Wednesday, December 31, 2003  

Hogmanay

For an event so often fuelled by alcohol, it's not surprising the exact meaning of the word Hogmanay has been lost and confused over at least six centuries.

In 1993, Edinburgh started promoting its Hogmanay as one of the world's largest street parties. It soon grew beyond comfortable limits, with an estimated crowd in excess of 200,000 jammed into Princes Street for the Millennium Hogmanay. Edinburgh City Council has since limited the official ticket sales to 100,000.

The most revered Hogmanay ritual is first-footing - a custom that dates back to Viking days. By tradition, a tall dark stranger could bring good luck to a house by turning up to first-foot (being the first foot into the home from outside), preferably right after the bells at midnight. The darker the man's complexion the better, since no one wanted a Viking turning up on their doorstep, which that could only mean bad news. A first-footer traditionally brings "the water of life," or single malt scotch whiskey and a piece of coal to warm the family hearth.

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Friday, December 26, 2003

Today is now the 26th of December 2003. It's Boxing Day.

Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. It falls on December 26th, which is also St. Stephen's Day. St. Stephen was a little known saint who achieved eternal fame by being the first Christian to be martyred for his faith. Boxing Day is so called because on this day it was the customary for tradesmen to collect their Christmas boxes or gifts in return for good service throughout the year. Also, it included giving money and other gifts to charitable institutions, and the needy. The holiday may date from as early as the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is not known. It may have begun with the Lords and Ladies of England, who gave there Christmas boxes/gifts to their servants on December 26, or maybe by priests, who opened the church's alms (charity boxes), and distributed the contents to the poor and needy. Nowadays, we often see, in certain families, gifts (boxes) given to those who provide services throughout the year.

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Thursday, December 25, 2003

Today is Thursday, Dec. 25, the 359th day of 2003, with six to follow.

This is Christmas Day.

Those born on this date include British mathematician, physicist and astronomer Sir Isaac Newton in 1642; American Red Cross founder Clara Barton in 1821; French painter Maurice Utrillo in 1883; jazz pioneer Edward "Kid" Ory in 1886; hotelier Conrad Hilton in 1887; English author Rebecca West in 1892; Robert "Believe It or Not" Ripley in 1893; actor Humphrey Bogart in 1899; jazz bandleader Cab Calloway in 1907; Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1918; TV writer Rod Serling in 1924; singers Jimmy Buffett in 1946 (age 57) and Barbara Mandrell in 1948 (age 55); actors Gary Sandy in 1945 (age 58) and Sissy Spacek in 1949 (age 54); singer Annie Lennox in 1954 (age 49); and comedian Norm McDonald in 1962 (age 41).

On this date in history:

In 1066, William the Conqueror was crowned King William I of England.

In 1818, the first known Christmas carol was sung at Oberndorf, Austria. It was "Silent Night, Holy Night," composed by organist Franz Gruber and Father Joseph Mohr.

In 1939, after auditioning hundreds for the role, producer David O. Selznick chose British actress Vivien Leigh to play Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With The Wind."

In 1941, British Hong Kong surrendered to advancing Japanese forces.

In 1985, Mexico City police discovered a major museum theft of pre-Columbian treasures.

In 1986, the hijackers of an Iraqi Airways Boeing 737 en route from Baghdad to Amman, Jordan, exploded grenades, causing a fiery crash in Saudi Arabia. Sixty-seven of the 107 people aboard died.

In 1989, ex-Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife and second-in-command, Elena, were executed. The United States officially recognized the new Romanian government.

In 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev was given direct control of the Soviet Cabinet and all government ministries in a major widening of his power.

In 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as the Soviet president. The next day, the Supreme Soviet voted to end the Soviet Union.

In 1995, actor-singer Dean Martin died at the age of 78.

In 1996, "Tickle Me Elmo" was the hottest Christmas gift of the year.

In 2000, President Clinton offered a Middle East peace plan that, among other things, included proposals for Israel to give up sovereignty over the Temple Mount and for Palestinians to surrender right of refugees to return to Israel.

In 2002, Iran and Russia signed an agreement to complete a nuclear power plant in southern Iran.

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Christmas

Following is a by-no-means-complete list of traditions as they are celebrated in other parts of the world.

