23 February—Today, as good—or at least devout and/or knowledgeable—Christians will know, is Septuagesima Sunday, the first day of the—wait for it—Septuagesima season, the period of preparation for Lent. Vernal Advent. Does preparing for Lent include burning the chametz?

We’ll spare you the etymology of that eminently Roman Catholic-sounding Latin word. No we won’t. Septuagesima. Priests must love intoning it. But it’s just the feminine form of the Latin word for seventieth. Anyway, Septuagesima Sunday is only 63 days before Easter Sunday, but Septuagesima the period actually ends a week after Easter. There’s the 70. Go figure. In all events, Septuagesima Sunday is always the third Sunday before Ash Wednesday and, of course, the ninth Sunday before Easter.

You’ll forgive The Monitor if we fail to note Sexagesima Sunday, Quinquagesima Sunday, and Quadragesima Sunday, as they occur, the last being the first Sunday of Lent, 40 days before Easter.

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At the top of the Triumvirate of Evil’s wish list/agenda: Taiwan, Ukraine, Canada, Panama, Greenland. Does it matter who wants what?