~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
December 21

★~ Today’s Quote: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” ~Ecclesiastes 3:1

★~ Solstice Poem: Our El Morno Poet Laurette Hawk, just graced us with a beautiful Solstice Poem:

Hope in The Long Night:

At last
It comes to this
Dreamed moment
And the long climb back
When all the light seems gone
That my heart can finally open again
To the green and the sun and the kiss
That shall carry me on into another year

~ Hawk Durham

★~ Winter Solstice:

The shortest day and longest night in the Northern Hemisphere. Poets over the ages have proffered plenty of advice for the coming months. Poet Pietro Aretino, born in the 15th century, said, “Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius.” William Blake wrote, “In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.” There’s a Japanese proverb that says, “One kind word can warm three winter months.” Emily Dickinson wrote, “There’s a certain Slant of light, Winter Afternoons — That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes.” Existentialist Albert Camus wrote, “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” Victor Hugo once said, “Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart.”

American writer Minna Antrim gave these instructions-in-verse:
“Brew me a cup for a winter’s night.
For the wind howls loud and the furies fight;
Spice it with love and stir it with care,
And I’ll toast our bright eyes,
my sweetheart fair.

★~ Bah Humbug Day:

Some of us proudly groan and grumble our way through the holiday season. But then there are some of us who manage to put on a happy face even with the stress of shopping and the crankiness of crashing from a candy cane sugar high. So for those of you who feel like you’re about to fall to pieces like a glass tree ornament that the cat got a hold of (and that you stepped on this morning because no one else is the house bothered to sweep it up), today is your free pass to let everyone know how you really feel.

★~ Hamburger Day:

Have a Hamburger with your Bah Humbug today!  . Hamburgers and cheeseburgers have been a staple of the American diet for decades!  Though hamburgers were invented in Hamburg, Germany, eating the burger in a bun is actually an American innovation. The hamburger sandwich is said to have been invented in Seymour, Wisconsin. Evidence of Seymour’s history with the burger: each year the city hosts an annual hamburger festival called Burger Fest. The city also holds the record for the world’s largest hamburger. In 2001, a 8,266-pound burger was cooked at Burger Fest!

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1913 – The first crossword puzzle was compiled by Arthur Wynne and published in a supplement to the New York World.

♥~ 1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs film premiere anniversary.  America’s first full-length animated feature film (and also the first Technicolor feature) premiered on this date at the Carthay Circle Theater, Hollywood, CA. The labor of love from Walt Disney—who for years wanted to create a feature-length cartoon—involved more than 750 artists and 1,500 colors in four years of development. The film features the classic songs “Some Day My Prince Will Come” and “Whistle While You Work.” Walt Disney received a special Oscar for Snow White—along with seven miniature Oscars. Can you name the  seven recipients of the miniature Oscars?

♥~ 1966 – The Beach Boys received a gold record for the single, Good Vibrations. A-one, and a-two and… “…I’m pickin’ up good vibrations. She’s givin’ me excitations…”

♥~ 1967 – The Rolling Stones LP, Their Satanic Majesties Request, was released. It cost $50,000 to produce and came complete with a 3-D photograph of the Stones on the cover.

♥~ 1974 – Harry Chapin’s Cat’s in the Cradle rose to the #1 spot on the Billboard “Hot 100”. “…And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me; He’d grown up just like me. My boy was just like me…”

♥~ 1985 – Bruce Springsteen’s album, Born in the USA, passed Michael Jackson’s Thriller to become the second longest-lasting LP in the top 10. It stayed there for 79 weeks. Only The Sound of Music, with Julie Andrews, lasted longer: 109 weeks.

★~Born Today:

♥~ 1935 – Phil Donahue TV talk show host: Donahue; married to actress Marlo Thomas

♥~ 1937 – Jane Fonda Academy Award-winning actress: Coming Home [1978], Klute [1971]; Barbarella, The China Syndrome, Cat Ballou, They Shoot Horses Don’t They, On Golden Pond; ex-wife of Time-Warner’s Ted Turner; daughter of actor Henry Fonda; sister of actor Peter; exercise videos; Vietnam-era peace activist

♥~ 1939 – Wes Farrell producer, songwriter: Come On Get Happy, Come a Little Bit Closer, Boys, Jungle Jim at the Zoo, Old Man Willow, Hang On Sloopy, The Partridge Family TV theme;

♥~ 1940 – Frank Zappa musician, songwriter, singer: group: Mothers of Invention; Valley Girl [w/daughter Moon]

♥~ 1954 – Chris Evert tennis champion

♥~ 1955 – Jane Kaczmarek actress: Malcolm in the Middle

♥~ 1957 – Ray Romano comedian, actor: Everybody Loves Raymond

★~ Did You Know:  “Solstice” is derived from the Latin phrase for “sun stands still.”  This video puts the Winter Solstice in beautiful perspective for us.

#

When Cole was little we started a tradition of fonduing on the WInter Solstices. We set up the fondue pot on a low table in the living room by the Christmas tree and fondued vegetables in cheese sauce, meet and shrimp in sizzling oil, and of-course fruit in chocolate.

On this darkest day of the year, we also light lots of candles and keep them burning most of day, or at least the part of the day we spend at home. When we light a candle we often say this simple verse: Candle, Candle, burning bright thank you for your radiant light.

Do you celebrate the Winter Solstice?  If  you have a morno moment leave a comment–Odd Loves Company!

Wishing you light to show you the way, and darkness to show you the stars–