Today in Norway is Tyvendedagen (Twentieth Day, after Christmas). As this site explains:

“Saint Knut drives Christmas away,” is an old folk saying which explains why, in many country areas it was customary on this day to hold the traditional “Christmas race.” People piled into their sleighs and sledges and drove madly across ice-bound lakes and frosty roads to the accompaniment of joyous shouts and merrily jingling bells; for, according to ancient superstition trolls, led by the troll woman herself, Kari-Tretten, or Karl the Thirteenth, raced over the frozen countryside on the night of January 13.

On Tyvendedagen, which marks the official end of Yuletide and is the last day the greeting “Glaedelig Jul,” “Merry Christmas,” is used, Christmas trees are dismantled and decorations carefully packed away until the following year. Generally the tree is chopped up and burned in the fireplace. The last Christmas parties are held, the final festivities attended on this day.

1695 – Jonathan Swift was ordained an Anglican priest in Ireland

1832 – Horatio Alger was born. Alger, the American author of boy’s adventure stories whose heroes lead exemplary lives and strive to succeed in the face of adversity and poverty, also has the following epitaph on his tombstone: “Here lies a good fellow who spent his life while he had it.”

1884 – Sophie Tucker, American entertainer/singer and the “last of red hot mammas.” was born in Russia. Below is her signature song Some of These Days.

1901 – A.B. Jr. Guthrie, American novelist, was born. Guthrie once said: “Nouns and verbs are the guts of the language. Beware of covering up with adjectives and adverbs.”

1981- The Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to May Swenson & Howard Nemerov.  A poem by each is found below.

The Lowering
by May Swensen

The flag is folded
lengthwise, and lengthwise again,
folding toward the open edge,
so that the union of stars on the blue
field remains outward in full view;
a triangular folding is then begun
at the striped end,
by bringing the corner of the folded edge
to the open edge;
the outer point, turned inward along the open edge,
forms the next triangular fold:
the folding continued so, until the end is reached,
the final corner tucked between
the folds of the blue union,
the form of the folded flag is found to resemble that
of a 3-cornered pouch, or thick cocked hat.

Take this flag, John Glenn, instead of a friend;
instead of a brother, Edward Kennedy, take this flag;
instead of a father, Joe Kennedy, take this flag;
this flag instead of a husband, Ethel Kennedy, take this flag;
this 9-times-folded red-white-striped, star-spotted-blue flag,
tucked and pocketed neatly,
Nation, instead of a leader, take this folded flag.
Robert Kennedy, coffin without coverlet,
beside this hole in the grass,
beside your brother, John Kennedy,
in the grass,
take, instead of a country,
this folded flag;
Robert Kennedy, take this
hole in the grass.

A Life
by Howard Nemerov

Innocence?
In a sense.
In no sense!

Was that it?
Was that it?
Was that it?

That was it.