Archive for the ‘Holidays and Special Dates’ Category
Merry Christmas from the PaperBackSwap Team
Saturday, December 24th, 2011Christmas Traditions
Saturday, December 24th, 2011
by Cynthia M. (clariail)
I was sitting at my desk the other day and thinking where has this year gone!
Thanksgiving is over and Christmas around the corner. These two holidays to me seem to have more tradition associated with them than any other and it made me wonder how some of them got started. Like, why do we decorate Christmas trees, why do you kiss someone that happens to be under the mistletoe, etc. Things like that. I figured if I didn’t know, chances are some others didn’t either.
If you already know, just pretend that it is a very interesting story that your Uncle Charlie is telling for the umpteenth time around the holiday table and you are doing the polite listening thing while you sit and try not to doze off after the huge meal you just had.
How did decorating Christmas trees get started?
The Christmas tree is thought to have originated in a play often performed in the Middle Ages during the Advent season. Based on the story of Adam and Eve, the play featured a Paradise Tree in the Garden of Eden that was decorated with apples to symbolize Eve’s temptation. The tree used in the play was an evergreen tree, which symbolized fertility and a renewal of life.
Later, in 16th century Germany, people would hang apples, gilded candies, colored paper, and roses from tree branches. Martin Luther, inspired by the beauty of stars shining through the branches of a fir tree, is credited with
being the first person to add lighted candles to a tree.
Some believe that King George, a native of Germany, brought the tradition of decorating a Christmas tree to England. Others credit Queen Victoria with bringing the tradition to England from Germany where her husband, Prince Albert, was raised.
An etching of the British royal family gathered around a Christmas tree in Windsor Castle in 1848 prompted the spread of this favorite decoration throughout Victorian England. The custom was brought to the United States when German immigrants in Pennsylvania continued to decorate Christmas trees just as they had done in their homeland.
Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25th?
There are many different theories as to how the date was chosen and I have listed two;
1) Early Christian tradition says that it was March 25th when Mary was told that she would have a child and nine months later would be Dec. 25th
2) December 25th might have also been chosen because the Winter Solstice and the ancient pagan Roman midwinter festivals called ‘Saturnalia’ and ‘Dies Natalis Solis Invicti’ took place in December around this date – so it was a time when people already celebrated things.
Why are you kissed if you stand under Mistletoe?
Mistletoe was said to be the sacred plant of Frigga, the goddess of love. When her son, Balder, dreamed of his death, Frigga rushed about seeking promises that her son would not die. Unfortunately, Balder’s enemy, Loki, tipped an 
arrow with Mistletoe and gave it to Hoder, the blind god of winter who killed Balder with it. He was brought back to life by his mother when she shed tears that turned into Mistletoe berries, so Frigga kissed everyone who passed under the tree on which it grew. From that time on, anyone who stood under the mistletoe would receive only a kiss; no harm could come to him.
Gift Giving
The first gifts given at Christmas were from the Magi (Wise Men) to Baby Jesus. Later, in Roman times, gift giving was popular during Saturnalia, a winter solstice celebration. The tradition as we know it today is derived from St. Nicholas, a bishop who was known for giving children presents..
What is the History of the Wreath?
Wreaths have a long history, dating back to ancient Druids who believed that holly, a perennial evergreen with lush, red berries, was a magical plant. Wreaths were first created when holly and other evergreens were arranged in a circular shape, a shape with no beginning or end, and therefore, synonymous with eternity.
What is the Origin of the Poinsettia?
In Mexico, a heart-warming story explains the origin of the poinsettia: On a Christmas Eve, long ago, a poor little boy went to church in great sadness because he had no gift to bring the Holy Child. He dared not enter the church, and, kneeling humbly on the ground outside the house of God, he prayed fervently and assured our Lord, with tears, how much he desired to offer him some lovely present –“But I am very poor and dread to approach you with empty hands.” When he finally rose from his knees, he saw springing up at his feet a green plant with gorgeous blooms of dazzling red.
What is the history of the Christmas Card?
The time-honored tradition of sending Christmas cards began more than 150 years ago in England. Sir Henry Cole, a renaissance man who wrote and published books on art and architecture, was too busy to write holiday greetings to friends and family, so he asked John Callcott Horsley, a well-known painter, to design a card with a single message that could be sent to everyone on his list.
Horsley created a lithographed, hand-colored sketch printed on cardboard. The illustration depicted a classic Victorian Christmas scene of a family merrily eating and drinking. The caption read, “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.”
Why are Candy Canes Bent?
In 1670, a choirmaster in Cologne, Germany, bent the ends to resemble a shepherd’s staff and handed them out to children during church services to keep them quiet. In the early 1900s, candy canes acquired their famous stripes. The first candy canes were straight, white sticks of sugar candy used as Christmas tree decorations.
