BilikFamily.com

Holy Day - Besides being the Jewish feast of Hanukkah tomorrow, for Catholics tomorrow is a holy day, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Tomorrow is a particularly special in that it is the 150th anniversary of the official proclamation. It was December 8th, 1854 that Pope Pius IX made official what had long been held by Catholics. In his words

"We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary at the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and on this account must be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful."

Despite a common misunderstanding, the feast has little to due with the conception of Jesus. It could be considered the immaculate misconception. The conception of Jesus is celebrated on March 25th, aka the Annunciation.

Book fair - Yesterday the Merrimack YMCA had a Scholastic book fair as a fund raiser. I bought the girls the Scholastic editions of the Kid's Almanac, the Book of World Records 2005, and the Book Of Lists. They're packed with factoids and the kinds of information Claire and Abby are always asking me about. The girls are enjoying the books but having a bit of trouble sharing, as siblings often do.

Weather - Today was marked with particularly nasty weather. It hovered around freezing with a drizzle that went back and forth between rain, sleet, and freezing rain. The only outing I had was at lunch to join my friend, Will, at La Careta for Mexican food. When I went out to my car at the end of the workday, it was encased in a thin sheet of ice that needed some time to melt before an ice scraper could begin to clear the windshield. I cancelled a planned trip to Manchester this evening and Michelle skipped a planned trip to a YMCA step class. I brought my work laptop home so that I could delay my commute in. It's just as well since Claire and Abby have a delayed start tomorrow morning.