Showing posts with label double is one interpretation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label double is one interpretation. Show all posts

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Home for the Holidays vs Burning Goat

The sentiment expressed at Christmas is that there's no place like home for the holidays.  About 2 billion people in 160 countries (out of 195) consider Christmas to be the most important holiday of the year. 

If one lived in Qatar, Mongolia, China, Tunisia, Morocco, or Egypt, there are no public holidays or official celebrations of Christmas.  

For those 2 billion celebrating, here are a few famous Christmas traditions include:

Giant Lantern Festival, Philippines
This is held in the city of San Fernando which is known as the christmas Capital of the Philippines. 

Gavle Goat, Sweden
A 13 mere-tall Yule Goat has been built in the centre of Gavel's Castle Square for Advent since 1966.  This has turned into a 'burning goat festival' where the goat has been burned down successfully 29 times.  This sabotage activity isn't covered in the website.

St. Nicholas' Day, Germany
This occurs on December 6 and treats like coins, chocolate, oranges and toys are placed in the shoes of good children.  Father Christmas comes on the traditional day.  St. Nick brings along Knect Ruprecht (Farmhand Rupert) who carried a stick or small whip to punish any children who misbehave.  

Christmas in Rockefeller Center
The lighting of the iconic tree in the heart of New York City  is the 86th annual "Christmas in Rockefeller Center." The evening has festive musical performances from Diana Ross, Tony Bennett and Diana Krall, Brett Eldredge, Darci Lynne Farmer, John Legend, Martina McBride, Pentatonix and Kellie Pickler, plus a special appearance by Howie Mandel. You can watch a boring segment on it here.  Perhaps the Diana Krall and Tony Bennett performance is not shown as it was reported that the two missed cues and trampled one another during "I'll be Home for Christmas"  and "The Christmas Song".

Cavalcade of Lights, Toronto
This first took place in 1967 to show off the new City Hall.  The square and Christmas tree are illuminated with more than 300,000 lights starting November 24th. They shine until the New Year.  The 2017 display is here. (I think - it seems to go into Japanese Gift wrapping a little too quickly). 

Our pictures today look at the sculpture outside the Grimsby Library - a set of cubes on angle.  It is Klosso Eloul's sculpture 'Double is One'.  His work is throughout Ontario at art galleries, and in Toronto.