I hope that you enjoyed reading about some of the history behind the traditions as I had fun looking them up. Now you are set to play a game of trivia if the occasion should arise.
To you and yours, I hope that you have a most Blessed and Merry Christmas!
The Legend of the Christmas Tree by Rick Osborne
The Whole Christmas Catalogue by Nancy Kalish, Naomi Black
The Solstice Evergreen: History Folklore and Origins of the Christmas Tree
by Sheryl Karas
The Everything Family Christmas Book by Yvonne Jeffrey
Solstice
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011By Cyn C. (Cyn-Sama)
I’m a happy little pagan, Unitarian Universalist. For me, some of the most important days of the years are the solstices. The Winter solstice symbolizes that light and warmth will come again, to illuminate the world, and bring days of warmth and bounty.
In the pagan tradition, Winter solstice is the night that the God is born, to grow up during the spring, marry, and then die in the autumn, (at Samhain), to be born again at the Winter solstice.
I celebrate the solstice by attempting to stay awake all through the long night, and sitting and reflecting by the light of one candle. As the sun starts to rise, I will use that one, lonely little candle, to light other candles throughout my house, to symbolize the warmth and light that will be returning.
Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to stay up all night to celebrate, as work kind of frowns on me being a zombie the next day from lack of sleep, but in my heart, I’ll be waiting through the snow of winter for green things to start growing again, and find comfort in the changing of the seasons.
Holiday Traditions – Joyous Pancha Ganpati
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011By Sonal S. (ComeGo)
Pancha Ganapati, a five day festival celebrated from December 21 through 25, is a Hindu festival in celebration of Lord Ganesha, Patron of Arts and Guardian of Culture.
Pancha Ganpati is a modern festival. It was conceived in 1985 by the founder of the publication “Hinduism Today” to offer Hindu families a way in the West to celebrate a time for celebration, gift giving, food and family in the month of December which sees many other celebrations such as Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanzaa.
Pancha Ganpati includes outings, picnics, feasts and exchange of cards and gifts with relatives, friends and business associates. A shrine is created in the main living room of the home and decorated in the spirit of this festive occasion. At the center is placed a large wooden or bronze statue of Lord Panchamukha (“five-faced”) Ganpati, a form of Ganesha – the elephant headed Hindu God of wisdom. It lasts five days- paanch (five in Hindi) from December 21-25. Each day is associated with a color and a ritual/meaning.
Yellow on 12/21 – Prayers, shrine setup, asking for blessings
Red on 12/22 – Gifts and apologies to family and friends
Blue on 12/23 – Gifts and thanks to employees and business associates
Green on 12/24 – Arts and cultural programs
Orange on 12/25 – Thanks and prayers to God, blessings for the new year are sought!
Hindu Festivals by Swasti Mitter
Hanukkah Guest Blog by Author Jeri Westerson
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011We are thrilled to have one of our favorite authors Guest Blog for us today! Thank you, Jeri Westerson! Happy Hanukkah to you and yours!
My Personal Hanukkah…With a Bit of Medieval Thrown in
By Jeri Westerson
Back in the days when I was a kid in school, I was more or less the token Jew. So every year I was asked by grade school teachers to give a presentation of the meaning of Hanukkah. And I was only too glad to do it, because I was a little tired of the well-meaning wishes that exhorted me to celebrate my “Jewish Christmas.”
I brought with me a tiny menorah, that eight-branched candelabra, one small enough to use birthday 
candles in it. I explained to my fellow classmates that each candle represented a day, and each day a miracle. That God allowed that the oil that was only enough to burn for one day miraculously burned for eight days in order to consecrate the Temple. I went on about the Maccabee brothers, showed how to play Dreidel, even led them in song with “Hanukkah, O Hanukkah.” You know the one. It goes like this:
Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah, come light the Menorah
Let’s have a party; we’ll all dance the hora
Gather round the table, we’ll all have a treat
Sivivon to play with, and levivot to eat.
And while we are playing
The candles are burning low
One for each night, they shed their sweet light
To remind us of days long ago-o-o-o.
One for each night, they shed their sweet light
To remind us of days long ago.
Sivivon are dreidels and levivot are potato pancakes.
My audience of grade schoolers were vaguely interested in these proceedings…until I mentioned that we got presents for EIGHT DAYS! Heads perked up. But don’t get excited. These were usually small gifts, 
chocolate money or real money called Hanukkah Gelt (that’s Yiddish for Hanukkah money) and little toys. Gift giving was very recent in terms of the timeline. It was more in response to the Gentile neighbors giving gifts for Christmas as Hanukkah always falls near Christmas, though the date changes. It can be as early as November and as late as the very end of December. That’s because Jews follow the lunar calendar which tracks the phases of the moon and the all the feasts and holidays are moveable (ever wonder why Easter moves around? It has to follow Passover, right? Be kind of silly if it didn’t.)
