The Twelve Days of Crisp Math – Day 6

Ah, the halfway point of the Twelve Days of Crisp Math. On Day 1, I explained why this numerical holiday has 12 days. But you may be wondering why there are Twelve Days of Christmas. The Christian holiday of Epiphany occurs on January 6, and traditional Christmas celebrations lasted from December 25 through January 6, a period of 12 days.

Perhaps more interesting, though, is that the Christmas celebration sometimes lasted all the way to Candlemas. There was a belief that Candlemas could be used to predict the weather:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Candlemas bring clouds and rain,
Go, Winter, and come not again.

Candlemas is celebrated on February 2, and the poem above explains the traditions that we now observe on Groundhog Day.

This concludes your history lesson for the day. Now, how about a joke for the Sixth Day of Crisp Math?

Two hyperbolas were sitting on a plane.

The first hyperbola says to the other, “I sure wish I could oscillate.”

The second one replies, “Holy cow! A talking hyperbola!”