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This routine may be used as a template for calculating the date of any of the days of observance based on Easter in this fashion. The required changes are the name of routine, the value to be subtracted from or added to jd, and the addition or subtraction operation itself. |
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A second approach to these functions shortens the length of the source code and increases the execution time by using the days-before and days-after functions in place of the Julian Day number calculations. Writing the code in this form results in a template like the following: |
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#include "scdtl_2.h"
#include "scdtl_4.h"
struct DATE_INFO collop_monday (int year)
{
struct DATE_INFO date_1, date_2;
date_1 = easter (year);
date_2 = date_N_days_before_date (48, &date_1);
return (date_2);
} |
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Table 6.1 defines most of the common days of observance based on the date of Easter (E) and gives their associated value. |
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Each of the days listed previously has a long and interesting history. Quite a few are pagan holidays appropriated by the Church. The interested reader should consult one or more of the sources listed in the bibliography (Appendix D) which describe the lore of various days of observance. Here, I will briefly touch on one of these days and introduce some food for further thought. |
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Quite a few countries have preserved a tradition of preparing pastries and related food items just prior to the season of Lent. The original prohibition of the Lenten period concerned lacticinia, or dairy products. This prohibition was expanded to include eggs and meat and is effectively a prohibition against the consumption of protein. The word ''carnival", for example, is derived from the Latin phrase carnem levare, meaning "to take away the meat". The medical consequences of this Church dogma have only been partially explored. |
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The origin of the pastry tradition is undoubtedly rooted in domestic economy. The medieval housewife, faced with an impending Lenten prohibition, would have to decide between throwing away a stock of perishable food items, such as butter and eggs, or using them. Pastry is the inevitable result. |
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The word "collop" refers to meat, and probably earlier to meat prepared with egg, so the English Collop Monday is another manifestation of the pre-Lenten desire to reduce the outstanding inventory of lacticinia by bingeing on the prohibited food group. |
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In Iceland, this day is called Bun Day. The first person to rise from bed is entitled to whack the backside of any still-abed companions with a stick, earning a sweet bun |
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