April Fool's Day and Mythological Humanoid #10 - Changelings

Many countries have a day for foolery. Here in the USA, April 1^st is our day for practical jokes and

Alas, poor Yorick!

pranks.

According to Wikipedia, April Fools may have originated because those who celebrated New Years on January 1st made fun of those who celebrated on other dates. And the precursors to these types of days include the Roman festival of Hilaria, held March 25th, and the Medieval Feast of Fools, held December 28^th. This is still a day on which pranks are played in Spanish-speaking countries. The central idea of the Feast of Fools seems to be a brief social revolution, in which power, dignity and impunity is briefly given to underlings. Most would say this makes the medieval festival a successor to the Roman Saturnalia.

Movie Review PG - Muppets Most Wanted, (also Puppets and Fairy God Mothers)

I've always enjoyed Jim Henson's Muppets and his Seasame Street Puppets. I think their jokes are usually witty and good clean fun. I worried when they were bought by Disney. Not because I dislike Disney, though that seems to be the in-thing to do among adults these days, but because new ownership often means changes and if something is good it's hard to imagine change being for the better.

I am glad to report that I worried for nothing. Disney seems to have

Spring Equinox. the Sidhe, the Banshee (the Tuath de Danaan, the Formorians and the FirBolg)

Well, we have sprung forward our daylight saving clocks, restoring the hour of daylight back to evening instead of morning that our light deprived winter needs. Now the Vernal Equinox, the spring time of equal daylight and nighttime hours, has arrived.

The ground is thawing and muddy. Spring bulbs are pushing their way through the earth and spring planting has started for spinach, kale, broccoli and carrots. We all have a little more spring ;) in our steps and the bikes have been broken out. Cabin fever is getting some relief, thank goodness. Snow Drops are starting to peep out of the ground and the hope of Easter is in the air. Green is slowly returning to replace the grey. Old Man Winter is finally releasing his death hold on the Northern Hemisphere. Though unfortunately he isn't packing up to go home yet, but a beginning is made.

St. Patrick's Day and Leprechauns

Briefly, St. Patrick was born (c. 456-93) to a Roman family in Britain near Scotland, captured by Irish raiders at 16 and sold as a slave in Ireland to herd pigs and sheep. For 6 years, he survived solitude and weather by prayer and singing psalms and realized he had a vocation to the priesthood. Guided by a dream he escaped and traveled across Ireland to find a ship waiting to take him home to Britain, where he was trained as a priest and became a bishop. Then in another dream he heard the Irish people calling him to come back and bring them the Christian message. He returned to Ireland, where several missionaries had already died, now 'a slave for Christ', to be instrumental in the mass conversion of Ireland. There are many fun hagiographic stories about St. Patrick,

Mythological Species of Humanoids: An Introduction

Why are they important?

Mythological races or species of humanoids (humans-like creatures) are a universal story motif, every culture has some unique humanoids populating their stories and legends. This makes sense, since it is a very useful tool to have on your story telling utility belt. The purposes these humanoids serve are: