Happy Persian New Year - Welcome Spring!

[shawshank]

Proper New Year, start of spring. Happy Spring everyone, lol.

 

[lisab]

Happy solstice! It's spring for those of us in the northern hemisphere, finally.

My thoughts are with PF folks who are still up to their knees in snow......I think of Turbo's picture of his home in the deep Maine snow!

 

[Math Is Hard]

Can't wait for sizdah bedar! :)

 

[jhicks]

I guess it is kind of strange that the Gregorian and Chinese calendars start in winter proper given that spring is universally symbolic of rebirth.

 

[Poop-Loops]

Isn't the Chinese year based on the Lunar calendar? Or at least, the New Year.

 

[Cyrus]

Can't wait for sizdah bedar! :)

I forgot, you live in little iran. Iran is living in the dark ages, I think its something like 1361 or some crap like that this year.

 

[jhicks]

Isn't the Chinese year based on the Lunar calendar? Or at least, the New Year.

I'm pretty sure that lunar years are always significantly different in length from solar years. The chinese new year is always in late January / early February. It might always be tied to the phases of the moon, but I think the number of lunar months floats or something.

 

[lisab]

Happy solstice! It's spring for those of us in the northern hemisphere, finally.

...DOH ! It's the equinox, not the solstice. I'd have made a lousy Pagan.

 

[Moonbear]

Happy New Year Shawshank, and Happy Spring!

It actually looks a little like spring today...some sun is sneaking out between the dark clouds, and I'm noticing a little grass around. Plus, those who have spring flowers planted report sightings of blooms (I wish I had spring flowers planted! If I can get a weekend without mud and rain, I'm going to get some summer blooming bulbs planted at least).

 

[Kurdt]

I guess it is kind of strange that the Gregorian and Chinese calendars start in winter proper given that spring is universally symbolic of rebirth.

I suppose in the west where pagan rituals have influence, the rebirth or beginning of the year would be what is now christmas or just after the winter solstice and the beginning of the days getting longer. I have no idea about the Chinese calendar, but most seem to be based on astronomical events.

 

[Lisa!]

Can't wait for sizdah bedar! :)

Hmmm...it seems that you like knoting the grass!

I forgot, you live in little iran. Iran is living in the dark ages, I think its something like 1361 or some crap like that this year.

It's 1387!

 

[hypatia]

Happy New Years and happy spring..and for those down under, happy fall.

 

[shawshank]

thanks everyone, it actually looks good here in Toronto too, just a lot of snow but the sun is well out.

 

[Cyrus]

Hmmm...it seems that you like knoting the grass!



It's 1387!

My bad, party like its 1399.


Anyways, speaking of all these new years, we should have some science based year 0. I would say to start it when science started, some time in ancient greece. So the science year would be in the 3000s.

 

[Math Is Hard]

My bad, party like its 1399.

Hmmm...it seems that you like knoting the grass!

My birthday is on Sizdah Bedar this year. My friend Nazanin says we should forget about knotting grass since we are old maids. Time to step it up a notch. We are going to try tying some trees together.

 

[Moonbear]

Today was a great day to celebrate spring and new birth...the postdoc in my lab had her baby today. As soon as she called that he was born and she was ready for visitors, I had to scurry over (I already had the gift with me this morning...just looking at her yesterday, I KNEW he was going to be born sometime today). Awww...snuggly newborn! I've never seen a newborn so WIDE awake! He kind of had this expression that after waiting and taking his time coming out that now he was ready to go and not planning on stopping any time soon!

 

[lisab]

What a great birthday! A little equinox boy!

If he was that awake, I'm betting she didn't take any drugs. I didn't either and my daughter's wide-eyed wakefulness for hours after her birth made it all worth it.

 

[Moonbear]

What a great birthday! A little equinox boy!

If he was that awake, I'm betting she didn't take any drugs. I didn't either and my daughter's wide-eyed wakefulness for hours after her birth made it all worth it.

No, she went with the epidural (she already has one kid and saw no reason to go through that pain a second time...decided it was well worth it). Every other newborn I've seen has been really sleepy...wake up, eat, dirty a diaper, go back to sleep...regardless of whether it was a completely drug-free labor or not. This is the first one I've seen who was so wide-eyed so long after birth (and I visited right after feeding too, so we were sure he was going to drift to sleep soon...but he didn't want to miss anything!) Yep, can't forget which day is his birthday, since it's always the first day of spring. Today is the birthday of one of my cousins too...except I can never remember which one...two brothers have birthdays a month apart, and I can't recall which one is which month.

 

[Evo]

An epidural doesn't seem to effect the baby. I had multiple epidurals (the injections don't last very long) and both of mine were alert and active when born, except that my firstborn "Spawn" was born face up and almost drowned. She was in intensive care for the first 24 hours and I couldn't even see her after she was taken out of the delivery room.

What's funny is that having an epidural left me with enough energy when it came time to push and I pushed both out after only a couple of pushes. While the poor girl I shared a room with that went without anything for pain was so exhausted from dealing with the pain that she no longer had the strength to push and they ended up doing a C-Section on her, even though she was physically capable of delivering otherwise.

