Dear friends and supporters,
If you’re new here, the About page on my Substack will tell you more about Thyme, Place & Story, and what to look for during the month.
If you’ve been around for a while, thank you for your friendship and support. You are deeply appreciated!
To all, welcome to 2026, and to twelve more pages on a calendar that may help us connect to our planet, to cultural practices, and to other times and seasons, everywhere.
January’s Special Days: A Potpourri of Celebrations
Herb of the Year for 2026: Turmeric (Curcuma longa).
In the Celtic calendar, January includes two tree months: Birch (Dec 24-Jan 20), symbolizing new beginnings; and Rowan (Jan 21-Feb 17), associated with protection and courage.
In the Zodiac, January includes the seasons of Capricorn (Dec 21-Jan 19); and Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18).
Flower of the Month: Carnation, symbolizing love, fascination, distinction.
January is Hot Tea Month (of course).
Week 1
January 6. Twelfth Day, the last day of the Christmas season and the traditional time for taking down the tree. In case you’re tempted to skip it, folklore suggests that you might be in for a bit of bad luck.
January 8. Watch for Episode 16 of the China Bayles serial mystery, A Bitter Taste of Garlic, kicking off a year of mystery reads here on Substack. (And for friends of the Darling Dahlias: they will be joining us here later in the year.)
January 11. National Hot Toddy Day. Just the excuse you need. And here’s a classic.
Week 2
January 12. What’s in a name? Soybeans, it turns out. On this day in 1943, the U.S. government announced that the name “Victory Sausages” would replace “frankfurters” for the duration of the war against Germany—and that meat would be replaced by soybean meal. Also: I’ll show up in your inbox with a LifeScapes post.
January 13. In pre-Christian Ireland, the Feast of Brewing was celebrated about this time. In other words, bottoms up.
January 17. If you haven’t had enough drinking time yet, this is the traditional Wassail Night in England’s West Country: time to wassail your apple tree. (Invite the neighbors, so they don’t get suspicious and call the police.)
January 18. The Sun moves into the Zodiac sign of Aquarius, and Aquarius Season begins.
Week 3
January 21. The Celtic Month of the Rowan begins today. (Read about it in China Bayles’ always-thymely Book of Days).
January 25. The Scottish poet Robert Burns was born on this day in 1759. Fans and friends celebrate with a Burns Night supper.
Week 4
January 26. Yesterday was National Irish Coffee Day. It’s not too late to celebrate! (And yes, coffee is indisputably an herb!)
January 27. National Chocolate Cake Day. I know you know how to celebrate. But do you know that chocolate is an herb, too?
How Our Foremothers Coped with Sore Throats
From The Kalendar of Shepheardes, 1604:
Honey and sugar are good for the throat, also butter with a little salt, liquorice, soft eggs, hyssop, a mean [moderate] manner of eating and drinking, and sugar candy. Evil for the throat: Mustard, much lying on the breast, pepper, anger, things roasted, lechery, much working, too much rest, much drink, smoke of incense, old cheese and all sour things are naughty for the throat.
Sore throats have been high on the list of family illnesses for eons, and every home medical manual offers several herbal remedies. Here are a few of Great-Grandmother’s nineteenth-century prescriptions for curing a nagging sore throat. These also illustrate the importance of the herbal pharmacy. (But please—get your flu shot. This year’s mutated flu virus is proving especially severe.)
Apply a poultice: The pulp of a roasted apple, mixed with an ounce of tobacco, the whole wet with spirits of wine, or any other high spirits, spread on a linen rag, and bound upon the throat at any period of the disorder.—The American Frugal Housewife, Mrs. Child, 1833
Simmer a syrup: Take of poplar bark and bethroot [lamb’s quarters, Chenopodium album], each 1 lb.; water, 9 quarts; boil gently in a covered vessel 15 or 20 minutes; strain through a coarse cloth; add 7 lbs. loaf sugar, and simmer till the scum ceases to rise.—Family Hand Book, 1855
Suck on a candy: Horehound lozenges are good for a sore throat. A Dictionary of Every-Day Wants, by A. E. Youman, M.D. 1878
Deploy a funnel: Take rosemary tops, about a handful, put them into a basin, and pour a pint of boiling hot verjuice upon it; then cover it over with a tin funnel, the broad side downwards, and the steam will come through the nozzle of the funnel; then hold your mouth over the steam till it is gone down your throat.--Family Receipt Book, 1819 [Verjuice is a highly acidic juice made by pressing unripe grapes, crab-apples or other sour fruit. Vinegar is an acceptable substitute.]
