Length of Day — January 15
The length of day in Boston, Massachusetts, is 9 hours 26 minutes today—one minute more daylight than yesterday!
The length of day in Juneau, Alaska, is 7 hours and 9 minutes—three minutes more daylight than yesterday!
Click here to see Sun rise and set times, plus the length of day for your location.
As the day lengthens, the cold strengthens. –Old weather proverb
Full Wolf Moon — January 22
This full Moon is also known as the Old Moon. To some Native American tribes, this was the Snow Moon, but most applied that name to the next full Moon, in February.
Burns Night — January 25
Scotland’s most famous poet, Robert Burns (1759–96), was born today. It has become an occasion for Scots all over the world to gather together in his honor. A Burns Night supper usually includes haggis, a traditional dish of the heart, lungs, and liver of a sheep or calf minced with suet, onions, oatmeal, and seasonings. If you are not a haggis fan, try this Shortbread receipe to honor Robert Burns:
Shortbread cookies
Yield: 6 dozen
- 1 pound (4 sticks) butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3-1/2 cups all-purpose white flour
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cream the butter with the sugar. Add the flours and blend well. Roll out the dough directly onto an ungreased 10-inch by 15-inch baking sheet. Trim the edges and prick all over with a fork. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F and continue baking for 30 minutes. Cut into squares while still warm.
Pay Attention to Houseplants
Receipes
Winter Energy Cookies
Take-me-along cookies, great for skiing, skating, and snowshoeing!
Yield: About 2 dozen.
Wheat germ, whole-wheat flour, raisins, nuts, and chocolate chips take top billing in these jumbo, wholesome, take-me-along (skiing, snowshoeing, skating!) cookies.
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1-1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup toasted wheat germ
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cups uncooked rolled oats
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or peanuts
- Cream the butter, brown sugar, molasses, and peanut butter in a large bowl. Blend in the eggs and vanilla. Mix the flours, wheat germ, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until evenly blended. Stir in the oats, raisins, chocolate chips, and nuts. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease cookie sheets. Shape dough into balls using 1/4 cup of dough per cookie. Place onto sheets, leaving 3 inches between them. Flatten slightly with a fork. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes. When done, the tops will still be soft to the touch. Cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.
Roasted Winter Vegetables
A wonderful vegetable dish to serve for lunch on a cool day or as a side dish for supper.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
- 2 or 3 parsnips
- 2 pounds winter squash
- 4 carrots
- 1 firm eggplant
- 1 to 2 fennel bulbs
- 2 large red onions
- 6 cloves garlic
- 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary
- crushed red pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and cut up the vegetables into attractive wedges and cubes. Arrange vegetables and garlic in a single layer in a large, oiled roasting pan, and sprinkle them with rosemary, crushed red pepper, and olive oil to coat. Roast vegetables, turning them occasionally so they don’t stick or burn, until they are browned and tender, about 1 to 1-1/4 hours.
Ruler of new beginnings, gates and doors, the first hour of the day, the first day of the month, and the first month of the year, the Roman god Janus gave January its name. He was pictured as two-headed (both heads bearded) and situated so that one head looked forward into the new year while the other took a retrospective view. Janus also presided over the temple of peace, where the doors were opened only during wartime. It was a place of safety, where new beginnings and new resolutions could be forged, just as the New Year is a time for new objectives and renewed commitments to long-term goals.
Is your Christmas tree still standing? This year, start a new tradition in your family by taking it out in style, just as people in Sweden do.
Wood warms you thrice–when you chop it, when you stack it, when you burn it. 
Earth, Grounding, Storehouse of Kundalini, Root Chakra