally found on Ponderosa Pines. As for why we associate mistletoe plants with kissing? They’ve been plants…
Keep readingHow Long do Gift Cards Last?
Buying gift cards has some appeal, as a way to help out local businesses. Buy it now- giving the business some much needed cash, redeem later when business is better. What about using an existing gift certificate? Does putting off redeeming a gift card actually benefit the business? It depends on the state, and how long you want to put off using the gift card. When a gift card is purchased, the business gains cash and marks an IOU down on its ledgers, more or less. For a business, Cash is good, and an IOU that’s never redeemed would seem…
Keep reading
Trego's Mountain Ear 
Leave a comment