Try a few onions: Water-gruel [a thin oatmeal porridge], with three or four onions simmered in it, prepared with a lump of butter, pepper, and salt, eaten just before one goes to bed, is said to be a cure for a hoarse cold.—The American Frugal Housewife, Mrs. Child, 1833
If all else fails, indulge in a hot toddy and a cuddle: Before retiring soak the feet in mustard water as hot as can be endured . . . . On getting into bed take a hot camphor sling. [A hot toddy made with brandy or rum, honey, and tincture of camphor.] Rub the bridge of the nose between the eyes with a little oil. Cuddle in bed and sleep it off.—Healthy Living, 1850-1870, compiled by Katie F. Hamilton
And for an up-to-date review of 15 science-supported herbal remedies, with research links and herbal recipes, go here.
Your January To-Do List
To celebrate Hot Tea Month, read a good book on the remarkable universe of tea:
A Thirst for Empire: How Tea Shaped the Modern World, by Erika Rappaport;
The Tea Lover’s Bible: The Complete Guide to Exploring the World of Tea and Its Health Benefits, by Lydia Merrill;
Healing Herbal Teas, by Sarah Farr.
Make your own Victory Sausages. These sausages were not much liked in the 1940s, not even when the newfangled hot dogs bore the flag-raising slogan, “less meat and more patriotism.” Given the current plight of our planet and concern for our health, your homemade meatless, gluten-free soy-free sausages are likely to be cheered.
Wassailing is the traditional practice of encouraging the tree spirits to boost the harvest in the coming year. It happens around Twelfth night and involves singing, dancing, and general merriment around your backyard apple tree. Here’s how to make the traditional cider drink, spiked or booze-free. Share with the neighbors. No apple tree? Try wassailing a rose bush—you never know.
On Chocolate Cake Day, impress your family with this one-bowl wonder. Rich dark chocolate with an intense espresso flavor, celebrating Irish Coffee Day, too! Bonus with this recipe: how to make your own espresso powder.
Read about Robert Burns and listen to a wee bit of Scottish music—bagpipes, preferably. Or, if you’re really ambitious (wi’ a mickle o’ Scots blood in your veins), you could host a bonnie Burns supper for friends. Some cullen skink, perhaps? Or haggis, bridies, neeps, or tatties? For a muckle o’ traditional Scottish recipes, check out this collection.
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.
—Robert Burns, The Selkirk Grace
Reading is a radical act. If you’re looking for ways to inform yourself as a citizen, join the 2026 Guerrilla Readers, a courageous band of people who still believe that reading deeply—especially in challenging times—is an act of resistance, revolution, and repair. We’ll likely read three or four books together this year. I’m collecting your suggestions for important nonfiction on politics, climate change, the media, technology, culture. You can leave your suggestions in the comments or reply to this newsletter. To give you some ideas, here’s what we read last year.
Thanks for reading, everyone! China and I will drop in on Thursday with the next episode of the China Bayles mystery serial, A Bitter Taste of Garlic, and the accompanying Reader’s Notebook (for paid subscribers). The Notebook includes my commentary on the developing story, the writing (and the adapting) process, and the genre, as well as crafting and cookery inspired by the story. You’ll find all the previous episodes on my Substack site. (Notebooks, too.)
Now that I know it's a thing, I'm going to wassail my apple and pear trees on January 17th! Thanks for the abundance of knowledge you share, Susan. :)
Looking forward to you columns this year!