Czechoslovakia

Celebrations for Christmas begin with the visit of St. Nicholas on December 6th and end with the visit of the Three Kings. St. Nicholas is called Svaty Mikalas and is believed to climb to earth down from heaven on a golden rope along with his companions: an angel and a whip-carrying devil. It's said that a girl can tell her future by putting a cherry twig in water on December 4th. If the twig blossoms before Christmas Eve, the girl will marry sometime during the year. The famous King Wenceslas of the Christmas Carol was a real King in this country. His goodness and his beliefs in Christianity infuriated his mother, and his brother murdered him on the Church steps. Before he died he asked for God's mercy for his brother's evil act. He became the patron saint of Czechoslovakia.

China

The Christian children of China decorate trees with colorful ornaments. These ornaments are made from paper in the shapes of flowers, chains and lanterns. They also hang muslin stockings hoping that Christmas Old Man will fill them with gifts and treats. The Chinese Christmas trees are called "Trees of Light." Santa Claus is called Dun Che Lao Ren which means "Christmas Old Man." The non-christian chinese call this season the Spring Festival and celebrate with many festivities that include delicious meals and pay respects to their ancestors. The children are the main focus of these celebrations, they receive new clothes and toys, eat delectable food and watch firecrackers displays.

Mexico

Mexicans share many traditions with the spanish. Their main Christmas celebration is called La Posada, which is a religious procession that reenacts the search for shelter by Joseph and Mary before the birth of Jesus. During the procession, the celebrants go from house to house carrying the images of Mary and Joseph looking for shelter. Santa Claus is not predominant, but the bright red suit is represented in the traditional flower of the season, the poinsettia. The mexican children receive gifts. On Christmas day they are blindfolded and taken to try and break a decorated clay pinata that dangles and swings at the end of a rope. Once the pinata has been broken, the children clamor to recover the candy that was inside. Those children who have been good also on January 6th receive a gift from the Three Wise Men.

Africa

Christmas in South Africa is a summer holiday. There is no snow, but it has many flowers, many beautiful varieties of cultivated and wild flowers being in their full pride. In the cities and towns carollers make their rounds on Christmas Eve. Church services are held on Christmas morning. Christmas Eve celebrations in larger centres include "Carols by Candlelight" and special screen and floor shows. Homes are decorated with pine branches, and all have the decorated Christmas fir in a corner, with presents for the children around. At bedtime on Christmas Eve, children may also hang up their stockings for presents from Father Christmas. Many South Africans have a Christmas dinner in the open-air lunch. For many more, it is the traditional dinner of either turkey, roast beef, mince pies, or suckling pig, yellow rice with raisins, vegetables, and plum pudding, crackers, paper hats, and all. In the afternoon, families go out into the country and usually there are games or bathing in the warm sunshine, and then home in the cool of the evening.

Bethelehem

In Bethlehem, the town where Jesus is said to have been born, is the site of the Church of the Nativity, which is ablaze with flags and decorations on every Christmas. On Christmas Eve natives and visitors alike crowd the church's doorways and stand on the roof to watch for the dramatic annual procession. Galloping horsemen and police mounted on Arabian horses lead the parade. They are followed by solitary horseman carrying a cross and sitting astride a coal-black steed. Then come the churchmen and government officials. The procession solemnly enters the doors and places an ancient effigy of the Holy Child in the Church. Deep winding stairs lead to a grotto where visitors find a silver star marking the site of the birth of Jesus. Christian homes in Bethlehem are marked by a cross painted over the door and each home displays a homemade manger scene. A star is set up on a pole in the village square.

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Monday, December 22, 2003

Why do people give each other presents on Christmas day?

The tradition of gifts seems to have started with the gifts that the wise men (the Magi) brought to Jesus. However, no one was really in the habit of exchanging elaborate gifts until late in the 1800s. The Santa Claus story, combined with an amazing retailing phenomenon that has grown since the turn of the century, has made gift giving a central focus of the Christmas tradition.

Is December 25 really the day Jesus was born?

