St. Lucia Day

December 13th marks the day that Swedes honor a saint from the third century. She was Italian and a martyr. But on this day, young Swedish ladies don long white robes, the bravest a crown of candles, and wake their relatives bearing a tray of pastries. There is even a special bun made with saffron called Lucia Cats just for this celebration. It is believed that St. Lucia represents light in the darkness, and well, in Scandinavia, winters are long and it often appears that the sun is visiting the other side of the planet.

St. Nicolas Day

This saint’s birthday is marked on December 6th. He was the role model for the non-religious jolly old elf and was known for giving all his possessions and even his food to help others. Something to think about as we tear into our presents, and feast on multi-courses of rich food and drink.

Christmas

In many European countries, this holiday is considered sacred and/or a time to give thanks for nature’s bounty. In the Ukraine, for example, Christmas Eve is marked with the ‘Holy Supper’. Instead of stockings, houses are decked with sheaves of wheat. The holiday commences when the first star in the sky is sighted.

Kwanzaa

This holiday was created in the 1960s by a California college professor to honor centuries of African traditions and to bring African-Americans together as a community. Celebrated largely in the United States, the name means “First Fruits” and honors the ideals at the core of life- family and unity. Again, light plays a dominant role in the celebration as a candle holder known as a ‘kinara’.

Mardi Gras

In many countries, this day as well as New Year’s Eve, mark time to reflect and ask departed ancestors for guidance and assistance. For the Japanese, it is the most important holiday of the year. At midnight shrines and temples are visited. Many homes strike a ceremonial bell 108 times to represent the negative behaviors believed to be at the root of all evil and misery.

In Ecuador, a straw effigy representing the old year is burned along with his ‘will’ drawn up by each family. The will lists their faults and weaknesses. As the figure burns, it is hoped that their negative behaviors will be destroyed as well.

Mardi Gras

The date varies by year, is celebrated with new clothes, and a lantern parade headed by a silk dragon who represents strength. Firecrackers are thrown at the dragon to keep him from falling asleep. Sounds like fun!

Other Asian traditions include praying to departed loved ones asking them for guidance and wish-fulfillment. Intentions are placed inside a paper horse which is burned so its smoke will convey each message to the intended relative.

Mardi Gras

Marks the day in January that Balthasar, Melchior, and Gaspar AKA the ‘three wise men’ first saw the infant Jesus. The French celebrate with King Cake, Puerto Rican children awake expecting to find a treat under their beds, and in Spain, it is the day their Christmas is celebrated. The only question this author has is how, in the first century BC, did travelers from India, Arabia, and Persia learn about the coming birth and decide to make a pilgrimage?

Mardi Gras

Revelry’s last hurrah before the solemn Lenten season is celebrated in diverse ways around the globe. The American tradition in New Orleans that includes floats decked with celebrants throwing bead necklaces in celebration of Fat Tuesday, a Lenten precursor. Brazil’s Carnivale is an explosion of bright costumes, parades, and loud music. Then there’s England, where some villages note this event by holding a race where the women of the town run a distance while continuously flipping a pancake. No butter. No maple syrup. For real.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse of how other global citizens celebrate the same holidays we do. Why not incorporate some ideas and cross-generate some new traditions into your family’s holiday gathering? It could be as simple as adding saffron to your stuffing recipe or in lieu of greeting cards sending a list of customized well-wishes or the coming year to everyone on your list. Whatever you decide, make sure you and yours have as joyous a time as possible, each and every winter season!

The post Winter Holidays Around the World appeared first on Koshka.

Test your soil to determine the ph level. Lawns along with plants need adequate nutrients in the soil in order to grow. Testing your soil can let you know of any issues you may have and allow you time to apply the needed nutrients to promote healthy growth come spring. If you need to raise your soil pH, lime should be applied. Lime requires a few months to completely absorb into the soil and applying in warmer climates can cause damage to plants. A fall soil test should show a mid-range result in key nutrients, letting you know you supplied an adequate amount of fertilizer and nutrients throughout the growing season, too low of reading means you ran out of nutrients before the end of the season, and too high means too much fertilizer was used. Fall readings are perfect for gauging the success of your previous growing season.

While you want to test your soil, fall is also the time to fertilize your lawn before heading into the winter months. As fall approaches, plants and grasses begin to “prepare” for winter. The change in temperature and the shorter days trigger the plants to start slowing growth and shift their food storage to their roots. Fertilizer that is applied in the fall is giving the grass the nutrients it needs to store for the winter and use it as fuel for the spring. When spring arrives, the grass greens up quickly and grows thick and lush blocking out weeds.

Fertilizing your lawn provides the nutrients needed for the winter months, however, you do not want to be providing nutrients for the plants/grasses you don’t want. Remove weeds prior to winter. These pesky plants will compete for the nutrients throughout the winter months and take away what is needed for your grass to be healthy come springtime. Also, you will want to remove your annual plants. These plants have to be replaced every year and leaving the dead plants discourages spring growth and can also be home to many lawn and garden killing insects.

Once you have removed all the unwanted weeds, you will want to make sure to cut the grass. As fall approaches, the grass starts to slow down growth so mowing will not be necessary as often. Climate plays a role in how often you should cut your grass through the winter months. For warmer climates, cut your grass as you normally would just about half as many times. So if you are used to cutting it every week, switch to a bi-weekly schedule. Be sure not to cut the grass too short, cutting it short can damage your lawn and impact spring growth. In colder climates, shorter grass is the key. Grass in cooler areas has to regrow in spring and cutting it short during the winter months helps keep it from being matted down and inhibits new growth. If you are concerned about length and how many times to cut your grass as you prepare for winter, your local landscape firms can provide winterizing services to ensure a healthy lawn in spring.

Fall months are a great time to over-seed your yard. This is basically applying grass seeds over the existing turf. You will want to make sure you do this before the temperatures get too cold. The ideal temperatures for seed growth are between 60 and 70 degrees. Just like with mowing your grass, what seeds to use on your lawn and when to apply will vary depending on where you live. In colder areas, overseeding is used to help prevent weeds so waiting until late autumn is not optimal. Seeds need time to establish roots in order to prevent weeds from filling in those thinner areas of your lawn. Northern areas should over-seed in early fall. In warmer areas, overseeding with cooler season grasses helps keep your lawn looking green all year long. By overseeding with cooler season grasses, when your warm-season grasses are dying out or going dormant the other varieties are ready to take over.

Not to be overlooked during this process are your trees and shrubs. Make sure you are pruning and cutting back trees and shrubs. Fall is the perfect time to do this. Once spring arrives, your yard will be starved for sunlight. Removing those overgrown limbs will allow complete exposure to the warm spring sun your lawn has been missing.

All of these steps outlined above are important to the upkeep and maintenance of your lawn and getting it ready for the winter months. However, one of the most important things you can do to ensure your lawn is lawn of the month come spring is to make sure you rake the leaves and keep them raked throughout the season. Nothing is harder on a lawn than a thick carpet of wet leaves. If these are not removed it can leave you with a dirt patch to deal with come spring. Raked leaves also serve as a great compost, so be sure to rake them up and save them for later. If you are lucky enough to have a small amount of leaves accumulated, consider mowing them instead of raking, this will provide a thin compost layer over your grass providing nutrients for the winter months.

Caring for and preparing your lawn and garden for the winter is not a step you want to forget. While most people are more concerned with the upkeep during the warm growing season, it is also important to make sure your lawn is prepared for the winter months. Following these simple tasks outlined will help to ensure that your lawn is ready to thrive come spring.

The post Tips For Winterizing Your Lawn appeared first on Koshka.