So what’s behind Hanukkah, anyway? Hanukkah, or the Dedicating of the Temple, or the Festival of Lights, comes from something called the Megillit Antiochus or the Scroll of Antioch, dating from somewhere between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE. The Books of Maccabees talks about a re-dedication of the Temple by Judah Maccabee, his brothers, and his army, but never specifically mentions a miracle, only that the celebration should last for eight days, which, indeed, most Jewish holidays do. (In Jewish numerology, Seven is the perfect number: seven days of creation, seven days of the week. But the number eight–God–is beyond perfect. Eight days old a boy is circumcised and brought into the covenant. Eight days for most Jewish celebrations.) It is this scroll that gives us the story of the miracle of the oil.
The Story: Around 175 BCE, Antiochus IV Epiphanes King of Greek Syria and other places, ruled over the Jews and outlawed Judaism, ordering a statue of Zeus to be erected in the temple. Not nice. The Maccabees revolted, won, and worked to reconsecrate the Temple, getting all that nasty gentile stuff out of there, building a new altar, etc. In order for the re-dedication to be complete, the menorah or candelabrum or multi-burning oil lamp was to burn for seven nights, but there was only enough consecrated oil to burn for one day and there was no time to get more. But it miraculously burned for eight days. Thus the eight day celebration.
In the Middle Ages, the Megillit Antiochus was read aloud in synagogues, a rabbinically declared holiday and a tale about Jews rising up against their oppressors. As you can imagine, such stories were pretty popular amongst Jews in the Middle Ages when they were always being oppressed. Jews reenacted the lighting of a menorah in the synagogues as well as in their homes. The proper way to light a menorah is to have it in a doorway. Not quite practical, so the next best thing is to have it in a window, fulfilling the rabbis decree to show the miracle to the world (which is why there are all those public displays of menorah lighting. It is NOT the Jewish answer to a public lighting of a Christmas tree. If anything, it’s the other way around.) Though for all that, Hanukkah was never a huge holiday. It was just one of many. Certainly not a High Holy Day like Rosh Hashonnah (Jewish New Year) or Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). It was another reminder to Jews of God’s miracles and His dedication to the Chosen People no matter where they found themselves and under what circumstances.
It is the Eastern European tradition of eating foods cooked in oil, foods such as latkes (potato pancakes) and donuts that make it especially fun. Can’t knock that. Playing the dreidel, a top with Hebrew letters on each of the four sides, is supposed to be a reflection of a game that the Maccabees played while waiting to attack their enemies. It’s like dice. It’s a gambling game. And very, very old.
So, a bit of old traditions blended with newer. That’s what makes a holiday in any language.
_______________________
Jeri Westerson writes a medieval mystery series featuring disgraced knight turned detective Crispin Guest. You can read excerpts of her books at www.JeriWesterson.com.
Below are Jeri Westerson’s Books
And her latest book the recently released Troubled Bones
Happy Chanukkah or Hanukkah or Chanuka or Hanukah or…..
Sunday, December 18th, 2011…..…you get the idea.
by Ani K. (goddessani)
What is it and why is it spelled so many ways??
Let’s start by telling you what it is NOT. It is NOT the Jewish Christmas (which doesn’t make sense on so many levels but whatever). Unlike Christmas, it doesn’t fall on the same day every year. The Judaic calendar is lunar based (13 months) and Chanukkah falls on the 25th day in the month of Kislev, which can fall anywhere between late November and late December. Last year it started on December 2nd and this year it starts on December 21st. All Jewish holidays begin at sunset of the day before, so the first candle will be lit on December 20th.
Chanukkah means “dedication” and commemorates the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C.E after Judah Maccabee removed the pagan statuary.
In 168 B.C.E. the Temple was taken over by Syrian-Greek soldiers. Because they feared reprisal if they fought back, the Jewish people left it alone. In 167 B.C.E., the Syrian-Greek emperor Antiochus made it punishable by death to observe Judaism.
The rebel Jewish Maccabee tribe regained control of the Temple in 165 B.C.E. In order to cleanse the Temple that had been spiritually defiled by others, the Jewish troops wanted to burn ritual oil in the Temple’s menorrah for eight days. However, they discovered there was only enough oil for one day’s worth of oil left in the Temple. Once they lit the menorah, the oil lasted the full eight days. Chanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, celebrates this.
Menorrahs , Latkes and Dreidels – Oh My!
A menorrah (or, more appropriately a hanukkiyah) is a candelabrum that holds 9 candles. One sits higher than the others and holds the shamash, or helper candle. It lights the other candles but is set apart from them. Each night, 
beginning on the right hand side, a candle is lit until on the 8th night, all 8 candles are lit. Specific prayers are said during the lighting ceremony.
