Wheel of the Year the last month of the old year and the first month of the new year and is followed by eleven days of extended celebration. In Roman traditions additional festivities take place during the six days leading up to Midwinter. As the first cross-quarter day following Midwinter this day falls on the first of February and traditionally marks the first stirrings of spring. It aligns with the contemporary observance of Groundhog Day. It is time for purification and spring cleaning in anticipation of the year's new life. In Rome, it was historically a shepherd's holiday, while the Celts associated it with
Ellis Valentine during the series' first season (original air date: March 25, 1978). Gary Burghoff plays an accountant with the fantasy of being a Major League Baseball pitcher. Valentine is one of his strikeout victims. After retiring from baseball, Valentine took a job with Avis Rent-a-Car earning $4.25 per hour. In his first baseball-related job since retirement, Valentine managed Antelope Valley in the short-lived Golden State League in . His tenure with the financially doomed league lasted just a week into the season. Valentine fought drug and alcohol addiction throughout his career. In September 1986, a year after retiring, he moved from