If you live in a northern part of the world like me, you're shivering your way through winter. January can be a dreary month with chilling temps. Here are thirteen facts to warm the cockles of your heart and help pass the time during those cold winter nights.

1. Harry Potter's mom, Lily, was born on January 30th 1960.
2. January 2nd is Introvert Day (aka my holiday).
3. People born in January have a strong motivation to succeed, gain power, and earn respect. They also tend to get jealous quickly.
4. In hoary Celtic tradition, January 5th was the end of the 12 days winter solstice celebration.
5. During Anglo-Saxon times, wolves were extremely active in January and led to it being called "wolf-month".
6. January 25th is Chinese New Year and is the year of the Rat.
7. The week of January 19th-25th is National Handwriting Analysis Week.
8. January's full moon is called the Full Wolf Moon. It will reach peak fullness at 2:21 PM EST on January 10th. Click here to ready why it's called the Full Wolf Moon.
9. On January 5th, the Earth will be at perihelion, the point in Earth's orbit where it is closest to the sun—only 91,398,199 miles away!.
10. On average, it is the coldest month in most of the northern hemisphere and the warmest in most of the southern hemisphere.
11. January is National Braille Literacy Month.
12. January 3rd is J.R.R. Tolkien Day.
13. And lastly, January was named for the Roman god, Janus. He is depicted with two faces, one looking into the past, and the other into the future. Very apt for the beginning of the year.

I hope you enjoyed these thirteen facts. Which one was your favorite? Anyone want to analysis their handwriting? Did the sun look closer January 5th?

I'm having fun with these posts, so I thought I'd make them a monthly feature. Since it's December and I'm sharing some facts about the Winter Solstice.

1. The date of the winter solstice varies from year to year, and can fall anywhere between December 20 and December 23
2. The solstice occurs at a specific time: when the instant the North Pole is aimed furthest away from the sun on the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth's axis
3. Barrow, Alaska, will not have a sunrise at all (and hasn't since mid-November; its next sunrise will be on January 22)
4. The modern Druidic celebration Alban Arthan reveres the death of the Old Sun and birth of the New Sun
5. Pierre and Marie Curie discovered radium on the day of the Winter Solstic
6. Stonehencge is aligned to the sunset on Winter Solstice
7. December 21, 2012 corresponded to the date 13.0.0.0.0 in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar used by the ancient Mayans, marking the end of a 5126-year cycle. Some people believed that meant the end of the world.
8. The term solstice comes from the Latin word solstitium, meaning 'the Sun stands still
9. Holidays celebrated around the Winter Solstice throughout the years are: Christmas, Feast of Juul, Saturnalia, and Chaomos
10. In Druidic traditions, the Winter Solstice is thought of as a time of death and rebirth when Nature’s powers and our own souls are renewed
11. A Yule—or Juul—log was brought in and burned on the hearth in honor of the Scandinavian god, Thor
12. The time it takes for the Sun to “move” from the vernal equinox to the Winter Solstice is 89.9 days
13. The Southern Hemisphere also celebrates a winter solstice, but it is around June 21st

I hope these facts warmed you up to cold winter days (at least if you're in the Northern Hemisphere. Those in the Southern are enjoying summer right now.) Have you been enjoying my 13 facts posts? Any suggestions for topics to cover?

Since Christmas is coming up, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas. I'll be taking the rest of the year off from blogging. I hope you all had a great 2019 and 2020 is even better. Thanks so much for visiting my blog, reading my posts, and commenting. I really value you all. I'd be very lonely given I'm a homebody with chronic illnesses and a messed up back. You give me someone to talk to and that means the world to me. Thanks so much. 💜

Since it's November and that means NaNoWriMo is going on, I thought I'd search out thirteen facts about writing that relate to November for you to enjoy while letting your muse have a breather before you dive back into your NaNo novel.