No one really knows. What is known is that Christian leaders in 336 A.D. set the date to December 25 in an attempt to eclipse a popular pagan holiday in Rome (Saturnalia) that celebrated the winter solstice. Originally, the celebration of Christmas involved a simple mass, but over time Christmas has replaced a number of other holidays in many other countries, and a large number of traditions have been absorbed into the celebration in the process.

Why do we drape holly over the mantel and staircase?

Mistletoe has apparently been used as a decoration in houses for thousands of years and is also associated with many pagan rituals. However, the church forbade the use of mistletoe in any form, mindful of its idolatrous associations. As a substitute, it suggested holly. The sharply pointed leaves were to symbolize the thorns in Christ's crown and the red berries drops of his blood. Holly became a nativity tradition. The Christian ban on mistletoe was in effect throughout the Middle Ages. Surprisingly, as late as the 20th century, there were churches in England that forbade the wearing of mistletoe sprigs and corsages during services.

Why is the Christmas season sometimes referred to as "Yuletide?"

"Yuletide" for "Christmastime" is a term derived from the yule log, which in olden days was a huge log used as the foundation of the holiday fires. Bringing the yule log in was, as recently as the 19th century, as much a part of the pre-Christmas festivities as putting up an evergreen tree today. "Yule" can be traced back to the Middle English "Yollen" (cry aloud) and is thought to date from early Anglo-Saxon revels in celebration of the discovery (after the winter solstice) that nights were becoming shorter.

Why do we hang stockings on the mantle?

According to a very old tradition, the original Saint Nicholas left his very first gifts of gold coins in the stockings of three poor girls who needed the money for their wedding dowries. The girls had hung their stockings by the fire to dry. Up until lately, it was traditional to receive small items like fruit, nuts and candy in your stocking, but these have been replaced in the last half-century by more expensive gifts in many homes. In many home the stockings are correspondingly large and aren't really suitable as footwear of any sort!

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Sunday, December 14, 2003

I'm sitting here trying to think about the true meaning of Christmas as it is getting closer with the passing of every day.

Taking into consideration that the holiday as we know it started out over 2000 years ago, before the birth of Jesus Christ there were Pagans that celebrated the Winter Solstace.

After the coming of Jesus Christ and the manufacturing of The Church it was decided that Pagan rituals were not what The Church wanted so a decision was made to move the celebration of Christ's birth from the middle of the year (some speculate this date is between May and August) to December to coincide with the Pagan celebrations and was now going to be called Christmas. I think it's good to see even The Church running the old adage of "If you can't beat them, join them."

So instead of using December 25th as a time to start celebrating the coming of the new year, which being done for over 4000 years now makes it the oldest celebration in the world, we are now to pay respect to the coming (birth) of Jesus Christ.

Jesus, a man, is someone that I believe was born as Jesus Carpenter, as his father Joseph was a carpenter and was a time when names were picked by occupation. Jesus will have changed his name after his teenage years after his sabitical walk he had chosen to take around the mountain areas that the Krsna (Krishna) religion were occupying. When Jesus Carpenter returned with the teachings of Krsna, he will have been perceived as a better man by those around him. Some may have regarded him as a saint. We know that Jesus was referred to as King of the Jews, a name that he did not pick for himself.

So to take a look at what is known of Jesus Carpenter/Christ it would appear that he was a regular man that had enlightenment at an age when he was able to influence others. It will have been these people that, after the passing (death) of Christ from this world to the next, start a congregation of people to worship the man now known by many as Christ, The Son of God...

The conception of J.C. is another story that I'm not going into here, although I will say that I do think the Immaculate conception story that Mary told to Joseph should be tried by more married women these days that get pregant to men that they are not married to.

So with Christmas time nearly upon us were are reminded to share love and peace with others which these days translates as giving people presents and getting drunk with friends. Something that should be done all year round and not just once a year. If you want to buy someone a gift you shouldn't have to wait until Christmas to do it, you also should feel obliged to give everyone you know a gift.

If the Spirit of Christmas is peace on Earth and goodwill to al man, then surely this should hold all year and not just on and around the 25th of December. Likewise if you see something that you know would make an ideal gift for someone you know, get them it no matter what time of year it is and don't wait until the end of the year to do so, this way you will find that you can ignore Christmas like I do and celebrate the coming of next year.

I will now bid you all a farewell until next time and wish you all a happy New Year.

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