Halcyon Days...

Halcyon Days...

In Greek mythology, Alcyone the daughter of Aeolus was happily married to Ceyx, son of Eosphorus, the Morning Star. They often sacrilegiously called each other "Zeus" and “Hera”, which provoked Zeus’s anger who transformed them to Halcyon birds, a kind of kingfisher birds. The “Halcyon Days” state the 14 days each year (seven days on either side of the shortest day of the year) during which Alcyone (as a kingfisher) laid her eggs and made her nest on the beach and during which her father Aeolus, god of the winds, restrained the winds and calmed the waves so she could do so in safety. The phrase has since come to refer to the days of calm and mild weather set in the height of winter for the sake of the kingfishers' egglaying. During these days the trees are hasting to bloom heralding the coming of the spring… so did the old apple tree in my garden.