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Archives for October 2016

Halloween – another harvest festival

October 31, 2016 by Avogadro Mole

This is the third and last pagan harvest festival. Halloween as practiced in the United States is an amalgam of practices. The name, Halloween, is derived from Hallow’s Eve/Evening, or the day before All Hallows Day, the day Roman Catholics, and later, other Christian groups, celebrate all saints, specified and unspecified. The Irish added in their Celtic-derived observance of seasonal change and festival of the dead. Pagans celebrate “samhain,” and in true Celtic fashion, it has a pronunciation totally at odds with its current spelling: “sow-een”. It comes from the Gaelic “sam,” which means summer; “fuin” means “end.” So, “Samhain” means “end of the warm season.” Contrary to many web sites, there is and has never been a god of death or a sun god with that name.

Many believe the door between this world and the next is thinner at this time. This has resulted in beliefs ranging from evil spirits roaming the earth in search of bodies to take or souls to steal. Others believe this is the time to contact those who have gone before, looking for guidance or just to pay their respects.

Filed Under: Holidays & Celebrations

A day in the life of a hot air balloon.

October 3, 2016 by Avogadro Mole

Originally published in 2010

My second year at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta!
(Pics taken on different days.)

I took Amtrak from LA to Albuquerque, arriving Friday, October 1. Up at 4am. Yes, 4am. Showered, caffeinated, dressed, and out the door by 5am. Karen, Kevin and I head for the mess tent, where the pilots and crew get fed breakfast and discuss the weather. Out on the launch field no later than 6:30, to find our spot, and get ready to unpack. The sun isn’t up yet, and I’m bouncing around with several hundred other balloon teams, getting ready for the day’s excitement. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, Balloons

My Favorite Quotes

We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.

— Charles Kingsley

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About Avogadro

Sanity is the trademark of a weak mind. — Mark Harrold

Avogadro's Number and I go 'way back. When I first started writing in what might be considered a blog precursor, a fanzine, I called my 'zine "Avogadro's Number". Named after...[more...]
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