I’M JUST CURIOUS: January and Garnet

Birthstones

by Debbie Walker

A while ago I wrote about the history of the Pom-poms on hats and how at one time, they designated a person’s rank or level of power by their color.

Recently I was reading about the origin of birthstones back to Bible times in the book of Exodus. They have been traced back to the 12 unique stones that represented the 12 tribes of Israel. Once again, this history has to do with symbolism of representation.

(It’s interesting to me to look things up with Google on the internet. Once you get there you can be led in so many different sites with yet more information. Sometimes it’s basically the same information researched and written by others.)

The Origins of Birthstones on Google tells you the birthstones are typically gifted for birthdays and anniversaries. They are rooted in history, each birthstone possesses unique properties and according to some experts , specific powers.

My birthstone is garnet for the month of January, and I am still waiting for my powers!

In 1912 the National Associations of Jewelers defined the modern-day lists of birthstones, and the list has remained unchanged. Today we have three separate lists of stones for each month, ancient, traditional, and modern.

Have you ever wondered about your birthstone? January is my month and garnet is my stone. I used the Farmer’s Almanac to look up info on this subject and as usual I found what I needed.

Garnet is known for its deep red hue (the color is like in the pomegranate). It has a history of it’s healing properties and folk lore.

I didn’t know until now that the garnet can come in other colors and even blues. I haven’t seen the blue one, as far as I know. I am happy with the garnet stone.

There are many websites on the computer about the garnet, as is with all the other birthstones. I will try to follow the column with more birthstone information.

Spring has sprung and here in Florida that just means the seven or eight months of hot have arrived. One of our avid Maine readers just moved to Florida and has to adjust to it all because the heat is here! When I moved here it was at the end of a New England summer, heat there and heat here wasn’t very different. Essentially the summer just all blended together. Naturally, as soon as he arrived here his air conditioner died on his truck, and he is not liking that. I keep telling him to just think snow, it will make the adjusting easier. In the mean time he has an appointment to remedy that problem.

Recently, I figured out an answer to the spring house cleaning projects. I realized whenever I moved I seemed to have avoided a spring cleaning project of my own. This year will be no exception. By the time you are reading this I will have moved again. Maybe I just like buying or making new curtains and other fabric projects. I am not much of a Harriet Housewife for the cleaning, BUT I do enjoy sewing.

Sorry it took so long to get back. I am just curious if I will be remembered! It has been a while. Please contact me with any questions or comments at DebbieWalker@townline.org. Have a great week!