26 September 18

Happy Horse Day! This is one of those occasions when I call attention to the old French Republican Calendar, which was designed in the 1790s to remove religious or mythical references. It recognized the annual seasonal cycles and broke up the year into twelve months, with three ten-day cycles in each month instead of the traditional 7-day "weeks." To glorify the spirit of agricultural labor, each day was assigned to honor a crop or an animal or a farm tool. Today, which is 5 Vendémiaire on the calendar, celebrates Cheval (the horse). My maroon tie shows a horse and rider!