Friday Five- options, options edition"

Sally says;"There is so much going on this weekend that I thought I'd provide an options Friday 5!!!!.First Superbowl ( someone explain to this Brit the significance)- love it or hate it?5 reasons please!!!!!.Second Candlemas/ Imbloc/ Groundhog day/ St Brigid's day- all of these fall on either the 1st or 2nd February."

1. Do you celebrate one or more of these? Certainly not the Superbowl! (Sorry Sally, I can't explain the significance, I don't get it myself!) I did have good intentions of learning about football at one point in my life in solidarity to Dear One, but finally came to the conclusion after having to be patiently retaught the basics at the beginning of every season that it was not sticking because I really couldn't care enough about the game to learn it.

2. How? Having said that, however, I am going to a Superbowl party Sunday. I have been assured I won't have to watch too much of the game! We will enjoy the commercials and those of us who are not football inclined will chat and do other things to save our sanity for the duration.

3. Is this a bit of fun or deeply significant? The fun of gathering with friends and giving a bit of a a hard time to those who do take it all Very Seriously!

4. Are festivals/ Saints days important to you? Growing up Roman Catholic Saints Days and Saints in general loomed large. But it was the Big Ones. The saints who had gone through that exhaustive process to be canonized. Moving to the Episcopal church, I really like our take on it....saints are all of us first of all, but the ones on the calendar are people who have served God or humanity in some way and get recgnized for that...but they don't have to have worked miracles or go through "canonizing" the way the ones of my childhood did. New ones get added...there are people from the civil rights movement as well as clerics from two hundred years ago. I like the egalitarianism of it as well as the fact that "sainthood" is seen as doing God's work on earth in many different ways. I like to notice and recognize whose "day" it is in the lectionary...if I have time look them up if I don't know who they are, say a quick "thanks" on their day.

5.Name your favourite Saints day/ celebration. St. Francis of Assissi and blessing of the animals...I keep hoping we can get our act together and do it at our church.

Bonus- 2nd Feburary is also my Birthday- I will donate £1.00 for every comment on my Friday Five Post to the Methodist Relief and Development Fund. Thanks Sally, and Happy Birthday!