A Word From Karen

If you’re a redhead in Scotland on New Year’s Day, call ahead before visiting. Make sure the tall, dark-haired visitor has arrived first to bring luck to the coming year. On Jan. 10, if you are still in Scotland, you’ll find young men whirling balls of burning rope around their heads in Stonehaven for the Fireball-Whirling Ceremony. Fire ceremonies date back centuries. Fire in the New Year symbolizes bringing the light of knowledge from one year to the next, putting the darkness of the past behind you and carrying forward the flame of hope and enlightenment.

The largest fire ceremony in the world, Up Helly Aa, is celebrated on the last Tuesday in January every year on an island off the northern coast of Great Britain. To read all about this homage to the Vikings, go to In a Nutshell. Keep reading to find out how to use your time wisely this year.

Also in January, throughout Great Britain you will find Blessing of the Plough ceremonies, especially at Chichester and Exeter, on the first Sunday after Jan. 6. Before winter wheat was sown in autumn, ploughing started again after Christmas.

Take the chill off your brain this season by unscrambling winter words in Treehouse Games. Then jump over to Treehouse Trivia to learn the proper use of Frankenstein and to find out just how funny science can be.

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