1. November 1st is National Author's Day
2. NaNoWriMo was founded by Chris Baty in July of 1999
3. NaNoWritMo began not because Baty and his friends "wanted to write novels for the same dumb reasons twenty-somethings start bands"
4. Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels was born on November 30 in 1667
5. On November 14th 1889, New York World reporter, Nellie Bly, set sail fro mNew York to put to test Jules Verne's 1873 novel, Around the World in Eighty Day. She completed the trip in 72 days, six hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds.
6. November is also National Blog Posting Month
7. November 24th 1859 Charles Darwin published his book Origin of the Species
8. November 29th 1641 England's first newspaper is published.
9. C.S. Lewis was born on November 29th 1898
10. Mouisa May Alcott was also born on November 29th but in 1832
11. Water for Elephants, Fangirl, and WOOL all began as rough drafts during NaNoWriMo
12. In 2018 2,791,454,312 words were written for NaNoWriMo
13. I was born on November 18th 1981 🙃

I hope you enjoyed my list of facts. It was a bit tricky coming up with enough variety and not just do birthdays or facts about NaNo.

With Halloween around the corner, I thought I'd hand out some fun facts about the best holiday ever. (If you disagree, you are wrong. 🤪)

1. Samhainophobia is the medical term for the irrational fear of Halloween. The root word is expressive of the ancient Celts who held a ceremony called Samhain in order to honor the harvest cycle.
2. Americans spend nearly $400 Million on Halloween pet costumes each year.
3. On Halloween in 1981, John Belushi got the hardcore punk band FEAR to play live on SNL, causing an estimated $200,000 in damages.
4. Many shelters won't allow black cats to be adopted around Halloween, for fear that they may be sacrificed or tortured.
5. All Hallows Eve, Witches Night, Lamswool, Snap-Apple Night, Samhain and Summer’s End are all names for Halloween.
6. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown aired in 1966 and is still a must watch Halloween show today.
7. The largest pumpkin on record weighed 2,625 pounds. The record was set in 2016.
8. Originally, you had to dance for treats.
9. Halloween has been recognized as the 3rd biggest party day following New Year’s Eve and Super Bowl Sunday.
10. In the USA, One-quarter of the candy sold annually is purchased over the Halloween.
11. The world’s fastest pumpkin carving time is 24.03 seconds that was created by Stephen Clarke.
12. Halloween is really old. It is believed that Halloween traditions began in the year 4,000 B.C., which means that humans have been celebrating Halloween for over 6,000 years.
13. The candy-drugging was a myth. In 1974 a young boy ate a piece of heroin laced candy which led to a mass fear of drug-laced candy being passed out during Halloween.  As it turns out, that young boy had gotten into his uncle’s drugs and it was never meant for the Halloween candy.

​Do you have any fun facts to share about Halloween? Will you be dressing up and trick-or-treating? What is your favorite candy? Did you know I have an annual book even at my other blog where authors hand out books like candy?

​It's Friday the 13th and to celebrate I went searching the internet for 13 facts about Friday the 13th.😱

1. The fear of Friday the 13th is known as paraskevidekatriaphobia.
2. 60 million people world-wide are affected by this phobia.
3. Tuesday the 13th is unlucky in Hispanic and Greek cultures, and Friday the 17th is unlucky in Italy.
4. 80% of high rise buildings in the U.S. don’t have a 13th floor.
5. The fear of the number 13 is triskaidekaphobia. 
6. Jason Voorhees has the most victims with 199 kills.
7. 13 is Taylor Swift's lucky number.
8. Black cats, which are often linked to Friday the 13th, and the number 13, are both feminine symbols.
9. Whenever January 1st falls on a Thursday (except in Leap Years), February, March, and November will all have a Friday the 13th.
10. Alfred Hitchcock Was Born on Friday, August 13 in 1899.
11. Since 1995, Finland has dedicated one Friday the 13th in a year to observe National Accident Day. 
12. The band Black Sabbath released its debut album on Friday, February 13, 1970.
13. ​Founded in 1882 by Capt. William Fowler, The Thirteen Club of New York was a group of skeptics who defied superstitions by hosting dinner parties on Friday the 13th.

​Do you know any fun facts about today? What is your favorite superstition? Do you believe Friday the 13th is unlucky? Or is it a lucky day for you?