Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"Christians often focus on marriage as the most important relationship in a person's life. But here's the thing: Jesus never got married. The primary mode of relationship that the perfect human being lived in was friendship. We should probably take friendship more seriously.

"This is not to denigrate marriage. Marriage is profoundly important, the primary picture of God's faithfulness to the church, an antidote to the unrooted and fruitless nature of modern society. But friendship is at the root of even that relationship. It deserves more thought.

"We certainly shouldn't treat marriage less seriously, but we should treat friendship more seriously."

-- Joy Marie Clarkson (joynessthebrave), 2019-01-08 [and yes, I realize not all marriages are as friendly as they ought to be, alas]

Today is Wren Day, the sixth day of Yule, the second day of Christmas (Boxing Day¹, St. Stephen's Day, Synaxis of the Theotokos for new-calendar Orthodox), the first day of Kwanzaa, the 230th birthday of Charles Babbage, the 150th anniversary of the debut of the debut of the first Gilbert & Sullivan collaboration, and the 30th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

¹Wikipedia notes "In recent years, the day after Christmas Day, 26 December, is termed 'Boxing Day' even when this falls on Sunday, though traditionally Monday 27 December would be Boxing Day" [when the 26th is a Sunday], and a quick check of news articles about Boxing Day this year all said it was today. Google Calendar shows today, tomorrow and the 28th as being Boxing Day for different places.