~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
December 23

★~ Today’s Quote:  “Welcome, new comers. The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you’re gonna hear about it!”  ~Frank Costanza

★~ Festivus:

Celebrated by Seinfeld fans everywhere, Festivus i was first introduced to the world by the Costanza family on Seinfeld in 1997. In an episode titled, “The Strike”, Frank Costanza tells Cosmo Kramer that he invented the holiday in response to Christmas commercialism.

It involves a dinner in which family members “Air their Grievances” and describe how they have been wronged in the past year. This is followed by “Feats of Strength” in which the head of the household must be pinned in a wrestling match.

Pull out the Aluminum pole and let the Festivus begin.

May we wish you all a Happy Festivus for the rest of us!

★~ Roots Day:

What better time of year than the holiday season –when you’re bombarded with family functions– to pause, look around you, and remember that your ancestral roots run deep and you are kindred in blood and spirit to the whole clan of crazy people partying in the kitchen and wearing matching sweaters.

★~ Pfeffernuesse Day:

 

Pfeffernusse, you say? Is a hard little cookie made with pepper, and a whole bunch of other spices.  Because of its deep “winter” flavors, it’s often associated with Christmas (kind of like gingerbread).

Pfeffernüsse are extremely hard when they are first baked. For at least a week, it is difficult to bite into them without first dunking into a beverage. However, they soften with age.

Here is traditional German tale about the Pfeffernüsse  “spice cookie,” but before reading practice the donkey call: EEE-AH!

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1823 – He had a broad face and a little round belly, that shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.”  These words were published for the first time in the Troy (N.Y.) Sentinel (now the Record). The poem we know as The Night Before Christmas or A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement C. Moore, was published anonymously under the newspaper editor’s title, Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas.

Moore’s poem, which he had written on Christmas Eve one year earlier, took a circuitous route to the Troy paper. The story has it that Moore penned the poem, inspired by the bells on the sleigh in which he was riding, the sleigh’s jolly driver, and the new fallen snow on the streets of New York City, as he was running a last minute errand for his wife. That evening, he read his now-famous words to his six children as they sat in front of their fireplace where “The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hope that St. Nicholas soon would be there.” The children were so delighted with their father’s images of “a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer,” that they saved the poem, showing it to a family friend, Harriet Butler, who was visiting from Troy. Moore allowed Miss Butler to copy the poem in her keepsake album.

Miss Butler was so taken with the charming work that she sent it in to the Troy newspaper shortly before the following Christmas, unbeknownst to Moore, who never intended to publish the poem as it was out of character for a strait-laced professor of classics.

The poem captured the imaginations of young and old alike …so Clement C. Moore finally consented to being recognized as its author when the poem appeared in The New-York Book of Poetry in 1837.

We believe! We believe! We “ … heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night!.

♥~ 1897- The Night of the Radishes (Spanish: Noche de rábanos) is celebrated every year in the “zócalo” (main plaza) of Oaxaca city. Although it lasts only a few hours, it attracts thousands of people to this plaza each year.

The event consists of an exhibition of sculptures made from a type of large red radish which can weigh up to 6.6 lb  and  attain lengths up to 20 in.  These radishes are especially grown for this event, left in the ground for months after the normal harvests to let them attain their giant size and unusual shapes. The sculptures include nativity scenes, party scenes with dozens of figures; what makes a sculpture stand out is the creative cutting of the radish itself for effect, such as carefully peeling the red skin back and perforating it to create a lace skirt. A contest is held with the first-prize winner getting their picture in the newspaper

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1926 – Robert Bly: poet, author: What Have I Ever Lost by Dying?, Iron John: A Book About Men once said, “One day while studying a [William Butler] Yeats poem I decided to write poetry the rest of my life. I recognized that a single short poem has room for history, music, psychology, religious thought, mood, occult speculation, character, and events of one’s own life.

★~ Did You Know:

♥~ Tonight is the third night of Hanukkah.

♥~ Unlike Christmas, Hanukkah doesn’t fall on the same date every year. This is because the Jewish calendar is lunisolar (based on the Sun and Moon) and doesn’t follow the standard Gregorian calendar. Hanukkah always starts on the 25th of Kislev – the month on the Hebrew calendar that usually coincides with November or December.

♥~ The term ‘Hanukkah’ stands for dedication in Hebrew and recalls the Maccabees’ rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, after they won the battle with the Greeks, for control over their holy site.

♥~ The candles used for lighting Hanukah Menorah are supposed to burn for at least half an hour after the stars come out.

♥~ Gift-giving isn’t a traditional part of this holiday, but it has become more common in recent years, especially in areas where Jewish families have a lot of contact with Christians who celebrate Christmas. The only traditional gift of Hanukkah is “gelt,” small amounts of money.

♥~ There are actually nine candles on the Hanukkah Menorah, even though there are only eight days of Hanukkah. The ninth candle is called the “shammus,” and is supposed to be at a different height than the others. This candle is lit first and used to light the other candles.

♥~ Some people claim that the dreidel game originated when Jewish children were not allowed to study Torah. If an official came along, they would quickly pull out these toys and appear to just be playing a game.

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May you meet the feats of strength and air many grievances this Festivus!

If you have a Morno moment feel free to air any grievances and wish others a Merry Festivus to you. Odd Loves Company!

♥