Dec 27 2021 - An Opine Day

 

The "American Mood" is much discussed these days - and it is mostly about how much negativity there is in America. How do I know this?  Here's an excellent example from the New York Times:  Beware the Elf on the Shelf, Privacy Watchdogs Warn. "The Elf on the Shelf, a rapidly growing phenomenon based on a 2004 book by Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell, has become a beloved Christmas tradition for many families. The elf hides in a different spot in the home each day in the weeks before Christmas, reporting children’s good behavior and misbehavior back to Santa Claus. For many children, finding the elf’s new location each morning is a highlight of the season, while parents get to exercise a bit of creativity. The elf is not, several privacy organizations were careful to clarify, the biggest threat the world faces. But they find him creepy. Invasive and dangerous, even. They fear that the lanky elf is teaching children all the wrong lessons, acclimating them to being monitored by a police state, teaching them to passively accept constantly being watched by an unseen authority figure." And from there the debate gets underway.  You can read it HERE.  Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst at the A.C.L.U. Speech, Privacy and Technology Project “Personally, I consider success as a parent to be teaching my kids to do the right thing even when nobody is watching, whether they be from the North Pole or anywhere else.” He's not alone in being against the Elf on the Shelf.   "Most people, parents, are tired of the Elf, of moving it of playing this game."   The website creativegreenliving.com has found many ideas for how to get rid of the Elf.  Some are how to stop him from moving around, others are to send him away for good.  Here are a few: 1. break his leg - put him in a body cast so he can't move 2. quarantine him - COVID 3. send him on a freedom vacation 4. he's gone to a family that needs watching 5. install the Santa spy cam to replace him 6. international pixie dust shortage so not enough dust to send out all the elves to shelves In all, there are " 11 proven ways" to get rid of Elf on a Shelf.  And then there are ways on How to say goodbye to your Elf on the Shelf.  You can find out how to throw an Elf on the Shelf goodbye party, too.   I have decided on a COVID distraction for this "quarantine" period.  Let's hope it doesn't go far beyond the twelve days of Christmas.   But then who knows?  The project is a set of twelve Heart collages.   Here's the one based on a  recent abstract I did titled The Ladder. The ladder is in the bottom right heart - at the bottom on the left.  Sort of like an Elf on a Shelf moment.

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Dec 25 2021 - The Next Countdown is here!

 

We are on the next countdown - the twelve days of Christmas - traditionally starting on Christmas Day and ending January 5th.  January 6th is sometimes considered the twelfth day with the start December 26th.  The twelve days is called Christmastide or Twelvetide. Today is St. Stephen's Day.  Another feast day, as in 'The feast of Stephen'. We know it by the Christmas song with King Wenceslas.  Originally in Antiquity these days were taken up with saints' days and the first three days of the year were for prayer and penance.  Lots of heads-down activities.   Fast forward to England in the Middle Ages and this period was one of continuous feasting and merrymaking.  Twelfth Night will be forever in our social consciousness because of William Shakespeare and his wonderful play.   And where do we land with Twelfth Night now?  In New Orleans.  This is Twelfth Night taken to a different level of festivity.  January 6th is the day when King Cake Parties happen.  It is the first night of Carnival, as in 'Farewell to the Flesh'.  It goes from Twelfth Night to Fat Tuesday (that's right, Mardi Gras is  Fat Tuesday in French, to reflect the practice of eating rich, fatty food before Lent when fasting begins).   "Originally, King Cakes were a simple ring of pastry dough (brioche to be exact) with a small amount of colored sugar as decoration. Inside the original King Cakes was a tiny porcelain or gold baby, representing Jesus. If a person received a piece of cake with the baby they were declared King for the day... The top of the cake is covered with sugar icing in traditional Mardi Gras colors: Green, purple and gold." And reflecting on Christ in swaddling clothes, I just saw an ad for Pampers Swaddlers for active babies.  Perfect for this time of year.  Swaddling is a technique of wrapping infants in blankets or similar cloth so that the movement of the limbs is tightly restricted.  Probably something parents appreciate Pampers creating for active babies the day after Christmas. Here's a perfect Millie moment.  I don't know what she saw on the feeder outside, but her second reaction looks like it is coming right at her.  She is on the doggie bed on top of the desk.

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Swans or Squabs

Swans or Squabs? That's what would be a-swimming today in our 12 Days of Christmas.  Through the many years of variations, it is dominantly seven swans a-swimming with only one version in 1900 of squabs a-swimming.  This doesn't make much sense as 'squabs' are pigeons, and they don't swim. Squab in culinary terms is a young domestic pigeon, typically under four weeks old. They have been raised commercially in North America since the early 1900s.  It is remarkable given that they are fed by both parents until four weeks old, so one keeps pairs of pigeons to produce squabs.  A pair can produce 15 squabs a year.  This used to be the staple of Chinese-American restaurants, but industrial chicken has taken over.  Squab is still is part of Chinese holiday banquets, such as Chinese New Year. As time has gone by, squab has become a specialty item and is served in haute cuisine restaurants by celebrity chefs.  "Squab at Alinea"  in Chicago, an acclaimed restaurant, is one of the courses in a 14 course tasting menu.  Or how about the Old Homestead restaurant in New York City.  It offered a four person meal for $8,750 a person and one course included squab alongside the turkey.  This was in 2015.  And Now Magazine in Toronto covered T.O.'s top 5 game dishes and there was Pigeon Pie (Squab) at Borealia. The article covers game dishes including quail, rabbit, Ontario venison, and game meat sausages. Our year concludes today and we count anew tomorrow.  Here are two images of Jordan Valley from yesterday's walk - they represent the sunset of one year and the new dawn of the next.

The Twelve Days Tradition

Our Christmas Traditions - The Twelve Days of Christmas

I find out that the 12 days of Christmas were not the catechism in code taught to Roman Catholics in England during the time they were not permitted to practice their faith openly.

In fact, this was a well-known in nursery rhyme in the 1800's and published in books at the time.  Just the same, they are interesting and creative biblical interpretations.  Here they are: 

* The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

* Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments

* Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

* The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

* The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

* The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

* Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit - Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

* The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

* Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit-Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

* The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

* The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

* The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

Our selected image today comes from the Toronto Botanical Gardens, Wilket Creek in winter 2014.