Dec 9 2024 - Outlaw Christmas

 

We are so engrossed in Christmas every year - even during the year- that we can't imagine anything different.   Imagine this:  In North Korea Christmas is outlawed.  It is officially an atheist state.  It seems odd to me that the outlawing was done as late as 2016.  It is likely due to Kim Jong Un's growing sense "godlike status."  Rebecca Pankratz, a researcher is quoted:  “Christianity was viewed as more of a direct threat to the regime … providing hope for living for eternity after life rather than living in fear of death.” Other atheist nations? Cuba banned Christmas starting in 1969. The ban was lifted for the Pope's visit 30 years later, and hasn't been reinstated. Another twist:  Christmas and Christianity are banned in China, but a commercialized version of Christmas is popular.   There are lots off countries that don't have Christmas. This from the World Population Review:  Afghanistan, Algeria, Bhutan, Libya, Mauritania, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. "In these countries, Christmas is not considered a day off from work. All government services will be open, and people will be expected to go to work and school. On the other hand, that doesn't necessarily mean that people are not allowed to celebrate Christmas in these countries. People who are Christian can still take the day off and celebrate, provided that the country does not have a law against it. It simply means that people should not be expected to be given the day off from work for free, as the country will still be open." You can go to the site HERE to see the reasons for non-celebration.  Often they aren't Christian countries, the most straight-forward reason. There are several categories outlined on Wikipedia:   1. Christmas observed and public holiday 2. Christmas observed but not public holiday 3. Christmas is neither observed nor public holiday We take Christmas for granted and there's so much build-up in our culture and society.  I wonder what other countries and cultures have for a common celebration event. Here's an example of the Christmas influence:  this one of our cute Christmas watercolour exercises from last year.  What would you do in a watercolour class without such major events?

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Celebrating Pomegranates

Now that Remembrance Day is completed, what is left for  Canadians to commemorate or celebrate in November?  We have used up our turkey Thanksgiving leftovers long ago in October.   For those born in November, Wikipedia says that Scientific studies have found empirical evidence suggesting that November-born children are more likely to become overachievers in their own fields.  Examples include: scientist Madame Curie; writers/philosophers Dostoevsky, Albert Camus, Voltaire and Mark Twain; artists Monet and Rodin; policy maker Winston Churchill; and legendary baseball player Joe DiMaggio. For something light-hearted we can celebrate National Pomegranate Month. I created these images using the watercolours from Shadowhouse - http://shadowhousecreations.blogspot.ca. They are eye-popping and beautiful in their own right.  Here they showcase the graceful petal shapes.

Water Colours

Water is a great subject.  There are so many possibilities.  This one was found at the Monterey Aquarium in the shore birds display area, and was done with a bit of motion blur.