User:Steve Kirk Sagik/Wintertyde

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Wintertyde is a newly-created season that fits within the Winter season itself. Winter runs from the Winter solstice, usually falling on December 21st, to the Spring equinox, usually falling on March 21st. Wintertyde runs from January 7th, the day after Epiphany, through March 6th. It totals about 60 days, whereas Lent comes in at 40 days, and Christmas at 12 days.

Wintertyde's purpose is to ease the transition from the preceding Autumn holiday period (from Halloween through New Year's Day) to the subdued and often emotionally-troubling season of Winter. Wintertyde offers a proactive method for contending with "Winter blues." Rather than passively enduring what may be perceived as an endless period of snow, ice, gray days, and cold, Wintertyders proactively take charge of Winter itself through Wintertyde. The new season offers protocols for celebrating the positive aspects of Winter and its associated holidays. Celebrating Wintertyde offers a calendrically-designated methods for moving through Winter in small increments of time from holiday to holiday. For many, seeing Winter as a manageable period of time rather than an open-ended one, offers many psychological benefits and minimizes the potential onset of Winter blues.

It should be noted that Wintertyde does not offer medical advice. Wintertyde offers a description of what may work for Wintertyde celebrants.

Etymology

Wintertyde is a neologism that combines the word "Winter" with the word "tyde," an archaaic English spelling of "tide," or "time." The word "Wintertyde" is capitalized.

History

A prototype of Wintertyde was celebrated in the Saratoga Springs, New York, area in 2006-2008. Wintertyde was celebrated by a small group of Wintertyders in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2009 and continues each year.

Symbols

The Wintertyde logo is the snowflake. The Wintertyde bird id the black-capped chickadee.

Colors

The official Wintertyde colors are silver, white, earthtones, and the accent color is burgundy. It should be noted that Wintertyde is a season completely separate from Christmas. Hence, primary red and bright green, along with gold, are proscribed by Wintertyde protocol.

Celebrated Holidays

Wintertyde celebrations typically begin each year on January 6th after 6 PM, or Wintertyde Eve. January 7th is Wintertyde Day. January features no additional celebrations until January 30th, Saint Brigit's Day Eve. Saint Brigit's Day falls on February 1st. Groundhog Day falls on February 2nd along with Candlemas. Some Wintertyders include Super Bowl Weekend, which falls in early February, in their Wintertyde celebrations. Saint Valentine's Day, February 14th, and Mardi Gras, usually in mide to late February are celebrated next. Finally, Saint David's Day is celebrated on March 1st. The Last Day of Wintertyde falls on March 6th each year.

Protocols