Of course my mother had no pain during delivery, she described it as a "slight twinge". She literally dropped my little sister in the hallway, thankfully an intern was there and realized what was happening and had his hands under her. I was not so fortunate.

I think of it as "do you want us to cut your leg off with or without anesthesia?"

 

[lisab]

Yes, I've heard that epidurals don't have a sedative effect on the baby. It's the drugs that cross the placenta that can make newborns sleepier than they would be otherwise. My midwife said she doesn't like to use those drugs because they can lead to respiratory problems in the baby.

I was lucky - my daughter was just 6lb, 4oz. Yet the pain was beyond anything I could have imagined.

I've heard of women like your mom - wow! In my experience with pain, it's closely linked to fear. The more fear, the more pain. I think that's why the placebo effect works so well on pain.

 

[Evo]

My second child weighed 9 lbs, 6 ounces, but I was only in labor 36 hours as opposed to 49 hours with the first one. I can only describe the pain as being torn inside out. I was completely unprepared since my mother assured me there was nothing to it, her problem was realizing she was in labor and getting to the hospital before letting loose. My best friend was in labor 4 hours. I hate them.

 

[Moonbear]

The only people I've known who wound up with drugs other than an epidural are those who refused the epidural and then realized they needed something to get through the final pushing when it was too late to get an epidural. And, yeah, those babies are definitely sluggish (not just sleepy, but really lethargic).

The downside to an epidural is it can slow the progression of labor, but when the alternative is that you might still need something at the end, and that something might be far worse than an epidural for the baby (opioids, or waiting until the baby is in distress and you're getting that spinal for the C-section), I'm starting to lean toward thinking the epidurals are a good idea.

 

[binzing]

Damn you, Cyrus, I was just going to say "partly like its 1399" lol.

If I were to adhere to any religion, it would probably be paganism. I like the celebration of the soltices/equinoxes, and the general love of nature in the religion. Plus you could piss of a lot of people by saying that pagans don't worship the "Devil" as a lot of people seem to think.

 

[Evo]

Damn you, Cyrus, I was just going to say "partly like its 1399" lol.

If I were to adhere to any religion, it would probably be paganism. I like the celebration of the soltices/equinoxes, and the general love of nature in the religion. Plus you could piss of a lot of people by saying that pagans don't worship the "Devil" as a lot of people seem to think.

That's very true, a lot of people do not understand paganism.

Personally, I would go with Hern, if I had to pick a deity. Walking around in the woods wearing antlers on your head takes guts.

 

[Lisa!]

My bad, party like its 1399.

.

Damn you, Cyrus, I was just going to say "partly like its 1399" lol.

Party or partly? I don't get what you mean anyway, could you please explain?

My birthday is on Sizdah Bedar this year. My friend Nazanin says we should forget about knotting grass since we are old maids. Time to step it up a notch. We are going to try tying some trees together.

I think women are like "ghalie Kerman". As much as they get older, they get better.:!)

[

 

[jim mcnamara]

...DOH ! It's the equinox, not the solstice. I'd have made a lousy Pagan.

Maybe a lousy Wiccan as well.

 

[lisab]

Maybe a lousy Wiccan as well.

Oh I don't know about that...I think being a witch would suit me!

 

[binzing]

Grrr, damn, I meant party not partly.

 

[Math Is Hard]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/03/images/20080319-11_p031908cg-0017-515h.html

A traditional Haft Sin table celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is seen set Wednesday, March 19, 2008, in the State Dining Room of the White House. Nowruz is, in Persian and some other cultures, including Kurdish culture, a family-oriented holiday celebrating the New Year and the coming of spring. The Haft Sin table has seven items symbolizing new life, joy, love, beauty and health, sunrise, patience and garlic to ward off evil.

 

[lisab]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/03/images/20080319-11_p031908cg-0017-515h.html

I wonder how many cultures associate garlic with warding off evil...isn't it supposed to keep vampires away, too? Seems a common theme.

Mmmmm, garlic. If it's nice and strong it will ward off more than evil!

 

[Math Is Hard]

I wonder how many cultures associate garlic with warding off evil...isn't it supposed to keep vampires away, too? Seems a common theme.

Mmmmm, garlic. If it's nice and strong it will ward off more than evil!

I love garlic. Especially those big cloves of elephant garlic baked in butter or olive oil. :!)

 

[Moonbear]

I love garlic too. As long as one's boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse is also a garlic afficionado, there's no problem with loving garlic.

 

[Moonbear]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/03/images/20080319-11_p031908cg-0017-515h.html

Okay, garlic, nuts (I think), something smothered in cheese, some sort of sauce and apples all look good to me...but grass? Please tell me that's part of the floral arrangements and not the food.

 

[Cyrus]

I don't think anyone eats any of that stuff on the table. I don't know, we never put out a plate of grass and a bowl of fish.....