Tag Archives: holidays

Happy New Year from Saturn?

Posted on by under M.F. Erler, Mary Frances Erler

by Mary Frances Erler

A new year has finally arrived!  I’m sure almost everyone is glad to see 2021 go away. Old Father Time, known as Chronos (the source of words like chronology and chronometer) to the Greeks, and Saturn to the Romans, is still a feature of our new year celebrations.  You know, the old bearded man with the scythe, who hobbles away as the old year passes.

When I took high school Latin, we were told “Io Saturnalia” meant Merry Christmas, sort of.  Most of Roman history was pre-Christianity, so Saturnalia was actually a pagan holiday celebrating the arrival of the New Year, as well as the Winter Solstice.

Saturn was the “grandfather” of the Gods, the father of Jupiter (Zeus in Greek) who was, in turn, father of most of the rest of the gods in mythology. I find it interesting that old Saturn still shows up this time of year as Father Time, the thing we cannot control, because it just marches on. 

The planet Saturn was in the news in 2020, because Saturn and Jupiter were closer together in our viewpoint here on earth than they’ve been for over 600 years.  Some hoped this was a good omen for the year 2021.  Now that it’s 2022, we need all the hope we can get!

Pick a Holiday

Posted on by under Claudette Young, Montana Women Writers, Uncategorized

By Claudette Young

Everyday is a holiday. Pick one. Now, write about it.Simple task, right? Well, maybe not. Here’s a fun way, though, to pull out of a writing slump and perhaps earn some greenbacks in the process.

Many magazines need and want short pieces written about holidays. Those celebratory days don’t have to match major/national ones. Find something unique, perhaps even about your own town or state, and march words across your page.

Hop over to the Holiday Insights website. Scroll down to whatever month seems promising to you and click on it. How much easier can it get?

Find something fun. For example: Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day—January 12.

Know any wild men? Now’s your chance to go out and interview a few. Think about it. Get their take on such a holiday (one they probably didn’t know existed).

Invite a few of these men to a pizza joint and watch them celebrate. Ask about why they might think of themselves as wild men. Hey, it’s just a suggestion.

What about April? This month has special month status, honored weekly status, and daily holidays. You could keep writing for a year on this collection if you wanted to spend the time.

Here are a few selected possibilities for April.

  • National Humor Month
  • International Guitar Month
  • National Kite Month
  • National Poetry Month
  • National Pecan Month
  • National Welding Month
  • Stress Awareness Month
  • Sexual Assault Awareness Month

These give a writer both fun and serious possible subjects.

For weekly honors, we have:

  • Week 1 Read a Road Map Week.
  • Week 2 Garden Week
  • Week 3 Organize Your Files Week
  • Week 4 National Karaoke Week

There are a few others, but not nearly as fun.

Daily celebrations run a gamut of subjects and attitudes. But, you get the drift. Every month has a plethora of options fully blossomed and ready for plucking.

So, when you find yourself feeling especially stagnant as a writer or just out of sorts and stuck, pull up this holiday calendar and start arranging a bouquet of short pieces for publication. Heck, you could base an entire blog on this fanciful possibility.

And remember, new holidays are created all the time by someone and that someone could be you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March Book News

Posted on by under Book News, Book Signing, Montana Women Writers, Uncategorized, writers

The quirkiest of quirky holidays in March

Here are a few of the whackiest special days, but be sure to check out the full list on HolidayInsights.com.

*March 1 Peanut Butter Lovers’ Day
              *March 2 Old Stuff Day                              *March 3 If Pets Had Thumbs Day
*March 6 National Frozen Food Day                          *March 9 Panic Day     
*March 10 Middle Name Pride Day                 *March 11 Worship of Tools Day
                 *March 13 Ear Muff Day            *March 15 Dumbstruck Day       
*March 16 Everything You Do is Right Day            *March 18 Supreme Sacrifice Day
         *March 20 Extraterrestrial Abductions Day          *March 20 Proposal Day  
*March 25 Waffle Day                    *March 27 National “Joe” Day
*March 22 National Goof Off Day                    *March 23 Melba Toast Day
*March 28 Something on a Stick Day                 *March 28 Weed Appreciation Day

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December Book News

Posted on by under Book News, Fiction Writing, Holidays, Leslie Budewitz, Montana Women Writers, writers, Writing Skills

 

 

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: As i write, the season’s first real snow is beginning to fall. We’ll all be a bit skittish on the roads in the morning, but in a few days, we’ll be driving like the winter folk we are. Cold days and colder nights are great for reading and writing, and I’m hard at work on two future books: the next Food Lovers’ Village Mystery, and something entirely different that I’m calling Blind Faith, and not just for the process of writing it!

Killing Thyme (final)I’ll be out and about in western Montana twice this weekend, and hope you’ll join me. Kalispell’s annual Holiday Art Stroll is this Friday, Dec 2, from 5-9 pm, and I’ll be signing books at Think Local: Exclusively Montana Made on Main Street. (And a bonus: my hunny, Don Beans, will be playing his guitar and singing!) Saturday, Dec 3, I’ll be a guest of the Mineral County Library in Superior at their Christmas Bazaar and Book Sale, speaking and signing books at 2 pm. (This event is in the elementary school, not the library.)

After that, I’m staying home to write. Thanks to all of you who have joined me on my writing journey this past year. Wishing you all the blessings of the season!