Chanukkah is actually a very minor holiday. It has grown in spectacle in the last few years. I have no way of verifying this, but in my mind it became bigger with TV. Once the stations decided to become more PC and started mentioning Chanukkah, it seems as if it’s become bigger and bigger. In my own household, we’ve tried to keep it small. We gift our sons with gifts each night but the most expensive gift (usually given on the eighth night) costs no more than $25. We know others that spend more and some people who give no gifts.
While the first night is considered the most holy, a tradition begun in my family as I was growing up and that I’ve tried to continue is to have friends, both Jewish and Christian, over on 8th night. I’m not sure why my family started on that night but I think the hanukkiyah is the prettiest that night with all the candles burning. We play a version of the White Elephant game wherein I ask all guests to bring a wrapped gift that costs no more than $1. Even before the advent of Dollar Stores, it is amazing what you can find!
During Chanukkah, children often play with a dreidel which is a four sided top. On each side of the dreidel, there is a Hebrew letter. During the time the Syrian-Greeks had taken over, Jews were not allowed to openly practice their religion. When they would gather, they would bring along a dreidel. If soldiers appeared, they would pull out the dreidel and it would look as if they were playing a game. Jewish children still play as a remembrance of this time. Each Hebrew letter Nun, Gimmel, Hay and Pey stand for the Hebrew phrase, “Nes Gadol Haya Po” which means “A great miracle happened here.” Children play with gold wrapped chocolate coins, called gelt. Everyone starts with an equal portion of gelt. When the dreidel is spun, you must do something according to the Hebrew letter that lands upright.
Nun (nichts) means “nothing”. The spinner loses their turn and passes the dreidel to the next person.
Gimmel (ganz is Yiddish for everything) and the spinner gets everything in the pot.
Hey (halb) means half so the spinner gets half of everything in the pot.
Shin or Shem (shtel) stands for pay and the spinner must add another gelt to the pot.
When you run out of gelt, you’re out of the game. But as I was growing up, we all had to resettle at the end of the game and we all ended up with whatever we had started with!
One of the yummiest ways to celebrate is with our special foods! Latkes (a fried potato and onion pancake served with applesauce) and sufganiyot (a jelly filled doughnut, often covered in powdered sugar) are traditional treats. They are both fried foods to remind us of the miracle of the holiday.
So why all the different spellings of Chanukkah? Since its not an English word, there is no direct translation from the Hebrew to English. Where I was brought up, we spelt it Chanukkah (the CH is pronounced like the Scottish word loch). So that is the common spelling to me. But for others, it is spelled without the C, with only one K, no H on the end, etc. All forms are considered correct!
My First Menorah by Salina Yoon
World of Festivals: Hanukkah by D. Rose & A. Clark
The Very Best Hanukkah Gift by Joanne Rocklin
Latkes and Applesauce: A HannukahStory by Fran Manushkin
VostromoScope – SAGITTARIUS
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011By Greg (Vostromo)
Image courtesy of FreakingNews.com
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, except Ozzy Osbourne,
Who couldn’t find the bathroom;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that Clay Aiken soon would be there, so we could shut him up.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Miley Cyrus danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap,
Rather than listen to “Party in the USA” one more time.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up on the sash,
Because you shouldn’t get up that quickly after so much mead.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wandering eyes should appear,
But Marisa Tomei, Elisha Cuthbert, Lucy Liu,
Sarah Silverman, Jennifer Connelly, Katie Holmes,
Milla Jovovich, Kelly Brook, Tyra Banks,
Christina Applegate, Teri Hatcher, and —
Is that Don Cheadle? wtf? —
So I was feeling pret-t-ty good. Note to self: buy more mead.
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be Ted Nugent;
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name,
And I’m pretty sure he was thinking:
“Man, what a waste of some perfectly good flank steaks!”
“Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONDER and BLITZEN!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!
There’s a fully functioning handicapped-accessible toilet
Half a mile away in the strip mall, you can’t make it that far?
I am NOT cleaning all this up every damn year!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle,
Like Britney Spears in her heavier phases, they mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and CS Lewis, too,
So maybe he was onto something.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof —
No, wait, that’s just Bette Midler.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney Keith Richards came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
So clearly he’d been high for hours already. Quel surprise.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
I have GOT to lay off the late-night mead!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
‘Cause suddenly it all made sense: Keith Richards was Santa Claus!
That must be what “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” was really about!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know he was still banging twenty-year-olds.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings with autographed copies of “Life”;
Then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
I thought, good thing I used that creosote-removing log earlier in the week.
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“I’m Sagittarius, half-man, half-horse,
with a license to **** in the street!
Merry Keithmas to all!”
And to all, a Good Night.
What would Keith Richards Do by Jessica Pallington West
A Mother’s Gift by Britney Spears & Lynne Spears
by Jamie Marie Hall
