AUR recognizes the space between the end of Christmas season (Epiphany) and the beginning of the Easter season (Carnival) as an important Interval marking the mid-point of the life of Jesus, which is undocumented in the canonical Gospels and shrouded in mystery, and the mid-point of Winter.

12 Days of Defiance begin on the 7th, celebrated with the colors blue and green.
Feast of St. Lucian, commemorating the martyrdom of the teacher of Arius, on January 7th
John Hancock Day, birthday of this Unitarian signer of the American Declaration of Independence, on the 12th
Nika Week, commemorating the Nika riots and massacre, from January 13th to 18th. In 532, two previously warring religious/political/sports factions (the Blues and the Greens) joined together to rise against Emperor Justinian, shouting “Nika!” (victory) in the Hippodrome of Constantinople. The Blues had joined the Greens even though they were supported by Justinian. In the massacres that followed, thirty thousand Blues and Greens were murdered by Justinian’s forces.

12 Days of Action begin on the 19th with the colors of red and white.
Feast of the International Family, on the 19th, commemorating the family of Maris and Martha, aristocratic Persians who emigrated to Rome to assist Christians being persecuted there. These two and their sons were tortured and executed for their good deeds.
(Earliest possible date for the 12 Days of Carnival, the 23rd)
Sleds and Cannons, on the 24th, commemorating the remarkably speedy arrival in Cambridge, Mass., of Henry Knox and the cannons of Fort Ticonderoga in just 56 days. After a heavy snowfall threatened to slow the transport, Knox’s patriots resorted to sleds, transforming a seeming setback into a boon by accomodating providence rather than resisting it.
Spear King’s Day, on the 25th, commemorates the death of Arian king Geiseric who, despite persecution of Unitarian Arians, gave Catholics freedom of religion under his reign and established a progressive tax system, providing relief to the common people.
Day of the Spark, on the 30th, commemorates the delivery of the Discourse on Submission by proto-Unitarian minister Jonathan Mayhew on the 100th anniversary of the execution of King Charles I in 1649. This sermon, called the spark that ignited the American Revolution by John Adams, unravelled the scriptural underpinning of the divine right of kings.
(Latest possible day for the 12 Days of Carnival, 26th of February)