Chocolate Candy

Chocolate Candy. The Hub Radio Show for Monday December 30, 2020. View the completely sweet playlist for 12-30-20 (CLICK HERE)

Bright Eyes, Margo Price, Angel Olsen, Jeff Tweed, Told Slant 

Chocolate comes from a bean called Theobroma cacao. The word "chocolate" itself comes from the Spanish, and it stems from the Aztec word xocolatl, which means "bitter water." The Aztecs pounded the cacao beans and drank them without adding any sugar, and they thought the beans came from the gods. Indeed, Theobroma means "food of the gods." Cocoa beans are about 50% "cocoa butter" and 50% "chocolate liquor." Hernando Cortés brought cocoa beans back to Spain, and a chocolate drink that included sugar became popular right away. The word "chocolate" first appeared in print, in England, in 1604. 

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice. The 16th Annual Holiday Hub on The Hub Radio Show, Monday December 21, 2020. View the completely sweet playlist for 12-21-20 (CLICK HERE)

Bob's Burgers, The Archives , Landlady, Odd Robot, Pearl Charles, White Owl Red

Although the instant of the solstice can be calculated, direct observation of the solstice by amateurs is impossible because the sun moves too slowly or appears to stand still (the meaning of "solstice"). However, by use of astronomical data tracking, the precise timing of its occurrence is now public knowledge. One cannot directly detect the precise instant of the solstice (by definition, one cannot observe that an object has stopped moving until one later observes that it has not moved further from the preceding spot, or that it has moved in the opposite direction.) Furthermore, to be precise to a single day, one must be able to observe a change in azimuth or elevation less than or equal to about 1/60 of the angular diameter of the Sun. 
 

Halcyon Days

Halcyon Days. The Hub Radio Show for Monday December 14, 2020. View the completely medieval playlist for 12-14-20 (CLICK HERE)

Phoebe Bridgers, Waxahatchee, Tennis , U.S. Girls, adrianne lenker 

The Halcyon is a bird of Greek legend and the name is now commonly given to the European Kingfisher. The ancients believed that the bird made a floating nest in the Aegean Sea and had the power to calm the waves while brooding her eggs. Fourteen days of calm weather were to be expected when the Halcyon was nesting - around the winter solstice, usually 21st or 22nd of December. The Halcyon days are generally regarded as beginning on the 14th or 15th of December.
The kingfisher is associated with other powers relating to the weather. In medieval times it was thought that if the dried carcass of a kingfisher was hung up it would always point its beak in the direction of the wind [don't try this at home].